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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（高校生レベル）

Class ____ No. ____ Name ____________________

自然の中を歩くと集中力が戻る？緑の多い学校の子は記憶力の伸びが少し大きかった

Greener Schools Linked to Small Gains in Memory and Attention

音声・ゲームはこちらから

1Children whose schools were surrounded by more greenery made slightly bigger gains in memory and attention over a year, a study in Barcelona, Spain, has found. A team led by Payam Dadvand at CREAL, a Barcelona research center, published the study in the journal PNAS in June 2015.

2The researchers followed nearly 2,600 children aged 7 to 10 from January 2012 to March 2013. Every three months, the children took computer tests of working memory and inattentiveness. Working memory is the brain's ability to hold and update information for a short time. The team measured greenness around each child's home, school and route to school with detailed satellite images.

3Greenness in and around schools was linked to more progress in working memory and a larger drop in inattentiveness. Total greenness around home, school and the route between them showed a similar link. The differences were small.

4Because the team observed children rather than changing their schools, the study shows an association, not proof that greenery caused the gains. The researchers said green spaces may help partly by cutting children's exposure to air pollution. When they added a traffic-related pollutant to their analysis, it explained 20 to 65 percent of the links between school greenness and the test gains.

5A 2008 experiment in the United States tested attention restoration theory. The theory says busy streets demand constant focus, while nature holds attention gently and lets that focus recover. At the University of Michigan, a small group of students walked 2.8 miles, or about 4.5 kilometers, through a tree-lined arboretum or through downtown Ann Arbor. A week later, each student took the other route.

6On a test of repeating numbers backward, scores improved after the arboretum walk, but there was no clear change after the downtown walk. The study was small, and the walkers were university students, not children. In a second test, looking at photos of nature also raised scores, but city photos did not.

Words　単語

surroundedB1動囲まれた（surround の過去分詞）having things on every side
greenery外名緑、草木green plants, trees and grass
inattentiveness外名注意がそれやすいこと、不注意the state of not keeping your mind on something
updateB1動新しくする、更新するto change something so it has the newest facts
routeB2名道すじ、ルートthe way you go from one place to another
associationA2名関係、結びつきa connection between two things
exposure外名（有害なものに）ふれること、さらされることthe state of being near something that can affect you
pollutantB1名汚染物質something that makes air, water or land dirty
constantB2形絶え間ない、ずっと続くhappening all the time without stopping
recoverB1動回復する、元にもどるto become well or strong again

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

  1. When was the Barcelona study published?

    A. In June 2015B. In January 2012C. In March 2013D. In December 2008

  2. What did the children in Barcelona do every three months?

    A. They took swimming lessons.B. They had their eyes checked.C. They took computer tests of working memory and inattentiveness.D. They planted trees at school.

  3. According to the researchers, how may green spaces help?

    A. By giving children more time to sleepB. By cutting children's exposure to air pollutionC. By making school lunches healthierD. By giving children less homework

  4. According to attention restoration theory, what do busy streets do?

    A. They help focus recover.B. They hold attention gently.C. They make people sleepy.D. They demand constant focus.

  5. What happened in the second Michigan test?

    A. City photos raised scores.B. Nobody's scores changed.C. Photos of nature raised scores.D. Students walked downtown twice.

2. True or False　正しければ T、違っていれば F

  1. (     ) The Barcelona study proves that greenery causes better memory.

  2. (     ) The children in the Barcelona study were aged 7 to 10.

  3. (     ) A traffic-related pollutant explained all of the links between school greenness and the test gains.

  4. (     ) In the Michigan study, each student walked both routes.

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）

updateexposuresurroundedroutegreeneryinattentiveness

  1. Children whose schools were _____ by more greenery made slightly bigger gains in memory and attention over a year, a study in Barcelona, Spain, has found.

  2. Because the team observed children rather than changing their schools, the study shows an association, not proof that _____ caused the gains.

  3. Every three months, the children took computer tests of working memory and _____.

  4. Working memory is the brain's ability to hold and _____ information for a short time.

  5. The researchers said green spaces may help partly by cutting children's _____ to air pollution.

  6. The team measured greenness around each child's home, school and _____ to school with detailed satellite images.

4. Word Order　語を並べかえて正しい文にしよう

  1. ( later, / A / other / took / route / each / student / the / week ) .

