Islands of the Uros | 乌罗族的漂流之岛

by Jeremy Beacock

The Uros of South America live on man-made islands on Lake Titicaca.

南美洲的乌罗族生活在的的喀喀湖的人造岛屿上。

The unique homeland of the Uro people lies on a lake between Peru and Bolivia. While most tribes live on areas of land, the Uros lay _(1)_ to a lake as their home. How is this possible? For thousands of years, they _(2)_ and lived on their own group of man-made islands.

The Uros use a kind of reed called totora to make their special floating homes. The reeds have a dense root structure, which floats very well and can _(3)_ another layer of reeds on top of them. Traditionally, the Uros build reed houses on this top layer, and some even live their entire lives without touching land. The smallest islands are home to only two or three families, but the biggest have _(4)_ 40 people.

Life on the islands is very difficult, though. These islands need constant _(5)_ since the reeds rot away every few months. As they do, the Uros have to cut more reeds and add them to the islands. What's more, Lake Titicaca is very high up, so the weather and the lake water can be extremely cold. _(6)_ these difficulties, more and more Uros have abandoned their traditional lifestyle to live ashore.

Even so, the islands that are left attract many tourists. It is a fascinating way of life, and the experience of walking across one of the islands is _(7)_ description. The Uros show humanity's amazing ability to adapt and discover new ways to survive.

1.    (A) claim (B) owner   (C) title   (D) belief

2.    (A) build (B) are building    (C) have built  (D) had been building

3.    (A) sponsor   (B) support (C) target  (D) transfer

4.    (A) as long as    (B) as far as   (C) as much as  (D) as many as

5.    (A) acceptance    (B) guidance    (C) disturbance (D) maintenance

6.    (A) Prior to  (B) On account of   (C) In spite of (D) With a view to

7.    (A) beyond    (B) under   (C) above   (D) within

　乌罗族独特的家园座落在秘鲁和玻利维亚之间的一座湖上。虽然大部分的部落居住在陆地上，但乌罗族却把一座湖当作家园。这是如何办到的？数千年来他们建造自己的人造岛屿，并在岛上生活。

　　乌罗族使用一种叫做 totora 的芦苇草来建造他们独具特色的漂流家园。这种芦苇根部的构造非常紧密，可轻易地浮在水上，也可以支撑上面层层堆栈的芦苇草。传统上，乌罗族会在最上层建造芦苇屋，有些乌罗族甚至终身未曾踏上陆地生活。最小的芦苇岛可容纳 2 到 3 个家庭，但最大的则可容纳多达 40个人。

　　不过在这些岛上生活是很辛苦的一件事。这些岛屿需要不断的保养，因为芦苇草每几个月就会烂掉。当它们烂掉时，乌罗族就得割更多的芦苇草，把它们加到岛上。而且，的的喀喀湖海拔很高，所以天气和湖水有时会非常寒冷。有鉴于这些艰苦的环境，有越来越多的乌罗族放弃传统的生活方式，来到岸上讨生活。

　　即使如此，这些被留下来的岛屿吸引众多观光客的目光。这种生活方式很吸引人，而走过其中一座岛屿更是一种笔墨难以形容的经验。乌罗族证明人类的适应力和发掘新生存方式的能力的确非常惊人。

答案：1. (A)2. (C)3. (B)4. (D)5. (D)6. (B)7. (A)

For Your Information

的的喀喀湖（Titicaca）是南美洲最大的淡水湖泊，也是世界上海拔最高且大船可通航的湖泊。该湖也是印第安人种植马铃薯的原产地。

的的喀喀湖的名称来源也许与当地的印地安语有关，可能是『美洲豹的山崖』或是『酋长的山崖』之意。湖中盛产鳟鱼，但由于滥捕过度，目前秘鲁和玻利维亚政府都已经制订禁止滥捕鳟鱼的法令。（数据源：维基百科）