全新版大学英语_视听阅读4Unit5答案

This story is set in the country of Afghanistan and takes place in its capital city, Kabul. It also refers to conditions in Bamiyan, a region outside of Kabul.

When the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, the religious group aimed to destroy any artistic expression that violated their strict interpretation of Islamic rules. A group of Afghan artists risked death by disobeying the Taliban to preserve the artwork of their country. Who are the men that saved Afghanistan’s art? How did they do it?

I. National Treasures. Read the sentences. Then complete the paragraph with the correct forms of the underlined words or phrases.

An archive is a collection of records, books, or films of historical interest. A carving is a piece of art shaped by cutting it with artistry and exactness. A country’s heritage is its history, traditions, and culture. A landmark is a historical building or other point of interest. An oil painting is a painting produced with oil-based paints.

From 1996 to 2001, a religious group called the Taliban ruled Afghanistan. During this period, this strict regime destroyed several historically important (1) ______________, including buildings and statues. In the Bamiyan region, they tore down huge ancient statues. These detailed (2) ______________ dated from A.D. 507, and were listed as Afghan national treasures. Later, the Taliban began to destroy the famous and historic (3) ______________ hanging in the nation’s art galleries and the films stored in the (4) ______________ of a central film organization. This tragedy continued until a group of artists decided to act in order to save their country’s national (5) ______________.

（1） landmarks (2) carvings (3) oil paintings (4) archive (5) heritage

II. Unusual Heroes. Read the paragraph. Complete the definitions with the correct words in bold.

During the Taliban years, many artistic works were at risk for being destroyed by the religious police because of their subject matter. Afghan artist Mohammad Yousef Asefi managed to plan and implement a brilliant plot to protect the oil paintings at the National Gallery in Kabul. He succeeded in the deception by painting over the oil images with watercolors thereby disguising them. Meanwhile, at the National Film Archive, three filmmakers, Kirimi, Mustafa, and Sadaqui, used their ingenuity to hide several films that were of national and historic importance. These men could have been killed for their acts, but luckily they lived to become highly acclaimed heroes of the art world.

1. A _____________ is a secret plan to do something that is forbidden. 2. _______________ is one’s ability to skillfully solve problems. 3. _______________ means to be much admired.

4. _______________ causes someone to believe something that is not true.

5. _______________ are colors used for painting pictures that are mixed with water, instead of oil, and which can be easily washed away.

1. plot 2. Ingenuity 3. Acclaimed 4. Deception 5. Watercolors

SUMMARY

During the Taliban rule in Afghanistan from 1996 to 2001, many works of art were destroyed. In reaction to this, some brave Afghanis began to plan ways to hide art in plain sight. At the National Gallery, Mohammad Yousef Asefi covered banned images with watercolors. At the national film archive, a hidden room was constructed to store the negatives of Afghani films. Even though the Taliban came many times to inspect both places, they never discovered the deception going on before their eyes. Warming up

Teaching NOTES

1. Provide a general introduction to the Taliban regime.

2. Explain the importance of preserving national treasures and the problems the Afghan people were confronted with while trying to preserve them.

3. Ask questions like “How can we preserve cultural and historical treasures during wartime?” Afghanistan

The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a mountainous country in South-Central Asia, which is entirely surrounded by land. Since ancient times the region has seen a lot of invaders, including Persians, Macedonians, Arabs, Turks, and Mongols. Afghanistan is built on many tribes which didn’t united under a single leadership in the 18th century, and a fully autonomous state emerged in 1919. Kabul is the capital and the largest city.

As an ancient focal point of the Silk Road, Afghanistan and a cultural crossroads of ancient civilization, Afghanistan has a long history, very rich past and valuable treasures. It is an important location, connecting East and West Asia and the Middle East. Taliban

The Taliban is an Islamist political movement that ruled Afghanistan from 1996 until the late 2001 when they were overthrown. The Taliban has regrouped since 2004 and waged as a strong insurgency compaign governing at the local level. The movement is also fighting a guerrilla war against the governments of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF). Buddhas of Bamiyan

The Buddhas of Bamiyan were two well-known monumental statues of standing buddhas. They were carved into the side of a cliff in the Bamiyan valley in the Hazarajat region of central Afghanistan. The smaller of the two statues was built in 507, and the larger in 5. They were magnificent examples of the classic blended style of Gandhara art. video SCRIPT

Narrator: From 1996 to 2001, the Taliban ruled Afghanistan. During this period, the fundamentalist religious group destroyed several historic and religious works throughout the country due to strict religious interpretations. It was after the terrible destruction of one of the country’s most important cultural landmarks, the carvings of Buddha in Bamiyan, that doctor and famous Afghan artist Mohammad Yousef Asefi

realized that the nation’s artistic works were under attack.

Mohammad Yousef Asefi, Art Rescuer: “I became very sad when I heard that the statue in Bamiyan had been destroyed. A rumor was spreading that the artwork exhibited in the National Gallery and the National Museum would be the next victim.”

Narrator: Asefi is a medical doctor and a well-known Afghan painter. For him, the Taliban’s rule of terror really hit home when the regime slashed and destroyed the artwork at the presidential palace and the ministry of foreign affairs. Some of the paintings destroyed were Asefi’s own.

Asefi: “I had painted my paintings with a lot of delicacy and now they were torn up or destroyed beyond repair. How could this happen?”

