Death of a Boy King 少年法老之死

By Michelle Roberts, BBC Health Reporter

媒體英語會帶大家一起學習BBC撰稿人在報道世界大事時常用到的單詞和短語。

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，為什么圖坦卡蒙過世這么早，現在一項新調查對這一疑問提供了可能的答案。

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.