明大中野高校 ２００８年度 第７問 単語
センター単語は基本的なものだと言われますが、それほど簡単ではありません。単語の意味を想像しながら読むのは大切ですが、一文の中にいくつも知らない単語があっては想像も何もあったものではありません。わからない単語は長文１つあたり５個程度までにしないと、高得点は望めないでしょう。
この記事は２００８年の明大中野高校（高校受験の問題）の第７問（最後の長文読解）の単語をまとめました。大学受験の単語や長文問題はまだ難しいと感じる生徒はここから始めてください。高校受験の問題とは言え、それほど簡単ではないはずです。単語を丸暗記するのではなく、文中で実際にどのように使われているかに注意しましょう。
【問題】 下線部の単語について、文中での意味を答えなさい。ただし動詞については、原形の意味を答えなさい。
In 1950, Jim Thorpe (1)was named the greatest American football player and the best (2)athlete of (3)the first half of the twentieth century. He was also an Olympic gold medal winner and a (4)national hero. But Thorpe had many (5)tragedies in his life. Even his greatest (6)achievements did not make him rich or happy.
Jim Thorpe was a (7)Native American. He was born in 1888 in an (8)Indian Territory that is now (9)Oklahoma. Like most Native American children (10)then, he liked to (11)fish, hunt, swim, and play games (12)outdoors. He was healthy and strong, but he had very little (13)formal education.
Jim had a (14)twin brother who died when he was nine years old. This was the first tragedy of his life, but not the last. By the (15)age of 16,his mother and father were also dead. Jim then went to a special school in (16)Pennsylvania for Native American children. There, he learned to read and write and also began to play sports. Jim was poor, so he (17)left school for two years to (18)earn some money. During this time, he played on a (19)semiprofessional baseball team. The team (20)paid him only $15 a week. Soon he returned to school to (21)complete his education. Jim was a star athlete in (22)several sports, (23)including baseball, running, (24)wrestling, and football. He won many (25)awards for his athletic (26)ability, (27)mainly for football. In many games, he (28)scored all or most of the points for his team.
In 1912, when Jim Thorpe was 24 years old, he (29)became part of the U.S. Olympic team. He (30)competed in two very difficult events: the (31)pentathlon and the (32)decathlon. Both need great ability and (33)strength. The pentathlon has five (34)track and field events, including the long jump and the 1,500-meter race. The decathlon has ten track and field events, with running, jumping, and (35)throwing contests.
People thought it was (36)impossible for an athlete to win both the pentathlon and the decathlon. So everyone was surprised when Thorpe won gold medals in both events. When the King of Sweden (37)presented Thorpe with his two Olympic gold medals, he said, “Sir, you are the greatest athlete in the world.” Thorpe was a simple and (38)honest man. He just answered, “Thanks, King.”
When Thorpe came home he was an American hero. But all the (39)praise did not (40)last for very long. (41)Less than a year later, there was another tragedy. A newspaper reporter found out that Thorpe had played baseball for money. People who earn money for playing sports are called professionals. (42)At that time, professionals could not compete in the Olympics. Only (43)amateurs were (44)allowed. (45)Officials (46)decided that Thorpe had to return his gold medals. Many people believed this decision was unfair. But (47)the Olympic Committee (48)took away his medals and (49)removed his name from the record books.
Thorpe felt very shocked and (50)upset. (51)At first he decided to stop playing sports. But he was an athlete and had few other (52)skills, so he played professional baseball and football. (53)Unfortunately, Thorpe had another great tragedy in his life. His three-year-old son died of the (54)flu. Many people said that Thorpe never (55)got over this loss.
Thorpe was a very good football player and helped to make football popular in America. In 1929, he retired from football. He had several jobs and also gave speeches about sports and Native American (56)issues. Thorpe was very (57)proud of being a Native American. Unfortunately, some people did not (58)treat him (59)fairly because of his (60)race. This made him sad and angry. He also never forgot that the Olympic Committee took away his medals. He believed they had (61)cheated him.
In 1951, Thorpe became sick with (62)cancer. (63)By that time, he had almost no money. Some groups who (64)remembered his Olympic (65)performance (66)raised money to help him. Two years later, Thorpe died of a (67)heart attack. He was 64 years old.
Many people tried to get Thorpe’s medals back to him. But it never happened during his lifetime. Thirty years after his death, the medals were finally returned. Six of Thorpe’s children (68)attended the (69)ceremony. His name was also put back in the 1912 Olympic record books.
