托福听力荟萃 54

In the seventeenth century, the______here thatched their roofs with______and______, just as they had done in England. After a while, though, they began to replace the thatch¹ with wooden______because wood was so plentiful². And eventually, other roofing materials like stone,______, and______came into use. It's a real shame that most people today don't realize how strong and long lasting³ a thatched roof is. InIreland, where thatching is still practiced, the roofs can survive winds of up to one hundred ten miles per hour. That's because straw and reeds are so flexible. They bend but don't break in the wind like other materials can. Another advantage is that the roofs keep the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. And then, of course, there's the roofs'______—the average is sixty years, but they can last up to a hundred. With all these reasons to start thatching roofs again, wouldn't it be wonderful to see this disappearing craft return to popularity?

 

【填空答案】

colonist⁴: n. ［C］someone who settles in a new colony 开拓殖民地的居民，拓殖者

reed: n. ［C］a type of tall plant like grass that grows in wet places 芦苇

straw: n. ［U］the dried stems of wheat or similar plants that are used for animals to sleep on, and for making things such as baskets, mats etc 秸秆（如麦秆等）

shingle⁵: n. ［C］one of many small thin pieces of building materials, especially wood, used to cover a roof or wall（覆盖屋顶或墙用的）木瓦；屋面板；墙面板

slate⁶: n. ［U］a dark grey rock that can easily be split into flat thin pieces 板岩，板石

clay: n. ［U］heavy sticky soil that can be used for making pots, bricks etc 黏土

tile: n. ［C］a flat square piece of baked clay or other material, used for covering roofs, floors etc（屋顶、地板等上用的）瓷砖，地砖

longevity⁷: n. ［U］formallong life 【正式】 长寿；technicalthe length of a person or animal’s life【术语】（人或动物的）寿命

【听力原文】

In the seventeenth century, the colonists⁸ here thatched their roofs with reeds and straw, just as they had done in England. After a while, though, they began to replace the thatch with wooden shingles⁹ because wood was so plentiful. And eventually, other roofing materials like stone, slate, and clay tiles came into use.

It's a real shame that most people today don't realize how strong and long lasting a thatched roof is. In Ireland, where thatching is still practiced, the roofs can survive winds of up to one hundred ten miles per hour. That's because straw and reeds are so flexible. They bend but don't break in the wind like other materials can. Another advantage is that the roofs keep the house cool in the summer and warm in the winter. And then, of course, there's the roofs' longevity --- the average is sixty years, but they can last up to a hundred. With all these reasons to start thatching roofs again, wouldn't it be wonderful to see this disappearing craft return to popularity?

【参考译文】

在十七世纪，殖民者在这里用芦苇和稻草的茅草屋顶，就像他们曾在英国完成。不过，一段时间后，他们开始以取代木瓦的茅草，因为木材是如此丰富。并最终，像石，板岩，粘土瓦等屋面材料，投入使用。这是一个真正的耻辱，今天，大多数人没有意识到的茅草屋顶是多么强烈及持久。在爱尔兰，在茅屋仍然实行，屋顶可以生存风速高达每小时一百一十公里。这是因为，稻草和芦苇，是如此灵活。他们弯曲，但不会像其他材料可以打破风。另一个优点是屋顶房子凉爽保持在夏季和冬季温暖。然后，当然，还有屋顶的'长寿---平均为60年，但他们可以长达一百。茅屋屋顶再次开始与所有这些原因，不会太好看这个消失的手艺回报普及？

1 thatch   

vt.用茅草覆盖…的顶部；n.茅草(屋)

参考例句：

• They lit a torch and set fire to the chapel's thatch.他们点着一支火把，放火烧了小教堂的茅草屋顶。
• They topped off the hut with a straw thatch. 他们给小屋盖上茅草屋顶。

2 plentiful   

adj.富裕的，丰富的

参考例句：

• Their family has a plentiful harvest this year.他们家今年又丰收了。
• Rainfall is plentiful in the area.这个地区雨量充足。

3 lasting   

adj.永久的，永恒的；vbl.持续，维持

参考例句：

• The lasting war debased the value of the dollar.持久的战争使美元贬值。
• We hope for a lasting settlement of all these troubles.我们希望这些纠纷能获得永久的解决。

4 colonist   

n.殖民者，移民

参考例句：

• The indians often attacked the settlements of the colonist.印地安人经常袭击殖民者的定居点。
• In the seventeenth century, the colonist here thatched their roofs with reeds and straw,just as they did in england.在17世纪，殖民者在这里用茅草盖屋，就像他们在英国做的一样。

5 shingle   

n.木瓦板；小招牌(尤指医生或律师挂的营业招牌)；v.用木瓦板盖（屋顶）；把（女子头发）剪短

参考例句：

• He scraped away the dirt,and exposed a pine shingle.他刨去泥土，下面露出一块松木瓦块。
• He hung out his grandfather's shingle.他挂出了祖父的行医招牌。

6 slate   

n.板岩，石板，石片，石板色，候选人名单；adj.暗蓝灰色的，含板岩的；vt.用石板覆盖，痛打，提名，预订

参考例句：

• The nominating committee laid its slate before the board.提名委员会把候选人名单提交全体委员会讨论。
• What kind of job uses stained wood and slate? 什么工作会接触木头污浊和石板呢？

7 longevity   

n.长命；长寿

参考例句：

• Good habits promote longevity.良好的习惯能增长寿命。
• Human longevity runs in families.人类的长寿具有家族遗传性。

8 colonists   

n.殖民地开拓者，移民，殖民地居民( colonist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Colonists from Europe populated many parts of the Americas. 欧洲的殖民者移居到了美洲的许多地方。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Some of the early colonists were cruel to the native population. 有些早期移居殖民地的人对当地居民很残忍。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 shingles   

n.带状疱疹；（布满海边的）小圆石( shingle的名词复数 )；屋顶板；木瓦（板）；墙面板

参考例句：

• Shingles are often dipped in creosote. 屋顶板常浸涂木焦油。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• The roofs had shingles missing. 一些屋顶板不见了。 来自辞典例句