英语听力—环球英语 537 The Auschwitz-Birkenau Debate

　　Voice 1
Welcome to Spotlight¹. I'm Ryan Geertsma.
Voice 2
And I'm Christy Van Aaragon. Spotlight uses a special English method of broadcasting. It is easier for people to understand, no matter where in the world they live.
Voice 1
All around the world, people work to preserve the memories of people, places, and events. We create memorials to honor and remember people or events. We save and protect places where those events happened.
Voice 2
We protect ancient buildings like the Egyptian pyramids and Stonehenge in England. We keep the childhood houses of famous musicians, writers, and politicians in good condition. Famous places like churches and castles are fixed² and saved for many years.
Voice 1
There are many reasons we preserve places from our history. Most memories are shared through spoken and written stories. But we preserve places and create memorials so that people for many generations can see them. Even a person who does not know the history can visit the memorial to hear and experience the story. This is one way we keep memories alive.
Voice 2
These places or events are memories of a whole community. And they are preserved so that the community memory can be passed to the coming generations. Alexander Trapeznik wrote an article on this subject for the New Zealand Historic³ Places Trust Pouhere Taonga. In it he describes what these memorials and preserved places do for a community.
Voice 3
"Shared stories connect us. They make it possible for us to celebrate and honour past achievements and sacrifices. Plaques⁴, monuments, or historic buildings suggest shared beliefs and values. And they provide a message considered important enough to be permanent, preserved to praise and defend past actions."
Voice 1
We hope that by saving these physical memories people will remember the past. We hope they will help us celebrate the good events. And, we hope they will help us remember what happened so that we do not repeat the bad events. But should we always preserve physical places of our history?
Voice 2
This question is being asked right now about Auschwitz-Birkenau, a concentration camp and death camp from World War Two. Auschwitz-Birkenau is in the country of Poland. When the Nazi⁵ German army took control of Poland, they established this camp as a place to bring the people who resisted their control.
Voice 1
This concentration camp was a place of pain and death. The Nazis⁶ forced the prisoners to work for them. They did not give the prisoners enough food. Many people died from the work. But the Nazis also killed thousands of men, women, and children in gas chambers⁷. Once the people were in the room, the guards closed the doors and the room filled with poisonous gas. They killed millions of people in concentration camps like Auschwitz-Birkenau. This time is called the Holocaust⁸.
Voice 2
Since the end of World War Two, the country of Poland has preserved the land and buildings at Auschwitz-Birkenau. A few buildings still exist. The gas chambers are only ruins. But, people from all over the world still come to visit the camp. Hearing the terrible stories about this place is powerful. But seeing the living conditions and gas chambers makes the stories real for people. It changes how they think about the events of that time.
Voice 1
Fiona Bell is a history teacher in Wales. She took her students to visit Auschwitz-Birkenau when they studied World War Two. In an interview with the website Wales Online, she shared the important lessons she hoped her students would learn through this visit.
Voice 4
"The study trip was important. There are still people who deny the Holocaust happened. Visits to the death camps of Europe provide chances of opposing this disbelief. Even more, the historical sites we visited, such as those at Auschwitz I and Auschwitz-Birkenau, gave students a chance to consider the effects of hatred⁹. Such consideration is important for all people living in the 21st Century."
Voice 2
Hundreds of thousands of people visit Auschwitz-Birkenau every year. But when the camp was built by the Nazis in 1941, it was not built to last. Today, the buildings are falling apart. But preserving the camp would cost a lot of money. Some people question if this work is necessary. They ask if it would be better to end the work of preservation¹⁰, and let nature take over the land again.
Voice 1
The BBC talked to two experts, one from each side of the debate. Robert Jan Van Pelt¹¹ is a professor in Canada. He has also written several books about Auschwitz. Robert thinks that preserving the camp is important for people who survived life in the camp. However, he thinks that once there are no more survivors¹³, the camp should be left alone. Then nature can destroy the remains¹⁴. He told the BBC,
Voice 5
"It may be that we will agree that the best way to honor those who were murdered in the camp and those who survived is by closing it from the world, letting grass and roots cover, weaken, and finally destroy that most unnatural¹⁵ creation¹⁶ of Man. At that future date, may the slow decay¹⁷ suggest the final disappearance¹⁸ of memory."
Voice 2
Wladyslaw Bartoszewski is a survivor¹² of the Nazi concentration camps. He was a prisoner during World War Two. Now, he works with the International Auschwitz Council. He thinks Auschwitz-Birkenau should be preserved. He thinks that it is the world's responsibility to save these places so that future generations will know the truth about what happened. He told the BBC,
Voice 6
"It lies in the nature of man that when no physical evidence remains, events of the past fall into nothingness."
Voice 1
Wladyslaw fears that if Auschwitz-Birkenau is not preserved the world will forget all the horrible things that happened there. He fears that forgetting may permit similar horrible events to happen in the future. He expressed this fear to the BBC.
Voice 6
"I hope to be a false prophet¹⁹ in saying that, but if we permit Auschwitz-Birkenau to disappear from the face of the Earth, we may just be opening a way for a similar evil to return."
Voice 2
It can be very difficult to decide which pieces of history to preserve and which pieces to let die away. What do you think? Should Auschwitz-Birkenau be preserved for future generations, even if it costs a lot of money? Or would it be better to permit nature to destroy it so that the physical memories of the horrible events disappear too? You can e-mail us your opinion at radio @ english . net.
 