Narrator: With the paintings of the National Gallery now at risk, Asefi formulated a plan that could have resulted in his death. He volunteered for a job in the National Gallery restoring paintings damaged during the wars preceding the Taliban’s rule. Once inside the gallery, Asefi needed an accomplice to help carry out his clever plan. He found one in a man named Enayet, a member of the National Gallery staff who shared Asefi’s contempt for the Taliban and his courage to take them on. Risking their lives, Enayet and other staff members brought endangered paintings to the room where Asefi worked. It was there that the real ingenuity of the plan became apparent. Since the Taliban forbade paintings that illustrated living things, Dr. Asefi simply made the offensive elements disappear.

Asefi: “I suddenly came up with the thought of using watercolors on top of oil paintings to hide the unacceptable parts.”

Narrator: Month after month, Asefi and his accomplices ran an art-rescue factory right under the noses of Taliban religious police. If the Taliban had found out what they were doing, both men — and other members of the staff— almost certainly would have been punished with death.

Enayet, National Gallery Employee: “Whenever they would come, I would lock the door. The doctor was inside. He would stop his work, having understood that somebody was here. Naturally I was afraid because the Taliban were everywhere.” Narrator: Ultimately, Asefi’s art-rescue team placed about 80 paintings back on display. The Taliban inspectors never noticed the team’s deception. When the Taliban’s brutal regime came to an end in 2001, museum staff members simply wiped off the watercolors from the oil paintings, and for the first time in generations, the rescued treasures were once again in full view.

Asefi: “Despite all the suffering and hard work, our goal was to change something and we did it.”

Narrator: At Afghan Films, the national film archive, a group of filmmakers watches a show of film treasures once thought to be lost. During the Taliban’s rule, these artists were also victimized by the group’s extreme religious interpretations and the constant threat of having thousands of original film works destroyed because of their content.

Kirimi, Afghan Films: “We were very upset when the minister of the Taliban brought the order to burn the films. We felt our hearts pounding. We became emotional.”

Mustafa, Afghan Films: “Here. They burned the films here. We have the evidence. They burned them in front of me. That day, it was like a dearest friend is being killed in front of you. That day was the darkest and hardest day for us.”

Sadaqui, Afghan Films: “I became irrational. I decided to throw myself and the Minister of Information and Culture into the fire with the films. At that moment, one of my colleagues grabbed me and stopped me.”

Narrator: But the artists had a secret. The staff had only given the Taliban film prints, which can be replaced, not film negatives, which cannot. But when there were no prints left to burn, the filmmakers knew the negative archive would be thrown into the fire as well.

Sadaqui:“We all had the same idea. That we had to preserve the archive of Afghan film at any price, even by paying with our lives.”

Narrator: But how were they going to hide the main archive, some 2,900 rolls of irreplaceable negatives? The filmmakers’ plot was simple—brilliantly simple. Mustafa: “Come on, come on.”

Narrator: They hid the archive by hiding the room.

Mustafa: “In order for no one to notice the door, we installed wallboard from here, to the ceiling, to here.

Sadaqui:“With the help of an electrician, we also disabled the lighting system so that the wall was darkened.”

Narrator: The religious police walked past the false wall dozens of times and never suspected the room was there. The film rescuers’ lives were safe as long as their deception held, but if the Taliban ever found the hidden film negatives, there was no doubt that the men would be put to death.

Mustafa: “The Taliban told us that, ‘Even if a small piece of film was found, we will hang you or shoot you in the ditch where the archive was burned.’”

Kirimi: “The Taliban minister said, ‘If we find another film here, we will burn it along with you.’”

Narrator: The threats of death did little to discourage the group of heroes. The artists remained brave and risked being discovered by one of the world’s most feared regimes. The Taliban’s demand for films to burn seemed to have no end. Month after month, the staff suffered through surprise inspections, terrified that their secret would be discovered. Many Afghan film lovers assumed that the entire film archive was lost. But when at last the Taliban regime collapsed, the archive’s rescuers brought the negatives out of hiding.

Acclaimed as heroes, the courageous men were modest about what they had achieved. But they did save their Taliban ID cards, reminders of a time when they would have given their lives for the art they love.

Sadaqui:“Even if we lost our heads, it would have been an honor and privilege. But we didn’t allow our heritage to be destroyed. Why? A country which has no culture has no history.” Teaching notes

I. 1. Give students time to predict the answers. 2. Play the video.

3. Elicit the answers from students.

II. 1. Give students time to become familiar with the given words. You can either explain them or have students refer to dictionaries. 2. Play the video.

3. Elicit the answers from students.

4. Have students make sentences with these words.

III. 1. Play the video again so that the students can locate the pictures in the video. 2. Have students first list some words or expressions for each picture, then describe the pictures.

3. Have students summarize this part based on the descriptions of the pictures. Word bank

1. victim n. person or thing that is injured, killed or destroyed

e.g. Many artistic masterpieces are victims of local or global conflicts and wars. In the Second World War, not just human beings suffered and sacrificed a lot, many historic and cultural heritages became victims. Collocation

fall victim to 被……所害；受害于…… 2. formulate vt. devise or invent

e.g. UNESCO has precisely formulated a long-term plan aiming at rescuing historical sites under threat.

3. take on undertake or begin to handle

e.g. In this war-torn country, it needs unimaginable courage to take on this demanding responsibility for protecting endangered cultural relics. Teaching notes

I. 1. Give students time to go through the statements before watching. 2. Play the video.

3. Have students compare the answers in pairs and correct the false statements. II. 1. Give students time to guess the expressions according to the meanings given in the box.

