# Canadian maple syrup - 科目：雅思听力真题（Part 4） - 考频：中频 - 最近考试：2023.12.16 - 题目数：10 - 来源页：https://www.yaquan.site/paper/a4277aa6-f28c-4810-861f-22653a8a5b99（在线机考练习与音频请访问该页面） - 数据更新：2026-10-29 ## 题目原文 00:00:02,080 Now turn to section four on page seven. 00:00:10,660 Section four. 00:00:12,920 You will hear a lecture on a very popular Canadian food product called maple syrup. 00:00:19,620 First, you have some time to look at questions thirty-one to forty on page seven. 00:01:15,140 Now listen carefully and answer questions thirty-one to forty. 00:01:22,700 Maple syrup can be described as very sweet. Canadians pour it generously over things like pancakes for breakfast. The syrup is produced from the maple tree, and it actually comes from the tree's sap, which is the watery substance that comes out of the trunk of the tree when this is cut. In order for enough sap to be produced, very special climate conditions are needed. 00:01:49,660 In spring, the temperatures need to drop to well below zero at night, but then they need to rise sharply during the day, so they're hugely different over a twenty-four-hour period. And that's exactly what happens in northeastern Canada every spring. 00:02:10,350 The indigenous peoples of North America, known as the First Nations, discovered the maple secret long before the Europeans arrived. 00:02:21,090 Early folk stories say it was first discovered by a chief who threw his tomahawk, which is similar to an ax, into the trunk of a tree. Clear sap started to run from the cut. 00:02:35,600 His wife used this sap to boil meat, and the heat turned it into a sweet syrup, which they found delicious. 00:02:45,800 Whether or not that story is true, we do know that the maple tree was very important to First Nations peoples for hundreds of years. Collecting the sap each spring became a tradition among them. Whole families would migrate to the areas where the maple trees grew and set up camp there. They collected the sap from the trees using buckets. 00:03:11,240 Then they needed to concentrate the sap, removing some of the water from it to create syrup. 00:03:18,640 They had two ways of doing this. One way was to drop hot stones from a fire into the buckets to create steam. If repeated often enough, this would eventually concentrate the syrup. 00:03:34,080 Another method that they used to concentrate the syrup was to leave the sap outside overnight, exposed to freezing temperatures. This would mean that a thick layer of ice would form on top, which could be discarded, leaving the sugary sap below. 00:03:51,980 Again, this process could be repeated over several days, and eventually a sweet brown syrup was produced. 00:04:01,100 The First Nations people had various uses for the sap and syrup. They drank the sap fresh from the tree as a tonic, knowing that it was an important source of energy. 00:04:13,700 But for the most part, they reduced the syrup further and then cooled it so that it crystallized into sugar. This was easy to carry and kept indefinitely. 00:04:26,500 European settlers who arrived in Canada began to learn about the syrup from First Nations peoples and further expanded its uses. For example, they incorporated it into medicine of different kinds. They also discovered that by adding yeast to the sap, they could make a maple drink. 00:04:47,260 And by throwing the hot syrup into the snow, they could make a toffee-like candy. But like the First Nations, they turned most of their sap into maple sugar. For most people, it was the only type of sugar they could afford, since the only alternative was the sugar imported from the Caribbean, which was made from sugar cane, and this was very expensive. However, after eighteen eighty, the Canadian government decided to stop charging tax on Caribbean sugar, and this made it much cheaper. 00:05:22,900 That meant it was no longer cost-effective to produce maple sugar, and so syrup making became the only viable industry remaining for Canadians, and that's what we've been doing ever since. 00:05:40,740 At present, maple syrup is enjoying a boom. In the last two decades, production has doubled in Canada. However, serious threats remain. Like any agricultural product, the harvest is subject to such things as major storms or the arrival of invasive insects, both of which have happened, and these could destroy everything. 00:06:07,040 It is predicted with some certainty that in the longer term, climate change will also have an adverse effect on the sap run. 00:06:16,420 Then there are the social factors. 