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VOA慢速英语2009年-SCIENCE IN THE NEWS - In Egypt, King T

时间:2010-01-11 02:29:59

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(单词翻译)

VOICE ONE:

This is SCIENCE IN THE NEWS in VOA Special English. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Bob Doughty1. This week, we will tell about efforts to protect the burial place of Egypt's King Tutankhamen. And we will tell about what imaging tests found in ancient human remains2.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Experts from the United States are working to return the final resting place of King Tutankhamen to its full beauty. The Getty Conservation Institute is cooperating with Egypt's Supreme3 Council of Antiquities4 on the project.

Tutankhamen is often called Tut. His tomb is in the Valley of the Kings on the west side of the Nile River at Luxor.

King Tut ruled Egypt more than three thousand years ago. He became Pharaoh when he was about nine years old. He was probably the son or grandson of Amenhotep the Third, a major ruler. Tut's mother or stepmother may have been Queen Nefertiti.

VOICE TWO:

Thousands of people visit King Tutankhamen's tomb every day. The rich beauty of the tomb is well known. But experts say his burial place needs scientific attention.

Tim Whalen directs the Getty Conservation Institute, which is based in Los Angeles, California. His team will study problems with paintings on walls of the burial room and other areas. Mister Whalen says the tomb is currently5 in what he called pretty good condition. He says the final goal of the work is to develop a long-term plan to operate and protect the tomb for years to come.

Jeanne Marie Teutonico is the associate director of the Getty Conservation Institute. She will direct other experts in scientific restoration during the five-year project.

The study and repair work is expected to cost the G.C.I. about one million, five hundred thousand dollars. Egypt has not yet said how much financial responsibility it will take for the project.

VOICE ONE:

Experts examining the wall paintings in King Tut's tomb

One goal of the project is to record the condition of the tomb and the wall paintings in the burial room. One of the most beautiful paintings shows the underworld ruler Osiris. He is reaching his arms around King Tutankhamen. Osiris seems to be welcoming the king to the spirit world.

After more than three thousand years, parts of the paintings still look clear and bright. But they also contain brown, damaged areas. The damage worries archeologist Zahi Hawass. He is Egypt's vice6 minister of culture and secretary general of the Supreme Council of the Antiquities. Mister Hawass says that scientists have not yet been able to tell what caused the brown spots. He hopes answers will be found.

Miz Teutonico's team will study materials used in the paintings in an effort to solve the mystery. The team will examine records of conditions over the years. It also will attempt to find possible environmental reasons for the damage.

VOICE TWO:

The damaged areas were present when Howard Carter discovered King Tut's tomb in nineteen twenty-two.

With Tut's remains, the British archeologist also discovered priceless gold jewelry7 and other objects. Shining treasures filled the tomb, including a solid gold mask of Tutankhamen's face.

Mister Hawass says Carter's team damaged the King's remains. The team raised his mummy to reach more jewelry and artifacts. Some archeologists, however, defend Carter. They say he permitted this because he knew tomb-robbers would steal the treasures.

The team from C.G.I. is seeking to learn the effects of thousands of visits to the tomb each day. People bring heat with them. They also add wetness to the dry air. The team wants to know what this does to the ancient artifacts. When the C.G.I. team members have answers, they will make a plan to protect the tomb. Training for the team members and others will continue throughout the project.

VOICE ONE:

King Tut's tomb

Tut's final resting place is one of the smallest of the rulers' tombs in the Valley of the Kings. That may be because he died before his twentieth birthday.

Workers in ancient Egypt had made little progress in preparing burial rooms for the king.

Some people believe that Tut's death was unnatural8. Unconfirmed stories say the king was murdered. In two thousand five, doctors used medical imaging tests to examine his remains. But they found no evidence to support the idea that King Tut's life had ended in violence.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

Earlier this year, doctors used computer X-ray tomography, also known as CT scans10, to examine Egyptian mummies for heart disease. The doctors studied the remains of twenty people who died long ago. The results from these unusual patients surprised experts. It seemed the ancient Egyptians could have suffered from atherosclerosis, much as people do today. Such thickening and narrowing of the blood passages can lead to heart attacks and strokes.

