Chinese Pottery
中国陶瓷
P1: 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.
难词解析：
Continuous： adj.持续的 (过程、事件)
Civilization： n. 文明
Lasting：adj. 持续的
Pottery：n. 陶器
Porcelain：n. 瓷器
难句解析：
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.
中国是一个拥有悠久文明的大国，而陶瓷在其复杂的社会历史以及视觉历史中扮演了极为重要的角色。
P2: 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.
难词解析：
Status: 词汇题考察 n.地位 近：importance
Vary：v. 改变
Utilitarian：adj.实用的
Ritual：adj. 仪式的(宗教)
难句解析：
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.
在中国，每一个朝代陶瓷的功能和地位都是不同的，所以，根据它们的质量和制作年代的不同，可以是实用器物、陪葬品、贸易收藏品，甚至是礼器。
P3: 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.
难词解析：
Kiln：n. 窑 v. 烧窑
Burial：n. 埋葬;葬礼;弃绝 adj. 埋葬的
Whiteware：n. 白色器皿(陶瓷器)
Evolve：v. 演化 词汇题 develop
Prized：adj. 被看做很有价值的
Regard：v. 看待
Delineate：v. 描述
Embrace：v. 包括，拥抱，信奉
Intrinsic：adj. 本质的，固有的
难句解析：
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.】
有宗教色彩的雕塑贯穿了中国历史的大部分时期，但是它们不像粗陶器或者瓷器那样在历史中突出，【因为他包含了陪葬陶瓷的旧工艺，又用到了后来的宗教雕塑和建筑装饰。】
一起来检验下读懂了嘛
测试篇
P1
陶瓷在中国悠久的历史中扮演了重要的角色
中国历史悠久，地大物博，这样的国家都具有______历史和_______历史，其中_______就扮演了重要的角色。
P2
在中国陶器的用途和分类
在中国，各个朝代陶瓷的____和_____不同。
根据陶器的_________不同，他们用处很广。陶瓷可以被分为3大类：________。
P3
中国各个朝代的陶瓷
六朝时期,中国北方就有窑炉生产高温陶瓷。
从7世纪到10世纪，________成为极具价值的宋代瓷器
Answers：
P1：complex social, visual, pottery and porcelain
P2：function, status, quality and the era in which they were made, earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain
P3: Whitewares