1 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。

2 fixed   

adj.固定的，不变的，准备好的；(计算机)固定的

参考例句：

• Have you two fixed on a date for the wedding yet?你们俩选定婚期了吗？
• Once the aim is fixed,we should not change it arbitrarily.目标一旦确定，我们就不应该随意改变。

3 historic   

adj.历史上著名的，具有历史意义的

参考例句：

• This is a historic occasion.这是具有重大历史意义的时刻。
• We are living in a great historic era.我们正处在一个伟大的历史时代。

4 plaques   

（纪念性的）匾牌( plaque的名词复数 )； 纪念匾； 牙斑； 空斑

参考例句：

• Primary plaques were detectable in 16 to 20 hours. 在16到20小时内可查出原发溶斑。
• The gondoliers wore green and white livery and silver plaques on their chests. 船夫们穿着白绿两色的制服，胸前别着银质徽章。

5 Nazi   

n.纳粹分子，adj.纳粹党的，纳粹的

参考例句：

• They declare the Nazi regime overthrown and sue for peace.他们宣布纳粹政权已被推翻，并出面求和。
• Nazi closes those war criminals inside their concentration camp.纳粹把那些战犯关在他们的集中营里。

6 Nazis   

n.（德国的）纳粹党员( Nazi的名词复数 )；纳粹主义

参考例句：

• The Nazis worked them over with gun butts. 纳粹分子用枪托毒打他们。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The Nazis were responsible for the mass murder of Jews during World War Ⅱ. 纳粹必须为第二次世界大战中对犹太人的大屠杀负责。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 chambers   

n.房间( chamber的名词复数 )；（议会的）议院；卧室；会议厅

参考例句：

• The body will be removed into one of the cold storage chambers. 尸体将被移到一个冷冻间里。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Mr Chambers's readable book concentrates on the middle passage: the time Ransome spent in Russia. Chambers先生的这本值得一看的书重点在中间：Ransome在俄国的那几年。 来自互联网

8 holocaust   

n.大破坏；大屠杀

参考例句：

• The Auschwitz concentration camp always remind the world of the holocaust.奥辛威茨集中营总是让世人想起大屠杀。
• Ahmadinejad is denying the holocaust because he's as brutal as Hitler was.内贾德否认大屠杀，因为他像希特勒一样残忍。

9 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

10 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

11 pelt   

v.投掷，剥皮，抨击，开火

参考例句：

• The boy gave the bully a pelt on the back with a pebble.那男孩用石子掷击小流氓的背脊。
• Crowds started to pelt police cars with stones.人群开始向警车扔石块。

12 survivor   

n.生存者，残存者，幸存者

参考例句：

• The sole survivor of the crash was an infant.这次撞车的惟一幸存者是一个婴儿。
• There was only one survivor of the plane crash.这次飞机失事中只有一名幸存者。

13 survivors   

幸存者，残存者，生还者( survivor的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The survivors were adrift in a lifeboat for six days. 幸存者在救生艇上漂流了六天。
• survivors clinging to a raft 紧紧抓住救生筏的幸存者

14 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。

15 unnatural   

adj.不自然的；反常的

参考例句：

• Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗？
• She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。

16 creation   

n.创造，创造的作品，产物，宇宙，天地万物

参考例句：

• Language is the most important mental creation of man.语言是人类头脑最重要的产物。
• The creation of new playgrounds will benefit the local children.新游戏场的建立将有益于当地的儿童。

17 decay   

vi.腐烂，衰落；n.腐烂，腐朽，衰败状态

参考例句：

• The vegetables have begun to decay.那些蔬菜已开始腐烂。
• Our powers decay in old age.我们的体力在老年时就衰退。

18 disappearance   

n.消失，消散，失踪

参考例句：

• He was hard put to it to explain her disappearance.他难以说明她为什么不见了。
• Her disappearance gave rise to the wildest rumours.她失踪一事引起了各种流言蜚语。

19 prophet   

n.预言家，先知，提倡者

参考例句：

• A prophet made a prophecy that the kingdom would fall.一位预言家预言那个王国将要灭亡。
• The pity is that you are not a prophet.可惜你不能未卜先知。