托福听力短文 I-04-1
时间：2018-12-05 作者：英语课 分类：托福听力短文
(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 uncommon 2 in the Untied 3 States today. I guess that's why so many of you have come to see this demonstration 4. But it wasn't always that way. In the seventeenth century, the colonists 5 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 1 with wooden shingles 6 because wood was so plentiful 7. And eventually, other roofing materials like stone, slate 8, and clay tiles came into use.
It's a real shame that most people today don't realize how strong and long lasting 9 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 10 --- 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?
- 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。
- 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。
- 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。
- 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。
- 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》
- 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
- 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。
- 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？