Applied Arts and Fine Arts

Although we now tend to refer to the various crafts according to the materials used to construct them—clay, glass, wood, fiber, and metal—it was once common to think of crafts in terms of function, which led to their being known as the "applied arts." (段首句一般情况下为段落主题句，且这个长句中包含一个让步关系，即重点句为我用下划线标出的转折部分，由此我们可以判断出这段的主题在讲根据function进行分类的applied art，也就是说，这一段里面会且仅会出现applied art所对应的特征。且大家要注意去看归纳性的信息，举例修饰从句等补充说明的细节可以不看。) Approaching crafts from the point of view of function, we can divide them into simple categories: containers, shelters and supports. There is no way around the fact that containers, shelters, and supports must be functional. The applied arts are thus bound by the laws of physics, which pertain to both the materials used in their making and the substances and things to be contained, supported, and sheltered.(从句不看) These laws are universal in their application, regardless of cultural beliefs, geography, or climate. If a pot has no bottom or has large openings in its sides, it could hardly be considered a container in any traditional sense. Since the laws of physics, not some arbitrary decision, have determined the general form of applied-art objects, they follow basic patterns, so much so that functional forms can vary only within certain limits. (上述几句和E选项对应，为applied art的特征) Buildings without roofs, for example (举例不看), are unusual because they depart from the norm. However, not all functional objects are exactly alike; that is why we recognize a Shang Dynasty vase as being different from an Inca vase. What varies is not the basic form but the incidental details that do not obstruct the object's primary function. 

Sensitivity to physical laws is thus (thus说明了本句和上一段之间的承接关系，这一句有可能是过渡句，建议大家在找段落大意的时候把下一句也读掉) an important consideration for the maker of applied-art objects. It is often taken for granted that this is also true for the maker of fine-art objects. (说明这一段也会讨论到fine art) This assumption misses a significant difference between the two disciplines. Fine-art objects are not constrained by the laws of physics in the same way that applied-art objects are. Because their (对应fine art) primary purpose is not functional, they are only limited in terms of the materials used to make them. (同时这句话说明B选项和applied art对应，D选项和fine art对应) Sculptures must, for example (举例不看), be stable, which requires an understanding of the properties of mass, weight distribution, and stress. Paintings must have rigid stretchers so that the canvas will be taut, and the paint must not deteriorate, crack, or discolor. These are problems that must be overcome by the artist because they tend to intrude upon his or her conception of the work. For example, in the early Italian Renaissance, bronze statues of horses with a raised foreleg usually had a cannonball under that hoof. This was done because the cannonball was needed to support the weight of the leg. In other words, the demands of the laws of physics, not the sculptor's aesthetic intentions, placed the ball there. That this device was a necessary structural compromise is clear from the fact that the cannonball quickly disappeared when sculptors learned how to strengthen the internal structure of a statue with iron braces (iron being much stronger than bronze). 

Even though the fine arts in the twentieth century often treat materials in new ways, the basic difference in attitude of artists in relation to their materials in the fine arts and the applied arts remains relatively constant. (这段话讲两种艺术在使用material时的不同) It would therefore not be too great an exaggeration to say that practitioners of the fine arts work to overcome the limitations of their materials, whereas those engaged in the applied arts work in concert with their materials. (对应F选项，为applied art的特征)