VOA标准英语2015--Archaeologists, Law Enforcement on Lookout for Looted Artifacts

Archaeologists, Law Enforcement on Lookout¹ for Looted Artifacts

CHICAGO—

The looting and destruction of historic sites and artifacts by Islamic State militants³ in Iraq and Syria has sparked outrage⁴ around the world. 

Archaeologists are concerned that important and sensitive sites may have been permanently⁵ damaged by extremists.  Archaeologists and law enforcement officials are scrambling⁶ to prevent further loss of a priceless cultural heritage.

They are images that have made headlines and provoked outrage around the world - ancient and important archaeological sites hammered and bulldozed to the ground.

What has survived the test of time has not survived the rise of militant² Islam in parts of Syria and Iraq, countries home to ancient Mesopotamia, the so-called “cradle of civilization.”

“It is a major installation which is telling you something about the glorious past of Iraq which is also a part of the world.  It’s not just Iraqi culture," said McGuire Gibson, who specializes in Mesopotamian archaeology⁷ at the Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago.  

Gibson says the recent destruction at the Mosul Museum and the site of the ancient Assyrian capital of Nimrud is intended to provoke outrage.

“It needles us, it makes us angry about it, it makes us depressed⁸ about it.  And they are trying to provoke a reaction," he said.

But Gibson says past experience demonstrates that militants could be using those images of destruction as a smokescreen for trafficking smaller, more valuable items out of the country.

"There are people in the world who know what this stuff is worth, and it is very clear that at least part of the destruction of the Iraqi museum in 2003, that part of that, was induced by people on the outside getting dealers⁹ on the inside to go in and try to get specific things," he said.

Archaeologists like Gibson have tried to locate and return those historic artifacts to Iraq's National Museum.

It is an effort that continues today despite the dangers in the region.

“There’s archaeological work going on right now in Iraq, in places where it’s relatively¹⁰ secure, work is going on.  Whether or not it will be secure next week, we don’t know, but we try to work when and where we can," he said.

Edouard Planch, a program specialist with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, says to help those archaeologists working on the ground, UNESCO is trying to bolster¹¹ education efforts and artifact recovery at border checkpoints near Iraq and Syria.

“The objective is to have these surrounding countries with us, aware of the traffics, of the kinds of objects going out, able to seize the pieces and keep them in a safe place," said Planch.

Many of the items in the Mosul Museum were digitally catalogued, which has helped these efforts.

But recovering of such treasures is sometimes difficult.  The Iraqi National Museum, which opened in early March after being closed for 12 years, is still searching for some 15,000 items that went missing in 2003 during the Iraq War.

1 lookout   

n.注意，前途，瞭望台

参考例句：

• You can see everything around from the lookout.从了望台上你可以看清周围的一切。
• It's a bad lookout for the company if interest rates don't come down.如果利率降不下来，公司的前景可就不妙了。

2 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。

3 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。

4 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

5 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

6 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 archaeology   

n.考古学

参考例句：

• She teaches archaeology at the university.她在大学里教考古学。
• He displayed interest in archaeology.他对考古学有兴趣。

8 depressed   

adj.沮丧的，抑郁的，不景气的，萧条的

参考例句：

• When he was depressed,he felt utterly divorced from reality.他心情沮丧时就感到完全脱离了现实。
• His mother was depressed by the sad news.这个坏消息使他的母亲意志消沉。

9 dealers   

n.商人( dealer的名词复数 )；贩毒者；毒品贩子；发牌者

参考例句：

• There was fast bidding between private collectors and dealers. 私人收藏家和交易商急速竞相喊价。
• The police were corrupt and were operating in collusion with the drug dealers. 警察腐败，与那伙毒品贩子内外勾结。

10 relatively   

adv.比较...地，相对地

参考例句：

• The rabbit is a relatively recent introduction in Australia.兔子是相对较新引入澳大利亚的物种。
• The operation was relatively painless.手术相对来说不痛。

11 bolster   

n.枕垫；v.支持，鼓励

参考例句：

• The high interest rates helped to bolster up the economy.高利率使经济更稳健。
• He tried to bolster up their morale.他尽力鼓舞他们的士气。