  2. ( small / were / differences / The ) .

  3. ( children / university / not / were / The / study / and / was / small, / the / walkers / students, ) .

5. Think and Write　英語で答えてみよう

  1. Should schools plant more trees and make more green spaces, even if it costs a lot of money? Give your reasons.（お金がたくさんかかっても、学校は木を植えたり緑地をふやしたりするべきだと思いますか？理由を述べよう。）

  2. How would you design an experiment to test whether a short walk in a park helps you study?（公園を少し歩くことが勉強に役立つかを確かめるなら、あなたはどんな実験を考えますか？）

Answers　解答

1. (1) A　(2) C　(3) B　(4) D　(5) C

2. (1) F　(2) T　(3) F　(4) T

3. (1) surrounded　(2) greenery　(3) inattentiveness　(4) update　(5) exposure　(6) route

4.

  1. A week later, each student took the other route.
  2. The differences were small.
  3. The study was small, and the walkers were university students, not children.

全文訳

1学校のまわりの緑が多い子どもほど、1年間の記憶力と注意力の伸びが少し大きかったことが、スペイン・バルセロナの研究でわかりました。バルセロナの研究機関 CREAL のパヤム・ダドバンド氏らのチームが、2015年6月に学術誌「PNAS（米国科学アカデミー紀要）」でこの研究を発表しました。

2研究者たちは、2012年1月から2013年3月まで、7歳から10歳の子ども約2600人を追いかけて調べました。子どもたちは3か月ごとに、ワーキングメモリーと、注意のそれやすさをはかるコンピューターのテストを受けました。ワーキングメモリーとは、短い間、情報を頭にとどめたり新しくしたりする脳の力のことです。チームは、くわしい人工衛星の画像を使って、一人ひとりの家・学校・通学路のまわりの緑の量をはかりました。

3学校の敷地とそのまわりの緑が多いほど、ワーキングメモリーがより伸び、注意のそれやすさもより大きく減っていました。家・学校・その間の通学路をあわせた緑の量でも、同じような結びつきが見られました。ただし、その差は小さなものでした。

4チームは学校を変えたのではなく子どもたちを観察しただけなので、この研究が示すのは関係であり、緑が伸びの原因だという証明ではありません。研究者たちは、緑地が子どもたちのふれる大気汚染を減らすことで、役に立っている部分があるのかもしれないと述べています。車の排気に関係する汚染物質を分析に加えると、学校の緑とテストの伸びの結びつきのうち、20〜65%がそれで説明できました。

52008年に発表されたアメリカの実験では、「注意回復理論」が確かめられました。この理論によると、車や人の多い通りではずっと気を張っていなければならないのに対し、自然はやさしく注意を引きつけるので、集中する力が回復します。ミシガン大学で、少人数の学生が、木々の並ぶ樹木園か、アナーバーの街の中心部のどちらかを、2.8マイル（約4.5キロ）歩きました。1週間後、学生たちはそれぞれもう一方の道を歩きました。

6数字を逆の順番でくり返すテストでは、樹木園を歩いたあとは成績が上がりましたが、街の中心部を歩いたあとは、はっきりした変化がありませんでした。この研究は小さなもので、歩いたのは子どもではなく大学生でした。2つ目の実験では、自然の写真をながめるだけでも成績が上がりましたが、街の写真では上がりませんでした。

文法ポイント：関係代名詞 whose（所有格）

whose のあとに名詞が続き、「その～が…である（人・もの）」と前の名詞を説明する形。本文の Children whose schools were surrounded by more greenery は「その（通う）学校がより多くの緑に囲まれていた子どもたち」。his / her / their などの代わりに whose を使って2つの文を1つにする。Children made bigger gains. + Their schools were surrounded by greenery. → Children whose schools were surrounded by greenery made bigger gains.

出典：PNAS（Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences）／PubMed、UCLA Fielding School of Public Health、Psychological Science／PubMed、The University of Chicago Magazine 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/2026-10-13-green-schools-attention-study/