Green houses in Iceland冰島草皮屋:歷久彌新

胡浩新

公元9世紀(jì)到公元11世紀(jì)時(shí)，草皮屋因其作為屋頂?shù)牟萜と菀撰@得且持久而在冰島大量出現(xiàn)?，F(xiàn)在，草皮屋和自然景觀融為一體，成為冰島一道亮麗的風(fēng)景線。

主題語(yǔ)境：歷史與傳統(tǒng) 篇幅：337詞 建議用時(shí)：7分鐘

1 In Iceland， these green housesmelt into the natural landscape， atechnique that first appeared with thearrival of British settlers during the9th through 11th centuries. Unliketheir previous warm and wet climate，wood was rare and slow to regenerate.Turf （草皮） became their first pick to make shelters.

2 Across Europe， turf bricks—widely available—were cut from local bogs （沼澤） andtransported for use at higher lands. The turf was then laid over a wooden structure to formwalls and a thick roof—to keep cold out from tough northern climates. Turf walls werereplaced as frequently as every 20 years， and even up to 70 years.

3 It is difficult to find out its precise origins in the archaeological record. However，?evidence of similar constructions can be found in many countries throughout the ages. His?toric records suggest that up to 50 percent of Icelandic houses were partly made of turf untilthe late 19th century. As populations began to gather in cities like Reykjavik， wood build?ings replaced stone and earth architecture. After fires burned up the city in 1915， con?crete （混凝土） became the material of choice. In 1918， Iceland gained independence fromDenmark， setting in motion a wave of nationalism that threatened the survival of turfhouses. Those who liked modern buildings argued that Reykjaviks buildings were less at?tractive than the skylines of Paris， Berlin， and London. Traditional techniques were criti?cized as“rotten Danish wood”and there was a campaign to clear them in favor of modernbuildings—a move later criticized by many as destruction of cultural heritage.

4 A tourism boom in the latter half of the 20th century encouraged Iceland to reexam?ine the value of traditional architecture. Do Icelanders still live in turf houses？ The answerwould be no. You might still see an occasional grass roof， but that has everything to do witharchitecture. And Icelanders want to hold on to their beloved heritage rather than any needfor turf as insulation （隔熱） material.

Reading

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1. Why was turf used to build houses in the past？

A. It matched nature perfectly.

B. It could be changed often.

C. It was long?lasting and accessible.

D. It was preferred by settlers.

2. What was a direct result of the wave of nationalism？

A. People all went to Reykjavik.

B. Traditional architecture developed quickly.

C. Turf houses were almost unable to exist.

D. Wood buildings replaced stone buildings.

3. Whats the attitude of modern building lovers to Reykjaviks buildings？

A. Positive.

B. Confused.

C. Neutral.

D. Negative.

4. What can be inferred about the turf houses from the last paragraph？

A. Their building material will improve.

B. They will live on.

C. People still live in them.

D. They are out of date.

Language

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Difficult sentence

It is difficult to find out its precise origins in the archaeological record. 在考古記錄中很難找出它的確切起源。

【點(diǎn)石成金】該句中，it作形式主語(yǔ)，to find out its precise origins in the archaeologi?cal record是真正的主語(yǔ)。