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VOA慢速英语 2008 0130b

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(单词翻译)

VOICE ONE:

I’m Bob Doughty1.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Faith Lapidus with EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English. At the British Museum in London, millions of people every year visit a famous collection of marble statues from the ancient Greek building called the Parthenon.

These finely carved works and the building they came from are widely considered the most important examples of western art and building design. Why these Greek statues are in a British museum is an important part of our story today. We explore the complex issues of cultural property, ownership, and the returning -- or keeping -- of cultural treasures.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE: 
An example of the Elgin Marbles

Many people know these famous and disputed statues at the British Museum as the Elgin Marbles. They were named for Lord Thomas Elgin, who served as British ambassador to the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The Ottoman Empire at this time included what is current day Greece as well as Turkey.

VOICE TWO:

Lord Elgin decided2 he was in a good position to improve the national art collection of Britain. So he gathered a team of experts to help him make drawings and plaster copies of the buildings of ancient Greece within the city of Athens. In eighteen-oh-one, Lord Elgin received legal permission to also take away any pieces of stone with images or words carved on them.

Later, another legal document permitted the stone pieces, or marbles, to be sent by boat to Britain.  Lord Elgin eventually sold the marbles to the British government to be housed in the British Museum. His actions have been disputed ever since.  The British Museum believes it has the right to protect these works for the world to enjoy. But the Greek government has a very different opinion.

VOICE ONE:

 
The head of a horse of Selene from the Elgin Marbles
In the nineteen eighties, the Greek government began a modern campaign for the return of these statues, which Greeks call the Parthenon Marbles. During this time, the Greek cultural minister, Melina Mercouri, made the campaign an international issue by calling for their return during a United Nations meeting.

The Greek government recently built a museum near the ruins of the Parthenon to house the ancient building’s sculptures. The strikingly modern Acropolis Museum is interesting for the art it contains as well as for the art that is clearly missing.  The marbles are shown in the order that they were first placed in the Parthenon. There are the ancient statues that belong to Greece and there are plaster copies of the statues that are currently in Britain.

Now that the works are placed together, it is clear that they are not just individual sculptures. Together, the extraordinary sculptures tell a story about an ancient culture.

VOICE TWO:

The current Greek minister of culture is Michalis Liapis.  He says the new Acropolis Museum makes it possible for the sculptures now in Britain to have a large exhibit space where they can be protected. He says Britain no longer has any excuse to keep these works of art.

A spokeswoman for the British Museum in London says the Acropolis Museum represents an important effort. But she points out that the goal of the British Museum is to present all world cultures to visitors so that they can compare civilizations.

VOICE ONE:

This cultural dispute is not just a concern for museums and governments. Michael Reppas helped create a group called The American Committee for the Reunification of the Parthenon Sculptures.

Mister Reppas, a Greek American, says part of his history has been stolen and placed in a museum in Britain. He says the situation would be like cutting off a piece of the Statue of Liberty in New York City and placing it in a museum in another country.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Today, unlike during Lord Elgin’s time, international laws protect a country’s cultural treasures. Museums and governments use these laws to help negotiate the return of such property. Museums also follow a set of rules to help make sure that they received the cultural treasures fairly and legally. Often, museums do not know that objects they received in the past were gotten illegally.

VOICE ONE:

Other times it is less clear whether or not a museum acted legally in buying art. For example, Marion True is an art expert who used to work for the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, California. Since two thousand five, Miz True has been on trial in Italy. She is accused of illegal actions in obtaining ancient Italian cultural objects. She is on trial in Greece for similar charges. 

VOICE TWO:

The Italian Cultural Ministry3 takes very seriously the stealing of cultural objects from Italy. A special group of Italian military police works to reclaim4 stolen art and archeological objects. Italy recently ended negotiations5 with the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, Massachusetts over thirteen cultural treasures that are now being returned to Italy.

Italy won its claim on the objects because documents showed that they were taken illegally from the country. Italy has also agreed to loan some of the objects to the museum, so both sides ended up with a fair resolution. Katie Getchell is deputy director of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. She says the museum did not want to have objects that it did not rightfully own. And she says that there is a legal, moral and responsible way for governments and museums to resolve such disputes.

VOICE ONE:

Italy is demonstrating its progress in this area with a new exhibit at the Quirinale, or presidential palace, in Rome.  The exhibit shows sixty-eight cultural objects that Italy has reclaimed6 from American museums. These museums include the Metropolitan7 Museum of Art in New York City, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the J. Paul Getty Museum.  The name of the museum that formerly8 owned the object is on the signs explaining the history of each object.

Italian officials say the exhibit shows how much the museum world is changing its position on cultural disputes.

