VOA慢速英语2009年-Agriculture Report - Circular Thinking

This is the VOA Special English Agriculture Report.

A round barn in Illinois

American farmers traditionally keep their animals and equipment in barns that are rectangular¹. But there are hundreds of barns in the Midwest and other parts of the country that are different. They are not longer than they are wide. Or wider than they are long. These buildings are round.

Round barns have a long history in America. George Washington, the nation's first president, had a round barn in the seventeen hundreds. The Shaker religious community at Hancock, Massachusetts, built one in the eighteen twenties.

But the idea did not become popular until years later. Then, in the early nineteen hundreds, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign built three round barns that many farmers copied.

A farmer could save on wood or stone with a round design that needed less material than traditional barns. Experts also believed that farmers could save footsteps, and time, in feeding their animals in a round barn. And round barns stood a better chance against strong winds.

Some round barns are not truly circular. They just look that way, but really are many flat pieces put together side by side.

Early versions were mainly designed with two levels. Cows were kept on the first floor and the one above was used to store hay. Later designs brought a large area in the middle for the hay and feeding stations all around for the cows.

By the nineteen thirties, however, fewer American farmers were building round barns. Some people said it took more time and skill. Others disagreed. In any case, it was not a good time to argue -- it was the Great Depression, and times were difficult.

Also, as electric power came to rural America, there was a school of thought that rectangular barns were easier to wire for electricity. Agricultural experts also reconsidered their ideas about a round barn saving time in feeding animals.

Kathy and Bob Frydenlund own the Round Barn Llama Farm in New Richmond, Wisconsin. The Frydenlunds have a library of architectural plans and drawings and have published books on the subject. Money from their book sales helps them take care of their own barn -- a big one nearly a century old, made of concrete and wood. Bob Frydenlund says having a round barn means keeping alive part of the history of American farming.

And that's the VOA Special English Agriculture Report, written by Jerilyn Watson. Transcripts² and podcasts are at voaspecialenglish.com, and captioned³ videos are on YouTube at VOA Learning English. I'm Steve Ember.

 

1 rectangular   

adj.矩形的，成直角的

参考例句：

• He put a rectangular box on the table.他把一个长方形的箱子放在桌子上。
• The equations are written in rectangular coordinates.这些方程是在直角座标系中写出的。

2 transcripts   

n.抄本（ transcript的名词复数 ）；转写本；文字本；副本

参考例句：

• Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样，都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
• You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书，你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

3 captioned   

a.标题项下的； 标题所说的

参考例句：

• This paper reviews the production, development and nationalization of the captioned materials. 本文就铜系合金引线框架材料的生产、发展和国产化进程作一论述。
• Please advise other considerable hotels for this captioned group. 请推荐其它一些高级的旅馆给这一群打标语的人。