単語は英語の基本です。ですが、単語帳で１８００とか２０００個の単語を丸暗記で詰め込んでも、意外と長文は読めないものです。
単語の丸暗記はすぐに忘れてしまいますし、単語の色々な意味の中から、文脈に沿った意味・訳をひっぱってこれないんですよね。単語帳の勉強と、長文の勉強は必ず平行して進めてください。
【解答】
- is named~ 〔熟語〕～と名付けられる、～と呼ばれる
- athlete 〔名詞〕アスリート、運動選手
- the first half of~ 〔熟語〕～の前半
- national hero 〔熟語〕国のヒーロー、国の英雄（national：国内の）
- tragedy 〔名詞〕悲劇
- achievement 〔名詞〕業績、達成
- Native American 〔熟語〕ネイティブアメリカン（白人の来る前からアメリカ大陸に住んでいた人々のこと。かつてはインディアンと呼ばれていた。）
- Indian Territory 〔熟語〕インディアン準州（ネイティブアメリカンの人々を定住させるための土地。白人たちはネイティブアメリカンの人々を無理やりこの土地に住まわせた。）
- Oklahoma 〔名詞〕オクラホマ州（全米のネイティブアメリカンを強制移住するために作られた州。アメリカ南中部にある。アメリカの地名も常識の範囲は覚えること。）
- then 〔形容詞〕当時の
- fish 〔動詞〕釣りをする（ここでは『魚』という意味の名詞ではないことに注意！）
- outdoors 〔副詞〕屋外で（副詞の場合sが付くことに注意！）
- formal education★ 〔熟語〕正式な教育（一般的な学校に通うこと）
- twin 〔名詞〕双子、双子の
- age 〔名詞〕年齢
- Pennsylvania 〔名詞〕ペンシルバニア州（アメリカ北東部の州）
- leave(＞left) 〔動詞〕去る（活用：leave-left-left）
- earn 〔動詞〕稼ぐ
- semiprofessional 〔形容詞〕セミプロの（それだけでお金を稼いでいるのがプロ、それでお金を稼いでいるがそれだけでは生活できず別の仕事もしているのがセミプロ）
- pay（＞paid） 〔動詞〕（給料として）支払う
- complete 〔動詞〕完成させる、終わらせる
- several 〔形容詞〕いくつかの
- including~ 〔前置詞〕～を含んで、～を含めて
- wrestling 〔名詞〕レスリング
- award 〔名詞〕賞
- ability 〔名詞〕能力
- mainly 〔副詞〕主に
- score 〔動詞〕得点する
- become part of~ 〔熟語〕～の一員となる
- compete 〔動詞〕競争する、（競技に参加する）
- pentathlon▲ 〔名詞〕５種競技（pentaは『５』という意味。ペンタゴンは５角形だから。）
- decathlon▲ 〔名詞〕１０種競技
- strength 〔名詞〕力、強さ
- track and field★ 〔熟語〕陸上競技
- throwing contest▲ 〔熟語〕投擲競技（やり投げ、砲丸投げ、円盤投げなど）
- impossible 〔形容詞〕不可能である
- present 〔動詞〕（正式な場で賞などを）授与する
- honest 〔形容詞〕誠実な、率直な
- praise 〔名詞〕称賛
- last 〔動詞〕続く
- less than a year later 〔熟語〕一年にも満たないうちに
- at that time 〔熟語〕当時
- amateur 〔名詞〕アマチュア（スポーツなどでお金を得ていない人⇔プロ）
- allow 〔動詞〕許す
- official 〔名詞〕当局者、役員、公務員
- decide 〔動詞〕決定する
- the Olympic Committee 〔熟語〕オリンピック委員会
- take away~ 〔熟語〕～を取り上げる、奪う
- remove★ 〔動詞〕取り除く
- upset★ 〔動詞〕動揺させる（活用：upset-upset-upset、過去分詞で『動揺している』）
- at first 〔熟語〕最初は
- skill 〔名詞〕技能、能力
- unfortunately 〔副詞〕不幸なことに
- flu 〔名詞〕インフルエンザ
- get over~ 〔熟語〕～を乗り越える、～から立ち直る
- issue 〔名詞〕問題（『発行』『発行する』という意味にも注意！）
- proud of~ 〔熟語〕～を誇りにしている
- treat 〔動詞〕扱う
- fairly 〔副詞〕公平に
- race★ 〔名詞〕人種
- cheat 〔動詞〕だます
- cancer 〔名詞〕癌（がん）
- by that time 〔熟語〕その時までには
- remember 〔動詞〕覚えている、思い出す
- performance 〔名詞〕成績、出来栄え
- raise 〔動詞〕（出資や金を）募る、集める
- heart attack 〔熟語〕心臓発作
- attend 〔動詞〕出席する、参加する
- ceremony 〔名詞〕儀式、式典
＊★マークは変わった意味で使われているなど、注意すべき単語です。
＊▲マークは少し難しい単語です。
＊各単語の品詞と意味は文中で使われているものです。
＊下線部が２語以上のものは[熟語]と表記しています。
*誤字やリンク抜けや質問などは、コメント欄かryujutanakake@yahoo.co.jpまでお気軽に。
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