VOA慢速英语2019 外国游客避行利比亚古代遗迹

Foreign Visitors Avoiding Libya’s Ancient Ruins

Graffiti markings cover the walls of a Greek amphitheater in the ancient city of Cyrene in eastern Libya.

利比亚东部古都昔兰尼希腊时期的一座圆形剧场的墙上布满了涂鸦。 

The city is now struggling with attacks on historic¹ buildings and failure to care for national treasures. Some local people have slowly - and illegally -- taken control of the land that surrounds these structures.

这座城市正努力应对历史建筑遭受到的袭击以及国家宝藏没有得到周全保护的失败。一些当地人还慢慢地、非法地控制这些遗迹周围的土地。

Years ago, visitors from around the world went to Cyrene to see the Greek temples and other ancient structures. Now there are only empty businesses and eateries along the road that leads to the 2,600-year-old city.

几年前，世界各地的游客还曾去昔兰尼参观希腊庙宇和其他古代建筑。如今，通往这座有着2600年历史的城市的路上只有空荡荡的商店和餐馆。

Looting has hit Libya’s archaeological treasures since the overthrow² of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. That was when the country entered into a period of unrest, with opposing administrations competing for control in different areas.

2011年穆阿迈尔·卡扎菲政权被推翻后，利比亚的考古宝藏就开始遭到洗劫。此后，该国进入了动荡时期，不同地区的对立政权开始争夺国家控制权。

Cyrene is one of five United Nations World Heritage³ sites in the country listed for their value.

昔兰尼因其历史文物价值成为该国联合国世界遗产名录五个地区之一。 

Greek tradition says the city was founded as a settlement about 2,750 years ago. Nearby ruins include Leptis Magna, which is considered by many historians⁴ to be the best preserved Roman ruins in the world.

希腊传说称，这座城市是在2750年前建设成为一个定居点。附近的遗迹有大莱普提斯，它被许多历史学家认为是世界上保存最完好的罗马遗迹。

Cyrene sits some 200 kilometers east of Benghazi. The Apollina, another ancient ruin, is just 20 kilometers away.

昔兰尼位于班加西以东约200公里处。另一个古代遗迹阿波罗神庙就在20公里之外。 

With foreign visitors gone and the government’s antiquities⁵ department suffering budget shortages⁶, vandals have painted graffiti on ruins and stolen artifacts. Some treasures such as statues listed in guidebooks from before 2011 are no longer there.

随着外国游客的离去以及政府文物部门的预算短缺，破坏者开始在废墟上涂鸦，盗窃文物。一些珍宝，如2011年之前发行的旅游指南中所列的雕像，就已经不在了。

Many artifacts have been taken overseas, says Ahmad Hussein. He heads the antiquities department of an administration in control of eastern Libya.

艾哈迈德·侯赛因说，许多文物都被带到了海外。艾哈迈德是利比亚东部一个政府文物部门的负责人。

Unable to stop the stealing, his office has been registering artifacts. This has helped to recover some national treasures in Europe, he said.

由于无法阻止盗窃，他所在的部门一直在对文物进行登记。他说，这有助于找回一些流落欧洲的国家宝藏。

There was better protection of antiquities before 2011. Some of the discoveries date back to Italian colonial⁷ rule in Libya. Parts of the colonists’ equipment are still there.

2011年之前，这里的文物得到了较好的保护。其中一些发现可以追溯到意大利殖民利比亚时期。殖民者的部分装备还在那里。

In 2005, archaeologists discovered 76 perfect Roman statues at Cyrene. They were hidden deep in the ground. Romans built the statues between the years 100 and 200 AD. After an earthquake covered them up in 375 AD, they remained hidden for 1,630 years.

2005年，考古学家在昔兰尼发现了76尊完美的罗马雕像。他们藏在地下很深的地方。罗马人在公元100年至200年间建造了这些雕像。公元375年的一场地震中将它们掩埋了1630年。

Now the area is visited only by local militiamen, who use the ruins as battle cover.

现在该地区只有当地民兵巡护，他们利用这些遗迹进行战斗掩护。 

“There has been a lot of destruction in recent years,” said Ismail Miftah, a farmer living next to Cyrene. “Ordinary people don’t appreciate the ancient heritage.”

住在昔兰尼附近的农民伊斯梅尔·米夫塔说，“近年来，这里遭到了很多破坏。”“普通人理解不了这些古老遗产的意义。”

Words in This Story

amphitheater – n. a large building with seats rising in curved rows around an open space on which games and plays take place

loot – v. to steal during a time of crisis⁸ or war

antiquity⁹ – n. objects from ancient times

artifact – n. a simple object made by people in the past

AD – adv. used to note a period of time since the beginning of Christianity; short for the Latin term anno Domini

preserve – v. to protect

1 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。

2 overthrow   

v.推翻，打倒，颠覆；n.推翻，瓦解，颠覆

参考例句：

• After the overthrow of the government,the country was in chaos.政府被推翻后，这个国家处于混乱中。
• The overthrow of his plans left him much discouraged.他的计划的失败使得他很气馁。

3 heritage   

n.传统，遗产，继承物

参考例句：

• The ancient buildings are part of the national heritage.这些古建筑是民族遗产的一部分。
• We Chinese have a great cultural heritage.我们中国人有伟大的文化遗产。

4 historians   

n.历史学家，史学工作者( historian的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Historians seem to have confused the chronology of these events. 历史学家好像把这些事件发生的年代顺序搞混了。
• Historians have concurred with each other in this view. 历史学家在这个观点上已取得一致意见。

5 antiquities   

n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 )；古迹；古人们；古代的风俗习惯

参考例句：

• There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
• Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句

6 shortages   

n.不足( shortage的名词复数 )；缺少；缺少量；不足额

参考例句：

• Food shortages often occur in time of war. 在战争期间常常发生粮食短缺的情形。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
• At the same time, worldwide food and fuel shortages eased. 同时，世界性粮食和石油短缺的现象终止了。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件

7 colonial   

adj.殖民地的，关于殖民的；n.殖民地，居民

参考例句：

• The natives were unwilling to be bent by colonial power.土著居民不愿受殖民势力的摆布。
• The people of Africa have successfully fought against colonial rule.非洲人民成功地反抗了殖民统治。

8 crisis   

n.危机，危急关头，决定性时刻，关键阶段

参考例句：

• He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明，在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
• The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。

9 antiquity   

n.古老；高龄；古物，古迹

参考例句：

• The museum contains the remains of Chinese antiquity.博物馆藏有中国古代的遗物。
• There are many legends about the heroes of antiquity.有许多关于古代英雄的传说。