2007年VOA标准英语-Dome Homes Provide Safety, Savings

By Greg Flakus
Vermillon, South Dakota
27 September 2007

One of the strongest and most efficient construction designs is the dome¹. Dome structures like the Pantheon in Rome have survived for centuries, while other buildings around them have crumbled². Modern architecture has avoided the dome, but it is making a comeback thanks in part to production techniques developed here in the United States. VOA's Greg Flakus has more in this report from Vermillion, South Dakota.

Wood-frame homes with standard roofs are the norm in this Midwestern college town, but there is an odd new addition here. On a tree-lined street only a few blocks from the University of South Dakota campus there is a three-dome home made mostly of concrete.

It was built by Kevin Meylor.

"Some people really like it, and some people don't," said Kevin Meylor. "That is a personal preference. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder³."

Meylor says the beauty of this house is that it is impervious⁴ to termites⁵ and other common problems faced by wood-framed structures, which he says are basically made of sticks. He says the aerodynamic dome is also safe from tornadoes⁶ that often hit this part of the country.

"A regular stick house, and this happens in hurricanes, too, if you get a little break at the corner it has a tendency to open up and blow the roof off," he said. "With this, it cannot happen because it is round and the air is going to go around it."

Another reason Kevin Meylor chose to build a domed⁷ structure is energy efficiency. This is a monolithic⁸ dome design, in that the basic dome structure is all of one piece. Such houses use anywhere from 50 to 75 percent less energy for heating and cooling than similar sized traditional houses.

Meylor obtained training and design assistance at the Monolithic Dome Institute in Italy, Texas, south of Dallas, where a number of domed buildings and residences can be seen from the interstate highway. One of the more intriguing⁹ is a long structure made of several domes¹⁰ in a row that has been painted to look like a huge caterpillar¹¹.

Monolithic president David house is simple. A round-shaped fabric¹² tent is inflated¹³ to provide the basic shape. Workers then spray the inside with polyurethane, which hardens the shell and also provides insulation¹⁴. The crew then attaches rebar, or steel bars, which provide more structural¹⁵ integrity, and finally, they spray over that with a special cement mixture.

"The mass of the concrete on the inside of the insulation is a huge factor in the heating and cooling," he said.

South concedes that most people in the United States are still not ready to live in domed homes, even though they can be as aesthetically¹⁶ pleasing as traditional ones. He finds that many women, in particular, do not like the outside look of a dome home. Monolithic domes have proven more popular for churches, gymnasiums, sports arenas¹⁷ and storage facilities.

But every year, hundreds of people from around the world come here to learn how to build a dome house at classes offered by the Monolithic Dome Institute.

David South says these simple, strong structures are especially popular in developing nations. He says an upcoming class will include visitors from Congo, who are particularly interested in small domed houses for rural villages.

"We are going to build one of the little eco-shell structures by hand to teach the people from Congo how to go back and do that same thing in their homeland," said South.

South has also been involved in large projects for homes and offices in India, where these structures have become quite popular.

Meanwhile, Kevin Meylor continues putting the finishing touches on his trinity dome project, which now draws many curious visitors. Dome enthusiasts¹⁸ like Meylor are providing people here in the United States with a new look at an old design and perhaps paving the way for dome-filled neighborhoods in the future.

1 dome   

n.圆屋顶，拱顶

参考例句：

• The dome was supported by white marble columns.圆顶由白色大理石柱支撑着。
• They formed the dome with the tree's branches.他们用树枝搭成圆屋顶。

2 crumbled   

（把…）弄碎， （使）碎成细屑( crumble的过去式和过去分词 )； 衰落； 坍塌； 损坏

参考例句：

• He crumbled the bread in his fingers. 他用手指把面包捻碎。
• Our hopes crumbled when the business went bankrupt. 商行破产了，我们的希望也破灭了。

3 beholder   

n.观看者，旁观者

参考例句：

• Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. 看起来觉得美就是美。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• It has been said that art is a tryst, for in the joy of it maker and beholder meet. 有人说艺术是一种幽会，因为艺术家和欣赏者可在幽会的乐趣中相遇在一起。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 impervious   

adj.不能渗透的，不能穿过的，不易伤害的

参考例句：

• He was completely impervious to criticism.他对批评毫不在乎。
• This material is impervious to gases and liquids.气体和液体都透不过这种物质。

