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32. A Rich King Of Old Egypt1
The kings of old Egypt were very rich and powerful, and their tombs tell much about their lives. Archeologists2 have looked for these tombs for many years. One man — Lord Carnarvon of England — was not an archeologist. But he was very much interested in the way people lived in Egypt long ago. He was given permission to dig for some of the old tombs in a place called the Valley of the Kings. 3 He hired4 an archeologist named Howard Carter to take charge . 5
For more than five years, the two men worked there with a group of diggers, but they found very little . Lord Carnarvon went back to England. Carter had almost lost hope of making an important discovery. But he kept on with the work.
Then one day in the fall of 1922 , one of his workers uncovered something that looked like a step cut into a rocky hill. He brushed away6 some loose stones and saw a second step below. It took four days to clear sixteen steps leading down into the hill. At the bottom of the steps, there was a wall of stone blocks. On the wall, they found the seal of a king called Tutankhamen.
When Lord Carnarvon heard the news, he sailed on the first ship to Egypt. They began the work of clearing out7 the tomb. It had to be done so carefully that it took six years to finish the job!
There were four rooms in the tomb. Three of them were piled high with boxes, vases, jewels, and many other beautiful things. There was a golden throne, several golden chariots, the king’s hunting bows, and even his gold-trimmed sandals. All these things were put near the king in case he should need them in his own special afterworld.
The fourth room held a huge , carved coffin. In it, there were three more coffins, one inside the other. The last one was made of gold, and in it was the body of Tutankhamen. The body had been prepared with chemicals and was tightly wrapped in cloth. A body that is protected in this way is called a mummy. There were three layers of cloth wrappings on the body, and a mask of pure gold.
All the things found in the tomb were taken to museums, andarcheologists have been studying them ever since. Because Tutankhamen was a king, everything he left behind is very beautiful and very valuable . The gold itself is worth millions of dollars.
But most important of all is the meaning of the objects themselves. They show how people lived in Egypt more than 3 , 000 years ago.
閱讀自測
Ⅰ. The following a re the meanings of the words in the passage , and try to fin d the correct words:
1. to employ———
2. to fold, bind———
3. to collect, gather———
4. agreement, approval———
5. to go by river, set out on a voyage———
Ⅱ. According to the p as sage , fill in the blanks with proper words or phrases :
1. Lord Carnarvon, who was not an_______ , employed Howard Carter to take_______ .
2. Without finding anything, Lord Carnavon went back to England while Carter_______ with it.
3. In the fall of _______, Carter and his workers found the tomb of Tutankhamen. The tomb was_______ with many valuable things, which were put near the king in case he should need them in his special_______ .
4. It was really a tough job to_______ the tomb for it took them six years to finish it.
5. The body that is protected with chemicals and tightly wrapped in cloth is called a_______ .
6. All the things found in the tomb were taken to_______ to let the archaeologists study. Its significance is that the objects show how people lived in_______ more than 3 , 000 years ago.
