Alia Baker is a librarian in Iraq. Her library used to be a1place for all who loved books and liked to share knowledge. They2various matters all over the world. When the war was near, Alia was3that the fires of war would destroy the books, which are more4to her than mountain of gold. The books are in every language-new books, ancient books, 5a book on the history of Iraq that is seven hundred years old.
She had asked the government for6to move the books to a7place, but they refused. So Alia took matters into her own hands. 8, she brought books home every night, 9her car late after work. Her friends came to10her when the war broke out. Anis who owned a restaurant11to hide some books. All through the12, Alia, Anis, his brothers and neighbors took the books from the library, 13them over the seven-foot wall and 14them in the restaurant. The books stayed hidden as the war15. Then nine days later, a fire burned the 16to the ground.
One day, the bombing stopped and the17left. But the war was not over yet. Alia knew that if the books were to be safe, they must be18again while the city was19. So she hired a truck to bring all the books to the houses of friends in the suburbs (郊区). Now Alia waited for the war to end and20peace and a new library.
