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The curse of the mummy Howard Carter is one of the most famous explorers the world has ever known.He was brave and loved to visit and explore new places. During his life, he discovered many amazing things. Howard Carter did not go to school, but learnt to draw from his father, who was an artist.He was bright and curious about the world outside his home town. In 1891, at the age of 17, he set sail for Alexandria, Egypt. By the 1920s, he had become an explorer, searching for the tombs of the Egyptian kings. He found several important ones.Inside the tombs, he discovered a great fortune in jewels and gold, along with the preserved bodies of dead kings.These preserved bodies are known as mummies. In 1922, Howard Carter made his most amazing discovery of all, in the Valley of the Kings, in Egypt. He had received money from Lord Carnarvon, a British man who was very interested in Egypt. Carter's team was working at a place near the city called Luxor. There, they came across the tomb of King Tutankhamun.It was the most important tomb that had ever been found. 'The tomb contained more treasure than any of us had ever seen before, as well as the mummy of the king,’ said Carter. ‘After we looked into the tomb, we closed it and hid its entrance.We wanted to study the tomb later when we had more time.Afterwards, all of its contents would go into a museum.' However, not long after the discovery, people in Carter's team began to fall ill and die.Upon their entering the tomb, Carter's lucky pet bird, which he had left in Cairo, was swallowed by a snake. Then, a few months after Carter had opened the tomb, Lord Carnarvon, who was also present when the tomb was opened, fell ill with a fever and died in Egypt.At the moment of Carnarvon's death, the lights went out in Cairo, the capital of Egypt.Back in England, his dog died at approximately the same time. George Gould, a friend of Carnarvon's, went to Egypt after hearing of his strange death.He too visited the tomb, only to catch a high fever the next day.Twelve hours later, he was dead.Carter's secretary, Richard Bethell, died of heart trouble four months after the tomb was opened.Arthur Mace, another member of the team, also died shortly after the discovery.Within seven years, 21 people who had something to do with the opening of the tomb died.Howard Carter, however, lived on until the age of 65. Some people say the deaths were just coincidence.Others believe that they were in connection with a mummy's curse, as a punishment for those who enter the resting place of the dead.However, still others believe that there is a scientific explanation. Inside the tombs, there are many viruses.When a tomb is opened, fresh air disturbs the viruses.If breathed in, they can result in illness or even death. Today, when scientists examine mummies, they wear special clothing for protection. What is certain, though, is that 'the curse of the mummy' remains a riddle to this day. 木乃伊的诅咒 霍华德·卡特是世界上人们所知道的最著名的探险家。他勇敢、喜欢游览新地方、探险。他一生中发现了许多令人惊奇的东西。 霍华德·卡特没有上学，而是跟随画家父亲学习绘画。他聪明而且对家乡外面的世界感到好奇。1891年，也就是17岁那一年，他扬帆远航到了埃及的亚历山大。 20世纪20年代时，他已成为一名探险家，致力于寻找古埃及国王的陵墓。他发现了一些重要的墓葬。他在墓穴里找到了大量的珠宝、黄金等宝藏以及经过处理被保存起来的国王的遗体。这些经过处理被保存起来的遗体就是世人皆知的木乃伊。 1922年，在埃及国王谷，霍华德·卡特做出了他最惊人的发现。他收到卡那封国王的钱，卡那封国王是一个对埃及非常感兴趣的英国人。卡特的队伍在一个叫勒克索的城镇附近的地方工作。他们在那里找到了图坦卡蒙国王的墓穴。它是迄今为止发现的最重要的墓穴。 “除了国王的木乃伊之外，这座陵墓还藏有大量的珍宝，比我们任何人先前所见过的都要多。”卡特说。 “我们勘察陵墓之后，关闭并隐藏了它的入口。我们想以后有充裕时间再去研究墓穴。然后，它里面的物品都要放入博物馆里。” 然而，墓穴发现不久之后，卡特队伍中的人就开始生病、死亡。 进入陵墓的那一刻，卡特的幸运爱鸟，曾被他留在开罗，就被一条蛇给吞了。 之后，卡特打开墓穴的几个月后， 当时也在场的卡那封国王，发热并在埃及病逝。卡那封国王死的那一刻，埃及首都开罗断了电。 回到英国，他的狗也在同时死去了。卡那封的朋友乔治·古尔德，听到他的离奇的死讯后去了埃及。他也去了陵墓，结果第二天就发高烧。12个小时后他死去了。卡特的秘书理查德·贝塞尔，在打开陵墓4个月后死于心脏病。另外一名队伍成员亚瑟·梅斯，在这次发现后不久也死了。七年间，与陵墓发掘工作有关的人员之中有21人死亡。然而，霍华德·卡特一直活到65岁。 有的人说这些死亡是巧合。还有人说那些是木乃伊的诅咒， 惩罚那些进入死者长眠之地的人。不过还是有人相信有科学解释。 陵墓里有许多病毒。陵墓被打开时，新鲜空气扰动了病毒。如果这些病毒被人体吸入，他们就能导致疾病甚至死亡。 今天，科学家们检查木乃伊的时候，会穿上专门的衣服进行保护。但是，有一点可以肯定， ‘木乃伊的诅咒’至今还是个谜。 |
