The neophyte held the crooked jug as though it might display her lack of sophistication. (neophyte: novice, beginner, newcomer; sophistication: refinement, worldliness, cultivation) Its glaze had pooled in a viscous drop, and the spout was askew. (viscous: thick, syrupy, slow-flowing) Her teacher, a reputed savant in the rarefied world of ceramics, asked her to fill it. (reputed: supposed, putative, reported; savant: scholar, learned person, expert; rarefied: exclusive, select, elite) Water poured in a clean line.
His pristine display jug splashed the table. (pristine: unspoiled, immaculate, untouched) "Now which one needs a little work?" His question helped disabuse her of a durable misconception. (disabuse: disillusion, correct a misconception, undeceive; misconception: misunderstanding, false notion, misapprehension) A surface veneer of perfection told her very little about the practicality of a kitchen pot. (veneer: semblance, facade, gloss; practicality: usefulness, utility, feasibility)
She kept the jug beside her wheel. The next apprentice, afraid of ridicule, tried to hide his first spout. (ridicule: mockery, derision, scorn) She brought out the crooked jug, along with a cloth. Either of them could err. (err: misjudge, blunder, slip) Neither of them would learn much from a dry shelf.