[ti:Iraqi Artist Recreates Ancient Artwork] [by:www.51voa.com] [00:00.00]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM [00:00.04]Iraqi artist Khaled Al-Abadi's dream [00:04.24]is to recreate historical objects [00:07.32]that were damaged during years of war. [00:10.36]Al-Abadi is a sculptor. [00:13.40]In his Mosul workshop, he carefully shapes objects [00:17.56]into pieces of art -- lions, chariots, birds, and more. [00:24.56]Al-Abadi told the Reuters news agency, [00:27.76]"During the Islamic State period, [00:30.72]when my colleague and I were walking around, [00:33.52]we would see the statues that were removed, [00:36.80]and the gates that were being demolished, [00:39.72]we were really troubled by this." [00:42.04]Demolished is a term that means destroyed. [00:45.84]Al-Abadi's clay-based artworks show the country's long history [00:51.48]– from the Assyrian period through the Islamic State occupation. [00:56.68]"We want to remind the coming generations [01:00.12]that this is the history of Nineveh," he said, [01:04.36]talking about the ancient Assyrian city [01:07.44]located close to modern Mosul. [01:10.24]"This is the history of Mosul. This is the history of Iraq." [01:15.48]The area where about 20 murals are displayed is located in old Mosul, [01:22.64]a part of the city that suffered heavy damage during the war [01:26.88]to take back the city from Islamic State militants. [01:31.12]These militants destroyed many of its ancient sites. [01:35.56]The country's rich cultural history [01:38.40]has long suffered during its conflicts. [01:41.88]Last year, ancient objects stolen and taken out of Iraq [01:47.36]after the U.S. invasion in 2003 were put on display in Baghdad. [01:54.20]One of the objects on display included a 3,500-year-old clay tablet [02:01.56]with part of the Epic of Gilgamesh, the ancient Sumerian story [02:06.64]believed to be one of the world's first written works. [02:11.80]I'm John Russell. [02:13.92]更多听力请访问51VOA.COM