「ドリトル先生アフリカゆき」から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解(30)

　著作権の切れた童話「ドリトル先生アフリカゆき」から、シンプルで、大学入試にもTOEICにも英検にも有効な練習問題を作成しています。楽しみながら英語力を伸ばしていただければ幸いです。
(30)
"My gracious!" said Gub-Gub in a hushed voice. "What a height! I wonder they don't scorch their feathers—so near the sun!"

They were gone a long time. And when ①(came / they / it / back ) was almost night.

And the eagles said to the Doctor,

"We have ②*(informed : searched : defined : uttered) all the seas and all the countries and all the islands and all the cities and all the villages in this half of the world. But we have ②*(failed : joined : flowed : separated). In the main street of Gibraltar we saw three red hairs lying on a wheel-barrow before a baker's door. But they were not the hairs of a man—they were the hairs out of a fur-coat. Nowhere, on land or water, could we ③(of / see / sign / any) this boy's uncle. And if WE could not see him, then he is not to be seen.... For John Dolittle—we have done our best."

Then the six great birds ④***(launched : flapped : reviewed : speculated) their big wings and ⑤(to / flew / their / back) homes in the mountains and the rocks.

"Well," said Dab-Dab, after they had gone, "what are we going to do now? The boy's uncle MUST be found—there's no two ways about that. The lad isn't old enough to be knocking around the world by himself. Boys aren't like ducklings—they have to be ⑥(of / taken / till / care) they're quite old.... I wish Chee-Chee were here. He would soon find the man. Good old Chee-Chee! I wonder how he's getting on!"

"If we only ⑦(have : has : had : having) Polynesia with us," said the white mouse. "SHE would soon think of some way. Do you remember ⑧(us / got / she / how) all out of prison—the second time? My, but she was a clever one!"

"I don't think so much of those eagle-fellows," said Jip. "They're just conceited. They may have very good eyesight and all that; but when you ask them to find a man for you, they can't do it—and they have the cheek to come back and ⑨(that / say / else / nobody) could do it. They're just conceited—like that collie in Puddleby. And I don't think a whole lot of those gossipy old porpoises either. All ⑩(us / they / tell / could) was that the man isn't in the sea. We don't want to know where he ISN'T—we want to know where he IS."

"Oh, don't talk so much," said Gub-Gub. "It's easy to talk; but it isn't so easy to find a man when you have got the whole world to hunt him in. Maybe the fisherman's hair has turned white, ⑪*(allowing : worrying : rewarding : reminding) about the boy; and that was ⑫(when : which : what : why) the eagles didn't find him. You don't know everything. You're just talking. You are not doing anything to help. You couldn't find the boy's uncle any more than the eagles could—you couldn't do as well."

"Couldn't I?" said the dog. "That's all you know, you ⑬*(awful : stupid : mutual : domestic) piece of warm bacon! I haven't begun to try yet,
have I? You wait and see!"

Then Jip went to the Doctor and said,

"Ask the boy if he has anything in his pockets that belonged to his uncle, will you, please?"

So the Doctor asked him. And the boy showed them a gold ring which he wore on a piece of string around his neck because it was too big for his finger. He said his uncle ⑭(to / gave / him / it) when they saw the pirates coming.

Jip smelt the ring and said,

"That's no good. Ask ⑮(if / him / has / he) anything else that belonged to his uncle."

Then the boy took from his pocket a great, big red handkerchief and said, "This was my uncle's too."

As soon as the boy pulled it out, Jip shouted,

"SNUFF, by Jingo!—Black Rappee snuff. Don't you smell it? His uncle took snuff— Ask him, Doctor."

The Doctor questioned the boy again; and he said, "Yes. My uncle took a lot of snuff."

"Fine!" said Jip. "The man's as good as found. 'Twill be as easy as stealing milk from a kitten. Tell the boy I'll find his uncle for him in less than a week. Let us go upstairs and see which way the wind is blowing."

"But it is dark now," said the Doctor. "You can't find him in the dark!"

"I don't need any ⑯(look / light / for / to) a man who smells of Black Rappee snuff," said Jip as he climbed the stairs. "If the man had a hard smell, like string, now—or hot water, it would be different. But SNUFF!—Tut, tut!"

"Does hot water have a smell?" asked the Doctor.

"Certainly it has," said Jip. "Hot water smells quite different from cold water. It is warm water—or ice—that has the really difficult smell. Why, I once followed a man for ten miles on a dark night by the smell of the hot water he had ⑰(with / shave / to / used)—for the poor fellow had no soap.... Now then, let us see which way the wind is blowing. Wind is very important in long-distance smelling. It mustn't be too fierce a wind—and of course it must blow the right way. A nice, steady, damp breeze is the best of all.... Ha!—This wind is from the North."

Then Jip went up to the front of the ship and smelt the wind; and he ⑱(to / started / himself / muttering),

"Tar; Spanish onions; kerosene oil; wet raincoats; crushed laurel-leaves; rubber burning; lace-curtains being washed—No, my mistake, lace-curtains hanging out to dry; and foxes—hundreds of 'em—cubs; and—"

"Can you really smell all ⑲(things / those / in / different) this one wind?" asked the Doctor.

"Why, of course!" said Jip. "And those are only a few of the easy smells—the strong ones. Any mongrel could smell those with a cold in the head. Wait now, and I'll tell you some of the harder ⑳***(germs : scents : hazards : riots) that are coming on this wind—a few of the dainty ones."

※(30)の解答①(they came back it)②(searched)②(failed)③(see any sign of)④(flapped)⑤(flew back to their)⑥(taken care of till)⑦(had)←仮定法過去⑧(how she got us)⑨(say that nobody else)⑩(they could tell us)⑪(worrying)⑫(why)⑬(stupid)⑭(gave it to him)⑮(him if he has)⑯(light to look for)⑰(used to shave with)⑱(started muttering to himself)⑲(those different things in)⑳(scents)