THE LONGHOUSE

1 The people of the longhouse lived in fortified villages in elevated areas that were easy to defend and were located near a water supply. Twenty-foot palisades surrounded a group of longhouses and acted as a defensive wall that also kept forest animals from foraging within the village. The longhouse was the typical housing unit within the stockade. A number of families were housed within each longhouse, which varied in size from 20 by 16 feet to huge multiple family structures of 60 by 18 feet. In the more populous villages, longhouses could be more than 300 feet long. The longhouse was more than just a shelter; it was the basic unit upon which the entire society was constructed.
2 In building the longhouse, a row of forked poles was placed in the ground, between four and five feet apart. Cross poles were lashed to the forked uprights to form an arched roof. Slender poles or rafters were then secured to the roof frame, and traverse poles were added to further strengthen the overhead structure. Large pieces of bark were then tied to the frame. An outer set of poles kept the bark in place on the sides and roof. Smoke holes were built into the roof at about twenty-foot intervals. Two families shared the stone-lined hearth beneath each smoke hole.
3 At each end of the longhouse was a door with a covering of animal hide or hinged bark that could be lifted up for entering and exiting. Along each inside wall were bunks that served as beds at night and benches in the day. Corn, dried fish, and other foods hung from overhead. The dwelling was compartmentalized to accommodate each family. At the front of the longhouse, over the door, carved images of clan symbols represented the families living there.

单选题 The word palisades in paragraph 1 is closest in meaning to
A. roads
B. fences
C. bridges
D. ponds

单选题 The author discusses the dimensions of longhouses in paragraph 1 in order to
A. describe the village's strong defenses
B. illustrate the importance of certain families
C. explain why rivalry occurred among families
D. show that villages varied in population

单选题 Which sentence below best expresses the essential information in the highlighted sentence in paragraph 1?
A. The largest longhouses could provide shelter to everyone who was a member of the society.
B. The longhouse was basically a shelter that also served important functions related to the defense of the village.
C. Everyone in the society had a role in building the longhouse because a variety of construction skills were needed.
D. The longhouse not only provided housing for families but also formed the foundation of the whole society.

单选题 The frame of a longhouse was constructed of
A. tree bark
B.animal hide
C. wooden poles
D. flat stones

单选题 The word secured in paragraph 2 is closest in meaning to
A. attached
B. forced
C. sent
D. frozen

单选题 According to the passage, all of the following statements are true EXCEPT:
A. Each longhouse was a separate village.
B. People cooked and stored food in a longhouse.
C. The longhouse was like an apartment building.
D. The people of the longhouse belonged to clans.

填空题 Look at the four squares, , , , and , which indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where would the sentence best fit?
Elm, ash, cedar, fir, or spruce trees were the usual sources of bark.
In building the longhouse, a row of forked poles was placed in the ground, between four and five feet apart. Cross poles were lashed to the forked uprights to form an arched roof. Slender poles or rafters were then secured to the roof frame, and traverse poles were added to further strengthen the overhead structure. Large pieces of bark were then tied to the frame. An outer set of poles kept the bark in place on the sides and roof. Smoke holes were built into the roof at about twenty-foot intervals. Two families shared the stone- lined hearth beneath each smoke hole.