蒋建平

The mystery of King Tutankhamun？s death

难词探意

1. complication /kmplken/ n. 并发症

2. innocent /nsnt / adj. 无辜的;清白的

3. mummy /mmi/ n. 木乃伊

4. fracture /frkt（r）/ n. 骨折;断裂

What killed King Tut？ Historians and scientists have long believed that ancient Egypt？s most famous king was probably murdered. But a recent scientific study claims to have found a different answer to this more than 3，300？year？old mystery. A team of researchers now say that King Tut died of complications from a broken leg.

Tut？s full name was Tutankhamun. He was just 9 years old when he became the ruler of Egypt in 1333 BC. His treasure？filled tomb was discovered almost a century ago. It was filled with royal riches， including a solid？gold coffin， a gold mask， and piles of jewelry. Unfortunately， Tut died at the age of 19. Many experts have thought that Tut was killed by one of his advisers， named Ay， who wanted to be king. But thanks to a major modern science project， it seems Ay is innocent.

Researchers set out to solve the mystery of King Tut？s death by using the tools of science， including DNA tests and electronic scans of his mummy. Scientist Carsten Pusch carried out the tests on Tut for the new study. He thinks a broken leg led to the young king？s death. More than 100 walking sticks were found in King Tut？s tomb. This supports the team？s findings. But how could a person die from a simple broken leg？

Pusch also found DNA evidence in Tut？s body that shows he had malaria， a disease carried by mosquitoes. Malaria seriously weakens the immune system.

Pusch and his fellow researchers believe the malaria and the bone disease together caused the king？s fracture to become deadly. Finally， the young king was just too weak to recover. So effects of the disease combined with the bad luck of a broken bone—not a jealous adviser—are likely the real causes of King Tut？s death.

1. What do most experts think of King Tut？

A. He was murdered by one of his advisers.

B. He was poisoned by one of his servants.

C. He was the youngest ruler in history.

D. He was the richest ruler in the history of Egypt.

2. What did the new study discover about the king？

A. He died of a simple cut in the leg.

B. He died directly of a disease called malaria.

C. He died of complications from a broken leg.

D. He was bitten to death by deadly mosquitoes.

3. How did researchers uncover the mystery of King Tut？s death？

A. By testing King Tut？s immune system.

B. By performing experiments on mosquitoes.

C. By studying the walking sticks found in the tomb.

D. By applying DNA tests and electronic scan technology.

熟詞生义

Malaria seriously weakens the immune system. 疟疾严重削弱了免疫系统。

weaken v. 削弱;（使）减弱

e.g. The illness weakened his heart. 疾病使他的心脏衰弱了。

阿布辛贝神庙

阿布辛贝神庙是由古埃及法老拉美西斯二世建造的。庙高30米，宽36米，纵深60米，门前有4座石质拉美西斯巨型坐像，每尊高近20米，重1，200余吨。因修建阿斯旺大坝，联合国教科文组织向世界各国发出拯救文化遗产的呼吁，51个国家做出了反应。1960年至1980年，专家们进行了40多次大规模的挽救古迹活动;24个国家的考古学者组成考察团进行实地勘察，经过测定方位和计算，22座庙宇被拆散后转移到安全地带并重建。

古埃及法老图坦卡蒙的死亡一直是一个谜。最近的一项科学研究声称，对于这个有着3，300多年历史的谜团，他们找到了新的答案。