Hello and welcome. My name's Heather McCallum and I'm one of the potters who work here at Edelman Pottery. Before we go into the workshop, I just want to say a bit about the craft of pottery. Then we'll have a look at the equipment and you can try making a pot of your own.
Like many people, I'm sure you know that pottery as an art form is tens of thousands of years old. And we know this because it stands the test of time. Things like baskets and pictures don't survive on the earth in the same way that pots do.【Q11】 and even if ancient pots are found in small pieces they still provide a lot of information about the past.
There no doubt that pottery has given archaeologists a fascinating insight into how ancient human lived. The shape of an artefact may have been lost but archaeologists can tell whether the pots were for, say, storage or cooking by examining the impressions on the clay, the scratches from tools;【Q12】 and the clay itself can reveal where the pots came from.
When I ask people why they want to take a pottery class with me, they sometimes talk about these things. Like our ancestors, they hope that something they create will also last longer than they do,【Q13】 that their work, whether it is good or not, might say something about humanity many years after their death.
Of course, you will all have your own reasons for coming here. As far as I'm concerned, what I love most is the concentration you need to make a good pot. That focus takes you away from the stresses of everyday life.【Q14】 If you're elderly, it's also good exercise for hands and wrists and helps with arthritis. And of course, it's a fun activity for children because it's so messy.
Here at Edelman Pottery, we show you some of the basic pottery techniques so that you can use these to create whatever you wish. A gift for a friend, perhaps. Like nearly everyone who comes here, I'm sure this is the first time you will have tried the art, 【Q15】so we'll keep things simple today.
Now, before we move on, can I just say a word about what you're wearing? As we said in our email, please remove any watches, necklaces, etc.【Q16】 and put them somewhere safe. If you have long hair do tie it back now. We provide aprons later but I trust your clothes are old but comfortable, not your favourite T-shirt or jeans!
So now we're in the workshop. Have a look around. There's a lot going on. To make pottery that will last, you need a potter's wheel, a kiln, which is basically a very hot oven where you fire the pottery, and some tools.
So, first, the kiln. If you look over in the far corner, you'll see one of ours. Since their invention, kilns have changed very little, though in the past 20 years a lot of progress has been made in temperature control. Basically, a kiln removes the water from clay at temperatures of around 1000 degrees Celsius.【Q17/18】 This allows anything you've made to set permanently in shape. It's a pretty ugly heavy object that's hard to keep in a house or flat, so most people don't have one. You may think, can't I use my oven? Well, that's possible, but domestic ovens don't really get hot enough and eventually the clay will crack and fall apart. Some people fire pottery in a fire pit outside【Q17/18】 - but bear in mind… that can be dangerous. You also need to know about safety procedures for kilns as they release toxic compounds into the air.
Every potter needs a potter's wheel. This machine is used to shape the clay into an object with circular walls or sides, such as a bowl. Its invention revolutionised the pottery industry, allowing multiple items to be produced in a day.
Lastly, there are a number of different tools that potters use, depending on what they want to make. When you start, your hands can make all kinds of shapes and curves without relying on a sculpting tool. However, there are some basic tools that you will need【Q19/20】 to handle the clay on the wheel. Some look very strange and have even odder names that you may find hard to remember. Rather than go through them all now, I'll just name a few tools as we go along. We can provide these 【Q19/20】and I wouldn't recommend spending money on them yet.
So, let's try making a pot of your own …
Choose the correct letter, A, B or C.
