TPO10托福阅读Passage1Chinese Pottery文本+题目原文+答案解析

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.  [■] 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.  [■] 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.  [■] 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.  [■] 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.

TPO10托福阅读Passage1Chinese Pottery题目

Question 1 of 14: The word “status ” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. origin

B. importance

C. quality

D. design

Question 2 of 14: 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.

Question 3 of 14: The word “evolved ” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. divided

B. extended

C. developed

D. vanished

Question 4 of 14: 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.

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.

Question 5 of 14: 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.

Question 6 of 14: The word “instigated ” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. improved

B. investigated

C. narrowed

D. caused

Question 7 of 14: 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

Question 8 of 14: The word “whereas ” in the passage is closest in meaning to

A. while

B. previously

C. surprisingly

D. because

Question 9 of 14：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

Question 10 of 14：Which of the following is mentioned in paragraph 5 as being symbolically represented on Chinese ceramics?

A. Chinese rulers

B. love of homeland

C. loyally to friends

D. success in trade

Question 11 of 14: 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.

Question 12 of 14: The word “these ” in the passage refers to

A. religious ceremonies

B. descriptions

C. types of ware

D. pots

Question 13 of 14: Look at the four squares [■] that indicate where the following sentence could be added to the passage. Where could the sentence best fit?

Foreign trade was also responsible for certain innovations in coloring..

Question 14 of 14: Directions: An introductory sentence for a brief summary of the passage is provided below. Complete the summary by selecting the THREE answer that express the most important ideas in the passage. Some sentences do not belong in the summary because they express ideas that not presented in the passage or are minor ideas in the passage. This question is worth 2 points.Ceramics have been produced in China for a very long time.

A.The Chinese produced earthenware, stoneware, and porcelain pottery and they used their ceramics for a variety of utilitarian, architectural, and ceremonial purposes.

B.The shape and decoration of ceramics produced for religious use in China were influenced by Chinese ceramics produced for export.

C.As a result of trade relations, Chinese ceramic production changed and Chinese influenced the ceramics production of other countries.

D.Chinese burial ceramics have the longest and most varied history of production and were frequently decorated with written texts that help scholars date them.

E.Before China had contact with the West, the meaning of various designs used to decorate Chinese ceramics was well understood.

F. Ceramics made in imperial factories were used in both religious and non-religious contexts.

TPO10托福阅读Passage1Chinese Pottery解析

Question 1 of 14

正确答案：B

题目解析：B status: 状态，地位，重要身份。A是起源;B是重要性;C是质量;D是设计。所以B的importance重要性，地位正确。 对应原文：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.原句说瓷器的作用和什么因朝代而不同，而且之后有解释可能是实用的，用于埋葬的，或者blabla，所以importance能对上。origin起源不可能因为朝代而变化;quality后面有，不应该重复;design与后文的例子对不上。

Question 2 of 14

正确答案：D

题目解析：D 问题中的关键词不能用，所以排除法最好。A的dynasty to dynasty做关键词定位至第一句，说反，错;B的trade objects和ritual objects做关键词定位至第一句，原文没有比较，错;C的quality做关键词定位至第一句，说根据它们质量决定用来干嘛，所以质量是有变化的，C错;D的religious和earthenware做关键词定位至最后一句，正确。

Question 3 of 14

正确答案：C

题目解析：evolve: 进化，演化。A是分裂;B是延长;C是发展;D是是销声匿迹。所以C的develop正确。对应原文：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. 原文说七到十世纪的白瓷怎么样成了宋代的很好的瓷，无论从时间上还是后面说的highly prized都证明后面的比前面的好，所以应该是变好的意思，A分开B延伸D消失都没有变好之意。

Question 4 of 14

正确答案：B

题目解析：B 原文的主要关系是因果，因果的结果部分包含了一个转折，所以从结构上说只有B和D可能正确。B正确，D错原因陈述错误，原句说是因为既包含旧的，也包含新的图案。

