Food and Health
The food we eat seems to have profound effects on our health. Although science has made enormous steps in making food more fit to eat, it has, at the same time, made many foods unfit to eat. Some research has shown that perhaps eighty percent of all human illnesses are related to diet and forty percent of cancer is related to the diet as well, especially cancer of the colon. Different cultures are more prone to contract certain illnesses because of the food that is characteristic in these cultures. That food is related to illness is not a new discovery. In 1945, government researchers realized that nitrates and nitrites, commonly used to preserve color in meats, and other food additives, caused cancer. Yet, these carcinogenic additives remain in our food, and it becomes more difficult all the time to know which things in the packaging labels of processed food are helpful or harmful. The additives which we eat are not all so direct. Farmers often give penicillin to beef and poultry, and because of this, penicillin has been found in the milk of treated cows. Sometimes similar drugs are administered to animals not for medicinal purposes, but for financial reasons. The farmers are simply trying to fatten the animals in order to obtain a higher price on the market. Although the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has tried repeatedly to control these procedures, the practices continue.
食品與健康
我們所吃的食物似乎對(duì)我們的健康有深遠(yuǎn)的影響. 盡管科學(xué)上已取得許多進(jìn)展,使食物更適合我們食用,但與此同時(shí)它也使許多食物不宜食用了. 一些研究已經(jīng)表明,人類大概有80%的疾病與飲食有關(guān),40%的癌癥,特別是結(jié)腸癌,也與飲食有關(guān). 不同的文化會(huì)使人們更易患某些疾病,這是由這些文化的人們喜好的食物所致. 食物與疾病有關(guān)并不是新發(fā)現(xiàn). 1945年,政府部門的科研工作者了解到,被廣泛用于肉類以保持肉類色澤的硝酸鹽、亞硝酸鹽和其他的添加劑可誘發(fā)癌癥. 可是這些致癌物質(zhì)依然存在于我們的食物之中. 與此同時(shí),要想知道加工食品標(biāo)簽上的哪些成分對(duì)健康有利,哪些成分對(duì)健康不利,變得更加困難了. 我們吃到的這些添加物并非都是如此直接的. 農(nóng)民常給牛和家禽注射青霉素,因而在受過(guò)注射的牛所產(chǎn)牛奶里發(fā)現(xiàn)青霉素. 有時(shí)讓家禽服用這類藥物并非是為了治病,而是為了經(jīng)濟(jì)上的緣故. 農(nóng)民們只是想使家畜長(zhǎng)得更肥壯可以上市場(chǎng)上賣到好價(jià)錢. 雖然食物和藥品管理局已一再設(shè)法控制這種情況的發(fā)生,但是這種行為仍在繼續(xù).
Pottery
Ancient people made clay pottery because they needed it for their survival. They used the pots they made for cooking, storing food, and carrying things from place to place. Pottery was so important to early cultures that scientists now study it to learn more about ancient civilizations. The more advanced the pottery in terms of decoration, materials, glazes and manufacture, the more advanced the culture itself.
The artisan who makes pottery in North America today utilizes his or her skill and imagination to create items that are beautiful as well as functional, transforming something ordinary into something special and unique.
The potter uses one of the Earth's most basic materials, clay. Clay can be found almost anywhere. Good pottery clay must be free from all small stones and other hard materials that would make the potting process difficult. Most North American artisan potters now purchase commercially processed clay, but some find the clay they need right in the earth close to where they work.
The most important tools potters use are their own hands; however, they also use wire loop tools, wooden modeling tools, plain wire, and sponges. Plain wire is used to cut away the finished pot from its base on the potter's wheel.
After a finished pot is dried of all its moisture in the open air, it is placed in a kiln and fired. The first firing hardens the pottery, and it is then ready to be glazed and fired again.
For areas where they do not want any glaze, such as the bottom of the pot, artisans paint on melted wax that will later burn off in the kiln. They then pour on the liquid glaze and let it run over the clay surface, making any kind of decorative pattern that they want.
陶器
古代人制作陶器是因?yàn)樗麄兊纳嫘枰? 他們用這些自制的盆盆罐罐來(lái)做飯、裝食物、儲(chǔ)運(yùn)東西. 陶器在早期文化中占據(jù)了如此重要的地位,以致于科學(xué)家們現(xiàn)在通過(guò)研究陶器來(lái)獲取對(duì)古代文明的更多的了解. 因?yàn)樘掌鞯难b飾、材料、釉彩、制作等工藝越發(fā)達(dá)就說(shuō)明這種文明越發(fā)達(dá). 今天,北美的陶藝匠人運(yùn)用他們的技藝和想象力創(chuàng)造出了既美觀又實(shí)用的陶藝制品,把日常用品變?yōu)楠?dú)特的藝術(shù)品. 制陶匠人使用大地上最基本的原材料--粘土. 粘土幾乎隨處可見(jiàn),但好的制陶所用的粘土必須不含小沙?；蛉魏斡参?否則會(huì)給制陶過(guò)程帶來(lái)不便. 現(xiàn)在大多數(shù)北美制陶藝人買現(xiàn)成的專用陶土,也有些陶匠樂(lè)于就地取材,在作坊附近自己挖粘土. 制陶器最重要的工具是工匠們自己的雙手,但有時(shí)他們也用些別的工具,如繩圈、木模、素線、海綿等. 素線的作用是當(dāng)一件陶器完成后用它把陶器從轉(zhuǎn)盤上的基座上切下來(lái). 陶器成形后,首先要在空氣中自然風(fēng)干,再放到窯中焙燒. 第一遍焙燒使得陶器變得堅(jiān)硬,下一步就是給它上釉彩,然后再焙燒. 陶器上有些地方不需上釉彩,像罐子底部,匠人們就在這些部位涂上蠟,一加熱就會(huì)化掉. 然后匠人們把釉彩液體澆上陶器表面,繪制他們想要的任何圖案.