It’s a Saturday morning in a large courtyard. Young designers sell their creations, from fine tea sets to hand-painted earrings. I could be in east London, that is, until standard Chinese tones remind me I’m in Jingdezhen, a small Chinese city.
Centuries ago, when Europeans first saw Chinese porcelain, it seemed so fine that they concluded it must have been made with magic and called it “white 
gold”.
They couldn’t find out how it was made, but they knew where it came from: the town of Changnan. Changnan porcelain was so in demand that early traders began calling the whole country by this town name. Mixed by foreign tongues, Changnan transformed into China.
Two million years after porcelain’s invention, the town, now called Jingdezhen, is still one of the world’s most important centers for porcelain production.
“The people are the most important treasure here. Their roots are deep in history.” says Zhang Jia. She’s part of a new wave of designers who have come to Jingdezhen to learn techniques handed down and refined( 使精美 ) over a hundred generations. “This is the best place to study porcelain in China, perhaps in the entire world,” she added.
Chinese artists aren’t the only ones drawn here. Founded in 2005 by Caroline Cheng, the Pottery Workshop runs classes for visitors from around the world.
Paul told me that when he first visited Jingdezhen there were no street lamps and only dirty pavements. There were workshops but their goods were bought by traders and sold on elsewhere. These days, stylish cafes and bars pop up next to concept stores. At one such shop, I admired some tiny teacups like birds.
With the popularity of the ottery Workshop, many of the designers are using Jingdezhen’s master craftsmen to make them because they know they offer quality, attention to detail.
1. What made the writer realize that he was in China?| A．Fine tea sets | B．HandPDF-paintedearrings |
| C．Standard Chinese | D．Fine Chinese porcelain |
| A．Because it was made in China. |
| B．Because they thought it was made with magic. |
| C．Because they knew it came from Changnan. |
| D．Because they liked it so much and it was in demand. |
| A．know something about Jingdezhen’s history. |
| B．enjoy the beautiful scenery of Jingdezhen |
| C．study techniques of making porcelain |
| D．pay a visit to some of his foreign friends |
| A．many foreign visitors came to Jingdezhen to study porcelain |
| B．China’s young people are more interested in unique products |
| C．their goods were not popular in western countries |
| D．in the past Jingdezhen was a poor and dirty town |
相似题推荐
【推荐1】Does your local town have a nickname? If so, what does it say about the area and the people who live there?
Many cities are recognized across the world by their unofficial titles. New York is the Big Apple. London is the Big Smoke, and Los Angeles is famously called La La Land.
Now Britain's National Mapping Agency(规划局), Ordnance Survey, and the British Linguistics (语言学)Charity, the English Project, are launching an interactive project to uncover the nicknames people use for local places.
The project, which was launched last week to coincide with English Language Day, is called Location Lingo. It aims to identify the names people use every day, whether it's a term of endearment(昵称) or a hate name.
The University of Winchester's Professor Bill Lucas is a leader of the English Project.He explains that unofficial place names often show what people think about a place.“The name that people conjure up or create for a place forms an emotional connection, ”he says, “So Basingstoke becomes Amazingstoke, Swindon is known as Swindump. Padstow, hometown of chef Rick Stein, is nicknamed Padstein.”
Basingstoke is a town in central England. The local nickname, Amazingstoke, shows the love that locals seem to have for the area. Swindon, on the other hand, is sometimes called Swindump, showing that local people think it's a big dump. Stanford Le Hope in Essex is called Stanford No Hope by locals. And Padstow in Cornwall is so closely associated with the local celebrity Rick Stein that it's become known as Padstein.
Since launching the online database (数据
库) last week, the creators have already received 3,000 alternative titles for places and landmarks.
Some also say that the project could even have a practical use. Glen Hart, Ordnance Survey's head of research, says the information could be very helpful to the emergency services, for example. “By having the most complete set of nicknames, we could help the emergency services quickly locate the right place, and maybe even save lives, ”he says.
