VOA常速英语2015--教科文组织警告战区文化清洗

教科文组织警告战区文化清洗

LONDON— The head of the United Nations cultural organization says the loss of ancient artifacts destroyed by militants² in Iraq and Syria has long-term implications for security and peace in the region.

Militants from the Islamic State group proudly distributed a video of its fighters destroying ancient artifacts at the museum in Mosul, Iraq, in February. The group considers the statues and sculptures blasphemous³ because they are not in keeping with Islamic tradition.

今年二月，伊斯兰国组织骄傲地发布了其武装分子在伊拉克摩苏尔博物馆毁坏古代文物的视频，该组织认为这些塑像和雕塑不符合伊斯兰传统，因此是在亵渎神明。

The resulting outcry by archeologists and other experts received some criticism from people who said the loss of plaster and stone cannot compare to the tens of thousands of deaths and injuries in the conflict.

考古学家和其他专家的抗议招致了批评的声音，有人说与冲突中成千上万死伤相比，损失掉这些石膏和石头算不了什么。

Major significance

But at London’s Chatham House, UNESCO Director-General Irina Bukova said the concern is about much more than stones and artwork.

但在伦敦的查塔姆研究所，联合国教科文组织总干事伊琳娜·博科娃说，担心的不仅是石头和艺术品。

“Safeguarding cultural heritage is a security imperative⁴ and a peace-building measure,” she said.

“保护文化遗产是安全上的当务之急，也是一种和平建设措施。”

Bukova said destroying evidence of their culture makes it more difficult for people caught in conflicts to recover, leaving them more vulnerable in the future.

博科娃说，毁掉这些文化遗产使得遭受冲突之苦的人们更难以恢复，让他们未来更容易受到伤害。

“All of this, I believe, is part of the same strategy, which I call ‘cultural cleansing⁵.’ Cultural cleansing is a violation⁶ of human rights for thousands, if not millions, of women and men, for the communities," she said. "But it also undermines the possibility for future dialogue, peace-building and reconciliation⁷.”

“我认为所有这些都是同一种悲剧，我称之为‘文化清洗’，对于数百万人，起码数千的男人和女人，对于这些社区来说，文化清洗是对人权的侵犯。同时这也破坏了未来进行对话、和平建设和和解的可能。”

Enforcing law, justice

Any peace-building or reconciliation seems extremely distant in the war zones of Iraq and Syria. And UNESCO says many of the cultural relics⁸ that are not being destroyed are being sold illegally to finance other militant¹ operations.

在伊拉克和叙利亚的战区，任何和平建设或和解似乎都非常遥远，联合国教科文组织称很多没有被毁掉的文化遗产在被非法卖掉以资助其他武装行动。

Bukova said the organization is working to fight the trade in illicit⁹ artifacts and bring the perpetrators to justice.

博科娃说本组织称努力打击文物非法贸易，将罪犯抓拿归案。

 

It’s a complex and difficult effort, however, and in the meantime, militants are continuing to destroy any trace of cultures that is different from their own.

然而，这是个复杂和艰难的工作，同时，武装分子仍在毁掉任何异己的文化遗产。

1 militant   

adj.激进的，好斗的；n.激进分子，斗士

参考例句：

• Some militant leaders want to merge with white radicals.一些好斗的领导人要和白人中的激进派联合。
• He is a militant in the movement.他在那次运动中是个激进人物。

2 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。

3 blasphemous   

adj.亵渎神明的，不敬神的

参考例句：

• The book was declared blasphemous and all copies ordered to be burnt.这本书被断定为亵渎神明之作，命令全数焚毀。
• The people in the room were shocked by his blasphemous language.满屋的人都对他那侮慢的语言感到愤慨。

4 imperative   

n.命令，需要；规则；祈使语气；adj.强制的；紧急的

参考例句：

• He always speaks in an imperative tone of voice.他老是用命令的口吻讲话。
• The events of the past few days make it imperative for her to act.过去这几天发生的事迫使她不得不立即行动。

5 cleansing   

n. 净化(垃圾) adj. 清洁用的 动词cleanse的现在分词

参考例句：

• medicated cleansing pads for sensitive skin 敏感皮肤药物清洗棉
• Soap is not the only cleansing agent. 肥皂并不是唯一的清洁剂。

6 violation   

n.违反(行为)，违背(行为)，侵犯

参考例句：

• He roared that was a violation of the rules.他大声说，那是违反规则的。
• He was fined 200 dollars for violation of traffic regulation.他因违反交通规则被罚款200美元。

7 reconciliation   

n.和解，和谐，一致

参考例句：

• He was taken up with the reconciliation of husband and wife.他忙于做夫妻间的调解工作。
• Their handshake appeared to be a gesture of reconciliation.他们的握手似乎是和解的表示。

8 relics   

[pl.］n.遗物，遗迹，遗产；遗体，尸骸

参考例句：

• The area is a treasure house of archaeological relics. 这个地区是古文物遗迹的宝库。
• Xi'an is an ancient city full of treasures and saintly relics. 西安是一个有很多宝藏和神圣的遗物的古老城市。

9 illicit   

adj.非法的，禁止的，不正当的

参考例句：

• He had an illicit association with Jane.他和简曾有过不正当关系。
• Seizures of illicit drugs have increased by 30% this year.今年违禁药品的扣押增长了30%。