2. Play the video.

3. Elicit the answers from students.

4. Have students read the incomplete sentences on the next page in the Student’s Book and fill in the blanks. If necessary, play the video again. 5. Check the answers by asking students to read each sentence. III. 1. Put students into pairs.

2. Have students make the dialogue in pairs.

3. Encourage students to switch roles and role-play the dialogue again. Word bank

1. come up with think of

e.g. He could always come up with a reason for being late. 2. on display exhibited

e.g. After Taliban regimes collapsed, a multitude of cultural masterpieces were finally on display again.

3. deception n. a misleading falsehood

e.g. With unique deception, these brave artists were able to run the art-rescue factory just near the Taliban police station. 4. in full view easily visible

e.g. Without modern technology, it is virtually impossible for contemporary people to enjoy ancient artwork in full view. Useful expressions

Asking for others’ suggestions or advice

* What’s your suggestion? * What do you suggest? * What do you think? * Any idea? Giving suggestions or advice * You should… * Why not…?

* If I were you, I’d… * You / we ought to… * What about…? * What do you think of…? * How about …? * It might be wise to… * I thought it would be a good idea to… Accepting others’ suggestions

* That’s just what I am thinking. * Sounds terrific / marvelous. * That’s a good idea. * I will take it. Teaching notes

I. 1. Give students time to read the quotations before they watch the video. 2. Play the video.

3. Have students match the quotations with the speakers.

4. Have students hold a discussion with their classmates about the implied meanings of each quotation.

II. 1. Give students time to predict the answers. 2. Play the video.

3. Have students compare the answers in pairs. III. 1. Put students into groups.

2. Have students discuss the questions in their groups.

3. Ask one representative from each group to answer one of the questions orally. Word bank

1. victimize vt. make a victim of

e.g. In the 2009 annual report, many historic or cultural heritages located in the Middle-east were victimized by conflicts or wars. In the last century, many artists holding different religious beliefs were victimized by strict religious interpretations.

2. irrational adj. not guided by reason; illogical or absurd e.g. He became irrational when he saw his son dying. The dictator had an irrational belief that any literature containing Buddhism should be burned. Teaching notes

I. 1. Remind students that the statements in this exercise are not exactly what they are going to hear.

2. Give students time to go through the statements before watching. 3. Play the video.

4. Have students compare the answers in pairs. II. 1. Give students time to predict the answers. 2. Play the video.

3. Have students compare the answers in pairs.

III. 1. Have students repeat each sentence after it is spoken twice and then write the sentences.

2. Have students listen again, and mark the word stress on content words with a stress mark ( ? ).

3. Have students listen to each sentence and draw an upward arrow ? for rising intonation, or a downward arrow ? for falling intonation.

4. Have students listen again and draw a curved line ? to mark any words that are linked or blended together.

5. Have students practice reading the sentences till they can say them using appropriate intonation and stress pattern. Word bank

1. suspect vt. feel doubt about (something); mistrust

e.g. The Taliban religious police never suspect that the artwork was just hidden under their noses. I suspect that he is a thief.

2. assume vt. accept without verification or proof e.g. I assume that you have heard the news. It is wrong to assume that the occupying military force has the right to ship those works of art out of the occupied country. 3. acclaim vt. praise vociferously

e.g. This brave artist was widely acclaimed for his courage to protect national treasures from being destroyed by the tyrant. Teaching notes

I. 1. Have students go through the statements before watching. 2. Play the video.

3. Elicit the answers from students.

II. 1. Put students into groups of three and explain briefly how to conduct an interview.

2. Have students decide their roles and encourage them to be creative and imaginative when they role-play the dialogue.

3. Encourage students to switch roles and role-play their interviews again. III. 1. Put students into groups of three or four. 2. Introduce the task.

3. Give students time to brainstorm different cultural items and discuss their importance in their group. Have students then choose one and complete the table. 4. Ask a representative from each group to report their findings to the class.

5. Ask other groups to take notes and fill in the table when a group is reporting. 6. Have students check their notes in their groups and summarize other groups’

findings after all the groups finish their reports.

I. Watch Part 1. Choose the answer(s) to each of the following questions. Some of the questions may have more than one answer. Art Rescue

1. Who? A. Yousef Asefi and Enayet. B. Yousef Asefi and another artist.

2. Why? A. To protect the statue in Bamiyan from being destroyed. B. To protect the nation’s artistic works from being destroyed. 3. Where? A. In the National Museum. B. In the National Gallery.

A. Volunteered for a job in the gallery.

4. How? B. Staff brought endangered paintings to Asefi’s room. C. Made the offensive elements in the paintings disappear. 5.What ? A. paintings in the National Museum. B. paintings in the National Gallery. 1. A 2. B 3. B 4. ABC 5. B

II. Watch again. Fill in the blanks with the given words. Change the form where necessary.

interpret exhibit victim formulate restore illustrateoffend volunteer

Due to strict religious (1) __________________, Taliban destroyed many historic and religious works throughout Afghanistan, including the carvings of Buddha in Bamiyan. Dr. Asefi, a famous Afghan artist, realized that the (2) __________________ in the National Museum and National Gallery would be Taliban’s next (3) __________________. He (4) __________________ for a job in the National Gallery (5) __________________ paintings and (6) __________________ a clever, but dangerous plan. Since the Taliban banned paintings (7) _______________ living things, Dr. Asefi simply made the (8) ______________ elements disappear.

