VOA常速英语2015--德国归还意大利被窃古董书籍

Germany Returns Antique Books Stolen in Italy 德国归还意大利被窃古董书籍

Germany is returning to Italy more than 500 valuable antique books stolen from Italian libraries about three years ago. An Italian librarian has been convicted in the theft of the collection that includes such priceless texts such as the first editions of scientific manuals by Galileo and Copernicus.

Most of the books are from the 16th and 17th centuries. Their total value is estimated at close to $3 million. German authorities say that the auction¹ house in the Bavarian city of Munich has agreed to return them to their owners at Italy's request.

大部分书籍要追溯到16及17世纪。总价值估计接近300万美元。德国当局表示慕尼黑巴伐利亚市的这家拍卖行已同意按照意大利所有者们的请求将书籍归还。

"These books come from Italy, from Naples, from the Girolamini library. They are very valuable, from the 15th to the 17th century. They are scientific books, some by Galileo, by Copernicus. They are extremely valuable, and they were stolen from the library over the course of a couple of months," said Elisabeth Zumbruch, chief crime commissioner² at Bavaria's National Crime Office.

“这些书来自意大利,那不勒斯,来自格罗拉米尼图书馆。它们是15到17世纪非常具有价值的书籍。这些科学书籍中有的是伽利略、哥白尼所著。非常具有价值,刚从图书馆偷来几个月时间。”

Naples-based prosecutor³ Vincenzo Piscitelli said the director of the Baroque-era library, Massimo de Caro, had been convicted of the theft and sentenced to prison.

那不勒斯检察官文森佐·普西特利表示巴洛克时代图书馆主任马西莫·德·卡罗已被判处盗窃罪并处以监禁。

"He deactivated⁴ the security alarm systems, carried out his activities during night hours or during the holidays, when the library staff was not there, he was alone, he had the keys, everyone knew he was the director - therefore he was able to work in complete freedom," said Piscitelli.

“他解除了安全报警系统, 利用图书馆工作人员不在,只剩他一个人时在夜间或节假日期间进行自己的活动,他有钥匙,每个人都知道他大权在身,因此他能够完全自由的进行盗窃。”

He also said that the full extent of the thefts had not yet been determined⁵.

检察官还表示盗窃的全部内容仍尚未确定。

"We don't know yet how many books in total were taken," he said. "However, since we are talking about more than 500 books that were returned, this is one of the most important recoveries in our investigations⁶ to reconstruct the compendium⁷ of the library."

“我们还不知道被窃书籍的总共数量。但是,因为我们刚才所讲500多本书被归还,这是我们致力于重建图书馆的调查中最为重要的环节。”

Italian mathematician⁸ and astronomer⁹ Galileo Galilei and Polish Nicolaus Copernicus are among the most influential¹⁰ natural scientists of the early modern age, and their findings are documented in the texts that were stolen over a period of time in 2012. Bavarian police said the books would be placed in special boxes for their return to Italy.

意大利数学家，天文学家伽利略及波兰的尼古拉斯·哥白尼是现代早期最具影响力的自然科学家,而2012年记载着他们研究精髓的文本曾被盗窃。巴伐利亚警方表示这些书籍在回到意大利后将被安置在特殊的箱子中。

1 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

2 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

3 prosecutor   

n.起诉人；检察官，公诉人

参考例句：

• The defender argued down the prosecutor at the court.辩护人在法庭上驳倒了起诉人。
• The prosecutor would tear your testimony to pieces.检查官会把你的证言驳得体无完肤。

4 deactivated   

v.解除动员( deactivate的过去式和过去分词 )；使无效；复员；使不活动

参考例句：

• \"The brain can be deactivated. It can be yours to command.\" “大脑计算机可以被停止。如果你下达命令的话。” 来自互联网
• He successfully deactivated a nuclear reactor in a laboratory before meltdown. 他成功停用一个核反应堆在实验室之前崩溃。 来自互联网

5 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

6 investigations   

（正式的）调查( investigation的名词复数 )； 侦查； 科学研究； 学术研究

参考例句：

• His investigations were intensive and thorough but revealed nothing. 他进行了深入彻底的调查，但没有发现什么。
• He often sent them out to make investigations. 他常常派他们出去作调查。

7 compendium   

n.简要，概略

参考例句：

• The Compendium of Materia Medica has been held in high esteem since it was first published.“本草纲目”问世之后，深受人们的推重。
• The book is a compendium of their poetry,religion and philosophy.这本书是他们诗歌、宗教和哲学的概略。

8 mathematician   

n.数学家

参考例句：

• The man with his back to the camera is a mathematician.背对着照相机的人是位数学家。
• The mathematician analyzed his figures again.这位数学家再次分析研究了他的这些数字。

9 astronomer   

n.天文学家

参考例句：

• A new star attracted the notice of the astronomer.新发现的一颗星引起了那位天文学家的注意。
• He is reputed to have been a good astronomer.他以一个优秀的天文学者闻名于世。

10 influential   

adj.有影响的，有权势的

参考例句：

• He always tries to get in with the most influential people.他总是试图巴结最有影响的人物。
• He is a very influential man in the government.他在政府中是个很有影响的人物。