5 termites   

n.白蚁( termite的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Termites are principally tropical in distribution. 白蚁主要分布在热带地区。 来自辞典例句
• This spray will exterminate the termites. 这种喷剂能消灭白蚁。 来自辞典例句

6 tornadoes   

n.龙卷风，旋风( tornado的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Tornadoes, severe earthquakes, and plagues create wide spread havoc. 龙卷风、大地震和瘟疫成普遍的毁坏。 来自互联网
• Meteorologists are at odds over the working of tornadoes. 气象学者对龙卷风的运动方式看法不一。 来自互联网

7 domed   

adj. 圆屋顶的, 半球形的, 拱曲的 动词dome的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• I gazed up at the domed ceiling arching overhead. 我抬头凝望着上方弧形的穹顶。
• His forehead domed out in a curve. 他的前额呈弯曲的半球形。

8 monolithic   

adj.似独块巨石的；整体的

参考例句：

• Don't think this gang is monolithic.不要以为这帮人是铁板一块。
• Mathematics is not a single monolithic structure of absolute truth.数学并不是绝对真理的单一整体结构。

9 intriguing   

adj.有趣的；迷人的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的现在分词)；激起…的好奇心

参考例句：

• These discoveries raise intriguing questions. 这些发现带来了非常有趣的问题。
• It all sounds very intriguing. 这些听起来都很有趣。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 domes   

n.圆屋顶( dome的名词复数 )；像圆屋顶一样的东西；圆顶体育场

参考例句：

• The domes are circular or ovoid in cross-section. 穹丘的横断面为圆形或卵圆形。 来自辞典例句
• Parks. The facilities highlighted in text include sport complexes and fabric domes. 本书重点讲的设施包括运动场所和顶棚式结构。 来自互联网

11 caterpillar   

n.毛虫，蝴蝶的幼虫

参考例句：

• A butterfly is produced by metamorphosis from a caterpillar.蝴蝶是由毛虫脱胎变成的。
• A caterpillar must pass through the cocoon stage to become a butterfly.毛毛虫必须经过茧的阶段才能变成蝴蝶。

12 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

13 inflated   

adj.（价格）飞涨的；（通货）膨胀的；言过其实的；充了气的v.使充气（于轮胎、气球等）( inflate的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）膨胀；（使）通货膨胀；物价上涨

参考例句：

• He has an inflated sense of his own importance. 他自视过高。
• They all seem to take an inflated view of their collective identity. 他们对自己的集体身份似乎都持有一种夸大的看法。 来自《简明英汉词典》

14 insulation   

n.隔离；绝缘；隔热

参考例句：

• Please examine the insulation of the electric wires in my house.请检查一下我屋子里电线的绝缘情况。
• It is always difficult to assure good insulation between the electric leads.要保证两个电触头之间有良好的绝缘总是很困难的。

15 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

16 aesthetically   

adv.美地，艺术地

参考例句：

• Segmental construction contributes toward aesthetically pleasing structures in many different sites. 对于许多不同的现场条件，分段施工都能提供美观，颇有魄力的桥型结构。
• All isolation techniques may be aesthetically unacceptable or even dirty. 所有的隔离方法都有可能在美观方面使人难以接受，或甚至是肮脏的。

17 arenas   

表演场地( arena的名词复数 )； 竞技场； 活动或斗争的场所或场面； 圆形运动场

参考例句：

• Demolition derbies are large-scale automobile rodeos that take place in big arenas. 撞车比赛指的是在很大的竞技场上举行的大型汽车驾驶技术表演。
• Are there areas of privacy in the most public of arenas? 在绝大部分公开的场合中存在需要保护隐私的领域吗？

18 enthusiasts   

n.热心人，热衷者( enthusiast的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• A group of enthusiasts have undertaken the reconstruction of a steam locomotive. 一群火车迷已担负起重造蒸汽机车的任务。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Now a group of enthusiasts are going to have the plane restored. 一群热心人计划修复这架飞机。 来自新概念英语第二册