英语听力精选进阶版 7144（在线收听）

Background: Tutankhamun (图坦卡蒙) 是三千年前的一位埃及法老，其墓穴中的宝藏世界闻名，不过，令专家们百思不得其解的是，为什么图坦卡蒙过世这么早，现在一项新调查对这一疑问提供了可能的答案。

Ever since Howard Carter's discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb in the Valley of the Kings in 1922, scholars have speculated over why the 19-year-old boy king died so young.

Some believe he was killed by a fall from his chariot, conspiracy theorists say he was murdered, but scientists who painstakingly studied the pharaoh's remains think Tutankhamun died from a bout of malaria that attacked his already weakened body. They say he had a cleft palate and club foot, likely forcing him to walk with a cane.

In the journal of the American Medical Association, lead scientist Dr ZahiHawass says how he found traces of the malaria parasite in Tutankhamun's blood along with signs of bone disease. The scientists' DNA studies also suggest the true identity of the king's parents and grandparents, something that has divided archaeologists for decades.

Glossary 词汇表

tomb 墓穴 

the Valley of the Kings 帝王谷 

speculated over 揣测 

chariot（古代双轮马拉）战车 

conspiracy theorists 阴谋论者 

painstakingly 艰苦地 

the pharaoh's remains 法老的遗骸 

a bout of malaria 疟疾发作 

cleft palate 腭裂 

club foot 畸形足 

cane 拐杖 

traces of 痕迹 

parasite 寄生虫 

DNA 脱氧核糖核酸 

divided 使意见分歧 

archaeologists 考古学家

Questions and Answers

When was Tutankhamun's grave found? 

1922.

Was Tutankhamun a strong young man? 

No, he probably needed a cane to help him walk.

What diseases have the scientists' DNA studies revealed? 

Malaria and bone disease.

True or false: experts have disagreed about Tutankhamun's identity for many years. 

True. It has "divided archaeologists for decades".