We had spent several days in a small town and visited a number of old churches in the vicinity. These attracted many visitors, for they were not only of great architectural interest, but contained a large number of beautifully preserved frescoes as well. On the day before our departure, several bus loads of tourists descended on the town. This was more than we could bear, so we decided to spend our last day exploring the countryside. Taking a path which led out of the town, we crossed a few fields until we came to a dense wood. We expected the path to end abruptly, but we found that it traced its way through the trees. We tramped through the wood for over two hours until we arrived at a deep stream. We could see that the path continued on the other side, but we had no idea how we could get across the stream. Suddenly my wife spotted a boat moored to the bank. In it there was a boatman fast asleep. We gently woke him up and asked him to ferry us to the other side. Though he was reluctant to do so at first, we eventually persuaded him to take us.

The path led to a tiny village perched on the steep sides of a mountain. The place consisted of a straggling unmade road which was lined on either side by small houses. Even under a clear blue sky, the village looked forbidding, as all the houses were built of grey mud bricks. The village seemed deserted, the only sign of life being an ugly-looking black goat on a short length of rope tied to a tree in a field nearby

1) for they were not only of great architectural interest, but contained a large number of beautifully preserved frescoes as well. 很奇怪，为什么不是for they not only were of great architectural interest, but contained a large number of beautifully preserved frescoes as well.  因为如果按照课文那样，for they were not only... but (were) contained...则意味着contained前就有一个were了，不是要注意对称平行结构吗？  还有这里的be of great architectural interest 是什么含义？

2) 这里的We expected 是否等同于We had expected ？意思是“我当时期待“ 还是 “我原来以为（言下之意：实际不是）” 怎么理解？ it traced its way 很不懂意思，好难理解意思？！

3) The place consisted of a straggling unmade road which was lined on either side by small houses. 这句话的主动语态是 The place consisted of a straggling unmade road which SMALL HOUSES lined on either side. 对吗？原句which was lined with 系表结构？

谢谢老师。