「ドリトル先生航海記」から学ぶ大学入試・英検・TOEIC頻出語彙と読解(１2)

　何を学ぶにしても楽しみを見出せれば伸びるのは一緒だと思います。国語の場合ですと読書を楽しんで力をつける学習者が多いのに対して、英語の読書を楽しんで力をつける学習者が少ないのはとても残念です。
　そんなわけで、著作権の切れた童話「ドリトル先生航海記」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。
　コロンで区切られているのが四語選択問題、スラッシュで区切られているのが四語整序問題です。四語選択問題の単語は大学入試、英検、TOEICに共通する重要単語で＊印は難易度の目安です。＊印が多いほど難しい単語になっています。無印は語法・文法等の問題です。
　大学入試、英検、TOEICに童話は出題されないとはいえ、大多数の受験者が童話も満足に読めない現状では、童話や子どもニュースが楽に読めれば大いに有利です。ビジネス語彙が現在ほどは出なかった昔のTOEICとはいえ、英語圏の童話を乱読しただけでTOEIC800台中盤まで到達した例があります。

※(11)の解答　①(if)②(what they are saying)③(of politeness to me)④(on earth is he)⑤(muttered)⑥(it had cattle in)⑦(abroad)⑧(went off in tears)⑨(search)⑩(lasted)⑪(known out there as) ⑫(explanation) ⑬(care)⑭(made)⑮(told him about it)⑯(life we had led)⑰(stupid)⑱(fair)⑲(looking down the street)⑳(fault)

(12)
"I was beginning to ①(about / get / him / worried)," said my mother. "I am thankful to you, Sir, for looking after him so well and bringing him home."

"Don't mention it—don't mention it," said the Doctor. "We have had a very interesting chat."

"Who might it be that I have the honor of addressing?" asked my mother staring at the gray parrot perched on the Doctor's shoulder.

"Oh, I'm John Dolittle. I dare say your husband will remember me. He made me some very excellent boots about four years ago. They really are splendid," added the Doctor, ②(insisting : gazing : furnishing : convincing) down at his feet with great satisfaction.

"The Doctor has come to cure my squirrel, Mother," said I. "He knows all about animals."

"Oh, no," said the Doctor, "not all, Stubbins, not all about ③(means / any / by / them)."

"It is very kind of you to come so ④(to / far / after / look) his pet," said my mother. "Tom is always bringing home strange creatures from the woods and the fields."

"Is he?" said the Doctor. "Perhaps he will ⑤(to / grow / be / up) a naturalist some day. Who knows?"

"Won't you come in?" asked my mother. "The place is a little ⑥**(disabled : untidy : subtle : tame) because I haven't finished the spring cleaning yet. But there's a nice fire burning in the parlor."

"Thank you!" said the Doctor. "What a charming home you have!"

And after wiping his enormous boots very, very carefully on the mat, the great man passed into the house.

THE SIXTH CHAPTER. THE WOUNDED SQUIRREL
INSIDE we found my ⑦(on / father / practising / busy) the flute beside the fire. This he always did, every evening, after his work was over.

The Doctor immediately began talking to him about flutes and piccolos and bassoons; and presently my father said,

"Perhaps you perform upon the flute yourself, Sir. Won't you play us a ⑧***(specimen : tune : thesis : transaction)?"

"Well," said the Doctor, "it is a long time since I touched the instrument. But I would like to try. May I?"

Then the Doctor took the flute from my father and played and played and played. It was wonderful. My mother and father sat as ⑨*(tiny : confident : thick : still) as statues, staring up at the ceiling as though they were in church; and even I, who didn't bother much about music except on the mouth-organ—even I felt all sad and cold and creepy and wished I had been a better boy.

"Oh I think that was just beautiful!" ⑨**(defeated : sighed : disgusted : quoted) my mother when at length the Doctor stopped.

"You are a great musician, Sir," said my father, "a very great musician. Won't you please ⑩(else / play / something / us)?"

"Why certainly," said the Doctor—"Oh, but look here, I've forgotten all about the squirrel."

"I'll show him to you," I said. "He is upstairs in my room."

So I led the Doctor to my bedroom at the top of the house and showed him the squirrel in the packing-case filled with straw.

The animal, who had always seemed very much afraid of me—though I had tried hard ⑪(make / to / feel / him) at home, sat up at once when the Doctor came into the room and started to chatter. The Doctor chattered back in the same way and the squirrel when he was lifted up to have his leg ⑫*(prepared : examined : compared : stocked), appeared to be rather pleased than ⑬*(decreased : resisted : exhausted : tempted).

I held a candle while the Doctor tied the leg up in what he called "splints," which ⑭(of / he / out / made) match-sticks with his pen-knife.

"I think you will find that his leg will get better now in a very short time," said the Doctor closing up his bag. "Don't ⑮(run / let / about / him) for at least two weeks yet, but keep him in the open air and cover him up with dry leaves if the nights get cool. He tells me he is rather lonely here, all by himself, and is wondering how his wife and children are getting on. I have ⑯**(nourished : assured : contended : cited) him you are a man to be trusted; and I will send a squirrel who lives in my garden to find out ⑰(family / how / are / his) and to bring him news of them. He must be kept cheerful at all costs. Squirrels are naturally a very cheerful, active race. It is very hard for them to ⑱(doing / lie / nothing / still). But you needn't worry about him. He will be all right."

Then we went back again to the parlor and my mother and father kept him playing the flute till after ten o'clock.

Although my parents both liked the Doctor tremendously from the first moment that they saw him, and were very proud to have him come and play to us (for we were really terribly poor) they did not ⑲*(cease : realize : delay : annoy) then what a truly great man he was one day to become. Of course now, when almost everybody in the whole world has heard about Doctor Dolittle and his books, if you were to go to that little house in Puddleby where my father had his cobbler's shop you would see, set in the wall over the old-fashioned door, a stone ⑳(it / on / writing / with) which says: "JOHN DOLITTLE, THE FAMOUS NATURALIST, PLAYED THE FLUTE IN THIS HOUSE IN THE YEAR 1839."

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