环球英语 — 278：Art and Culture in Baghdad

　　Voice 1
Hello, I’m Ruby¹ Jones.
Voice 2
And I’m Liz Waid. Welcome to Spotlight². This programme uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
Iraq, 2007. A place of continuing struggle and conflict. Military helicopters fly low across the afternoon sky. In the distance, a bomb explodes. Bursts of machine gun fire follow. Another street battle is beginning. People in the street start to hurry home. It is not safe to be outdoors at such a time. But something they hear makes them stop suddenly. Music fills the air around them. Just for a minute, its sweetness makes them forget the troubles in their city. These people have experienced years of conflict and death. For them, it is good to remember that the world also contains beauty.
Voice 2
The Iraqi National Symphony³ Orchestra⁴ played the music that day. This group of musicians - music makers⁵ - were meeting in the city centre. They needed to prepare for a series of performances. The musicians want to show the people of Iraq that music is very important. And it should be as much a part of their lives as the other events they experience daily. The orchestra is good news for the people of Iraq. We do not normally hear good news from this country. However, in today’s Spotlight we tell how people are restoring Iraq’s culture through music, books and art.
Voice 1
Iraq’s national orchestra formed in 1959. It was the country’s official orchestra - the government paid its musicians. It soon became famous across the Arab world. And musicians came from many different countries to be part of this orchestra. However, the military invasion of 2003 changed this. Musicians no longer felt that coming to Iraq was safe. And something worse happened. During a riot⁶, crowds destroyed a lot of the orchestra’s instruments and music. Majid Hussein Moussa plays the trumpet⁷ in the orchestra. He described those events:
Voice 3
“They were burning the music - smashing⁸ up violins and pianos and putting them in the fire. When I asked them why they were doing this, they told me, ‘If you stay, you will burn with them.’ They ruined so much at that time. It was so sad.”
Voice 1
Majid Hussein Moussa had another frightening experience. Some gunmen kidnapped him from outside his home. He explained what happened to him:
Voice 3
“The men covered my eyes. Then they put me in the back of a car. They took me to a room somewhere. They accused me of being a soldier. But I had papers to show that I was only a poor musician.”
Voice 2
Many of the orchestra’s members believed that Iraq was no longer safe. So they left. But Moussa and the remaining orchestra members showed great courage. They decided⁹ to continue playing music. They received financial help from organizations overseas. And they managed to buy new instruments and music. And so the orchestra continues to play - easing people’s troubled spirits.
Voice 1
Iraqi people are famous for their love of books. One famous Arabic saying is: “Egypt writes. Lebanon publishes. And Iraq reads.” Iraq’s capital, Baghdad, once contained one of the biggest libraries in the world. People would come from far away to look through its wonderful book collection. But almost eight hundred years ago, invading armies came from the east. They killed the people of Baghdad. And they destroyed all of the library’s many books. Today, some Baghdad booksellers would say that history has repeated itself.
Voice 2
The Mutanabi Street bookmarket, Baghdad. In March 2007, a suicide¹⁰ bomber¹¹ blew himself up here. Twenty people died. And historical cafes and bookstores were left in ruins. Abdul Rahim is an unemployed¹² teacher. For him, the bombing shows similar thinking to the events of eight hundred years ago - destroying people and culture. He explains:
Voice 4
“It shows that some people do not think very highly of learning - as well as being afraid of it. Books open the mind to argument and debate. And that is what a lot of people in Baghdad do not want.”
Voice 2
Six months later, however, some of the Mutanabi Street book stores re-opened for business. And Abdul Rahim sees this as a positive act. He says:
Voice 4
“Here we have American books, British books and religious books. The old government banned them. But people can now buy them and make up their own minds.”
Voice 2
Naim El Shatry has been selling books here for forty years. At one point, He no longer thought that Iraq’s culture could survive the violence. But now, he has hope. He says:
Voice 5
“You cannot keep people away from books any more than you can keep them away from water. The mind always needs a drink. People need to satisfy it.”
Voice 1
A group of friends sit around a table. They are in an open space in a building given over to art. It is a warm afternoon. But some trees give them cover from the sun. As the friends talk, one man looks around at some pictures on the wall close by. Some of the man’s friends painted these pictures. And the man wants as many people as possible to see them. For him, art can provide a way out of the terrible situation his country is in.
Voice 2
The man’s name is Hassan Nasser. Hasssan opened his art gallery in 2006. And he is always organizing events there. Special talks, people reading poems, film shows - there is always something to do at the Madarat Gallery. Hassan does not make much money from the gallery as a business. But that is not his aim. He says:
Voice 6
“We are trying to get back the Iraqi open mind. It is a chance for a new period. And I want to be part of that.”
Voice 2
And unlike some people, he does not believe that life was better under the old government. He says:
Voice 6
“I did not suffer from any violence. But life was misery¹³, especially if you liked to be free. In Iraq before, you had to follow orders. Then we were just breathing. Now we have hope, hope for a good future.”
Voice 2
There may not be many people in Iraq who share Hassan’s hopeful views. But he stands along with the artists and musicians and book sellers of Baghdad. Together they continue to create a world of music, beauty and knowledge - a place where crushed hearts and minds can heal and grow.
Voice 1
The writer and producer of today’s programme was Ruby Jones. The voices you heard were from the United Kingdom and the United States. All quotations¹⁴ were adapted for this programme. This programme is called, “Art and Culture in Baghdad.”
Voice 2
Thank you for joining us today. Goodbye.

