托福听力荟萃 54（在线收听）

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 thatch with wooden______because wood was so plentiful. 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 lasting 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】

colonist: 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）

shingle: 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

slate: 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

longevity: 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 colonists 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 shingles 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？