1. The Big Smoke refers to________.| A．NewYork | B．London |
| C．Paris | D．Los Angeles |
| A．On Christmas | B．On Easter |
| C．On English Language Day | D．On Thanksgiving Day |
| A．make up | B．break up |
| C．join up | D．pick up |
| A．beautiful | B．clean |
| C．dirty | D．attractive |
| A．The project is meant to save lives. |
| B．The project is well received. |
| C．The project can be of practical use. |
| D．The project is of great value. |
【推荐2】The London Eye which is 450 feet in height above the Thames River is the world’s biggest spinning structure. It is one hundred feet taller than Big Ben and weighs 1,600 tons. It was built to celebrate the year 2000. Maybe building such a big spinning structure suggested that people longed for bigger and better things in the future.
In London Eye,there are 32 capsules (舱)．Each of the capsules can hold up to 25 people. And they’re air conditioned in summer,heated in winter. From these capsules the visitors can see the most beautiful views of London.
It was difficult to assemble (安装) and put a wheel of this size. And it required new technology and a lot of imagination. The parts of London Eye were sent up the Thames River，and the wheel was assembled on temporary (暂时的) platforms on the river. Lifting it into an upright position was a major challenge. It took a week to winch (吊) it up to its final position.
Now the London Eye is regarded as a monument to new millennium. And many visitors from all over the world come to visit it.
1. How tall is Big Ben?| A．450 feet | B．350 feet | C．550 feet | D．250 feet |
| A．To set a new record |
| B．To celebrate the Queen’s birthday |
| C．To celebrate the coming of 2000 |
| D．To beat the first observation wheel in Chicago |
| A．pick up | B．grow up | C．made up | D．lifted up |
| A．it took great trouble for people to build the London Eye |
| B．the London Eye has been changed into a monument |
| C．the latest technology was used to assemble the London Eye |
| D．imagination is very important to build the London Eye |
【推荐3】Coming into the town of Santa Catarina Palopó, in the highlands of Lake Atitlan in Guatemala, the first thing you notice is the bright colors. Most of the buildings along the main street are eye-catching, deep blues and greens, dotted with red and yellow to form diverse patterns and designs.
Santa Catarina Palopó was once a sleepy town of 5, 000 people, most of them dependent on agricultural work. But as agriculture began to dry up here, poverty came. To deal with poverty and promote econ on growth through tourism, a small but creative group of laborers, artisans, domestic workers and stay-at-home moms created the Pintando Santa Catarina Palopó project.
The project aimed to paint all 850 homes and buildings in bright colors to change the hillside town into a work of art. “We wanted to paint the houses with colors and figures that represent the community” says the project’s executive director Stephany Blanco. “Families can choose designs for their house that are representative of the family.”
One of the most representative characteristics of the region is the blue huipil, a traditional blouse which has been worn commonly by local women since the 16th century. That deep sky blue was chosen the primary color-for the Pintando project, with secondary colors found in the sunsets and the nearby lake to make the design more attractive. Inspiration was also found in local culture, symbols such as volcanoes, flowers, and the national bird of Guatemala.
Each week, local artists, community members and tourists pick up paintbrushes to make buildings colorful. “At first, the idea of the project was uncertain, but now you can see a considerable difference in the town,” Melissa Whitbeck said. “The color of the buildings is believed to improve the quality-of life of the people. It uplifts the people’s mood and encourages them to be proud of their hometown.”
1. Why was the Pintando Santa Catarina project started?| A．Because of a workforce shortage. | B．Due to the poor economic conditions. |
| C．Thanks to the increase in population. | D．For the old-fashioned farming ways. |
| A．Building family art galleries in Guatemala. | B．Creating job opportunities for local artists. |
| C．Developing local tourism by selling artworks. | D．Changing the town into a cultural destination. |
| A．The surrounding volcanoes. | B．Mayan-styled butterflies. |
| C．A type of traditional clothing. | D．The national bird of Guatemala. |
| A．Positive. | B．Reserved. | C．Concerned. | D．Negative. |
