4.
阅读理解
Is it possible to put
millions of years of the world's history into one building? The British Museum
seems to think so.
"A History of the
World in 100 Objects ", an exhibition about rare and ancient objects from
the world, has made it a success.
The British Museum
says it owns at least 8 million historical objects. But why does it choose
these 100 objects to tell stories of our world's history?
It all started with a
challenge(挑战).
Neil MacGregor, who
was once director of the British Museum, was asked by BBC to choose 100 objects
from the museum's huge collection. The objects had to include things from the
beginning of human history about 2 million years ago to the present day.
MacGregor accepted, and
took four years to choose each object himself.
In 2010, MacGregor
appeared on BBC radio, giving a detailed (详细的) explanation
of each object. The show was a big hit and all these 100 objects were shown in
the British Museum. A book with photos of each object soon followed.
"The objects had
to cover the whole world, from a cooking pot to a golden galleon, from a Stone
Age tool to accredit card, "MacGregor wrote.
The collection
includes many important objects from China. There is a banknote from the Ming
Dynasty, showing China as the first country to use paper money.
But it's not just
ancient things that are shown. Among them are some modern things like a
solar-powered lamp and even a throne made of weapons created by an African
artist.
"Of course, the
collection could only be 'a' history of the world. But it is still a
history that people in the present world need to know, ""MacGregor
wrote.