Level 2 Reading 4A

Ch.7

第7章

Reading 4A LIVING TREASURES The Tower of Pisa. Machu Picchu. The Taj Mahal. You probably know them as famous UNESCO World Heritage sites—structures and monuments of great cultural value. But what about the Mediterranean diet? The Beijing opera? Or the art of pizza-making in Naples? What do these have in common? Traditions like these are known as "intangible cultural heritage." In contrast to UNESCO World Heritage sites, intangible heritage does not include buildings like palaces and temples. Instead, it includes traditional art forms, such as music, dance, and craft-making— living traditions that are an important part of a place's culture. UNESCO began to identify cultural traditions in 2008. Among the first on their list were the Puppet Theater of Sicily and Mexico's Day of the Dead festival. By 2017, UNESCO had approved more than 300 diverse practices. These include cultural events like the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival; performing arts including Spanish flamenco; martial arts such as Brazilian capoeira and Korean Taekkyeon; and handicrafts like Japanese washi paper-making. In 2010, UNESCO also began to include important regional cuisines, starting with French and Mexican food. Several other types of food and drink have since been added, such as Korean kimchi and Croatian gingerbread. Arabic coffee was included in 2015. The sharing of coffee has been an important aspect of Arab hospitality for centuries, according to UNESCO, and is "a symbol of generosity."

阅读4A 活的珍宝 比萨斜塔。马丘比丘。泰姬陵。 你可能知道它们是著名的联合国教科文组织世界遗产——具有巨大文化价值的建筑和纪念碑。 但是地中海饮食呢？ 京剧？ 还是那不勒斯的披萨制作艺术？ 这些有什么共同点？ 这样的传统被称为“非物质文化遗产” 与联合国教科文组织世界遗产相比，非物质遗产不包括宫殿和寺庙等建筑。 相反，它包括传统艺术形式，如音乐、舞蹈和手工艺制作-- 生活传统是一个地方文化的重要组成部分。 教科文组织于2008年开始确定文化传统。 他们名单上的第一个是西西里岛木偶剧院和墨西哥亡灵节。 截至2017年，联合国教科文组织已批准了300多种不同的做法。 这些活动包括中国端午节等文化活动； 表演艺术，包括西班牙弗拉门戈； 巴西卡波耶拉和韩国跆拳道等武术； 以及日本和纸造纸等手工艺品。 2010年，联合国教科文组织还开始将重要的地区美食纳入其中，从法国和墨西哥菜开始。 此后，又增加了其他几种食物和饮料，如韩国泡菜和克罗地亚姜饼。 阿拉伯咖啡于2015年加入。 几个世纪以来，分享咖啡一直是阿拉伯人好客的一个重要方面， 根据联合国教科文组织的说法，它是“慷慨的象征”

Protecting Cultural Roots Cultural rituals are an important part of the UNESCO list. An example is the Tlemcen wedding ritual in Algeria. The ritual begins in the bride's parents' home, where friends and female relatives help the bride prepare for the ceremony. The bride is first dressed in a golden silk dress. Symbolic henna designs are applied to her hands. Before leaving the house for the ceremony, her face is wrapped in a golden silk veil. Later, during the wedding feast, the bride removes her veil, ready to be married. The tradition has passed from one generation to the next, and marks the community's cultural identity. Some of the cultural items on the list are dying out and in need of protection. An example is Al Sadu—traditional weaving in the United Arab Emirates. The tradition was once widely practiced by communities of desert Bedouin women. However, many Bedouin have now moved to cities, and so the practice has begun to disappear. Today, Al Sadu is mostly practiced by older women whose numbers are declining. The main goal of UNESCO is to promote peace through respect for the world's varied cultures and common humanity. It hopes that by bringing attention to cultural traditions such as Al Sadu, they will be more likely to survive. Cultural traditions are important to fight for, says Cécile Duvelle of UNESCO. "The more globalized the world becomes," she says, " the more important it is not to lose these traditional roots."

保护文化根基 文化仪式是联合国教科文组织名单的重要组成部分。 阿尔及利亚的特莱姆森婚礼就是一个例子。 仪式在新娘父母家开始，朋友和女性亲戚帮助新娘准备仪式。 新娘首先穿上一件金色的丝绸连衣裙。 象征性的指甲花图案被应用于她的手上。 在离开家参加仪式之前，她的脸裹着金色的丝绸面纱。 后来，在婚宴上，新娘摘下面纱，准备结婚。 这一传统代代相传，标志着社区的文化认同。 名单上的一些文化项目正在消亡，需要保护。 一个例子是Al-Sadu——阿拉伯联合酋长国的传统编织。 这一传统曾被沙漠贝都因人妇女社区广泛实践。 然而，许多贝都因人现在已经搬到了城市，因此这种做法已经开始消失。 如今，Al-Sadu主要由年龄较大的女性练习，她们的数量正在下降。 教科文组织的主要目标是通过尊重世界上不同的文化和共同的人性来促进和平。 它希望通过关注Al-Sadu等文化传统，他们更有可能生存下来。 联合国教科文组织的Cécile Duvelle说，为文化传统而战很重要。 “世界变得越全球化，”她说，“就越重要的是不要失去这些传统的根基。”

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