楽しく英語を学びたい！そう思ったときに、一番のお勧めは洋書の多読です。
洋書と言っても、莫大な数がありますよね。どんな物を選べば良いか迷ったときに、迷わず選んで欲しい洋書は、ORT（Oxford reading tree）です。この本はイギリスの多くの小学校で､副教材として取り扱われているもので、レベル分けをされているシリーズ本です。優しいレベルから読み進めることで、無理なく､無駄なく、英語を学ぶことが出来ます。小さなこどもから、大人のやり直し英語まで幅広く対応出来る洋書です。
当ブログでは、ただ本を読むだけでは無く、本の内容について、本当に理解しているか、英語でどのように質問できるか、出された質問について、どのように英語で答えたら良いのか､自宅に居ながらにして英語のレッスンを受けているかのように､洋書を使うことが出来ます。
この記事では、Oxford reading tree stage8をご紹介します。
このレベルは、大人のやり直しや、学生さんにもちょうど良い物になっています。小さなお子さんや、もっと易しいレベルから始めたい方は、ステージ８以下の記事も読んでみてくださいね。
Viking Adventure バイキングの冒険（Magic Keyのお話）
子どもたちは学校でバイキングについて学んいます。Magic Keyが光り始め、子どもたちは、バイキングの長船に乗っていることに気付きます。みんなが上陸すると、バイキングの村にいる子どもたちと出会いますが、略奪者がやってきます！ ビフはあるアイデアが浮かびますが、彼女は彼らを怖がらせることができるでしょうか？
What did the children learn about in Mr Johnson’s class?
They learned about Vikings and their longships.
What did Mr Johnson show the children?
He showed them a picture of a Viking ship, a Viking helmet, and a Viking shield.
こんな質問もしてみよう！
Q: What did the children make as part of their Viking project?
A: They made model longships, Viking shields, and helmets.
Q: How did the children feel when they saw the Viking raiders?
A: They felt scared and worried.
Q: How did Biff scare off the Viking raiders?
A: She shone her torch, which frightened both the raiders and the villagers
Q: What did Mr. Johnson teach the children about Vikings?
A: Mr. Johnson taught them that Vikings used longships to cross the sea and showed them pictures of Viking ships, helmets, and shields.
Q: How did the children feel when they saw the Viking raiders?
A: The children felt frightened and worried when they saw the Viking raiders approaching.
Q: What did Biff do to scare off the Viking raiders?
A: Biff had an idea and used her torch to shine a bright light, which frightened both the raiders and the villagers, causing them to retreat.
Q: What did the villagers do to celebrate after the raiders left?
A: The villagers lit a big fire on the beach and had a party for the children. They also gave Biff a shield as a token of gratitude.
Q: How did the adventure end for the children?
A: The magic key began to glow, signaling the end of the adventure, and Biff showed the Viking shield to Mr. Johnson, who pointed out that Viking shields didn’t look like that.
The Rainbow Machine 虹製造機（Magic Keyのお話）
雨降りの日。雨と出ました。出ました。虹はどこから始まって､どこで終わるんだろう？みんなもそう思ったことはありませんか？Magic Keyが、子どもたちを虹製造機がある場所へ連れて行きます。Fredは虹製造機の責任者なのに、使い方が分からないみたい。コンピューターに詳しいNadimですが、この製造機を操作することはできるかな？
What did the children see when it was raining and the sun was shining?
They saw a rainbow across the sky.
What was on the back of the very big lorry?
A very big machine called The Rainbow Machine.
こんな質問もしてみよう！
Q.How many colors are there in a rainbow?
A.There are seven colors in a rainbow.
Q.How many people looked after the rainbow machine?
A.Seven people looked after the rainbow machine.
Q.What did the rainbow makers do when they had to get the machine ready?
A.They cleaned it, polished it, and made sure it worked properly.
Q.How did the rainbow makers feel when they had to work fast?
A.They felt rushed or pressured.
QWhat did the rainbow makers do when they wanted to create a rainbow?
A.They pressed a button on the machine, and the rainbow shot out.
Q.What did children often want to do when they saw a rainbow?
A.They often wanted to find the end of it and play in all the colors.
Q.Who was asked to look after the lorry?
A.Fred, the young man learning to be a rainbow maker.
Q.Who came to help Fred when the lorry got stuck?
A.Biff, Chip, Wilf, Nadim, and Anneena came through a door in the field.
Q.What did Fred realize when he saw the rainbow machine buzzing and flashing?
A.He realized that a rainbow was needed, but he didn’t know how to operate the machine.
