文章大意：本文是一篇说明文。文章主要介绍了在现代科学手段的帮助下，一项新的研究发现解开了古埃及最著名的国王图坦卡蒙的死亡之谜，他是死于腿部骨折引起的并发症，从而推翻了长期以来历史学家和科学家们的想法。
2 . 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, the boy ruler, died of complications (并发症) from a broken leg.
Tut’s full name was Tutankhamun. He was just 9 years old when he became the ruler of Egypt. 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 (木乃伊). Scientist Carsten Pusch conducted the tests on Tut for the new study. He thinks a broken leg contributed 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 indicates he had malaria (疟疾), a disease carried by mosquitoes. Malaria severely weakens the immune system.
Pusch and his fellow researchers believe the malaria and the bone disease together caused the king’s fracture (骨折) 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. It has long been believed by historians and scientists that _____.
| A．King Tut was the youngest ruler in the world history |
| B．King Tut was the richest ruler in the history of Egypt |
| C．King Tut was murdered by one of his advisers |
| D．King Tut was poisoned by one of his servants |
2. From the passage we can learn that _____.
| A．the king had been dead for 3,300 years |
| B．the king was buried grandly |
| C．the king was born with a bad immune system |
| D．the king’s body was well kept in the tomb |
3. Researchers uncovered the mystery of King Tut’s death by _____.
| A．testing the king’s immune system |
| B．studying the walking sticks found in the tomb |
| C．performing experiments on mosquitoes |
| D．applying DNA tests and electronic scan technology |
4. The passage mainly tells us about _____.
| A．a different answer to King Tut’s death |
| B．a famous boy king in ancient Egypt |
| C．a treasure-filled tomb discovered in Egypt |
| D．a team of researchers studying ancient tombs |
