戴爾美語練功坊 托福閱讀(5/10)
TOEFL Reading
Chinese Pottery
China has one of the world's oldest continuous civilizations-
despite invasions and occasional foreign rule. A country as vast as
China with so long-lasting a civilization has a complex social and
visual history, within which pottery and porcelain play a major role.
The function and status of ceramics in China varied from
dynasty to dynasty, so they may be utilitarian, burial, trade-collectors',
or even ritual objects, according to their quality and the era in which
they were made. The ceramics fall into three broad types -
earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain- for vessels, architectural
items such as roof tiles, and modeled objects and figures.
In addition, there was an important group of sculptures made for
religious use, the majority of which were produced in earthenware.
The earliest ceramics were fired to earthenware temperatures,
but as early as the fifteenth century B.C., high-temperature
stonewares were being made with glazed surfaces. During the Six
Dynasties period (AD 265-589), kilns in north China were producing
high-fired ceramics of good quality. Whitewares produced in Hebei
and Henan provinces from the seventh to the tenth centuries evolved
into the highly prized porcelains of the Song dynasty (AD. 960-1279),
long regarded as one of the high points in the history of China's
ceramic industry. The tradition of religious sculpture extends over
most historical periods but is less clearly delineated than that of
stonewares or porcelains, for it embraces the old custom of
earthenware burial ceramics with later religious images and
architectural ornament. Ceramic products also include lead-glazed
tomb models of the Han dynasty, three-color lead-glazed vessels and
figures of the Tang dynasty, and Ming three-color temple ornaments,
in which the motifs were outlined in a raised trail of slip- as well as the
many burial ceramics produced in imitation of vessels made
in materials of higher intrinsic value.
Trade between the West and the settled and prosperous
Chinese dynasties introduced new forms and different technologies.
One of the most far-reaching examples is the impact of the fine ninth
-century AD. Chinese porcelain wares imported into the Arab world.
(A)■So admired were these pieces that they encouraged the
development of earthenware made in imitation of porcelain and
instigated research into the method of their manufacture.
(B)■ From the Middle East the Chinese acquired a blue pigment -
a purified form of cobalt oxide unobtainable at that time in China -
that contained only a low level of manganese. Cobalt ores found in
China have a high manganese content, which produces a more muted
blue-gray color. (C)■ In the seventeenth century, the trading
activities of the Dutch East India Company resulted in vast quantities
of decorated Chinese porcelain being brought to Europe, which
stimulated and influenced the work of a wide variety of wares,
notably Delft. (D)■ The Chinese themselves adapted many specific
vessel forms from the West, such as bottles with long spouts, and
designed a range of decorative patterns especially for the European
market.
Just as painted designs on Greek pots may seem today to be
purely decorative, whereas in fact they were carefully and precisely
worked out so that at the time, their meaning was clear, so it is with
Chinese pots. To twentieth-century eyes, Chinese pottery may
appear merely decorative, yet to the Chinese the form of each
object and its adornment had meaning and significance.
The dragon represented the emperor, and the phoenix, the empress;
the pomegranate indicated fertility, and a pair of fish, happiness;
mandarin ducks stood for wedded bliss; the pine tree, peach, and
crane are emblems of long life; and fish leaping from waves indicated
success in the civil service examinations. Only when European
decorative themes were introduced did these meanings become
obscured or even lost.
From early times pots were used in both religious and secular
contexts. The imperial court commissioned work and in the Yuan
dynasty (A.D. 1279-1368) an imperial ceramic factory was established
at Jingdezhen. Pots played an important part in some religious
ceremonies. Long and often lyrical descriptions of the different types
of ware exist that assist in classifying pots, although these sometimes
confuse an already large and complicated picture.
1. According to paragraph 2,
which of the following is true of Chinese ceramics?
(A) The function of ceramics remained the same
from dynasty to dynasty.
(B) The use of ceramics as trade objects is better documented
than the use of ceramics as ritual objects.
(C) There was little variation in quality
for any type of ceramics over time.
(D) Some religious sculptures were made using the earthenware
type of ceramics.
2. Which of the sentences below best expresses the essential
information in the highlighted sentence in the passage?
Incorrect choices change the meaning in important ways
or leave out essential information.
The tradition of religious sculpture extends over most historical
periods but is less clearly delineated than that of stonewares or
porcelains, for it embraces the old custom of earthenware burial
ceramics with later religious images and architectural ornament.
(A) While stonewares and porcelains are found throughout most
historical periods, religious sculpture is limited to the ancient period.
(B) Religious sculpture was created in most periods, but its history is
less clear than that of stonewares or porcelains because some old
forms continued to be used even when new ones were developed.
(C) While stonewares and porcelains changed throughout history,
religious sculpture remained uniform in form and use.
(D) The historical development of religious sculpture is relatively
unclear because religious sculptures sometimes resemble
earthenware architectural ornaments.
3. Paragraph 3 supports all of the following concerning the history of
the ceramic industry in China EXCEPT
(A) The earliest high-fired ceramics were of poor quality.
(B) Ceramics produced during the Tang and Ming dynasties
sometimes incorporated multiple colors.
(C) Earthenware ceramics were produced in China
before stonewares were.
(D) The Song dynasty period was notable for the production of high
quality porcelain ceramics.
4. The word " instigated " in the passage is closest in meaning to
(A) gauged
(B) investigated
(C) enhanced
(D) caused
5. According to paragraph 4, one consequence of the trade
of Chinese ceramics was
(A) the transfer of a distinctive blue pigment from China to
the Middle East
(B) an immediate change from earthenware production to porcelain
production in European countries
(C) Chinese production of wares made for the European market
(D) a decreased number of porcelain vessels available on the
European market
6. In paragraph 5, the author compares the designs on Chinese pots
to those on Greek pots in order to
(A) emphasize that while Chinese pots were decorative, Greek pots
were functional
(B) argue that the designs on Chinese pots had specific meanings and
were not just decorative
(C) argue that twentieth-century scholars are better able to
understand these designs than were ancient scholars
(D) explain how scholars have identified the meaning of specific
images on Chinese pots
7. Paragraph 5 suggests which of the following about the decorations
on Chinese pottery?
(A) They had more importance for aristocrats than for ordinary citizens.
(B) Their significance may have remained clear had the Chinese not
come under foreign influence.
(C) They contain some of the same images that appear on Greek pots.
(D) Their significance is now as clear to twentieth century observers as
it was to the early Chinese.
Answers:
1. 根據第二段, 關於中國之陶瓷何者為正確?
原文敘述中有一轉承語 in addition , 進行定位:
The ceramics fall into three broad types - earthenware,
stoneware, and porcelain- for vessels, architectural items such as
roof tiles, and modeled objects and figures. In addition, there was
an important group of sculptures made for religious use, the majority
of which were produced in earthenware.
文中提及另外尚有一種宗教儀式使用之雕刻,
主要由earthenware 陶瓦器所製作而成.因此答案為 D.
2. 此題型為釋義句子簡化題(Paraphrase / Sentence Simplification) :
可運用下列技巧進行句子之解構分析