VOICE TWO:

This change is also clear in another case between Peru and an American university in 
Machu Picchu
the state of Connecticut. Last year, Yale University agreed to return a large number of treasures taken from the ancient Peruvian city of Machu Picchu. In nineteen twelve, the Yale researcher and explorer Hiram Bingham rediscovered the hidden city.  He brought many objects from Machu Picchu to the United States. Peru says that the objects were on loan and should have been returned long ago.  After years of negotiations, Yale announced in September of last year that the two sides had reached an early agreement.

VOICE ONE:

Yale has officially agreed that Peru owns the cultural objects. The university will return most of them and will be able to keep others for an extended period of time. Under the expected agreement, Yale will advise Peru on the building of a museum for the objects. The President of Yale University, Richard Levin, said the two sides have created a new way of resolving competing interests in cultural property disputes. However, it is not clear when a final agreement will be reached.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Efforts to protect cultural property increased after World War Two. During the war, Nazi9 Germany stole large amounts of art from the countries they invaded. In reaction, the Hague Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property was signed in nineteen fifty-four. The United Nations cultural organization has also recognized the issue. In nineteen seventy, UNESCO created a convention to prevent the illegal exportation of cultural property. Individual countries have their own laws about cultural property as well.

VOICE ONE:

One example of art stolen by the Nazis10 during World War Two has been successfully resolved. At the Neue Gallery in New York City, visitors can see a beautiful painting of a woman named Adele Bloch-Bauer made by the Austrian artist Gustav Klimt. Adele’s husband, Ferdinand, asked the artist to make the painting around nineteen-oh-seven.

 
'Adele Bloch-Bauer 1'
In the late nineteen thirties, when Austria was under Nazi rule, Mister Bloch-Bauer was forced to flee his country because he was Jewish. His family’s collection of art was seized by Nazi leaders and later became state property.

For years Austria refused to return the art to the Bloch-Bauer family. Then, in two thousand six, the family finally won its court case and ownership of the art. They later sold the work to the owner of Neue Gallery. This painting of Adele Bloch-Bauer is not only a beautiful example of Austrian art. It also represents a powerful story about one family’s successful battle over injustice11.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange.  I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOICE ONE:

And I’m Bob Doughty. Archives of our programs with transcripts12 and MP3s are at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for EXPLORATIONS in VOA Special English.

 


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 doughty Jk5zg     
adj.勇猛的,坚强的
参考例句:
  • Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质:脾气倔强,性格刚强。
  • The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。
2 decided lvqzZd     
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。
3 ministry kD5x2     
n.(政府的)部;牧师
参考例句:
  • They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
  • We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。
4 reclaim NUWxp     
v.要求归还,收回;开垦
参考例句:
  • I have tried to reclaim my money without success.我没能把钱取回来。
  • You must present this ticket when you reclaim your luggage.当你要取回行李时,必须出示这张票子。
5 negotiations af4b5f3e98e178dd3c4bac64b625ecd0     
协商( negotiation的名词复数 ); 谈判; 完成(难事); 通过
参考例句:
  • negotiations for a durable peace 为持久和平而进行的谈判
  • Negotiations have failed to establish any middle ground. 谈判未能达成任何妥协。
6 reclaimed d131e8b354aef51857c9c380c825a4c9     
adj.再生的;翻造的;收复的;回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 );要求收回;从废料中回收(有用的材料);挽救
参考例句:
  • Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
7 metropolitan mCyxZ     
adj.大城市的,大都会的
参考例句:
  • Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
  • Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。
8 formerly ni3x9     
adv.从前,以前
参考例句:
  • We now enjoy these comforts of which formerly we had only heard.我们现在享受到了过去只是听说过的那些舒适条件。
  • This boat was formerly used on the rivers of China.这船从前航行在中国内河里。
9 Nazi BjXyF     
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。
10 Nazis 39168f65c976085afe9099ea0411e9a5     
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》
11 injustice O45yL     
n.非正义,不公正,不公平,侵犯(别人的)权利
参考例句:
  • They complained of injustice in the way they had been treated.他们抱怨受到不公平的对待。
  • All his life he has been struggling against injustice.他一生都在与不公正现象作斗争。
12 transcripts 525c0b10bb61e5ddfdd47d7faa92db26     
n.抄本( transcript的名词复数 );转写本;文字本;副本
参考例句:
  • Like mRNA, both tRNA and rRNA are transcripts of chromosomal DNA. tRNA及rRNA同mRNA一样,都是染色体DNA的转录产物。 来自辞典例句
  • You can't take the transfer students'exam without your transcripts. 没有成绩证明书,你就不能参加转学考试。 来自辞典例句

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