VOA标准英语2010-Former Director of Iraq National Museum R

For three days in April 2003 looters rampaged in the store rooms and galleries of Iraq's National Museum, making off with some 15,000 priceless objects. Art historians call it the desecration¹ of civilization.

Seven years ago, in the chaos² that followed the U.S. invasion of Iraq and the fall of Saddam Hussein, looters ransacked³ Iraq's National Museum.  Donny George Youkhanna, at the time the museum's director general, witnessed the looting and is haunted by the memroies.  He fled Iraq in 2006 and has been teaching at a university outside New York City. 

Art historians call it the desecration of civilization.  For three days in April 2003 looters rampaged in the store rooms and galleries of Iraq's National Museum, making off with some 15,000 priceless objects.  Many dated back thousands of years, to the great civilizations of Babylon and Mesopotamia.

Donny George Youkhanna, then director general of the museum, remembers it well.

"We had them here, single items unique for the history of mankind.  They were there in that museum.  And then, some of them completely destroyed, some of them looted, gone.  When I remember, deep inside myself, I feel my heart bleeding for that," he said.

Youkhanna, who fled Iraq at the height of the insurgency⁴, is teaching anthropology⁵ at a university near New York City.

In his absence, the museum was restored with major donations from the U.S. and Italy. About half of the objects that were stolen or misplaced were located and retrieved⁶ by Iraqi and American investigators⁷. 

Last year, to much fanfare⁸, the museum re-opened, although much of the exhibition space is still closed and only special groups can visit.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki officiated.

At the time, Youkhanna said re-opening the museum was premature⁹. He said the museum was being re-opened for political reasons.

He still expresses anger over what happened seven years ago. 

Coalition¹⁰ forces, he says, had parked a tank a few blocks away from the museum.  He says he asked to have the tank moved to the museum entrance, but American troops had no order to intervene and stood by as Iraq's heritage was plundered¹¹.  

One memorable¹² moment that week was when then Secretary of Defense¹³ Donald Rumsfeld dismissed the looting in Baghdad as unimportant. "Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things," Rumsfeld said.

Youkhanna says many of the looters knew which objects they were looking for and where to find them.  In other words, they were insiders.  On Sunday, April 12 Youkhanna returned to the museum to survey the damage. "It's a great shock," he stated. "The word "anger" is not enough."

 

Fast forward to today, and a slide presentation Youkhanna gave at a New York museum.  "That Sunday when we came back to the institution this is what we found.  Over 120 rooms were trashed like this and everything was taken away, all the doors were smashed and papers were here and there," he said. 

Fortunately, some of the most precious items had been removed from the museum ahead of the invasion, like the famous Golden Lyre of Ur, over 4,500 years old.

"Before that time we had evacuated¹⁴ the real gold head," Youkhanna said. "We had the bronze head there, so they took the bronze head.  The gold head was in the Central Bank of Baghdad. "

Still many valuable pieces remain missing. The FBI lists "The Lioness and the Nubian," an eighth century BC ivory plaque¹⁵, as the "Most Wanted" work of art in the world. 

"It's inlaid with precious stones and gilded¹⁶ in some parts," Youkhanna explained.  "That one was actually one of the masterpieces of the museum."

Today, anyone can view the museum on the Internet. Italian curators inaugurated a virtual museum last year. But the worldwide search continues, with the goal of showing the real treasures, together, in Baghdad one day.
 

1 desecration   

n. 亵渎神圣, 污辱

参考例句：

• Desecration, and so forth, and lectured you on dignity and sanctity. 比如亵渎神圣等。想用尊严和神圣不可侵犯之类的话来打动你们。
• Desecration: will no longer break stealth. 亵渎：不再消除潜行。

2 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

3 ransacked   

v.彻底搜查( ransack的过去式和过去分词 )；抢劫，掠夺

参考例句：

• The house had been ransacked by burglars. 这房子遭到了盗贼的洗劫。
• The house had been ransacked of all that was worth anything. 屋子里所有值钱的东西都被抢去了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

4 insurgency   

n.起义；暴动；叛变

参考例句：

• And as in China, unrest and even insurgency are widespread. 而在中国，动乱甚至暴乱都普遍存在。 来自互联网
• Dr Zyphur is part an insurgency against this idea. 塞弗博士是这一观点逆流的一部分。 来自互联网

5 anthropology   

n.人类学

参考例句：

• I believe he has started reading up anthropology.我相信他已开始深入研究人类学。
• Social anthropology is centrally concerned with the diversity of culture.社会人类学主要关于文化多样性。

6 retrieved   

v.取回( retrieve的过去式和过去分词 )；恢复；寻回；检索（储存的信息）

参考例句：

• Yesterday I retrieved the bag I left in the train. 昨天我取回了遗留在火车上的包。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He reached over and retrieved his jacket from the back seat. 他伸手从后座上取回了自己的夹克。 来自辞典例句

7 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 fanfare   

n.喇叭；号角之声；v.热闹地宣布

参考例句：

• The product was launched amid much fanfare worldwide.这个产品在世界各地隆重推出。
• A fanfare of trumpets heralded the arrival of the King.嘹亮的小号声宣告了国王驾到。

9 premature   

adj.比预期时间早的；不成熟的，仓促的

参考例句：

• It is yet premature to predict the possible outcome of the dialogue.预言这次对话可能有什么结果为时尚早。
• The premature baby is doing well.那个早产的婴儿很健康。

10 coalition   

n.结合体，同盟，结合，联合

参考例句：

• The several parties formed a coalition.这几个政党组成了政治联盟。
• Coalition forces take great care to avoid civilian casualties.联盟军队竭尽全力避免造成平民伤亡。

11 plundered   

掠夺，抢劫( plunder的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Many of our cultural treasures have been plundered by imperialists. 我国许多珍贵文物被帝国主义掠走了。
• The imperialists plundered many valuable works of art. 帝国主义列强掠夺了许多珍贵的艺术品。

12 memorable   

adj.值得回忆的，难忘的，特别的，显著的

参考例句：

• This was indeed the most memorable day of my life.这的确是我一生中最值得怀念的日子。
• The veteran soldier has fought many memorable battles.这个老兵参加过许多难忘的战斗。

13 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

14 evacuated   

撤退者的

参考例句：

• Police evacuated nearby buildings. 警方已将附近大楼的居民疏散。
• The fireman evacuated the guests from the burning hotel. 消防队员把客人们从燃烧着的旅馆中撤出来。

15 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

16 gilded   

a.镀金的，富有的

参考例句：

• The golden light gilded the sea. 金色的阳光使大海如金子般闪闪发光。
• "Friends, they are only gilded disks of lead!" "朋友们，这只不过是些镀金的铅饼！ 来自英汉文学 - 败坏赫德莱堡