There is a new take on 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（捆）of straw can be very strong．
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 bale and hemp（大麻） material．During the next twelve months the team will study die effectiveness of these materials in home building．Professor Walker says there are many good reasons for using straw．It's a relatively inexpensive renewable material that's quickly and easily available．Straw takes in carbon dioxide as it grows．So it can be seen as having no harmful effects the environment．And the straw bales walls are relatively thick and so all that straw provides very good thermal insulation．So we make buildings that require very little heating in winter or indeed very little cooling in summer．So they require very little additional energy．
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 makes 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．As a matter of fact, straw bale houses have done well when tested for fire resistance．And his builders use the same building methods as traditional builders to keep out rain．He says we use what we call good shoes and a good hat, and that would be a solid foundation and a really good roof．
68．According to the passage, Pete Walker ____．
A．is cooperating with David Lanfear in building houses
B．is pretty sure that straw is a good building material
C．is studying home building with his team at present
D．holds a different view of building materials from David Lanfear
69．If we live in houses built with bales of straw, we ____．
A．will be worried about the threat of fire
B．need to wear good shoes in severe weather
C．can reduce our household expense
D．should use a special method to keep out rain
70．In building straw houses, ____．
A．a(chǎn) solid foundation and a good roof are necessary
B．straw bales have to be tested for fire resistance
C．a(chǎn) wood frame of straw should be used as a good roof
D．builders should wear good shoes and a good hat
71．Which of the following is the best tide of the passage?
A．Houses Made of Straw
B．New Meaning Of an Old Tale
C．Pete Walker and David Lanfear
D．Solid Foundation and Good Roof
