首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
A Roof over Our Heads Man has three basic needs: food, clothing, and shelter. If a man lives in a warm climate, clothing is
A Roof over Our Heads Man has three basic needs: food, clothing, and shelter. If a man lives in a warm climate, clothing is
admin
2012-08-10
48
问题
A Roof over Our Heads
Man has three basic needs: food, clothing, and shelter. If a man lives in a warm climate, clothing is not absolutely necessary. However, man cannot live without food, and, he has little chance of survival without shelter. Mankind needs shelter to protect him from the weather, wild animals, insects, and his enemies.
Long before man learned how to build houses, he looked for natural shelters, as the animals did. He found that he could protect himself by climbing up into trees or by crouching under the over-hanging edges of cliffs, or by crawling into caves. The first shelters or homes actually built by man were very simple. For his building materials, he used what he could find easily around him: rocks, tree branches, dried grasses, animal skins. It was a long time, however, before man began to build permanent shelters because, until man learned to farm, he lived by hunting. And, in order to follow game, he had to be able to move from one hunting ground to another. Thus, the first man-made shelters were those that could be easily transported.
The first permanent shelters were probably built twenty to forty thousand years ago by fish eating people who lived in one place as long as the fish supply lasted. Fish-eaters could stay in one place for several years. However, once man learned to farm, he could live longer in one place. Thus, he was able to build a permanent home. Once again, he built his home with the materials he found at hand. In Egypt, for example, wood was scarce, so most houses were built of bricks made of dried mud, with a roof supported by palm tree minks.
When the Norsemen came from Scandinavia to northern Europe, they found many forests, so they built homes with a framework of heavy tree thinks and they filled the space between the trunks with clay. The Eskimos, on the other hand, lived in a land where there was little or no wood. They learned to adapt their homes perfectly to their surroundings. In the winter time, when everything was covered with snow and ice, the Eskimos built their homes with blocks of ice. When the warm weather came and melted the ice, the Eskimos lived in a tent made of animal skins.
The weather is man’s worst natural enemy. He has to protect himself from extremes of heat and cold and from storms, wind and rain.
Where the weather is hot and dry, the house is generally made of clay brick. The windows are small and high up, so that the heat stays outside. There is often a flat roof, where people can find a cool place to sleep. In hot, humid areas, on the other hand, people need to be protected from the rain, as well as the heat. In such places, houses are built with wide, overhanging roofs, balconies or verandas (走廊).
Where there are torrential rains, houses are either built on piles to keep them off the ground, or they have steep thatched (草屋顶的) roofs to drain off the rain. People living in the Congo River region have found that steep, heavily-thatched roofs drain off the jungle rains more quickly. Other people in Africa have found that a roof of broad leaves sheds rain quickly.
In Borneo, houses are built on high posts to protect people from dampness. And there are tribes in Malaya who build their homes in the forked branches of trees, and climb up to their houses on bamboo ladders.
In northern countries, people build houses to protect themselves from cold and snow. Their houses are built of sturdy materials, and the roofs are steep, so that the snow will slide off. There are also overhanging eaves (屋檐) to keep the snow from piling up next to the house. And, in northern Siberia, where snowfall is extremely heavy, the roofs even have a funnel-shaped (漏半状的) platform to protect the chimneys from drifting snow.
Protection from danger has also influenced the type of house man builds. When enemies threatened him, man made his house as inaccessible as possible. The tree-dwellers of the Philippines protect themselves by living high above the ground. When danger threatens, they remove the ladders leading to their homes. The cliff dwellers of the American Southwest built their homes high up on the sides of cliffs, where access was very difficult.
Nomad (游牧的) tribes must move from place to place, taking care of flocks of sheep that are always in need of fresh grass. Their houses must be simple and easy to transport. The nomads of central Asia have developed a house made of a framework of poles covered with felt (毛毡). The house is round because the framework is curved. The poles are fastened together at the top with a wooden ring, and there is a hole at the top to let the smoke out.