(1) interpretations (2) exhibits (3) victim (4) volunteered (5) restoring (6) formulated

(7) illustrating (8) offensive

III. Oral work. Retell the story with the help of the pictures below and the expressions from Exercise II.

I. Watch Part 2. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F). 1. ______ The offensive elements in the paintings were cut off.

2. ______ If Asefi’s plan had been discovered by the Taliban, he and other members of the staff would have been sentenced to death.

3. ______ Asefi and his team succeeded in restoring more than 100 paintings. 4. ______ Even though Taliban religious police suspected the deception, no

evidence was found.

5. ______ Taliban’s brutal rule continued until the end of 2002.

F Ｔ Ｆ Ｆ Ｆ

II. Watch again. Write five expressions you have heard from the video to match the meanings in the box below. Then read the sentences on the next page and fill in the blanks with those expressions. Change the form where necessary. A. easily visible ___________________

B. remove by or as if by rubbing or erasing ___________________ C. close to ___________________

D. to be exhibited ___________________ E. think of ___________________

1. Asefi ____________________ a very clever plan to rescue the endangered paintings.

2. Asefi and his accomplices ran an art-rescue factory right _______________________ Taliban religious police.

3. Asefi and his team managed to place lots of paintings back ____________________ in the National Gallery.

4. After Taliban’s rule came to an end, the watercolors used to cover unacceptable elements ____________________.

5. For the first time, Afghan people could enjoy the rescued paintings which were once again ____________________.

A in full view B wipe off C under the nose of D on display E come up with

1. come up with 2. under the nose of 3. on display 4. were wiped off 5. in full view

III. Oral work. Work in pairs and role-play a dialogue between Asefi and Enayet talking about how to rescue endangered paintings.

So, Mr. Mohammad Asefi, have you made up your mind?

1: How can we cover the offensive elements in the paintings? 2: What are we going to do if Taliban come? 3: Where are we going to keep these paintings? using watercolors on top of the paintings lock the door

under the noses of Taliban religious police

I. Watch Part 3. Match the quotations with the speakers and explain their meanings. 1. “It was like a dearest friend is being killed in front of you.” __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

2. “We had to preserve the archive of Afghan film at any price, even by paying with our lives.”

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 3. “We felt our hearts pounding. We became emotional.”

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ 4. “That day was the darkest and hardest day for us.”

__________________________________________________ __________________________________________________ __________________________________________________

Kirimi, Afghan Films---3 (The filmmakers wanted to save the valuable films at the

risk of their own lives.)

Mustafa, Afghan Films—1 (The filmmakers love and treasure these films, so

destroying them seemed like a friend is being killed in front of them.)---4 (For the filmmakers, the day when they saw the films being burned in front of them was the worst day they had ever experienced.)

Sadaqui, Afghan Films---2 (The brave filmmakers wanted to save the valuable films

at the risk of their own lives.)

II. Watch again. Underline the incorrect word in each of the following sentences, and write the correct one.

1. At Afghan Films, a group of filmmakers watches a show of film values once thought to be lost. ____________

2. These artists were also criticized by the group’s extreme religious interpretations. ____________

3. At that moment, one of my colleagues seized me and stopped me. ____________

4. The staff had only given the Taliban film prints, which can be reproduced. ____________

5. When there were no prints left to burn, the filmmakers knew the positive archive would be thrown into the fire as well. ____________ 1. values--- treasures 2. criticized---victimized 3. seized---grabbed’

4. reproduced---replaced 5. positive---negative

III. Oral work. Discuss the following questions in groups. Use the words and phrases given in brackets to help you.

1. What kind of threats would the filmmakers face? (victimized, religious interpretations, burning of films, content)

2. How did the filmmakers feel while watching the burning of films? (pounding, emotional, irrational)

3. What was the secret the filmmakers had? (film prints, replaced, film negatives) I. Watch Part 4. Fill in the blanks with the information you’ve learned in this part. 1. Staff hide the archives by ________ ___________. 2. Staff installed ____________ to ceiling.

3. An electrician helped to disable _______________________. 4. Rescuers’ lives were safe as long as _______________________. 5. Staff suffered through _____________ ______________. 6. Staff were terrified that _____________ _________________________________. 1. hiding the room 2. wallboard 3. the lighting system 4. their deception held 5. surprise inspections

6. their secrets would be discovered

II. Watch again. Underline the incorrect word in each of the following sentences, and write the correct one.

1. The religious police walked past the dark wall dozens of times and never suspected the room was there. ____________

2. The threats of death did little to discourage the group of painters. ____________ 3. The artists remained brave and risked being discovered by one of the world’s most frightening regimes. ____________

4. But they did save their Taliban identification cards, reminders of a time when

they would have given their lives for the art they created. ____________ 1. dark---false 2. painters---heroes 3. frightening---feared

4. created---love

III. Listen and repeat. You are going to hear five sentences selected from the video. Repeat each sentence after it is spoken twice. Then write the sentences. 1.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________ 2.

______________________________________________________________________________ 3.

______________________________________________________________________________ 4.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

5. ______________________________________________________________________________

1 The religious police walked post the false wall dozens of times and never

suspected the room was there.

2 The film rescuers’ lives were safe as long as their deception held. 3 Many Afghan film lovers assumed that the entire film archive was lost. 4 When the Taliban regime collapsed, the archive’s rescuers brought the

negatives out of hiding.