听前预测：定位词为 other art forms，限定词为 differs、because。
题目解析：开篇稍作背景介绍，听到原文提到 you can try making a pot of your own，只是表达可以自己动手做陶罐，不能过度推断为选项 B 的 it is practised by more people（更多的人可以实践），且原文未提及这是陶罐和其他艺术形式的区别。往后听到“Like many people, I'm sure you know that pottery as an art form is tens of thousands of years old, and we know this because it stands the test of time.”，该句中的 art form 提示该题出现，其中 tens of thousands of years old 和 stands the test of time 表达陶器历史悠久，跟选项 A 内容表达一致，但目前还未提及这是跟其他 art forms 的区别，因此还不能选取。随后原文提到“Things like baskets and pictures don't survive in the earth in the same way that pots do.”，意为“篮子和画作这样的东西在土壤中无法像陶罐那样保存下来”，说明陶罐保存时间长，篮子和画作保存时间短，其中 baskets 和 pictures 为题干 other art forms 的具象化替换，因此确认选项 A 为正确答案。随后原文提到“And even if ancient pots are found in small pieces, they still provide a lot of information about the past.”，从该句中的 small pieces（小碎片）无法推出选项 C 的 it can be repaired more easily，因此选项 C 属于信息过度推断，故不选。
听前预测：定位词为 archaeologists、ancient pottery，限定词为 identify...from、use。
题目解析：ancient pots 和 archaeologists 在原文先后出现，提示定位到该题。原文先提到 The shape of an artefact may have been lost，说明文物的形状可能不复存在，可以直接排除选项 C。接着由转折词引出答案句“but archaeologists can tell whether the pots were for, say, storage or cooking by examining the impressions on the clay, the scratches from tools”，该句表示考古学家通过黏土上的压痕（impressions）、工具刮擦痕迹（scratches）来判断其用途（storage or cooking），跟选项 B 信息一 致，其中 mark 意为“痕迹”，跟原文中的 impressions 和 scratches 进行同义替换，故选项 B 为正确答案。随后，原文提到 and the clay itself can reveal where the pots came from，意为“黏土本身能揭示陶器的产地”，并非揭示陶器的用途，跟题干限定信息 use 不一致，因此选项 A 为干扰项，故排除。
听前预测：定位词为 some people、pottery class，限定词为 because。
题目解析：当原文提到 When I ask people why they want to take a pottery class with me，提示定位到该题。随后原文提到“Like our ancestors, they hope that something they create will also last longer than they do”，意为“像我们的祖先一样，他们希望自己创造的东西也能比他们存在得更久”，跟选项 C 的 make something that will outlive them 内容表达一致，其中 outlive 意为“度过……而存在”，故选项 C 为 正确答案。选项 A 中 looks very old 信息表达偏差；选项 B 中的 good 在原文中提及的时候（whether it is good or not）指物品的好坏，并非自己擅长（are good at），出现信息偏差。因此选项 A、B 皆为干扰项，可排除。
听前预测：限定词为 Heather、value most。
题目解析：当原文提到“As far as I'm concerned, what I love most”提示该题位置出现，认真听取“is the concentration you need to make a good pot. That focus takes you away from the stresses of everyday life.”，该句表达说话者最喜欢的是制作一个精美陶器时的专注，这种专注能让人暂时忘却日常生活的种种压力，跟选项 A 中的 calming effect 进行同义替换，故选项 A 为正确答案。接着原文提到“If you're elderly, it's also good exercise for hands and wrists and helps with arthritis”，该句虽然描述了制陶对身体的好处（physical benefits），但对象为 elderly，跟题干对象 Heather（说话者）不一致，因此选项 C 为干扰项，故排除。而后听到的 it's a fun activity for children because it's so messy，该句描述的对象为 children，与题干对象也不一致，因此选项 B 也为干扰项，故排除。
听前预测：定位词为 Edelman Pottery，限定词为 most。
题目解析：题干信息 Edelman Pottery 原词出现后，原文先听到“we show you some of the basic pottery techniques so that you can use these to create whatever you wish—a gift for a friend, perhaps”，该句中提到 basic pottery techniques，不能直接推出选项 C（try to learn techniques too quickly），而 a gift for a friend，也不能直接推出选项 A（bring friends to join courses），这两个选项都属于信息不完整的陷阱，都为干扰项，故排除。接着原文提到 Like nearly everyone who comes here，其中 nearly everyone 跟题干信息 most 同义替换，提示答案句即将出现，准备抓取。随后 听到“I'm sure this is the first time you will have tried the art, so we'll keep things simple today.”，该句中 first time 意思是之前并未尝试过陶艺活动，跟选项 B（have never made a pot before）内容一致，故确认为正确答案。
听前预测：限定词为 reminds、visitors。
题目解析：上一题结束后，原文提到“Now, before we move on, can I just say a word about what you're wearing.”，提示定位到该题，准备听取。原文提到“please remove any watches, necklaces, etc. and put them somewhere safe”，意为“请摘下手表、 项链等，并将它们放在安全的地方”。其中 watches、necklaces 等为选项 C 中 jewellery 的具象化替换信息，因此确认选项 C 为正确答案。随后原文提到 We'll provide aprons later，意为“我们晚点会提供围裙”，但并未要求参观者必须穿上围裙，因此选项 A 属于信息过度推断，为干扰项，故排除。而随后出现的 but I trust your clothes are old but comfortable—not your favourite T-shirt or jeans，只是表达说话者希望参观者穿上自己舒适的旧衣服，并未要求参观者换衣服，因此选项 B 也属于信息过度推断，为干扰项，故排除。