精美英文欣赏:陶器

Pottery¹

Ancient people made clay pottery because they needed it for their survival. They used the pots they made for cooking, storing food, and carrying things from place to place. Pottery was so important to early cultures that scientists now study it to learn more about ancient civilizations. The more advanced the pottery in terms of decoration, materials, glazes³ and manufacture, the more advanced the culture itself.

The artisan who makes pottery in North America today utilizes⁴ his or her skill and imagination to create items that are beautiful as well as functional,transforming something ordinary into something special and unique.

The potter uses one of the Earth's most basic materials, clay. Clay can be found almost anywhere.Good pottery clay must be free from all small stones and other hard materials that would make the potting process difficult. Most North American artisan potters now purchase commercially processed clay, but some find the clay they need right in the earth close to where they work.

The most important tools potters use are their own hands; however, they also use wire loop tools, wooden modeling tools, plain wire, and sponges.Plain wire is used to cut away the finished pot from its base on the potter's wheel.

After a finished pot is dried of all its moisture in the open air, it is placed in a kiln⁵ and fired. The first firing hardens the pottery, and it is then ready to be glazed⁶ and fired again.

For areas where they do not want any glaze², such as the bottom of the pot, artisans paint on melted wax that will later burn off in the kiln. They then pour on the liquid glaze and let it run over the clay surface, making any kind of decorative⁷ pattern that they want.

陶器

古代人制作陶器是因为他们的生存需要它。 他们用这些自制的盆盆罐罐来做饭、装食物、储运东西。 陶器在早期文化中占据了如此重要的地位，以致于科学家们现在通过研究陶器来获取对古代文明的更多的了解。 因为陶器的装饰、材料、釉彩、制作等工艺越发达就说明这种文明越发达。 今天，北美的陶艺匠人运用他们的技艺和想象力创造出了既美观又实用的陶艺制品，把日常用品变为独特的艺术品。 制陶匠人使用大地上最基本的原材料--粘土。 粘土几乎随处可见，但好的制陶所用的粘土必须不含小沙粒或任何硬物，否则会给制陶过程带来不便。 现在大多数北美制陶艺人买现成的专用陶土，也有些陶匠乐于就地取材，在作坊附近自己挖粘土。 制陶器最重要的工具是工匠们自己的双手，但有时他们也用些别的工具，如绳圈、木模、素线、海绵等。 素线的作用是当一件陶器完成后用它把陶器从转盘上的基座上切下来。 陶器成形后，首先要在空气中自然风干，再放到窑中焙烧。 第一遍焙烧使得陶器变得坚硬，下一步就是给它上釉彩，然后再焙烧。

陶器上有些地方不需上釉彩，像罐子底部，匠人们就在这些部位涂上蜡，一加热就会化掉。 然后匠人们把釉彩液体浇上陶器表面，绘制他们想要的任何图案。

1 pottery   

n.陶器，陶器场

参考例句：

• My sister likes to learn art pottery in her spare time.我妹妹喜欢在空余时间学习陶艺。
• The pottery was left to bake in the hot sun.陶器放在外面让炎热的太阳烘晒焙干。

2 glaze   

v.因疲倦、疲劳等指眼睛变得呆滞，毫无表情

参考例句：

• Brush the glaze over the top and sides of the hot cake.在热蛋糕的顶上和周围刷上一层蛋浆。
• Tang three-color glaze horses are famous for their perfect design and realism.唐三彩上釉马以其造型精美和形态生动而著名。

3 glazes   

n.上釉的表面( glaze的名词复数 )；釉料；（浇在糕点上增加光泽的）蛋浆v.装玻璃( glaze的第三人称单数 )；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神

参考例句：

• Glazes had been used from ancient times in Egypt. 埃及自古代起就使用釉料。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Especially indicated for glazes which contain lead and boron. 尤其适用于含铅、含硼的釉药。 来自互联网

4 utilizes   

v.利用，使用( utilize的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• One highly successful approach utilizes a triplet aspheric lens array. 一种很成功的方法是利用一个三合非球面透镜阵列。 来自辞典例句
• The first utilizes a blend of finely ground ceramic powders. 第一种用的是一种磨细的陶瓷粉末混合物。 来自辞典例句

5 kiln   

n.（砖、石灰等）窑，炉；v.烧窑

参考例句：

• That morning we fired our first kiln of charcoal.那天上午，我们烧了我们的第一窑木炭。
• Bricks are baked in a kiln.砖是在窑里烧成的。

6 glazed   

adj.光滑的，像玻璃的；上过釉的；呆滞无神的v.装玻璃( glaze的过去式)；上釉于，上光；（目光）变得呆滞无神

参考例句：

• eyes glazed with boredom 厌倦无神的眼睛
• His eyes glazed over at the sight of her. 看到她时，他的目光就变得呆滞。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 decorative   

adj.装饰的，可作装饰的

参考例句：

• This ware is suitable for decorative purpose but unsuitable for utility.这种器皿中看不中用。
• The style is ornate and highly decorative.这种风格很华丽，而且装饰效果很好。