1 ruby   

n.红宝石，红宝石色

参考例句：

• She is wearing a small ruby earring.她戴着一枚红宝石小耳环。
• On the handle of his sword sat the biggest ruby in the world.他的剑柄上镶有一颗世上最大的红宝石。

2 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

3 symphony   

n.交响乐（曲），（色彩等的）和谐

参考例句：

• The Ninth Symphony of Beethoven is a famous one.贝多芬的第九交响乐非常有名。
• They play over the whole symphony.他们把整个交响乐重新演奏了一遍。

4 orchestra   

n.管弦乐队；vt.命令，定购

参考例句：

• He plays the violin in an orchestra.他在管弦乐队中演奏小提琴。
• I was tempted to stay and hear this superb orchestra rehearse.我真想留下来听这支高超的管弦乐队排练。

5 makers   

n.制造者，制造商（maker的复数形式）

参考例句：

• The makers of the product assured us that there had been no sacrifice of quality. 这一产品的制造商向我们保证说他们没有牺牲质量。
• The makers are about to launch out a new product. 制造商们马上要生产一种新产品。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 riot   

n.暴（骚）乱，（色彩等）极度丰富；vi.聚众闹事

参考例句：

• They had to call the police in order to put down the riot.他们只得叫来警察以平定骚乱。
• Flowers of all sorts are blooming in a riot of colour.百花盛开，万紫千红。

7 trumpet   

n.喇叭，喇叭声；v.吹喇叭，吹嘘

参考例句：

• He plays the violin, but I play the trumpet.他拉提琴，我吹喇叭。
• The trumpet sounded for battle.战斗的号角吹响了。

8 smashing   

adj.极好的；粉碎的；惨重的；活泼的adv.极好地v.打碎；捣毁；重击；撞毁（车辆）

参考例句：

• We had a smashing time. 我们过得非常愉快。
• While you are on the phone, the baby pulls the table-cloth off the table. smashing half your best crockery and cutting himself in the process. 你接电话时小孩把桌布扯了下来，把你最好的陶器打碎了一半，同时他还把自己磕破了。 来自《用法词典》

9 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

10 suicide   

n.自杀，自毁，自杀性行为

参考例句：

• The number of suicide has increased.自杀案件的数量增加了。
• The death was adjudged a suicide by sleeping pills.该死亡事件被判定为服用安眠药自杀。

11 bomber   

n.轰炸机，投弹手，投掷炸弹者

参考例句：

• He flew a bomber during the war.他在战时驾驶轰炸机。
• Detectives hunting the London bombers will be keen to interview him.追查伦敦爆炸案凶犯的侦探们急于对他进行讯问。

12 unemployed   

adj.失业的，没有工作的；未动用的，闲置的

参考例句：

• There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
• The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。

13 misery   

n.痛苦，苦恼，苦难；悲惨的境遇，贫苦

参考例句：

• Business depression usually causes misery among the working class.商业不景气常使工薪阶层受苦。
• He has rescued me from the mire of misery.他把我从苦海里救了出来。

14 quotations   

n.引用( quotation的名词复数 )；[商业]行情（报告）；（货物或股票的）市价；时价

参考例句：

• The insurance company requires three quotations for repairs to the car. 保险公司要修理这辆汽车的三家修理厂的报价单。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• These quotations cannot readily be traced to their sources. 这些引语很难查出出自何处。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》