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A decade on from the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and whipped up a tsunami of theft in Baghdad, Iraq’s National Museum is preparing to display its treasures of Mesopotamian culture - even if thousands are missing.

在美國於2003年率盟軍入侵伊拉克推翻海珊政權，並在首都巴格達引發連串竊案的10年後，伊拉克國立博物館現正準備展示館中的美索不達米亞文化寶物，即使數千件文物至今仍下落不明。

The looting of the museum under the eyes of U.S. troops has sometimes been compared to the Mongol sack of the Grand Library of Baghdad in 1258. Then-U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld shrugged it off with the comment "stuff happens".

伊拉克博物館在美軍部隊監督下仍慘遭洗劫一事，常被拿來和蒙古人於1258年劫掠巴格達圖書館的歷史事件相比。當時的美國國防部長倫斯斐對此卻只以「壞事年年有」一句話輕描淡寫帶過。

But if many Iraqis still see the museum’s looting as a symbol of the cavalier recklessness of the invasion, its current state is emblematic of the bloodshed, political discord and bureaucratic dysfunction that have racked Iraq ever since.

但假如許多伊拉克人仍把博物館遭洗劫視為是美軍入侵行動的草率魯莽行徑象徵，博物館的現狀更凸顯出伊拉克此後歷經的流血衝突、政治紛爭與官僚體系無能等亂象。

Museum workers also hope it could one day encapsulate the promise and achievements of an oil-rich country which for millennia sat at the heart of human civilisation.

工作人員也希望，博物館未來能夠彰顯出這個數千年來一直位於人類文明中心的產油國之前途與成就。

"The museum is now displaying some of the stolen antiquities that were recovered and restored. From a historical perspective and in terms of restoration, it’s a very good thing, and they’re ready to be presented," said Shaimaa Abdel Qader, a tour guide with the museum.

「博物館目前正在展示部分經尋獲或修復的被竊古文物。從歷史的觀點及修復的角度來看，這都是件好事，這些文物也已準備好展現在世人眼前，」博物館導遊阿布戴卡德說。

新聞辭典

whip up：動詞片語，非正式用法，指製造或造成某事，如His remarks whipped up a controversy. （他的評語引發了激烈爭議。）

under the eye of：片語，指在某人監視或監督下，如Students work under the watchful eye of their teacher.（學生們在老師的密切監督下認真讀書。）

cavalier：形容詞，帶有負面意味，指漫不經心的、毫不在乎的，如He has a cavalier disregard for the rights of others.（他對於別人的權利毫不在乎。）

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本文章節錄自http://iservice.ltn.com.tw/Service/english/english.php?engno=760494&day=2014-03-09