Exam practice: Reading - T ru e /F a ls e /N o t given
Unit 15
Read the follow ing text and answ er the questions below.
P ro te ctin g th e w o r ld ’s c u ltu re - th e ro le o f m useum s
For many hundreds of years people have been taking c u ltu ra l a rtifa cts from foreign countries
and keeping them in th e ir own national m useum s. These objects, w hich are often item s of great
value, have been bought, sold, stolen and found fo r a variety of reasons connected w ith war,
exploration and scientific discovery but the question of ownership s till rem ains.
The ownership argum ent has two w e ll defined sides, one of which concerns resources and the
other cu ltu ra l heritage. Those who claim m useum s have a role to play state that objects can
be better protected and conserved by w ell-funded m useum s in developed countries than in the
countries of origin and th a t they should be allowed to keep objects obtained from abroad. As
archaeologist Irene Havers argues, 'these m useum s have the finance and the academic expertise
to ensure that ancient objects are preserved fo r future generations.’ In addition, the m ajor w orld
m useum s are generally located in capital cities which attract a vast num ber of tourists. Even if
people are not regular museum attendees, to u rists w ill often visit famous m useum s as part of a
sight-seeing trip . This enables m useum s to generate income in order to m aintain th e ir collections.
The opposing view argues that it is im po rta n t fo r nations to own th e ir c u ltu ra l heritage and that
m useum s should retu rn foreign a rtifa cts to the country of origin so that th e ir citizens can learn
from them . As Dr Philips from Caledonian U niversity notes, "having c u ltu ra l a rtifa cts in national
m useum s is an excellent way to prom ote learning about history and national identity.’ He
believes that m useum s have a duty to retu rn objects to th e ir country of origin in order to allow
research to be contained w ith in a culture. He argues th a t ‘foreign researchers may som etim es
m iss som ething im po rta n t because they are studying objects from a culture w hich they are not
part of.’ However, Irene Havers asserts th a t many objects are so old and im po rta n t that they
should only be handled by experienced experts. As she states, 'the value of these objects is
im m ense and m useum experts have a responsibility to ensure th e ir care.’
In conclusion, th is argum ent is likely to continue fo r some tim e as it encompasses a range of
complex, interconnected issues including to u rism , academ ic research, identity and international
relations.
