VOA标准英语2013--慕尼黑公寓惊现1500幅名画

 

Report: 1,500 Stolen Masterpieces Discovered in Munich Apartment 慕尼黑公寓惊现1500幅名画

WASHINGTON, D.C. — A German media report says authorities confiscated¹ a cache of about 1,500 works of art from an apartment in Munich in 2011. The works -- including paintings by Picasso, Matisse and Chagall -- have been missing for 70 years and are believed to have been private property confiscated by the Nazis³ from Jewish families.

华盛顿特区——德国媒体报道说,警方于2011搜查一套公寓发现了近1500幅珍贵画作.其中包括其中包括毕加索、马蒂斯和夏加尔的作品.

The German magazine Focus reported on Sunday that Cornelius Gurlitt, the owner of the Munich apartment, inherited the missing art from his father.  Hildebrand Gurlitt was a museum director hired by the Nazis to sell the works abroad, but kept some of them for himself.

A German government spokesman told reporters Monday that Bavarian state prosecutors⁴ are getting federal government in the form of experts on Nazi²-looted art. The spokesman did not confirm or deny the magazine report.

"We [the German government] have been aware of the case for a couple of months already and that's why we are releasing the information that we're trying to provide help by arranging experts," said the spokesman.

Experts say that 20,000 works of modern art were confiscated from Jewish dealers⁵ in Nazi Germany; many remain missing. When they are discovered, they are claimed by the descendants of their former owners. Experts feel cases such as this bring light not only to the scale of how much the Nazis stole, but also to some disturbing trends that persist in the world of art.

"The Gurlitt case shows the extent of organized art theft in museum and private collections under the Nazis, when the works had all been the private property of Jewish owners. It also shows the lack of transparency in the art trade, because there was no research into provenance⁶ of the works that Gurlitt sold… Also, this discovery happened in 2011 and is only being publicized now," said Ruediger Mahlo, a representative of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims in Germany.

Focus magazine reported that the discovery came after a routine customs cash check on a train between Switzerland and Munich in 2010. Customs officials found the 80-year-old Gurlitt carrying the equivalent of about $12,000 in euros, apparently⁷ obtained from an art sale in a Swiss gallery.

The art found in Gurlitt's apartment is estimated to be worth more than $1 billion.

Mahlo said every piece must be investigated for provenance and recorded in the lost art database in Magdeburg. 

1 confiscated   

没收，充公( confiscate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their land was confiscated after the war. 他们的土地在战后被没收。
• The customs officer confiscated the smuggled goods. 海关官员没收了走私品。

2 Nazi   

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。

3 Nazis   

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》

4 prosecutors   

检举人( prosecutor的名词复数 )； 告发人； 起诉人； 公诉人

参考例句：

• In some places,public prosecutors are elected rather than appointed. 在有些地方，检察官是经选举而非任命产生的。 来自口语例句
• You've been summoned to the Prosecutors' Office, 2 days later. 你在两天以后被宣到了检察官的办公室。

5 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。

6 provenance   

n.出处；起源

参考例句：

• Kato was fully aware of the provenance of these treasures.加藤完全清楚这些珍宝的来源。
• This plant's provenance is Asiadj.这种植物原产于亚洲。

7 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。