5 Even if we lost our heads, it would have been an honor and privilege.

I. Watch the entire video. Choose the statement(s) that describe(s) each of the following pictures.

A. Paintings which illustrated living things would be torn up or slashed by Taliban religious police.

B. Many historical, cultural or religious landmarks were destroyed by the Taliban regime.

C. A group of filmmakers protected original films by giving the Taliban film prints. D. The giant statues of Buddha were destroyed.

E. The artist used watercolors to cover offensive elements of the paintings.

F. The filmmakers witnessed the burning of hundreds of rolls of films but could do

nothing to save the prints.

G. After the collapse of Taliban, museum staff simply wiped off the watercolors from the oil paintings so people could enjoy them in full view.

H. The artwork at the presidential palace was completely destroyed 1. BD 2. AH 3. EG 4. CF

.

II. Oral work. Work in groups of three. One of you is Nancy, a reporter from CNN interviewing Enayet, the National Gallery employee, and Kirimi, the filmmaker at Afghan Films. Role-play the interview. The following questions are for your reference. Nancy

So, Enayet, first, I’d like to express my sincere appreciation for what you have done. Our audience would like to know to know:

1) What motivated you to take on this risky mission?

2) What did you and your colleagues do to protect endangered paintings?

3) Did you ever feel terrified of what could have happened if the Taliban inspectors had noticed the deception?

And, Kirimi, our audience would really appreciate it if you could tell us: 1) How did you feel when the films were burned in front of you? 2) What did you do to protect the film archive?

III. Project. Form groups of three or four. Each group member thinks of a cultural item from his/her hometown they would want to be protected if they faced a similar situation as the Afghanis. Take turns saying what your items are and how you’d protect them. Then choose the most interesting item in your group and fill in the following table. Finally, report the findings to the class. What is it? A general introduction Why protect it? How to protect it? Where to store it?

What potential threats may you face? How to deal with threats? READING

Afghanistan’s Heroic Artists

1 Between the years of 1996 and 2001, a fundamentalist religious group called the Taliban ruled the country of Afghanistan. The group became known for their violence and their strict devotion to rigid interpretations of the rules of the Islamic religion. During their period of control, they slowly began to destroy ancient, historic, and religious landmarks and pieces of art throughout the country. These seemingly senseless acts were committed by the group in an attempt to rid the country of items that were not accepted as part of their strict religious interpretations.

2 In early 2001, in an act that shocked the rest of the world, the extremist group destroyed the Buddhas of Bamiyan, which were located about 225 kilometers from

Afghanistan’s capital city, Kabul. The Buddhas were giant statues — the largest existing examples of standing Buddha carvings in the world — built between A.D. 507 and 5. They were perhaps the most famous cultural landmarks of the region, and their location had been listed as a World Heritage Site. It was after this terrible destruction of one of the country’s most important cultural landmarks that doctor and famous Afghan artist Mohammad Yousef Asefi realized that the entire nation’s artistic works were under attack.

3 As Taliban rule continued, Dr. Asefi began to wonder — and worry — what would be destroyed next. He talks about his feelings at that time. “I became very sad,” he says, “when I heard that the statue[s] in Bamiyan had been destroyed. A rumor was spreading that the artwork exhibited in the National Gallery and the National Museum would be the next victim.” The Taliban condemned statues or paintings that represented living things, such as people, and their plan at the time was to destroy all artistic works featuring such subject matter.

4 Asefi is a medical doctor and a well-known Afghan painter for whom all artistic works — especially oil paintings — hold a special meaning. As one watches him paint, carefully placing various shades of color in exact places as he creates one of his works, it becomes clear that for Asefi, creating a work of art requires not only creativity, but time and patience. That’s why the Taliban’s rule of terror really hit home for him when the artwork at the presidential palace and the ministry of foreign affairs was slashed and destroyed by the Taliban regime. Asefi became extremely distressed when he learned that some of the paintings that had been permanently damaged were his own.

5 Asefi explains how miserable he felt when he discovered that his paintings had been attacked. “I had painted my paintings with a lot of delicacy,” he says, “and now they were torn up or destroyed beyond repair.” After making this comment, he mentions the one question that kept coming to his mind after hearing of the tragic event: “How could this happen?” It was a question for which there was no simple answer.

6 With not only his own paintings, but all of the paintings at the National Gallery now at risk from the Taliban’s religious police, Asefi formulated a plan that could easily have resulted in his death. The Taliban was a brutal regime, and one that had no hesitation about dealing quickly and violently with anyone or anything that did not follow its strict, structured interpretations of Islamic religious law.

7 In order to implement his plan, Asefi first volunteered for a job in the National Gallery. He was hired to restore paintings that had been damaged during the wars that had plagued the country during the years preceding the Taliban’s rule. Once inside the gallery, Asefi needed an accomplice, somebody who would help him to carry out his clever plan. He found one in a man named Enayet, a member of the National Gallery staff who shared Asefi’s contempt for the Taliban and his courage to take them on. Risking their lives, Enayet and other staff members brought endangered paintings to the room where Asefi worked. It was there that the real ingenuity of the plan became apparent.

