节目资讯
刊物:空中英語教室
日期:2012-02-16
难易度:Low
关键字:tomb, eventually, discovery, robber, preserved, burial
King Tut's tomb was discovered in the 1920s.
But it wasn't put on display in the western part of the world, in the United
States, Canada and England until later on.
When it finally came to the United States in the 1970s, it was a major hit.
People from all over enjoyed King Tut's tombs and the amazing things in it.
In fact, a famous comedian, Steve Martin, even wrote a song about it.
Well, let's learn more about those treasures in the tomb on page 35, line three.
(Music).
King Tut's Tomb.
No one is sure why, but he died suddenly before he turned 20.
Because he died so young, there wasn't time to prepare a grand tomb for him.
So he ended up with a smaller burial room.
Its small size was actually the reason it stayed hidden for so long.
And, unlike other Egyptian kings' tombs, Tut's was not as damaged by time or
robbers.
King Tut's tomb remains the best-preserved royal tomb ever discovered.
The discovery of this little tomb has helped people learn a great deal about
ancient Egypt.
Finding King Tut's tomb was an incredible discovery.
And it's brought us a lot of history.
But even though we have found his tomb and a lot of his art, no one is sure why
he died suddenly.
He died before he even turned 20.
Yeah, he suddenly died before the age of 20, and we're not really sure why.
Now because he died so young, there actually wasn't time to prepare a grand tomb
for him.
That's right.
Now in ancient Egypt, the kings' tombs were huge and very impressive and full of
all kinds of wonderful things.
But that built up over the king's life.
Now he was so young, there was not as much in his tomb.
But that does not mean that his tomb was empty.
That's true.
Now Kaylah, we see here the word "grand." That means it was not uh, very huge or
impressive because that would have taken a long time to build.
That's right, and he died young.
So he ended up with a smaller burial room instead.
Now a "burial" is referring to what you do when someone is... has died.
It's the process or the location of... things to do with how you treat a body
and what you do with it once the person has died.
That's right. Where you put the body after someone has died would be a burial.
Now a burial room is simply the place or the room where the body is put.
It could be in a tomb.
Now it's much smaller than a large tomb.
It's just a series of rooms.
Its small size was actually the reason it stayed hidden for so long.
So most of the tombs along the Valley of the Kings where ancient kings of Egypt
are buried were found right away.
But because his was so small, it stayed hidden.
And let's visit the Information Station to learn a little bit more.
Wow! Bryan, King Tut sure had lots of gold with him in his tomb.
That's true.
It was traditional that mummies were buried with many treasures.
It showed how important that king or queen was.
Well, there are some surprising things about mummies that we can learn at...
Information Station.
The pyramids of Egypt sure are impressive.
They sure spend a lot of time and money on their mommies.
No, no... not Mommy! The word is mummy.
The word "mummy" originated about 1600 in Europe as scientists studied preserved
bodies from the Middle East.
And did you know Egypt is not the only place where mummies are found.
Mummies are found on every continent of the world.
Some of the best-kept mummies were found in Xinjian, China.
That's right. And these mummies are known as the Silk Road mummies.
And some are nearly 4,000 years old.
In South America, hundreds of mummies have been discovered in Peru and Chile.
Most of these come from the Inca tribes that ruled this part of the world in the
14- and 1500s.
But some of the mummies there are over 5,000 years old.
And Bill, there are even mummies in Europe.
But it was all an accident.
Yes. When the volcano Mt. Vesuvius errupted in 79 A.D., it happened so quickly
that many of the residents were instantly mummified.
Mamma mia!
You can see some of these former residence of Pompeii if you visit Italy.
But you may not have to travel so far to see a mummy.
I think he's been working here too long.
We'll see you next time at...
Information Station.
So King Tut had a smaller tomb than most other Egyptian kings.
And also, unlike those other kings' tombs, Tut's tomb was not as damaged by time
or robbers.
That's right.
Because it was small, it stayed hidden.
So robbers did not know where to find it.
And "robbers" are people who steal things.
You do not call them a "stealer." We call them a robber.
Exactly. And King Tut's tomb still remains the best-preserved royal tomb ever
discovered.
And "preserved" means we keep it the way it was.
We keep everything intact and safe.
So in all of history, this is the most-preserved tomb.
Yeah, and so you can actually... we can learn a lot from what we have found in
this tomb.
It's... it's not damaged.
It is very well-preserved, and so we can learn a lot of new things from that.
Well, the discovery of this little tomb has helped people learn a great deal
about ancient Egypt.
So even though his tomb was small in comparison to other kings of Egypt, his
tomb has taught us a lot.
And it was 90 years ago this year that that was found.
Well, let's watch the skit.
Hello.
Ah!
Ah!
Why are you screaming?
Why are you screaming?
Well, I screamed because I saw you.
Well, that's not very nice.
I'm in a tomb, I didn't expect to talk to anyone.
That's a good point.
Well, who are you?
Oh, I'm being rude. I'm sorry.
The name is Carter, Howard Carter.
Nice to meet you, Howard.
I'm King Tutankhamun, but I go by King Tut.
So it is you.
I've been looking for you for years.
Ah, yes, I thought so.
Being in a small tomb in these underground rooms has hidden me well for the last
3,000 years.
How did you find me?
Well, my crew found the steps.
When we came down them, we found these rooms.
And here you are!
You look great.
Thank you.
I have been dead for the last 3,000 years, but I did die young.
Oh, I know. You were only 19, right?
Yes, really too young to die.
They didn't even have time to build a nice tomb for me.
Well, that explains the burial room.
You are a smart man.
Well, I have spent my life studying Egyptian history.
Smart man.
We are an interesting people.
I am hoping you can tell me more about your history.
I can only show you my art.
Then you can figure it out for yourself.
There is so much art down here.
As I said, it's been 3,000 years and no one has found me.
So no grave robbers took any of my art or ruined any of my history.
Well, I found you, and I promise to preserve your tomb so we don't lose any of
the history.
Thank you, Howard.
That's very kind.
But by all means, look around.
And for generations, you and your people can learn about Egyptian history.
Thank you, King Tut.
You're welcome.
In fact, look at this.
Wow!
(Music).
Hi, everyone. I'm Michelle.
(Chinese).
And I guess it's time for us to say goodbye.
I'll see you next time.
Bye-bye.
And with all that was in it, we have learned more than we could ever have
imagined about ancient Egypt.
Now many legends have come out of the discovery of King Tut's tomb and the
chambers around it.
The most famous of these legends is the curse of the pharaohs.
Some people believe that by opening a sealed tomb, you release of a curse from
the ancient rulers of Egypt.
(Background Noise).
These stories may have been created to stop people from robbing the ancient
tombs or just to scare people away from already-opened tomb sites.
Some believe that an infected mosquito bite that killed one of the
archaeologists is a sign that the tomb should not have been opened.
But Kaylah, that can also be explained by an accidental cut while shaving,
right?
That's true.
What about the most famous saying, "Death shall come on the swift wings to him
who disturbs the peace of the king"?
I'm getting a little scared, Kaylah.
That saying is not even written on the walls of the tomb.
That has no connection to King Tut, does it?
So the curse is not connected?
Not at all.
In fact, most of the curse situations can be explained by either people not
being careful or by science.
Even though the stories and legends are fun to talk about, the most important
thing that came out of the tomb is the history.
OK. The amazing history that made up ancient Egypt was worth all the work and
time that went into finding King Tut.
Well, friends, we're out of time.
But we hope you had a great day and a great time studying with us.
We hope your English improves.
That's right. We'll see you tomorrow right here at Studio Classroom.