Question 5 of 14

正确答案：A

题目解析：A EXCEPT题，排除法。A的high-fired ceramics做关键词定位至第二句，原文说good quality, 备选项说poor，反了，错，选;B的Tang and Ming Dynasty做关键词定位至最后一句，正确，不选;C的earthenware和stoneware做关键词定位至第一句，原文说最早的是earthenware，所以比stoneware早，所以C正确，不选;D的Song dynasty做关键词定位至第三句，正确，不选。

Question 6 of 14

正确答案：D

题目解析：instigate: 教唆，鼓动，激起。A是改进;B是研究，调查;C是缩窄;D是引起，使…发生。所以D的cause引起正确，注意不要被investigate迷惑，只是长得像而已。对应原文：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. 原句说那些陶器非常惹人喜爱，促进了earthenware的发展，也instigate了制陶方法的研究，instigate与原文的encourage并列，所以应该是鼓励之意。A提升改善B调查C变窄均不正确。

Question 7 of 14

正确答案：C

题目解析：C 以trade of Chinese ceramics做关键词定位至倒数第二句，问结果，所以应该关注result in之后的内容，说大量的Chinese porcelain到了欧洲，影响了一系列ware，接着又说会专门为欧洲市场做一些ware，所以C正确;注意B尽管说到了change，但immediate是原文没说的;A没说;D说反了，应该是增加。

Question 8 of 14

正确答案：A

题目解析：whereas: 然而。A是然而，反之;B是以前;C是令人惊讶的;D是因为。根据词意，正确答案是A。对应原文：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. 注意句子中的seem和in fact，seem的意思是是“看上去”，也就是事实很可能不是这样;后面的in fact的意思是“事实上”，也就是说前面说的很可能不是事实，两者呼应，都说明两句话之间的关系是转折，所以while正确。

Question 9 of 14

正确答案：B

题目解析：B 先看本句，现代人认为希腊的pots上的design只是装饰，没有实际意义，但事实上是有意义的，中国的pots也这样，所以B正确。A错，不是pots decorative，而是design;C说反，D没说方式，所以how错。

Question 10 of 14

正确答案：A

题目解析：A 问下面哪个是design的替代意义，倒数第二句整个都在说pots上design的意义，提到了emperor和empress，皇帝和皇后，所以A的Chinese rulers正确，统治者;其他都没说。

Question 11 of 14

正确答案：B

题目解析：B 问题中关键词不明显，排除法。A的ordinary citizens和aristocrat原文没说;B的foreign influence做关键词定位至最后一句的European，说直到引入欧洲theme之后中国原有的装饰的意思才被obscure，对应B，没有foreign influence那些意思不会改变，正确;C没说;D反了，应该是ancient更熟悉。

Question 12 of 14

正确答案：B

题目解析：B，these往前找，找主语。注意从句子一开始到exist之前都是句子的主语，但of之前的东西是整个句子的核心，所以答案是description，对于什么什么的描述，描述才是核心，不是types of ware。

Question 13 of 14

正确答案：B

题目解析：B 两个过渡点，名词foreign trade和coloring。foreign trade对应原文第四句的from Middle East Chinese acquired blabla和倒数第二句的trading activities，所以B/C/D都有可能;coloring证明B或者C正确。按照正常逻辑，应该先总起，说外贸也使染色技术发生变化，接着再说怎么变的，所以B正确，C错误。

Question 14 of 14

正确答案：ACE

题目解析：A. C.E The Chinese选项对应第二段第二句，正确。The shape选项原文没说，不选。As选项对应原文第四段第一句，正确。Chinese选项原文没说，不选。Before选项对应原文第五段最后一句，正确。E选项对应的是全文倒数第二段，说的是ceramics pots的意义，正确。 F选项MS对应原文最后一段，但最后一段说imperial陶瓷是用于both religious and secular contexts, 并不是non-religious情况的，故F不对。

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