Culture is particularly at risk in an armed conflict or disaster owing to its great symbolic value. At the same time, culture is regarded as a driver of recovery, strengthening the flexibility of a civilized society.
During recent conflicts, cultural relics have not only increasingly suffered from the damage caused by war, but have also become the target(目标) of systematic and deliberate(故意的) attacks because of its high significance in the nations to which it belongs. The destruction of the cultural relics in Palmyra(Syria) and the robbery of the National Museum of Iraq are tragic(悲剧的) examples of an intention to destroy the very cultural identity and break the bonds that bring them together as a society.
Disasters caused by natural and human-made harm including earthquakes, fires, floods and typhoons, also have caused extensive damage to many cultural and natural relics, museums, cultural institutions. The earthquakes in Nepal and Ecuador, the floods in Myanmar, Hurricane Matthew in the Western Atlantic Ocean and the heavy rainfalls following El Niño in Peru have all resulted in a mass of damage.
Culture, however, is not only a victim (受害者)of emergency situations. Immediately after a disaster or an armed conflict, all nations often find cultural relics can work well as material and psychological support. The ability to access one’s cultural attractions — like a religious building, a historic city, an historical relic or a landscape — or to keep a specific cultural practice, may provide a much-needed sense of identity and dignity(尊严). Moreover after an emergency(紧急情况), culture can be an engine both to rebuild economies and societies and to promote tolerance, compromise and understanding, easing tensions(紧张) and preventing renewed conflicts. Music, dance, theatre and cinema, for example, have been used to build deeper understanding among people who flee for safety.
This is why protecting culture in emergency situations, and cultural protection from disasters is fundamental to a country’s development and people’ security.
12. Some damaged cultural relics are mentioned in Paragraphs 2 & 3 to ________.
A.To prove emergency situations caused by culture. |
B.To show the intense international relationship. |
C.To present the terrible situation of culture in an armed conflict or disaster |
D.To unfold the disasters and conflicts in the world. |
13. What is Paragraph 4 mainly about?
A.Culture plays an important role in restoration. |
B.Culture suffers a lot in emergency situations. |
C.Lots of cultural relics are rebuilt after a disaster. |
D.Culture helps people better understand each other. |
14. What can we learn from this passage?
A.Most cultural relics are destroyed by war. |
B.Natural disasters seldom contribute to the damage of cultural relics. |
C.Music, dance and theatre can also give people a sense of security. |
D.Cultural relics can work better than psychological support. |
15. What is likely to be talked about after the last paragraph?
A.The fast development of culture. |
B.The analysis of the cultural emergency. |
C.A specific case of ruined cultural relics. |
D.Some measures taken to protect culture. |