原田英語の時事英語ジュニア｜英語ニュース ワークシート（中学生レベル）
Class ____ No. ____ Name ____________________
土星の衛星が274個に 新たに128個見つかり木星を大きく引き離す
Saturn Is the King of Moons
1Astronomers found 128 new moons around Saturn, and the planet now has 274 moons. An international group of astronomers accepted the new moons on March 11, 2025.
2Saturn now has almost twice as many moons as all the other planets put together. Jupiter is in second place with 95 moons.
3The new moons are very small. Each one is only a few kilometers wide. Scientists think they are pieces of bigger moons that crashed into each other long ago.
4A team led by a scientist in Taiwan found them with a telescope in Hawaii. The moons were too dark to see in one picture. So the team put many pictures together to make them brighter. The team said Jupiter will probably never catch up with Saturn.
Words 単語
| astronomersB1 | 名 | 天文学者scientists who study stars and planets |
| planetA2 | 名 | 惑星a large round body that goes around a star |
| acceptedA2 | 動 | 認めた、受け入れた（accept の過去形）agreed that something is true or right |
| twiceA2 | 副 | 2倍、2回two times as much or as many |
| second placeA1 | 名 | 2位the position just after the winner |
| piecesA1 | 名 | かけら、破片small parts broken off something bigger |
| crashedB1 | 動 | 衝突した（crash の過去形）hit something hard while moving |
| catch up withA1 | 熟 | ～に追いつくto reach someone who was ahead of you |
単語のレベル：CEFR-J（『CEFR-J Wordlist Version 1.6』 東京外国語大学投野由紀夫研究室. （URL: https://www.cefr-j.org/download.html より 2026年8月ダウンロード））
1. Reading Quiz 本文の内容に合うものを選ぼう
How many moons does Saturn have now?
A. 95B. 128C. 274D. 146
Which planet is in second place?
A. JupiterB. MarsC. EarthD. Neptune
What do scientists think the new moons are?
A. New planetsB. Pieces of bigger moonsC. Pieces of the SunD. Old spacecraft
Why did the team put many pictures together?
A. To make a movieB. To show the ringsC. To find JupiterD. To make the dark moons brighter
2. True or False 正しければ T、違っていれば F
( ) Astronomers found 128 new moons around Saturn.
( ) The new moons are bigger than Earth.
( ) The team used a telescope in Hawaii.
( ) The team said Jupiter will soon have more moons than Saturn.
3. Fill in the Blanks 下の語から選んで空らんをうめよう（形を変えずに）
Astronomersacceptedpiecesplanets
Scientists think they are _____ of bigger moons that crashed into each other long ago.
An international group of astronomers _____ the new moons on March 11, 2025.
_____ found 128 new moons around Saturn, and the planet now has 274 moons.
Saturn now has almost twice as many moons as all the other _____ put together.
4. Word Order 語を並べかえて正しい文にしよう
( are / The / very / new / moons / small ) .
( Each / is / only / few / one / kilometers / wide / a ) .
( dark / were / picture / in / moons / one / The / too / to / see ) .
5. Think and Write 英語で答えてみよう
If you could name one of Saturn's new moons, what name would you choose?（土星の新しい衛星に名前をつけられるなら、何という名前にする？）
Do you think tiny rocks should be called moons? Why or why not?（小さな岩も衛星と呼ぶべきだと思う？その理由は？）
Answers 解答
1. (1) C (2) A (3) B (4) D
2. (1) T (2) F (3) T (4) F
3. (1) pieces (2) accepted (3) Astronomers (4) planets
4.
- The new moons are very small.
- Each one is only a few kilometers wide.
- The moons were too dark to see in one picture.
全文訳
1天文学者たちが土星のまわりで新しい衛星を128個見つけ、土星の衛星は274個になりました。2025年3月11日、天文学者の国際的な団体が新しい衛星を正式に認めました。
2土星の衛星の数は、ほかの惑星の衛星を全部合わせた数のほぼ2倍になりました。2位は木星で、衛星は95個です。
3新しい衛星はとても小さいです。どれも直径が数キロメートルしかありません。科学者たちは、これらが大昔にぶつかり合った大きな衛星のかけらだと考えています。
4台湾の科学者が率いるチームが、ハワイの望遠鏡を使って見つけました。衛星は暗すぎて、1枚の写真では見えませんでした。そこでチームは、たくさんの写真を重ね合わせて衛星を明るく写しました。チームは、木星が土星に追いつくことはおそらくないだろうと述べました。
文法ポイント：倍数表現（twice as many ～ as …）
「twice as + 形容詞 + as …」で「…の2倍～」。数えられる名詞なら twice as many ～ as …。本文の almost twice as many moons as all the other planets は「ほかの惑星全部のほぼ2倍の衛星」。
出典：UBC Science (University of British Columbia)、The Conversation ほか（記事は原田英語の時事英語ジュニアのオリジナル）｜https://www.haradaeigo.com/jijieigo-junior/news/2025-03-12-saturn-128-new-moons/