00:06:19,460 Producing maple syrup is a very labor-intensive process, making it an expensive purchase. And of equal concern is the fact that nowadays there's a lot of competition from cheaper, artificially flavored brands. Furthermore, we're at a time when obesity is a major issue, making a product that is sixty-seven percent sugar increasingly difficult to sell. 00:06:46,500 Nevertheless, there are reasons to be optimistic. Producers are developing markets abroad. Our syrup is currently being exported to over fifty countries. Back here at home, chefs use it enthusiastically. It's certainly high in calories, but it also contains proteins, minerals, and antioxidants. As such, it is still relatively healthy when you compare it with sugar or corn syrup. Canadians are proud of maple syrup and its deep roots in our history and geography. However, the primary reason for maple syrup's success around the world remains its taste. There's nothing quite like it. 00:07:35,040 That is the end of section four. You now have half a minute to check your answers. ## 题目与答案 ### 31. Description · It is a sweet liquid poured over pancakes etc. · They production of sap needs a climate where night and day temperature are very 31_____ . Description · It is a sweet liquid poured over pancakes etc. · They production of sap needs a climate where night and day temperature are very 31_____ . **答案**：different 原文定位：In spring, the temperatures need to drop to well below zero at night, but then they need to rise sharply during the day, so they're hugely different over a twenty-four-hour period 同义替换：「very」↔「hugely different」 ### 32. History · Folk stories claim that maple syrup was first used to cook 32_____ . History · Folk stories claim that maple syrup was first used to cook 32_____ . **答案**：meat 原文定位：His wife used this sap to boil meat, and the heat turned it into a sweet syrup, which they found delicious 同义替换：「first used to cook」↔「used this sap to boil」 ### 33. · Sap collection in spring developed into a First Nations 33_____ . · Sap collection in spring developed into a First Nations 33_____ . **答案**：tradition 原文定位：Collecting the sap each spring became a tradition among them 同义替换：「developed into」↔「became」 ### 34. · The sap was collected in buckets. · The sap was concentrated into syrup by: - using hot stones to produce 34_____ · The sap was collected in buckets. · The sap was concentrated into syrup by: - using hot stones to produce 34_____ **答案**：steam 原文定位：One way was to drop hot stones from a fire into the buckets to create steam 同义替换：「produce」↔「create」 ### 35. - leaving it outside at night and then removing the layer of 35_____ - leaving it outside at night and then removing the layer of 35_____ **答案**：ice 原文定位：This would mean that a thick layer of ice would form on top, which could be discarded, leaving the sugary sap below 同义替换：「removing」↔「discarded」 ### 36. Uses · First Nations people drank the fresh sap to give them energy. · European settlers put the syrup in various types of 36_____ . Uses · First Nations people drank the fresh sap to give them energy. · European settlers put the syrup in various types of 36_____ . **答案**：medicine 原文定位：For example, they incorporated it into medicine of different kinds 同义替换：「various types」↔「different kinds」；「put the syrup in」↔「incorporated it into」 ### 37. · They also used it for drink and for candy. · Its use for making sugar declined after 1880, when the 37_____ on Caribbean sugar was removed. · They also used it for drink and for candy. · Its use for making sugar declined after 1880, when the 37_____ on Caribbean sugar was removed. **答案**：tax 原文定位：However, after eighteen eighty, the Canadian government decided to stop charging tax on Caribbean sugar, and this made it much cheaper 同义替换：「removed」↔「stop charging」 ### 38. Threats · Natural - Harvests may be affected by storms and destructive 38_____ . - Climate change may also affect sap production. Threats · Natural - Harvests may be affected by storms and destructive 38_____ . - Climate change may also affect sap production. **答案**：insects 原文定位：Like any agricultural product, the harvest is subject to such things as major storms or the arrival of invasive insects, both of which have happened, and these could destroy everything 同义替换：「destructive」↔「invasive」；「affected by」↔「subject to」 ### 39. Social - Maple syrup is expensive and faces considerable 39_____ . - The obesity issue is affecting sales Social - Maple syrup is expensive and faces considerable 39_____ . - The obesity issue is affecting sales **答案**：competition 原文定位：And of equal concern is the fact that nowadays there's a lot of competition from cheaper, artificially flavored brands 同义替换：「faces considerable」↔「there's a lot of」 ### 40. Reasons for optimism · Maples syrup is an important export. · It is quite 40_____ compared with other sweeteners. · Its taste is the main reason for its popularity. Reasons for optimism · Maples syrup is an important export. · It is quite 40_____ compared with other sweeteners. · Its taste is the main reason for its popularity. **答案**：healthy 原文定位：As such, it is still relatively healthy when you compare it with sugar or corn syrup 同义替换：「quite」↔「relatively」；「sweeteners」↔「sugar or corn syrup」 --- 以上内容由鸭圈雅思真题库（www.yaquan.site）提供，收录近期雅思考试真题回忆，支持在线机考模式免费练习。