8 The plot that Dr. Asefi and his accomplices formulated was quite simple. Since

the Taliban forbade paintings that illustrated living things, Dr. Asefi simply made the offensive elements of the paintings — the living things — disappear. He explains his daring plan. “I suddenly came up with the thought of using watercolors on top of oil paintings to hide the unacceptable parts,” he says. Month after month, Asefi and his accomplices ran an “art-rescue” factory right under the noses of Taliban religious police.

9 Enayet explains how they fooled the Taliban during the religious police’s unexpected visits to the gallery. “Whenever they would come,” he says, “I would lock the door. The doctor was inside. He would stop his work, having understood that somebody was here. Naturally I was afraid because the Taliban were everywhere.” If the Taliban had found out what they were doing, both men — and other members of the staff — almost certainly would have been punished by death.

10 Ultimately, Asefi’s art-rescue team placed about 80 paintings back on display in the Gallery, all of them repainted so that any “improper” parts were covered by watercolors. Amazingly, the Taliban inspectors never noticed the team’s deception. Then, when the Taliban’s brutal regime came to an end in 2001, museum staff members simply wiped off the watercolors from the oil paintings, and the rescued treasures were once again in full view, in some cases for the first time in generations. 11 As he stands in a room surrounded by beautiful works of classic Afghani art, Asefi talks about what he and his friends managed to accomplish. “Despite all the suffering and hard work,” he reports, “our goal was to change something and we did it.” But Dr. Asefi’s clever deception wasn’t the only plot that succeeded during the days of the Taliban …

12 At the national film archive in Kabul, which is called “Afghan Films,” a group of filmmakers watches a show of film treasures that were once thought to be completely lost. As they view the precious scenes that were saved from the hands of destruction, one can see the emotion and pride in the faces of these unusual “film heroes.” The fact that they can still watch these films — and show them to others — is evidence of their own brilliant creativity, ingenuity, and bravery.

13 During the time of the Taliban, these artists were also victimized by the group’s extreme religious interpretations and the constant threat of having thousands of original film works destroyed because of their content. Fortunately, like Dr. Asefi and the staff at the National Gallery, these filmmakers were able to pull off a clever deception that ensured that the entire film archive would not be destroyed. Their incredible story started on the terrible day when the religious police came to burn all the films in the archive.

14 The filmmakers became very anxious when they realized that the films — national treasures in the art form that they loved — might be completely destroyed. “We were very upset when the minister of the Taliban brought the order to burn the films,” says Kirimi, one of the filmmakers. “We felt our hearts pounding. We became emotional.”

15 When the police arrived, the filmmakers were forced to turn over hundreds of pieces of film, which were then burned to piles of ashes by the religious police. Another filmmaker named Mustafa shows the ditch where the religious police burned

the films right in front of him and the other artists. “Here,” he says, gesturing to a dry hollow in the earth. “They burned the films here,” he says. “We have the evidence. They burned them in front of me. That day, it was like a dearest friend [was] being killed in front of [us]. That day was the darkest and hardest day for us.”

16 While the loss of the films was an emotional event for all of the artists, for some it was even more than that. Kirimi and Mustafa’s colleague Sadaqui adds that for him, the situation almost became violent due to the strength of feelings triggered by the actions of the religious police. “I became irrational,” he explains. “I decided to throw myself and the Minister of Information and Culture into the fire with the films.” Luckily, his colleagues prevented the disaster. “At that moment, one of my colleagues grabbed me and stopped me,” he says.

17 While the artists were obviously upset by the Taliban’s actions, they had a secret about which the Taliban had no idea. The staff had only given the religious police film prints, which are just copies of the original film and can be replaced, not film negatives, which cannot be replaced. Unfortunately, after this first search the Taliban’s intense desire to rid the world of what they perceived as unacceptable film images remained. The group made several more trips to the national film archive in order to find and destroy these supposed negative influences. As they did so, the filmmakers became increasingly worried about the safety of the films in their care. When there were no prints left to burn, they knew the religious police would come and throw the negative archive into the fire, too. It was only a matter of time.

18 The period was terrifying for all those involved with protecting the country’s film history, and it was a time that called for courageous action. It was at this point when the small group of film archivists became real heroes. “We all had the same idea,” explains Sadaqui, “that we had to preserve the archive of Afghan film at any price, even by paying with our lives.” But how were they going to hide the main archive, some 2,900 rolls of irreplaceable negatives, from the eyes of the religious police? It was a huge amount of film to conceal, and a mission for which they would be killed if caught.

19 The filmmakers’ plan was simple — brilliantly simple. Mustafa reveals how they did it as he walks quickly down a dark corridor in the Afghan Films building. When he finally arrives at a small door at the very end of the hallway, he pauses to explain. Behind the door lies the country’s entire national film archive negatives. Its most extensive film history locked behind one thin barrier. It is here that Mustafa reveals the brilliance of their plot: they hid the archive by hiding the entire room. He describes the plan. “In order for no one to notice the door, we installed wallboard from here,” he says gesturing to the floor, “to the ceiling ... here,” indicating the top of the corridor. The area behind the wallboard was virtually concealed from view — including the door of the archive room.

20 With the entrance to the room safely hidden behind board, the next step for the group was to finalize the appearance of the area so that the room would not be visible to the interfering eyes of the religious police. Sadaqui talks about how they ensured that the room wasn’t discovered. “With the help of an electrician,” he explains, “we also disabled the lighting system so that the wall was darkened.” While it sounds

extremely basic, the plan worked. The religious police walked past the false wall dozens of times and never suspected that there was a room just beyond it.

