浙江 周晨曲

烙畫(huà)葫蘆，又稱燙畫(huà)葫蘆，是以烙痕代替筆墨，在葫蘆表面作畫(huà)的一種藝術(shù)表現(xiàn)形式。它不僅是一種中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)工藝美術(shù)品，更是一項(xiàng)非物質(zhì)文化遺產(chǎn)。

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1Niu Chengguo was beyond proud and excited when he knew his handmade gift—a fire-painted bottle gourd (葫蘆) had been well received by a special international guest named Juan Antonio Samaranch Jr.

2Niu's bottle gourd works feature elements of plum blossom (梅 花), orchid, bamboo and chrysanthemum (菊 花)—four of the favorite subjects of well-known Chinese painters and calligraphers throughout the course of history. The four plants are famous for their characteristics of a strong will and the ability to overcome hardship.The bottle gourd presented to Samaranch featured orchids,symbolizing wealth,peace,good fortune and goodwill.

3Niu has taken up the gourd art for more than 40 years.The art was named a local intangible heritage by the Beijing government in September, 2021. He learned it from his grandfather. As a child, he watched his grandfather burn patterns with heated pieces of metal,and Niu found it very magical.

4The bottle gourd has long been considered auspicious (吉祥的) by the Chinese. Its shape made it an ideal container in the past. In ancient times, many doctors used bottle gourds to hold medicine and hung them at the front of their clinics.And the gourd has turned into a symbol of traditional Chinese medicine.

5Bottle gourd pyrography (烙畫(huà)) is the art of decorating gourds by burning a graphic design onto the surface.The technique known as pyrography can be traced back more than 2,200 years to the Qin Dynasty,but it was not until the end of the Ming Dynasty that the art was first applied(運(yùn)用)to gourds.

6Skilled craftsmen have applied pyrography to turn ordinary bottle gourds into artworks.The first step to making one is to pick a ripe and golden bottle gourd.Then,the artist has to design a creative pattern before applying it. Finally, skilled artists usually take advantage of the natural shape and texture (質(zhì)地) of the gourd, using a heated tool or wire to burn the designs onto it,which can take on a three-dimensional(立體的)appearance.

Reading Check

1.What does the second paragraph mainly talk about?

A.Niu's attitude to his works.

B.Features of Niu's works.

C.Popular flowers in history.

D.Niu's relationship with his grandfather.

2.What does the underlined word“it”in paragraph 4 refer to?

A.A kind of medicine.

B.A piece of metal.

C.A bottle gourd.

D.A clinic.

3.When was the art of pyrography used in decorating gourds?

A.At the beginning of the Qin Dynasty.

B.In the end of the Ming Dynasty.

C.About forty years ago.

D.In September,2021.

4.How many steps are mentioned to turn ordinary bottle gourds into artworks?

A.One.

B.Two.

C.Three.

D.Four.

Language Study

Ⅰ. Useful expressions

plum blossom 梅花

orchid 蘭花

bamboo 竹子

chrysanthemum 菊花

a strong will 堅(jiān)強(qiáng)的意志

intangible heritage 非物質(zhì)遺產(chǎn)

Ⅱ.Difficult sentence

The bottle gourd presented to Samaranch featured orchids,symbolizing wealth,peace,good fortune and goodwill.送給薩馬蘭奇的葫蘆以蘭花為特色，象征著財(cái)富、和平、好運(yùn)和友好。

【點(diǎn)石成金】該句中，symbolizing wealth,peace,good fortune and goodwill 為現(xiàn)在分詞短語(yǔ)作伴隨狀語(yǔ)。