Some of the mummies had signs of atherosclerosis in the inner walls of up to six arteries11, the passages that lead blood away from the heart. But it is not known if the condition caused any of their deaths.

VOICE ONE:

The twenty mummies were about two thousand to three thousand five hundred years old. They were chosen for examination from the Museum of Egyptian Antiquities in Cairo, where they are kept. The study also included two other mummies that were tested earlier.

Medical doctors from the United States and Egypt reported on the results. The report appeared recently in The Journal of the American Medical Association.

Randall Thompson was one of several American doctors who cooperated with an Egyptian heart expert on the study. Doctor Thompson works at the Saint12 Luke's Mid-America Heart Institute in Kansas City, Missouri. He said the ancient peoples' remains had remained in very good condition over the centuries. The CT scans produced images of their whole bodies.

Doctor Thompson said sixteen of the mummies had enough heart or blood vessel13 tissues remaining for the doctors to examine. Of those, five had thickened and narrowed places in the arteries. In another four, the CT examination showed abnormal14 areas where the arteries should have been.

VOICE TWO:

A mummy having a CT scan9

Experts in ancient Egyptian studies also took part in the mummy project. They estimated the ages at which the ancient Egyptians died. Age appears to have played a part in the disease.

The most severe cases of atherosclerosis were in people over age forty-five. At the same time, only two of the eight ancient people who died at an earlier age showed signs of the disease.

A woman identified as Lady Rai was the earliest Egyptian with the condition. She lived more than three thousand three hundred years ago. She is believed to have been an aide to Queen Ahmose Nefertiri. The experts in Egyptian studies say this meant that Lady Rai lived about two hundred years before King Tutankhamun.

VOICE ONE:

The experts were able to tell the names and occupations of most other mummies in the study. They learned that those they could identify held high places in their societies, like Lady Rai. Most had served as religious officials or advisers15 for Egypt's rulers.

It was not possible to know exactly what they ate. But the experts said that it was not unusual for ancient Egyptians to eat duck, geese and beef. Doctor Thompson said the ancient people may have used salt to help keep their meat fresh. He said it was possible that they had high blood pressure. But he also said there is no way to know that.

VOICE TWO:

The study got its start in two thousand seven. At that time, American heart expert Gregory Thomas was visiting the Museum of the Antiquities with Egyptian heart expert Adel Allam. Doctor Thomas works at the medical school of the University of California at Irvine. Adel Allam works at the Al-Azhar Medical School in Cairo.

The two men saw the name of the pharaoh Merenptah in the museum. Information about the pharaoh said he died at about age sixty. It said he suffered from joint16 problems, bad teeth and atherosclerosis.

The doctors wanted to know how this could be known. They decided17 to carry out a study. Doctor Thomas helped Doctor Allam organize the mummy study to find out what modern methods could show about heart disease in ancient patients. Doctor Thomas gathered other experts, and he and Doctor Allam led the research.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

This SCIENCE IN THE NEWS was written by Jerilyn Watson. Brianna Blake was our producer. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more news about science in Special English on the Voice of America.

 
 


