今まで、多読にトライして、続かなかった方や、多読初心者の方にとって、洋書選びは悩みの一つかもしれませんね。この記事を読むことで、どんな洋書を選べば良いのかが分かります。一番始めに選ぶべき洋書が分かったら、是非当ブログを参考に、洋書を読み進めてくださいね。どんどん英語学習が楽しくなりますよ!
ORTを選ぶ理由はこれ!
洋書を読むには、洋書選びがとても大切です。興味がある分野から選ぶことも間違いではありませんが、英語初心者や、英語初心者の方には、挫折する危険性が高いです。そこで、先ずはレベル別になっていて、自分のレベルより易しい英語から読み進めることをお勧めします。
Oxford reading tree(ORT)は、細かくレベル分けをされているシリーズで、イギリスの多くの小学校の副教材として使用され、正しい英語を学ぶことが出来る洋書です。同じレベルの英語を何冊も読むことが出来、レベルも徐々に上がっていくため、無理なく英語を段階的に学ぶことが出来ます。
文法的にも、同じような文章が繰り返し出てきたり、登場人物も同じでストーリー生があるので、読んでいて飽きません。描写も細かく書かれているので、分からない単語が出てきても、絵から推測しやすくなっています。
ORTを読み進めることで、英文を読むことに慣れることが出来ます。そこで、次のステップに移行しやすくなるので、洋書が初めての方や、英語初心者の方の洋書を挫折してしまう可能性が低くなるのです。
ORT stage1と、stage9を見比べると分かりますが、ORTをレベル別で読み進めることで、こんなにも英語が読めるようになるのか!と驚かれると思います。
当ブログのORTに関する記事では、1冊1冊ごとに、ただ読むだけでは無く、物語の内容について質問と、その答えの例文を英文で載せています。繰り返し読み、質問に答える練習をすることで、英会話の学習にもなります。是非利用してくださいね。
ORT stage9 more stories A
この記事では、ORT stage9 more storiesAの4冊をご紹介します。もっと易しいレベルを読んでみたい方は、stage1からstage8までの記事を参考にしてくださいね。
Dutch Adventure オランダの冒険 (Magic Keyのお話)
Dadは、スーパーでオランダ製のチーズを買いました。チーズを車の上に置き忘れ、出発して、車から落ちたチーズはひかれて潰れてしまいました。その後、帰宅してMagic Keyが光り出します。子どもたちの冒険先は、オランダです。チーズが出てくる冒険になる予感・・・
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Where did Dad take Biff and Chip?
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Dad took Biff and Chip to the supermarket.
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What did Dad buy at the cheese counter?
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Dad bought some Dutch cheese called Edam.
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こんな質問もしてみよう!
Question: Why did Dad end up buying four cheeses instead of two?
Answer: Dad ended up buying four cheeses because Biff thought it was unfair that Chip got a free baseball cap, so Dad bought extra cheeses to get more caps.
Question: What happened to the cheeses when Dad drove off with them on the roof of the car?
Answer: The cheeses fell off the roof of the car when Dad stopped suddenly, and some of them got squashed by a passing lorry.
Question: Where did the magic take Biff and Chip on their adventure?
Answer: The magic took Biff and Chip back in time to The Netherlands.
Question: What problem did Trudy and Chip encounter near the windmill?
Answer: They discovered a man stealing diamonds hidden inside the cheese.
Question: How did they catch the thief?
Answer: Trudy and Chip told Trudy’s father about the stolen diamonds, and the villagers tied the thief to the windmill until the mayor arrived.
Question: What did Trudy’s father and the villagers do to fix the leaking dyke?
Answer: They filled the hole with cheeses to temporarily stop the water, then they mended the dyke using sand and other materials.
Question: What reward did Trudy’s father give Biff and Chip?
Answer: Trudy’s father gave Biff and Chip two cheeses as a reward.
Question: Why was Dad cross at the end of the story?
Answer: Dad was cross because Biff and Chip lost their free baseball caps.
The Finest in the Land この土地で一番の者 (Magic Keyのお話)
Kipperの誕生日に、即席で作られたBiffたちのバンドメンバーで誕生日の曲を演奏することになりました。今回は、Magic Keyはこのメンバーを中世まで冒険に連れて行きます。そこでは、人助けをするために、演奏をすることになりました。どんな人助けをしたのでしょうか?
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Who came round to play with Biff and Chip?
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Anneena, Wilf, Wilma, and Nadim came round to play with Biff and Chip.
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What idea did Wilma have when Kipper went to the shops?
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Wilma suggested forming a band so they could play Happy Birthday to Kipper.
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こんな質問もしてみよう!
Question: What instruments did Biff suggest they play in the band?
Answer: Biff suggested playing the kazoo and the tambourine, and they all sang.
Question: Where did the magic take the children on their adventure?
Answer: The magic took the children back in time to the Middle Ages.