In Europe there are very few wooden houses being built today. This is partly because wood is no longer as plentiful as it once was, and partly because wooden houses are quite inflammable (易燃的). On the other hand, there are many wooden houses in America. This is because the first settlers wanted to build houses quickly and inexpensively. Since the country was covered in many places with forests, some trees had to be cut down to make room for houses.
Houses in many cities used to be made of wood. However, since the houses were very close together, fire could easily spread from one house to another. There were disastrous fires in some cities, such as the great fire of London in 1666. When the burned-out cities were rebuilt, wood was still used for the frames and the roofs, but stones or bricks were used for walls.
There are so many people living in some cities that it is often very difficult to find a place to live, and if one does find a place it is often too small. And many of the houses are too old and uncomfortable. Just as in prehistoric times, finding a good place to live continues to be one of man’s most urgent problems.
What urgent problem do some city-dwellers still have to face now?
选项
A、Finding a safe place to live in.
B、Finding a quiet place to live in.
C、Finding a comfortable place to live in.
D、Finding a modern place to live in.
答案
C
解析
根据题干中的urgent problem和city-dwellers定位末尾段(且全文只有这一段与现代人有关),结合最后两句可判断选项C正确。
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/jy57777K
0
大学英语四级
相关试题推荐
Childrenlearnalmostnothingfromtelevision,andthemoretheywatchthelesstheyremember.Theyregardtelevisionpurely【C1】
IncommunitiesnorthofDenver,residentsarepitchingintohelpteachersandadministratorsastheVrainSchoolDistricttries
HistorianstendtotellthesamejokewhentheyaredescribinghistoryeducationinAmerica.It’stheone【C1】______theteachers
A、ToteachstudentshowtouseEnglish.B、Toprovidelanguagelearningopportunities.C、Toofferjobpositionsforgraduatingst
AnewWorldBankreportwarnsthatchildrenwhodonotgetenoughgoodfoodinthefirsttwoyearsoflifesufferlastingdamage
Likefinefood,goodwritingissomethingweapproachwith【B1】______andenjoyfromthefirsttastetothelast.Andgoodwriters
A、Hefeelsangry.B、Hewantsattention.C、He’stooquiet.D、He’sverynervous.B根据这篇文章的介绍,迟到原因有两种,一种是出于愤怒和反抗意识,另一种是希望引起别人的注意(he
A、Asalarycut.B、Arealestatebargain.C、Arentincrease.D、Avacationtrip.C这段对话的关键词是“landlord”(房东),4个选项中,只有C是相关的。
Itiscommonknowledgethatmusiccanhaveapowerfuleffectonour【36】.Infact,since1930s,musictherapistshave【37】onmusic
A、Theyhavelowerbloodpressure.B、Theybecomemorepatient.C、Theyareinhigherspirits.D、Theyarelessnervous.D选项中的havel
随机试题
下列给定程序中,函数fun()的作用是,将字符串tt中的大写字母都改为对应的小写字母,其他字符不变。例如,若输入"Ab,cD",则输出"ab,cd"。请改正函数fun()中的错误,使它能得出正确的结果。注童:不要改动main函数,不得增行
A.行气止痛,解毒消肿B.行气止痛,开郁醒脾C.行气止痛,温补肾阳D.行气止痛,杀虫疗癣川楝子的功效是
按照偿还方式,债券可划分的种类是【】
低频探头的特点是
某男,16岁,不规则发热半月,骨痛及牙龈出血。体格检查:胸骨压痛(+),脾肋下2cm,血红蛋白:70g/L,白细胞:18×109/L,原始细胞0.2,血小板40×109/L.本例最可能的诊断是()
下列药物应后称的是( )。
QDII基金在()募集基金,在()进行投资,其托管业务的责任由()承担。
2×21年10月,甲公司决定以一项投资房地产、一项无形资产和一项交易性金融资产(股票)与乙公司交换其持有的一项对合营企业(丙公司)的长期股权投资(持股比例为20%)和一台生产经营用设备。相关资料如下:(1)甲公司换出的投资性房地产的账面余额为15
面试评价阶段一般采用()对应聘者进行评价。
2014年一季度农村居民的四项现金收入中,较上年同期增长率最高的一项是()现金收入。
最新回复
(
0
)