【2】次の英文を読んで、後の問いに答えよ。
（＊のついた語（句）には注がある。）
His eyes became bright with the light of a candle for the first time, and Jack looked around with wonder. He felt warm and happy, (1) as all pumpkins do when they are turned into *Halloween Jack-o’-lanterns.
At that special time of year, big orange pumpkins were taken from the fields to be *the guest of honor in the front windows of houses everywhere. Sure, there might be ghosts or *skeletons walking around, but everyone knew the Halloween pumpkin was the most important. Every house needed a smiling face to welcome the children who came *trick-or-treating. If there were no Jack-o’-lanterns, no children would climb the steps and ring the doorbell. It was a very important job.
Jack smiled proudly. All evening and into the late night, many *costumed children came to visit the house and ring the doorbell. The man in the house would open the door and put handfuls of candy into bags the children carried. (2) Everybody seemed so happy that Jack thought he must be doing his job very well. He was quite pleased with himself.
After several hours of excitement and activity, the crowds of children went away, and the night was quiet again. Jack felt very tired after working so long and hard. When one of the family members came out of the house and *blew out Jack’s candle, Jack didn’t mind. He quickly fell asleep, dreaming about playing with the children who visited him that night.
Early the next morning, Jack woke up (3) to find himself in a different place. He was sitting on the grass near the street. He sat beside a *garbage can. He wondered what happened to him. Did he really do a good job last night? Why was he staying with the trash? Wasn’t he special anymore? Even though he was still smiling on the outside, he was feeling sad on the inside.
Then, Jack heard the sound of noisy voices coming close to him. A family of mice were looking for the neighborhood garbage cans and soon gathered around Jack. “Oh my goodness!” one mouse cried. “Look at this wonderful pumpkin!” The other mice agreed it was a very good pumpkin. Jack’s feeling became a little better.
“I think it will be perfect, don’t you?” asked the biggest mouse.
“Yes, yes, absolutely,” agreed the others.
Jack couldn’t hide his (4) curiosity. “Perfect for what?”
“A perfect place to build our house,” answered the first mouse, and pointed to her large *belly.
“As you can see, I will have more babies very soon. You can be a fine house to keep us safe and warm.”
Jack listened as the mouse explained. They lived in a nearby field and wanted to take him there. Jack knew he didn’t have a future if he stayed on the grass waiting for the garbage trucks to pick him up. He agreed.
Together the mice pushed and rolled the smiling pumpkin down the street and brought him into the fields. It looked very strange, but there were no humans awake to see it.
Jack sat quietly and thought about (5) tiny babies being ( ) in a safe home. He realized this would be a very important job. He thought it would be even more useful and important than being a Halloween pumpkin. (6) And once again, he was proud.
注
- Halloween Jack-o’-lantern：ハロウィンのジャック・オー・ランタン（ハロウィンの時に使われる、カボチャをくりぬいて作られるお化けの顔をした飾り）
- the guest of honor：主役
- skeleton：骸骨
- trick-or-treating：「お菓子をくれなければ悪戯するぞ（Trick or treat）」という合言葉を言って、子供たちが家の人からお菓子をもらうハロウィンの習慣
- costumed：仮装した
- blow out：吹き消す
- garbage can：ゴミ箱
- belly：腹
問2
下線部(2)を日本語に直せ。
問3
下線部(3)の to find と同じ意味・用法で使われている to 不定詞が含まれている文を、次のア〜エの中から1つ選び、記号で答えよ。
ア．I am very happy to hear the good news about your family.
イ．The little girl grew up to be a famous pianist.
ウ．My sister went to the library to study math with her friends.
エ．It is important for us to read many kinds of books.
問4
下線部(4)の curiosity の意味を正しく説明しているものを、次のア〜エの中から選び、記号で答えよ。
ア．a strong desire to know or learn about something
イ．a feeling of being very tired and wanting to sleep
ウ．a state of being proud of what you have done
エ．an angry feeling when someone does something bad
問5
下線部(5)が「安全な家の中で生まれてくる小さな赤ちゃんたち」という意味になるように、（ ）に入る適切な1語を答えよ。
問6
ジャックが下線部(6)のように感じたのはなぜか。次のア〜エの中から正しいものを1つ選び、記号で答えよ。
ア．ジャック・オー・ランタンとしての役割は人の役に立つ仕事だと思い直したから。
イ．ハロウィンのカボチャとしての自分の仕事ぶりに満足していなかったが、ネズミたちがほめてくれたから。
ウ．家の人から捨てられるという経験から、自信を取り戻すためには自分に誇りを持つしかなかったから。
エ．ネズミの赤ちゃんのための家になるという、より意義深い仕事を見つけたから。