This is an old tale. It’s the story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf that blew down a house made of straw and one made of sticks. The only house left standing was the one made of bricks. Now there is new evidence to suggest that houses built with bales of straw can be very strong. They are also environmental.

Pete Walker is a professor at the University of Bath in Britain. He and a team of researchers there have built a house made out of straw bales and hemp material.

   During the next twelve months the team will study the effectiveness of these materials in home building. Professor Walker says there are many good reasons for using straw.

   Professor Walker says that one of the benefits is that it’s a relatively inexpensively renewable material that’s readily available.

  According to Professor Walker, straw takes in carbon dioxide as it grows. So it can be seen as having no harmful effects on the environment. He says straw helps the environment in other ways.

   Professor Walker: “The straw bale walls are relatively thick and so all that straw provides very good thermal(of heat)  insulation. So we make buildings that require very little heating in the winter or indeed very little cooling in the summer. So they require very little additional energy.”

  Professor Walker says this reduces home operating expenses. It also reduces the effect on the environment. He says the current interest in straw bale houses is a direct response to the problem of climate change.

  David Lanfear owns an eco-friendly home building service in the United States called Bale on Bale Construction.

  He says he laughed when some friends first told him about houses built of straw. But after doing his own research, he learned that building with straw bales made a lot of sense. He has now helped to build more than ten straw bale houses and says the building material is becoming more widely accepted.

To build the houses, he fills a wood frame with tightly packed bales of straw. Next he coats the walls inside and out with layers of clay plaster. He says the common ideas about straw houses continue, including stories about the threat of fire. Mr. Lanfear says straw bale houses have done well when tested for fire resistance. And he says his builders use the same building methods as traditional builders to keep out rain.

David Lanfear: “We use what we call good shoes and a good hat, and that would be a solid foundation and a really good roof.”

46. The function of the story in the first paragraph is to _____________.

A. amuse the readers  

B. introduce the topic of this passage  

C. help the readers to recall their childhood memory

D. remind the readers that bricks are no longer the best choice for building

47. Which of the following words is closest in meaning to the underlined word “insulation” in paragraph six?

A. protection       B. condition         C. transmission           D. expansion

48. What’s David Lanfear’s attitude towards the straw houses at last?

  A. Doubtful      B. Approving     C. Defensive     D. Negative

49. Which of the following is NOT the advantage of the house built with straw bales?

A. It is environmentally friendly.

B. The supply of its building materials is easily guaranteed.

C. It is comparatively economical.

D. It is free from fires.

50. Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. Professor Walker is still not very sure about whether the straw bales and hemp material are as useful as they expect.

B. According to Professor Walker, climate change contributes to people’s present attention to straw bale houses.

C. People’s idea about the straw houses remains the same.

D. The straw bale house built by David Lanfear share the same method to keep out rain as the traditional ones.