托福听力短文 I-04-1

(woman) Welcome to the Four Winds Historical Farm, where traditions of the past are preserved for visitors like you. Today, our master thatchers will begin giving this barn behind me a sturdy thatched roof able to withstand heavy winds and last up to a hundred years. How do they do it? Well, in a nutshell, thatching involves covering the beams or rafters --- the wooden skeleton of a roof --- with reeds or straw. Our thatchers here have harvested their own natural materials for the job --- the bundles of water reeds you see lying over there beside the barn.

Thatching is certainly uncommon² in the Untied³ States today. I guess that's why so many of you have come to see this demonstration⁴. But it wasn't always that way. In the seventeenth century, the colonists⁵ here thatched their roofs with reeds and straw, just as they had done in England. After a while, though, they began to replace the thatch¹ with wooden shingles⁶ because wood was so plentiful⁷. And eventually, other roofing materials like stone, slate⁸, and clay tiles came into use.

It's a real shame that most people today don't realize how strong and long lasting⁹ 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' longevity¹⁰ --- 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?

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 uncommon   

adj.罕见的，非凡的，不平常的

参考例句：

• Such attitudes were not at all uncommon thirty years ago.这些看法在30年前很常见。
• Phil has uncommon intelligence.菲尔智力超群。

3 untied   

松开，解开( untie的过去式和过去分词 )； 解除，使自由； 解决

参考例句：

• Once untied, we common people are able to conquer nature, too. 只要团结起来，我们老百姓也能移山倒海。
• He untied the ropes. 他解开了绳子。

4 demonstration   

n.表明，示范，论证，示威

参考例句：

• His new book is a demonstration of his patriotism.他写的新书是他的爱国精神的证明。
• He gave a demonstration of the new technique then and there.他当场表演了这种新的操作方法。

5 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》

6 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

7 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。

8 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？

9 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。

10 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。