21 The film rescuers’ lives were safe as long as their deception held. But if the Taliban ever found the hidden film negatives, there was no doubt that the men would be put to death. Mustafa remembers how frightening those times were: “The Taliban told us that, even if a small piece of film was found, we will hang you or shoot you in the ditch where the archive was burned.” Kirimi confirms his colleague’s report, “The Taliban minister said, ‘If we find another film here, we will burn it along with you.’” The threats of death did little to discourage the group of brave heroes although there may have been moments when they wanted to give up, especially when the Taliban police were so persistent. The artists remained brave and risked being discovered by one of the world’s most feared regimes.

22 For many months, the film rescuers endured what seemed like a nightmare. The Taliban’s demand for films to burn seemed to have no end, and they conducted several surprise inspections of the building in search of hidden or banned films. Month after month, the staff of Afghan Films suffered through the inspections, terrified that their secret would be discovered. They wondered when it was all going to end.

23 Finally, the Taliban regime collapsed and their reign of terror and destruction was over. It was a time of extreme joy, but also one of sadness for many film lovers as members of the Afghan general public assumed that the entire film archive had been destroyed by religious police. This sense of sadness soon turned to great enthusiasm when, to everyone’s surprise, the archive’s rescuers brought the negatives out of hiding. The enormous film archive had been saved and Afghanistan’s film heritage was safe.

24 The filmmakers at Afghan Films were hailed as being heroes, acclaimed for their brave efforts to save the history of Afghan filmmaking for future generations. However, all the excitement meant nothing to them. The courageous men were modest about what they had managed to achieve with their ingenuity. They had done it purely for their love of film and their desire to save the years of work from previous filmmakers. They did, however, save their black-and-white Taliban identification cards as a reminder of a time when they would have given their lives for the art they love.

25 As they display the small black-and-white identification cards — reminders of another, sadder time — the men smile broadly, proud of their accomplishment and proud of the fact that the film archive still exists. Sadaqui sums up their attitude towards what they did: “Even if we lost our heads, it would have been an honor and privilege. But we didn’t allow our heritage to be destroyed. Why? A country that has no culture has no history.”

fundamentalist // n. someone who follows the rules of a religion or organization very strictly and exactly.

Buddha // n. the symbol of Buddhism, a religion of east and central Asia

World Heritage Site an important cultural place, chosen for preservation by the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)

hit home become personal or real

slash // vt. make a long deep cut with something sharp

brutal // adj. extremely violent and without care regarding others plague // vt. upset with repeated disturbances or interruptions

accomplice // n. a partner in committing an illegal or unacceptable act contempt // n. dislike; hatred pound // vi. beat strongly

ditch // n. a long narrow hole dug in the earth, especially to hold or carry water grab // vt. take quickly and roughly

film negative // the material in a film camera upon which images are recorded and from which all copies of the material are made

conceal // vt. hide or keep something secret, especially through tricks disable // vt. make unable to perform; stop something from working Reading Comprehension

1. The destruction of the Buddhas of Bamiyan is an example of what? A. An unfortunate accident in Afghanistan. B. The Taliban’s contempt for certain works of art. C. An artist’s failure to save an important landmark. D. The unification of religion and culture.

2. Which of the following is an appropriate heading for Paragraph 7? A. Unemployed Painter Takes Gallery Job B. Doctor Plots to Fool Regime C. No Partner in Crime for Asefi D. Enayet Convinces Asefi to Join Him 3. The main purpose of Paragraphs 8 and 9 is to ________. A. show how often the religious police came to the gallery B. explain that watercolors can be painted on top of oils C. describe the factory building where the men rescued the art D. provide details about how they saved the paintings 4. What does Sadaqui claim in Paragraph 16? A. His feelings towards the Taliban grew aggressive. B. He jumped in the fire to save the films. C. He risked his life to show his anger to the government. D. He was punished for his temper.

5. Who had the idea to save the film negatives? A. Sadaqui. B. Kirimi. C. Mustafa. D. The entire group of filmmakers. 6. According to the writer, the public’s sorrow when the Taliban regime collapsed was because ________. A. they believed that cultural treasures had been lost B. the reign of terror and destruction was over C. they were worried about the integrity of the new government D. it was impossible to flee the country

7. Why did the artists keep their black-and-white identification cards? A. To remind them that the Taliban might come back. B. To remember how much they risked for their art. C. To keep a historical reminder of the Taliban regime.

D. Because they plan to make a film about their experiences. 8. During the Taliban regime, pieces of arts and ______________________________________ ________________ were destroyed throughout the country.

9. The fact that people can still watch the wonderful films once banned by Taliban is evidence of the _________________________________________ of the filmmakers.

10. The filmmakers were hailed as national heroes since ________________________________ _______________________. 1. B 2. B 3. D 4. A 5.D 6.A 7.B 8. ancient, historic and religious landmarks 9. creativity, ingenuity, and bravery

10. they saved the history of Afghan filmmaking

HOME LISTENING audio SCRIPT

When Art Becomes a Victim

During the years when the Taliban regime ruled Afghanistan, thousands of people were killed and much property was destroyed. However, the Afghan people also suffered another kind of very important loss—the loss of irreplaceable works of art. Some, like the giant statues of Buddha at Bamiyan, were simply destroyed by the religious police. Many others, however, were sold to collectors and shipped out of the country. Obviously, the loss of cultural heritage for the country is tragic; however in addition to Afghanistan, situations like this exist in many war-torn countries, including Iraq. They have also existed in the past, including in Europe, during and after World War ll.