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点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 doughty Jk5zg     
adj.勇猛的,坚强的
参考例句:
  • Most of successful men have the characteristics of contumacy and doughty.绝大多数成功人士都有共同的特质:脾气倔强,性格刚强。
  • The doughty old man battled his illness with fierce determination.坚强的老人用巨大毅力与疾病作斗争。
2 remains 1kMzTy     
n.剩余物,残留物;遗体,遗迹
参考例句:
  • He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
  • The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。
3 supreme PHqzc     
adj.极度的,最重要的;至高的,最高的
参考例句:
  • It was the supreme moment in his life.那是他一生中最重要的时刻。
  • He handed up the indictment to the supreme court.他把起诉书送交最高法院。
4 antiquities c0cf3d8a964542256e19beef0e9faa29     
n.古老( antiquity的名词复数 );古迹;古人们;古代的风俗习惯
参考例句:
  • There is rest and healing in the contemplation of antiquities. 欣赏古物有休息和疗养之功。 来自辞典例句
  • Bertha developed a fine enthusiasm for the antiquities of London. 伯沙对伦敦的古迹产生了很大的热情。 来自辞典例句
5 currently SvMzI2     
adv.通常地,普遍地,当前
参考例句:
  • Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
  • Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。
6 vice NU0zQ     
n.坏事;恶习;[pl.]台钳,老虎钳;adj.副的
参考例句:
  • He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
  • They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。
7 jewelry 0auz1     
n.(jewllery)(总称)珠宝
参考例句:
  • The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
  • Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。
8 unnatural 5f2zAc     
adj.不自然的;反常的
参考例句:
  • Did her behaviour seem unnatural in any way?她有任何反常表现吗?
  • She has an unnatural smile on her face.她脸上挂着做作的微笑。
9 scan FZ1xu     
n.审视,浏览,扫描,押韵,细查;vt.细看,浏览,扫描,详细调查,信件扫描(指BBS处理直递邮件或会议邮件时,对所有或特定信区做检查的动作)
参考例句:
  • The first scan was bad, so I had to do it again.第一次扫描不好,所以我得重做。
  • A scan determines the position of the baby in the womb.扫描可以确定胎儿在子宮中的位置。
10 scans 68bbe47a14d3445ed1278c497c690173     
n.浏览( scan的名词复数 );审视;(雷达)(屏面上的)光点v.扫描( scan的第三人称单数 );细看;细查;(雷达)对…进行扫描
参考例句:
  • This apparatus scans patients' brains for tumours. 这台仪器扫描检查病人的脑瘤。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • Brain scans have confirmed that the disease is in remission. 脑部扫描已经证实疾病得到了控制。 来自辞典例句
11 arteries 821b60db0d5e4edc87fdf5fc263ba3f5     
n.动脉( artery的名词复数 );干线,要道
参考例句:
  • Even grafting new blood vessels in place of the diseased coronary arteries has been tried. 甚至移植新血管代替不健康的冠状动脉的方法都已经试过。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • This is the place where the three main arteries of West London traffic met. 这就是伦敦西部三条主要交通干线的交汇处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
12 saint yYcxf     
n.圣徒;基督教徒;vt.成为圣徒,把...视为圣徒
参考例句:
  • He was made a saint.他被封为圣人。
  • The saint had a lowly heart.圣人有谦诚之心。
13 vessel 4L1zi     
n.船舶;容器,器皿;管,导管,血管
参考例句:
  • The vessel is fully loaded with cargo for Shanghai.这艘船满载货物驶往上海。
  • You should put the water into a vessel.你应该把水装入容器中。
14 abnormal UIvy2     
adj.反常的,不正常的,不规则的
参考例句:
  • This warm weather is abnormal for February.二月里这种温暖的天气不太正常。
  • That is simply abnormal.那简直是反常的。
15 advisers d4866a794d72d2a666da4e4803fdbf2e     
顾问,劝告者( adviser的名词复数 ); (指导大学新生学科问题等的)指导教授
参考例句:
  • a member of the President's favoured circle of advisers 总统宠爱的顾问班子中的一员
  • She withdrew to confer with her advisers before announcing a decision. 她先去请教顾问然后再宣布决定。
16 joint m3lx4     
adj.联合的,共同的;n.关节,接合处;v.连接,贴合
参考例句:
  • I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤,肩膀脫臼了。
  • We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。
17 decided lvqzZd     
adj.决定了的,坚决的;明显的,明确的
参考例句:
  • This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
  • There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

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