2026年10月15日（木）マイページ
← 記事にもどる 中学生版高校生版 Word

「印刷する」→ 送信先で「PDFに保存」を選ぶと PDF になります。解答は最後のページです。

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 ____________________

読書の効果は脳にも？子どものころの読書と成績・心の関係、米国1万人の研究

Early Reading for Pleasure Tied to Better Thinking and Mental Health

音声・ゲームはこちらから

1Children who began reading for pleasure early in life scored higher on thinking and memory tests in early adolescence, researchers in the U.K. and China have found. Scientists at the University of Cambridge, Fudan University and the University of Warwick published the study in the journal Psychological Medicine in June 2023.

2The team analyzed data on 10,243 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, a large U.S. research project. The children were 9 to 11 years old at the start and were assessed again two years later. Parents reported how many years their child had read for pleasure and how many hours a week the child usually read. Just under half had started late or hardly read for fun at all, while the rest had read for pleasure for three to ten years.

3Children with more years of early reading did better on tests of verbal learning, memory and speech development. They also earned better grades at school. Parents and teachers also reported lower levels of stress, depression and attention problems in these children. In addition, they had less screen time and slept longer.

4Brain scans showed that the early readers' brains were somewhat larger overall, in both surface area and volume. Some of the larger regions are important for thinking, and others have been linked to mental health and attention.

5About 12 hours of reading a week was linked to the best test scores. Beyond that point, scores did not rise further and even fell slightly. The researchers suggested that very long reading time may mean more sitting still and less time for sports or friends.

6The results show associations, not proof that reading causes the differences. The analysis took family income and parents' education into account. The team said future work should follow the same children into their late teens and early adulthood.

Words　単語

pleasureA1名楽しみ、喜びa feeling of being happy and enjoying something
adolescence外名思春期、10代the time when a child is growing into an adult
analyzedB1動分析したlooked at something carefully to understand it
assessedB2動評価された、調べられたchecked carefully to see how good something is
verbalB2形ことばの、言語のabout words and language
scansB1名（医療機器で撮る）画像、検査pictures of the inside of the body made by a machine
volumeB1名体積、大きさhow much space something takes up
slightlyB1副わずかに、少しa little, not very much
associationsA2名結びつき、関連（association の複数形）connections between two things
incomeB1名収入money that people get from work

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. How many children's data did the team analyze?

    A. 1,243B. 10,243C. 2,023D. 12,000

  2. Who reported how much the children read?

    A. The children's teachersB. The children themselvesC. The children's parentsD. Doctors at a hospital

  3. What did brain scans show about the early readers?

    A. Their brains were somewhat larger overall.B. Their brains were much smaller.C. Their brains did not change at all.D. Only the back of the brain was larger.

  4. What happened to test scores beyond about 12 hours of reading a week?

    A. They doubled.B. They kept rising quickly.C. They became the best.D. They did not rise further and even fell slightly.

  5. What did the team say future work should do?

    A. Follow the same children into their late teens and early adulthoodB. Stop using brain scansC. Study only children in ChinaD. Ask children to read 20 hours a week

2. True or False　正しければ T、違っていれば F

  1. (     ) The study was published in the journal Psychological Medicine.

  2. (     ) Most of the children had never read for fun.

  3. (     ) The early readers had less screen time and slept longer.

  4. (     ) The study proves that reading causes better grades.

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）

assessedpleasureverbalslightlyscansanalyzed

  1. Children who began reading for _____ early in life scored higher on thinking and memory tests in early adolescence, researchers in the U.K. and China have found.

  2. The children were 9 to 11 years old at the start and were _____ again two years later.

  3. Brain _____ showed that the early readers' brains were somewhat larger overall, in both surface area and volume.

  4. Children with more years of early reading did better on tests of _____ learning, memory and speech development.

  5. Beyond that point, scores did not rise further and even fell _____.

  6. The team _____ data on 10,243 children from the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development (ABCD) Study, a large U.S. research project.

4. Word Order　語を並べかえて正しい文にしよう

  1. ( better / grades / also / They / school / at / earned ) .

  2. ( longer / had / they / less / time / and / slept / In / addition, / screen ) .

  3. ( account / family / and / into / parents' / analysis / education / took / The / income ) .

5. Think and Write　英語で答えてみよう

  1. Do you think schools should give students more time to read for pleasure? Why or why not?（学校は、生徒が楽しみで本を読む時間をもっと作るべきだと思いますか？理由も言おう。）

  2. Reading books and watching videos both take time. Which do you think is better for teenagers? Explain your reasons.（本を読むことも動画を見ることも時間を使います。10代にとってどちらがよいと思いますか？理由を説明しよう。）

Answers　解答

1. (1) B　(2) C　(3) A　(4) D　(5) A

2. (1) T　(2) F　(3) T　(4) F

3. (1) pleasure　(2) assessed　(3) scans　(4) verbal　(5) slightly　(6) analyzed

4.

  1. They also earned better grades at school.
  2. In addition, they had less screen time and slept longer.
  3. The analysis took family income and parents' education into account.

全文訳

1小さいころから楽しみのために本を読み始めた子どもは、10代のはじめに思考や記憶のテストで高い点をとっていたことが、イギリスと中国の研究者たちの調査でわかりました。ケンブリッジ大学、復旦大学、ウォリック大学の研究者たちが、2023年6月に学術誌「サイコロジカル・メディシン」でこの研究を発表しました。

2研究チームは、アメリカの大規模な研究プロジェクト「ABCDスタディ（思春期の脳と認知の発達研究）」から、1万243人の子どものデータを分析しました。子どもたちは研究のはじめに9歳から11歳で、2年後にもう一度調べられました。子どもが何年間楽しみで本を読んできたか、ふだん週に何時間読むかは、親が答えました。半分弱は読書を始めたのが遅いか、楽しみで読むことがほとんどなく、残りは3年から10年、楽しみで本を読んできていました。

3早くから長く読書してきた子どもほど、ことばの学習、記憶、話す力の発達のテストでよい結果を出していました。学校の成績もよりよいものでした。親や先生の報告でも、この子どもたちはストレスやうつ、注意力の問題が少なめでした。さらに、画面を見る時間が短く、睡眠時間は長めでした。

4脳の画像からは、早くから読書してきた子どもの脳は、表面の面積も体積も、全体としてやや大きいことがわかりました。大きかった部分には、考える働きに大切な部分のほか、心の健康や注意力と結びつけられてきた部分もありました。

5テストの点数がいちばん良かったのは、週に約12時間の読書でした。それを超えると、点数はそれ以上上がらず、むしろ少しずつ下がっていきました。研究者たちは、読書の時間が長すぎると、じっと座っている時間が増え、スポーツや友だちと過ごす時間が減るのかもしれない、と述べています。

6この結果が示しているのは結びつきであって、読書がこうしたちがいの原因だという証明ではありません。分析では、家庭の収入や親の学歴のちがいも計算に入れています。研究チームは、今後は同じ子どもたちを10代後半から大人になるころまで追って調べるべきだ、としています。

文法ポイント：過去完了の継続（had + 過去分詞 + for ～）

過去のある時点まで「ずっと～していた」ことを表す。本文の the rest had read for pleasure for three to ten years は「（調べた時点までに）残りの子は3年から10年、楽しみで本を読んできていた」。how many years their child had read も同じ形で、親が答えた時点までの年数をたずねている。

出典：University of Cambridge、Psychological Medicine（Cambridge University Press）／University of Warwick のリポジトリ 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-reading-for-fun-brain-study/