紙莎草紙：尼羅河畔的古老技藝

練家容

埃及文明的傳承與紙莎草紙息息相關(guān)。就生產(chǎn)材料而言，紙莎草紙的原料基本有且只有紙莎草。這種紙莎草曾經(jīng)遍布埃及的河流和池塘，對埃及人來說，紙莎草紙的制作原料是易得的。但是就生產(chǎn)工藝而言，即便是發(fā)明它的埃及人也認(rèn)為不簡單。

In the rich green fields of Egypt's De?lta Valley， farmers and artisans are struggling to make a living as they keep alive the tradition of making papyrus （紙莎草紙）.

The papyrus plant， with its fan?shaped foliage （枝葉）， grows in water and can reach four meters in height. Its form has served as inspiration for decorating the columns of ancient Egyptian temples. In the 1970s， an art teacher in the village of Al?Qaramus tau?ght farmers the ancient techniques for transforming the plant into paper decorated with drawings and text. The village and its surrounds， located about 80 kilometers nor?theast of Cairo， now make up the largest center of papyrus production in the country.

Once used by ancient Egyptians as writing paper， local artists now decorate the papyrus and create souvenirs for eager visitors. Today， Al?Qaramus has 25 farms trying to make ends meet by selling papyrus. Farmer and artist Tarakhan said， “I lost about 80 percent of my total income—I used to earn nearly $1，000 a month and now it's almost zero.”

To make paper， workers use wire to cut the stems into thin strips， which are immersed （浸） in water and then layered （分層堆放） on top of each other to create sheets. The sheets are placed into a compressor to press them firmly， and the resulting paper is left to dry in the sun before being decorated with writing or colorful designs.

Tarakhan said he was trying to branch out into other papyrus products such as notebooks and sketchbooks. A few months ago， his son opened an online store to sell their new range. “At first， we were just selling locally to those who came to us， but later we thought that we could reach more people， and even foreigners through the Internet，” the 30?year?old said.

Near the famous Giza Pyramids around 100 kilometers away， Ashraf al?Sarawi displays papyrus paintings in his large shop， short of tourists. He said he lost most of his income last year due to the pandemic， but expressed hope that tourism would pick up soon. “Tourism never dies. It may get sick for a while， but it will return.”

Reading Check

1. What provided inspiration for decoration of ancient Egyptian temples？

A. The form of wires. B. The form of compressors.

C. The form of notebooks. D. The form of papyrus plants.

2. What is papyrus used to do by local artists now？

A. To create souvenirs. B. To write.

C. To draw. D. To decorate houses.

3. What does paragraph 4 try to express？

A. The popularity of papyrus. B. The processes of making papyrus.

C. The advice on storing papyrus. D. The functions of papyrus.

4. What's the attitude of Ashraf al?Sarawi to tourism？

A. Unclear. B. Tolerant. C. Positive. D. Skeptical.

Language Study

熟詞生義

Tarakhan said he was trying to branch out into other papyrus products such as notebooks and sketchbooks. 塔拉汗說，他正試圖把紙莎草紙應(yīng)用到其他的產(chǎn)品中，如筆記本和素描本。

branch v. 分開;分岔

branch out （into sth） 拓展（新業(yè)務(wù)）

e.g. The company branched out into selling insurance. 該公司業(yè)務(wù)擴(kuò)展到保險(xiǎn)銷售領(lǐng)域。