VOA慢速英语--Search for Iraq's Stolen Artifacts Gets Serious

 

Before Islamic State militants¹ were forced from Iraq in 2017, they stole thousands of ancient artifacts. Most are still missing.

Now, an international team of archaeologists is working to recover as many of the stolen national treasures as possible.

Bruno Deslandes is an expert on historic buildings at UNESCO, the United Nations cultural agency. He said, “We’re trying to recover a lot of artifacts and need all local and international resources to work. Iraq cannot do this on its own.”

Deslandes spoke² recently at a gathering³ at the National Museum in Baghdad.

In 2014 and 2015, the Islamic State group attacked and destroyed historical areas on what UNESCO called an “industrial” scale. The group used stolen treasures to finance its operations. Artifacts were secretly sold to buyers throughout the Middle East and overseas.

Video released by Islamic State in 2014 showed militants using power tools and heavy machinery⁴ to tear down paintings and statues near the city of Mosul. What they did not destroy, they smuggled⁵ and traded.

Deslandes was the first international expert to return to the area in early 2017 while Islamic State forces were being driven out.

He and his team had to work quickly to examine the damage. They used three-dimensional scanning equipment and satellite imaging technology to search the area. Deslandes says they gathered a lot of important information that he thinks will be helpful in finding missing objects.

The National Museum meeting brought together Iraqi and foreign police, customs officials and archeological experts. It was the second meeting in two years organized by the European Union Advisory⁶ Mission in Iraq.

Law enforcement officials said they can help Iraqi police find the objects using records of seizures⁷ and other information.

Mariya Polner is with the World Customs Organization (WCO). She said reports of cultural heritage seizures by customs officials worldwide were just the beginning. Polner noted⁸ that better organization between the WCO’s 183 members had helped increase recoveries.

In 2017, the WCO said officials recovered more than 14,000 stolen items worldwide, including paintings and statues. That is an increase of 48 percent from one year earlier.

Deslandes noted that some ancient sites inside Iraq were still at risk. He added, “When a site is liberated⁹, it doesn’t mean the looting has finished.”

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

artifact – n. a simple object, like a tool, showing evidence of human workmanship

resource – n. a supply of wealth or materials

scale – n. an instrument used to measure things

scanning – n. to look at something carefully usually in order to find someone or something

smuggling¹⁰ – n. moving someone or something from one country into another illegally and secretly

looting – n. stealing things from a place, such as a store or house, during a war or after destruction has been caused by fire or rioting

1 militants   

激进分子，好斗分子( militant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The militants have been sporadically fighting the government for years. 几年来，反叛分子一直对政府实施零星的战斗。
• Despite the onslaught, Palestinian militants managed to fire off rockets. 尽管如此，巴勒斯坦的激进分子仍然发射导弹。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 gathering   

n.集会，聚会，聚集

参考例句：

• He called on Mr. White to speak at the gathering.他请怀特先生在集会上讲话。
• He is on the wing gathering material for his novels.他正忙于为他的小说收集资料。

4 machinery   

n.(总称)机械，机器；机构

参考例句：

• Has the machinery been put up ready for the broadcast?广播器材安装完毕了吗？
• Machinery ought to be well maintained all the time.机器应该随时注意维护。

5 smuggled   

水货

参考例句：

• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• Those smuggled goods have been detained by the port office. 那些走私货物被港务局扣押了。 来自互联网

6 advisory   

adj.劝告的，忠告的，顾问的，提供咨询

参考例句：

• I have worked in an advisory capacity with many hospitals.我曾在多家医院做过顾问工作。
• He was appointed to the advisory committee last month.他上个月获任命为顾问委员会委员。

7 seizures   

n.起获( seizure的名词复数 )；没收；充公；起获的赃物

参考例句：

• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year. 今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Other causes of unconsciousness predisposing to aspiration lung abscess are convulsive seizures. 造成吸入性肺脓肿昏迷的其他原因，有惊厥发作。 来自辞典例句

8 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

9 liberated   

a.无拘束的，放纵的

参考例句：

• The city was liberated by the advancing army. 军队向前挺进，解放了那座城市。
• The heat brings about a chemical reaction, and oxygen is liberated. 热量引起化学反应，释放出氧气。

10 smuggling   

n.走私

参考例句：

• Some claimed that the docker's union fronted for the smuggling ring.某些人声称码头工人工会是走私集团的掩护所。
• The evidence pointed to the existence of an international smuggling network.证据表明很可能有一个国际走私网络存在。