BBC Learning EnglishBBC Learning English Media English Media English 媒体英语媒体英语 North Korean town gets World Heritage statusNorth Korean town gets World Heritage status 朝鲜开城被列入世界遗产朝鲜开城被列入世界遗产 請注意：中文文字内容只提供簡體版 Media English 媒体英语 British Broadcasting Corporation 2013 Page 1 of 3 bbcukchina.com/learningenglish 朝鲜开城被联合国教科文组织列入世界文化保护遗产名录。开城建于公元十世纪，此次被列入名录的开城历史古迹共有十二处，包括一座宫殿，一所学校和一座古城墙等。以下是 BBC 记者 Charles Scanlon 发回的报道: Kaesong is one of the few historical sites open to tourists thats not specifically linked to the Kim family that has ruled North Korea since independence. The city is held up in the North as a symbol of national reunification as it was the capital of the 10th Century Koryo dynasty that united the entire peninsula. North Korean officials attending the UNESCO ceremony stood and clapped the decision to give the sites World Heritage status. The North has always used its interpretation of history to boost its case in the struggle for national sovereignty against South Korea. The South maintains that an earlier southern-based dynasty was the first to unify the country. But even the legacy of Kaesong is a sensitive one for the Norths historians. The dynasty marked a high water mark for Buddhism on the peninsula - a culture that was all but eradicated along with other religions after independence. The city was initially in South Korea after the division of the peninsula in 1945 but was conquered by northern forces during the Korean War. It later came to be seen as a symbol of reconciliation - being near the site of a joint industrial zone established by the two sides after the year 2000. But the southern-owned factories currently lie idle - closed by the North Koreans during a recent bout of tension over its rocket and nuclear tests. Media English 媒体英语 British Broadcasting Corporation 2013 Page 2 of 3 bbcukchina.com/learningenglish Questions 1. Which family or dynasty is Kaesong linked to? 2. True or false? South Korea believes the Koryo dynasty was the first to unify the country. 3. What event led to North Korea controlling the town of Kaesong? 4. What are the factories in the joint industrial zone making at the moment? Vocabulary and definitions held up 被仰视为 reunification 重新统一 dynasty 王朝 united 统一了 interpretation 理解，解释 a high water mark 全胜时期 eradicated 铲除了，根除了 a symbol of reconciliation 和解的象征 lie idle 闲置，被搁着不用 bout 一阵，一小段时间 Media English 媒体英语 British Broadcasting Corporation 2013 Page 3 of 3 bbcukchina.com/learningenglish Answers to the questions: 1. Which family or dynasty is Kaesong linked to? ANSWER: The Koryo dynasty 2. True or false? South Korea believes the Koryo dynasty was the first to unify the country. ANSWER: False. The South maintains that an earlier southern-based dynasty was the first to unify the country. 3. What event led to North Korea controlling the town of Kaesong? ANSWER: The Korean War 4. What are the factories in the joint industrial zone making at the moment? ANSWER: Nothing. They currently lie idle.