Question: Why did the Duke’s daughter, Edith, and Hugh pretend to be entertainers?
Answer: Edith and Hugh pretended to be entertainers to get into the castle because Edith’s father wouldn’t let them marry yet.
Question: What was the plan to help Edith and Hugh escape from the castle?
Answer: The plan was for Edith to pour a sleeping mixture into the wine at the feast, causing everyone to fall asleep so they could escape.
Question: Why did the sleeping mixture not work at first?
Answer: The sleeping mixture did not work at first because it was not properly mixed with the wine.
Question: What did Wilma whisper to Hugh during the performance?
Answer: Wilma whispered to Hugh to take Edith and escape from the castle.
Question: How did the Duke react when he found out Edith had run away to get married? Answer: The Duke decided to chase after Edith but felt very sleepy and decided to have a snooze instead.
Question: What did Kipper think of the band’s performance on his birthday?
Answer: Kipper thought the band’s performance was brilliant and didn’t realize they were pretending to be musicians.
The Flying Machine 飛ぶ機械(Magic Keyのお話)
Nadimは、アメリカで休暇を過ごした後、帰路につきます。帰りの飛行機では、操縦席を見学させてもらえました。今回は、AnneenaとNadimが冒険に行きます。そこは飛行機の発明をしている双子がいました。二人は、双子にアドバイスをしますが、成功するでしょうか?
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Where was Nadim with his parents at the beginning of the story?
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Nadim was at the airport with his parents, returning home from a holiday in America.
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What surprised Nadim on the flight back home?
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Nadim was surprised when the steward invited him to see the flight deck of the airplane.
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こんな質問もしてみよう!
Question: Who did Nadim and Anneena meet when they traveled back in time with the magic key?
Answer: They met Henry and Harold, who were trying to build and fly a strange-looking aeroplane.
Question: Why did Nadim and Anneena think the aeroplane wouldn’t fly?
Answer: They thought the aeroplane wouldn’t fly because the propeller was too flat and it didn’t have proper wings for lift.
Question: What happened when the aeroplane finally flew?
Answer: The aeroplane flew briefly but crashed into a farm, causing chaos by running over laundry, squashing melons, and frightening people.
Question: Who did they see flying another aeroplane over the town?
Answer: They saw Wilbur Wright flying another aeroplane over the town.
Question: How did Henry and Harold react when they saw Wilbur Wright flying?
Answer: They realized they weren’t the first to fly, but Harold had an idea for a new invention – a boat that goes underwater.
Question: What did Nadim, Anneena, and the others joke about at the end?
Answer: They joked about how time flew by and how it wasn’t just time that flew, referring to the airplane crashing.
Key Trouble 鍵の事件(Magic Keyのお話)
おばあちゃんが遊びに来ました。Kipperは、おばあちゃんの昔のアルバムを見ます。その写真たちは、みんな灰色をしていました。そんなKipperは、たった一人で冒険に行くことに!今回の旅は、世界がみんな灰色です。冒険を終わらせたいKipperは、Magic keyをたたきつけてしまいます。無事に冒険から帰宅できましたが、ある大問題が起きてしまいました。Kipperはどうなってしまうのでしょうか?
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Who came to stay with the family at the beginning of the story?
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Gran came to stay with the family.
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What did Gran bring as presents for the children?
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Gran brought Super Squirters as presents for the children
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こんな質問もしてみよう!
Question: What did Gran do when the children went outside to play with the Super Squirters? Answer: Gran followed them outside and joined in the fun with the Super Squirters.
Question: What did Gran show Mum and Dad after the children went to play?
Answer: Gran showed Mum and Dad some old photograph albums.
Question: Why did Kipper become grey after his adventure with the magic key?
Answer: Kipper became grey because something went wrong with the magic key during his adventure.
Question: How did Gran distract Mum and Dad from noticing Kipper’s grey color?
Answer: Gran distracted Mum and Dad by squirting them with water from the Super Squirters and pretending to play spooks.
Question: What did the children do to try to hide Kipper’s grey color from Mum and Dad? Answer: The children tried to hide Kipper’s grey color by dressing him up in sheets to look like a ghost.
Question: How did Kipper’s color return to normal at the end of the story?
Answer: Kipper’s color returned to normal when he apologized to the magic key, and it gave a little glow, restoring his color.
最後に
洋書を読めるようになりたい!英語を学びたい!と言う方のために、どんな本を選び、どう活用したら良いのかをお伝えしました。ORTは、絵の描写も細かいので、英語を読む手助けになりますし、簡単な英語や、単文から、ご自分でクイズを作っても楽しいです。ORTをたくさん読み、是非英語を読む楽しさを体験してください。絵本に出てくる登場人物になりきって、台詞を何度も言うことで、英会話の練習にもなります。1冊で学べることがとても多く、お得な絵本です。
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