托福听力涉及话题多样，尤其是偏向于学术课堂场景的讲座类，经常考到一些我们并不熟悉的学科，适当的掌握一些背景知识和常考考点有助于我们更迅速精准地听懂听力内容。植物学是托福听力常考学科话题领域之一，无论是机经真题还是托福TPO都能见到它的身影，下面我们就结合TPO2的Lecture2涉及的“蕉麻”,了解一下托福听力会如何考察相关内容吧。

Introduction：

Manila hemp

蕉麻,一年生草本。茎直立,有纵沟,密生短柔毛,皮层富纤维,叶互生或下部的对生。掌状复叶,小叶 5 片或 7 片,有锯齿。花单性,雌雄异株,无花瓣。蕉麻由于强度大、柔软、有浮力和抗海水侵蚀性好,主要用作船用的绳缆、钓鱼线、吊车绳索和渔网。有些蕉麻可用来制地毯、桌垫和纸。内层纤维可不经纺线而制造出耐穿的细布,主要被当地人用来做衣服和鞋帽。

Background information：

Manilahemp is a type of buff-colored fiber obtained from Musa textilis, a relative ofedible bananas, which is also called Manila hemp as well as abacá. It ismostly used for pulping for a range of uses, including speciality papers. Itwas once used mainly to make manila rope, but this is now of minor importance.Manila envelopes and Manila paper take their name from this fiber.

It isnot actually hemp, but named so because hemp was long a major source of fiber,and other fibers were sometimes named after it. The name refers to the capitalof the Philippines, one of the main producers of Manila hemp.

Thehatmaking straw made from Manila hemp is called Tagal or Tagal straw.

Knowledge points：

1. 蕉麻是从穆萨纺织品中提炼出来一种浅褐色的纤维。

2. 蕉麻主要被用于纸品中,包括一些特殊纸。曾经蕉麻主要被用来制作粗麻绳,但是现在这个用处没有那么重要了。

3. 蕉麻不是真的是麻类植物,这样命名是因为它一直以来都是纤维的主要原料。Manila 是取自于菲律宾的首都马尼拉,因为它是主要的生产地。

Vocabulary prediction：

Bundle 捆

Rope 粗绳

Textile 纺织品

Resistant 有抵抗力的

Test Point – TPO2L2

Today we’ll continue talking about usefulfibers, and we’ll begin with a fiber that’s commonly known as “Manila hemp”.

Now, for some strange reason, many peoplebelieve that Manila hemp is a hemp plant. But Manila hemp is not really hemp.It’s actually a member of the banana family— it even bears little banana-shapedfruits. The “Manila” part of the name makes sense, because Manila hemp isproduced chiefly in the Philippine Islands and, of course, the capital city ofthe Philippines is Manila.

Now, as fibers go, Manila hemp fibers arevery long. They can easily be several feet in length and they’re also verystrong, very flexible. They have one more characteristic that’s very important,and that is that they are exceptionally resistant to salt water. And thiscombination of characteristics—long, strong, flexible, resistant to saltwater—makes Manila hemp a great material for ropes, especially for ropes thatare gonna be used on ocean-going ships. In fact, by the early 1940’s, eventhough steel cables were available, most ships in the United States Navy werenot moored with steel cables; they were moored with Manila hemp ropes.

Knowledge points

1.蕉麻是芭蕉属植物中的一员。

2.蕉麻纤维非常长,坚固和柔韧。它有一个非常重要的特性:可以抵抗海水。这些特性使得蕉麻很适合用来做绳子,特别是需要在海水里航行的船上。