No one knows for certain how many of Iraq’s precious historical and artistic treasures are now lost because of the recent war. During the early days of the conflict, attention was focused on objects being taken from the country’s major museums, some of which have been returned. However, as time passed, researchers began to realize that perhaps an even greater loss was occurring elsewhere in the country. People were digging up important historical and artistic treasures that had been buried for thousands of years. Because of the chaos in the nation at the time, the robbers were able to remove these valuable items and ship them out of the country. Many of these national treasures may never be found or returned to their rightful home in Iraq. During the period of Nazi domination in Germany, many works of art, such as paintings, statues, books, coins, and other valuable objects, were taken by the government from well-established public galleries as well as private collectors in Germany and elsewhere. Some items were placed in museums, but many others were put in secret storage, where they have yet to be discovered. Many items were also taken from museums in the Soviet Union and the Netherlands. Immediately after

World War II ended, a second type of artwork theft began to take place. Before they left the country, occupying armies began their own form of stealing. Most of the theft involved individuals taking works of art for their own personal collections. However, some of the artwork taken by the Nazis and discovered by the occupying armies actually ended up in the control of foreign governments. Talks are still taking place between Germany, the U.S., Russia, and other countries over the true ownership of these works of art. Teaching notes

I. 1. Give students time to go through the statements and predict the answers. 2. Play the audio.

3. Have students check the answers and correct the false statements.

II. 1. Remind students that the statements in this exercise are not exactly what they are going to hear.

2. Provide students with some guidelines on how to note down key words and important information. 3. Play the audio.

4. Have students compare the answers in pairs.

III. 1. Have students repeat each sentence after it is spoken twice and then write the sentences.

2. Have students listen again, and mark the word stress on content words with a stress mark ( ? ).

3. Have students listen to each sentence and draw an upward arrow ? for rising intonation, or a downward arrow ? for falling intonation.

4. Have students listen again and draw a curved line ? to mark any words that are linked or blended together.

5. Have students practice reading the sentences till they can say them using appropriate intonation and stress pattern. IV. 1. Explain the task.

2. Put students into pairs. Have them ask and answer questions about how works of art have suffered in the war in different parts of the world, brainstorm ideas and take notes.

3. Remind students that they should put the events in a chronological order. 4. Have students summarize the events in pairs, then present their summaries to the class. Word bank

1. heritage n. any attribute or immaterial possession that is inherited from ancestors

e.g. The palace is now a state museum of China, and has been given a place on the UNESCO World Heritage list.

2. occur vi. come to pass

e.g. It never occurs to him that his son would sacrifice his life to the protection of endangered artistic treasures. Similar situations occur all the time in any war-torn country. 3. end up finally be or do something

e.g. He ended up as the head of the form. Collocation

end up with 以……而结束，以……告终 end up as 最终成为

end up doing sth 最后做某事，以做某事结束 HOME LISTENING

I. Listen to the passage. Decide whether the following statements are true (T) or false (F).

1. ______ During and after the two world wars in the last century, many historical and cultural treasures in Europe suffered huge damages.

2. ______ At the early stages of the conflict in Iraq, objects taken from major museums attracted people’s attention.

3. ______ It was relatively difficult to ship treasures out of Iraq because of the chaos at that time.

4. ______ During the Nazi regime, the German government only took works of art from public galleries or museums.

5. ______ After the Second World War, many works of art were taken by occupying armies to other countries. FTFFT

II. Listen again. Fill in the blanks with the information you’ve learned in this part. During the period of the Taliban regime, thousands of people were killed and (1) ____________________________________. However, this country also suffered another greater loss, that is, the loss of (2) __________________________________. Some treasures were simply destroyed by (3) ________________________, such as the Buddha of Bamiyan, others were (4) ______________________ and shipped out of the country.

In Iraq, no one knows for certain how many of the country’s (5) ________________ _______________________________________ are now lost because of the recent war. At first, attention was focused on objects (6) ________________________________________ _______________. But later on, researchers found out that people were digging up artwork (7) __________________________ for thousands of years. Many of these national treasures may never (8) ___________________________ to their rightful home in Iraq.

During the Second World War, the Nazis robbed many works of art not only from (9) _____________________________________, but also from (10) _______________________ in Germany and elsewhere. Some of them were placed in public museums, while others were (11) ___________________________. (1) much property was destroyed (2) irreplaceable works of art (3) the religious police

(4) sold to collectors

(5) precious historical and artistic treasures (6) taken from the country’s major museums (7) that had been buried (8) be found or returned

(9) well-established public galleries (10) private collectors (11) Put in secret storage

III. Listen and repeat. You are going to hear five sentences selected from the audio. Repeat each sentence after it is spoken twice. Then write the sentences. 1.

______________________________________________________________________________ 2.

______________________________________________________________________________ 3.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________ 4.

______________________________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________________________

6. ______________________________________________________________________________

1 Obviously, the loss of cultural heritage for the country is tragic. 2 An even greater loss was occurring elsewhere in the country.

3 Many items were also taken from museums in the Soviet Union and the

Netherlands.

4 Immediately after World War II ended, a second type of artwork theft

began.

5 Talks are still taking place over the true ownership of these works of art.

IV. Oral work. Work in pairs. Summarize how works of art have suffered in the war with the help of the information from Exercise II. Put the events in a chronological order.

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