BBC初級口語:少年法老之死Death of a Boy King

Background: Tutankhamun (圖坦卡蒙) 是三千年前的一位埃及法老，其墓穴中的寶藏世界聞名，不過，令專家們百思不得其解的是，爲什麼圖坦卡蒙過世這麼早，現在一項新調查對這一疑問提供了可能的答案。

【文本】

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.

【口語突破】

tomb
墓穴

the Valley of the Kings
帝王谷

speculated over
揣測

chariot
（古代雙輪馬拉）戰車

conspiracy theorists
陰謀論者

painstakingly
艱苦地

the pharaoh's remains
法老的遺骸

a bout of malaria
瘧疾發作

cleft palate
齶裂

club foot
畸形足

cane
柺杖

traces of
痕跡

parasite
寄生蟲

DNA
脫氧核糖核酸

divided
使意見分歧

archaeologists
考古學家

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