Q.Who helped Fred figure out how to operate the computer on the rainbow machine?
A.Nadim, who was good with computers, helped Fred.
Q.What was wrong with the rainbow that the machine produced?
A.It had straight sides instead of the usual curved shape.
Q.How did the sky change after the rainbow machine malfunctioned?
A.The sky turned red, then white after the machine bleached it.
A Day in London ロンドンの一日（Magic Keyのお話）
おばあちゃんが、お土産を持って遊びに来ますが、家の中では大騒ぎになってしまいます。そこで、おばあちゃんが子どもたちを､ロンドンに連れて行くことになりました。おばあちゃんと一緒だと、子どもたちは色々な体験が出来ます。ロンドンで、どんなことがありましたか？
Who came to stay with the children?
Gran came to stay with the children.
What did Gran bring as presents?
Gran brought ornaments, golf clubs for Kipper, and a keyboard for Biff and Chip.
こんな質問もしてみよう！
Q: What surprise did Gran give the children?
A: Gran gave the children boomerangs as a surprise.
Q: Where did Gran take the children to play with the boomerangs?
A: Gran took the children outside to play with the boomerangs.
Q: What happened when Gran played with the golf clubs?
A: Gran hit the golf ball too hard and accidentally smashed a window.
Q: Who came to play with Wilf, Wilma, Nadim, and Anneena?
A: Wilf, Wilma, Nadim, and Anneena came to play with Biff and Chip.
Q: Where did Gran take the children on an outing?
A: Gran took the children to London on an outing.
Q: What did the children see in Trafalgar Square?
A: The children saw lots of pigeons and a statue of Nelson in Trafalgar Square.
Q: What happened when Gran dropped her handbag at the waxworks?
A: Some money rolled among the models, and Gran accidentally knocked them over while trying to pick it up.
Victorian Adventure ヴィクトリア朝時代の冒険（Magic Keyのお話）
子どもたちが､ロンドンでの旅について語り合っていたときに、Magic Keyが光だし、子どもたちをヴィクトリア時代のロンドンへ連れて行きます。子どもたちはそこで友達を作り、バッキンガム宮殿に行きますが、そこで捕まってしまいます。牢屋に入れられた子どもたちですが、何故かバッキンガム宮殿に呼ばれます。そして、宮殿にはいるはずの無い人がいました！だれだったのでしょうか？
What did Biff and Chip do with the pictures they had from London?
Biff and Chip put the pictures into a scrapbook.
Who did the children meet in the past during their adventure?
The children met a girl named Vicky, who was standing under a gas lamp.
こんな質問もしてみよう！
Q. What did Vicky do to help the children when they were hungry?
A. Vicky took them to a baker’s shop and bought some bread for them.
Q. Why did the grown-ups get cross with the children?
A. The grown-ups got cross with the children because they were not allowed to play with the Queen’s grandchildren.
Q.What did Queen Victoria say when the children played with her grandchildren?
A.Queen Victoria said it was a pleasure and invited them to come again.
Q. How did the adventure end?
A. The adventure ended when the magic key began to glow again, signaling it was time to go home.
Q.Who did Biff, Chip, and Kipper meet when they traveled back in time?
A.They met a girl named Vicky who was standing under a gas lamp.
Q.What did Vicky do to help the children when they were hungry?
A. Vicky took them to a baker’s shop and bought bread for them with the penny she had.
Q.Why did the grown-ups get upset with the children?
A. The grown-ups got upset because the children were not supposed to play with the Queen’s grandchildren.
Q.What did Queen Victoria say when she met the children?
A. Queen Victoria said it was a pleasure to meet them and invited them to play with her grandchildren.
Q.How did the adventure end?
A. The adventure ended when the magic key began to glow again, signaling it was time for the children to return home.
Q.What did Kipper ask when they were taken to Buckingham Palace?
A. Kipper asked if they were going to have their heads chopped off.
Q. What did Gran and Queen Victoria do while the children played?
A. Gran had tea with Queen Victoria while the children played.
Q.What did Queen Victoria hope the children would enjoy during tea time?
A. Queen Victoria hoped the children would enjoy scones and home-made strawberry jam during tea time.
最後に
ORTを開いていただけると分かりますが、洋書初心者や、やり直し英語、学生、子ども、どの年代の方にも対応出来るシリーズです。１冊の本、１つのレベルを繰り返し読むことで、英語は上達します。絵の描写も細かいので、本を読むたびに色々な発見を出来る､楽しい絵本です。是非ORTを読んでくださいね！
ポチップ
