Lesson 77 A successful operation
The mummy of an Egyptian woman who died in 800 B.C. has just had an operation. The mummy is that of Shepenmut who was once a singer in the Temple of Thebes. As there were strange marks on the X-ray plates taken of the mummy, doctors have been trying to find out whether the woman died of a rare disease. The only way to do this was to operate. The operation, which lasted for over four hours, proved to be very difficult because of the hard resin which covered the skin. The doctors removed a section of the mummy and sent it to a laboratory. They also found something which the X-ray plates did not show: a small wax figure of the god Duamutef. This god which has the head of a cow was normally placed inside a mummy. The doctors have not yet decided how the woman died. They feared that the mummy would fall to pieces when they cut it open, but fortunately this has not happened. The mummy successfully survived the operation.
任务配置：
L0+L4
知识笔记：
1. operation
(also BrE informal op)[C] ~
(on sb) (for sth) |~ (to do sth) the process of cutting open a part of a person's body in order to remove or repair a damaged part
• 手术:
»an operation on her lung to remove a tumour
为她做肺部肿瘤切除手术
»Will I need tohave an operation ?
我需要动手术吗？
»He underwent a three-hour heart operation.
他接受了三个小时的心脏手术。
»Doctorsperformed an emergency operation for appendicitis last night.
医生昨天夜里做了紧急阑尾炎手术。
Operation can refer to medical surgery, a military campaign, or mathematical methods, such as multiplication and division.
Operation comes from the Latin word opus (“work”) and can refer to a whole range of practical activities and work. In driver's education, you learn the proper operation of a motor vehicle. If you’re going to make your lemonade franchise a success, you’re going to have to learn the rules for prudent operation of a business — how to run it — and you’ll also have to figure out the operation of a lemon squeezer.
2. As there were strange marks on the X-ray plates taken of the mummy, doctors have been trying to find out whether the woman died of a rare disease.
rare
If an event is rare, it doesn't happen often. If an object is rare, there aren't many of its kind. Obviously, finding a rare gem is a rare occasion.
Rare comes from the Latin word rarus, meaning “widely spaced,” as rare things are — whether in actual space or in time. You thought it was rare to meet someone you have so much in common with, until he fainted looking at the rare steak you ordered. The rare that describes prepared meat actually has a separate origin: it comes from the long-gone word rear, meaning “half-cooked.”
mark
A mark is some kind of dot, line, or figure that emphasizes or distinguishes something. You might make a mark on your calendar to remind you of your best friend's birthday.
There are many kinds of marks, from punctuation — like quotation marks — to spots or scars on skin — "The bee sting left a mark on his cheek." When you mark something, you leave a mark on it, check it off, cross it out, or label it. You can also mark something by noticing or acknowledging it: "Let's mark your birthday with a big party!" Shopkeepers mark prices on goods, and a "mark down" is a reduction in price.
3. The operation, which lasted for over four hours, proved to be very difficult because of the hard resin which covered the skin.
resin
Resin is a sticky substance that oozes out of trees including fir and pine trees. Because resin is insoluble in water, it's useful as a base in different kinds of glue and varnishes.
Resin can be found in many materials from varnishes and cement to incense and other therapeutic products. Musicians add resin to the bows of their string instruments to help them get a little more friction. Ballet dancers coat the bottoms of their slippers in resin powder for a similar reason — to keep from slipping on the floor while they dance.
4. They also found something which the X-ray plates did not show: a small wax figure of the god Duamutef.
figure
double figures 两位数
single figures 个位数
Anything with form has a certain shape, or figure, but we most often use the word to suggest a human’s form. That's why all those dolls are called "action figures" — they have the physical shape of people.
In a broad sense, the noun figure can be used to suggest anything with a physical presence. In technical writings, pictures representing some concept are usually labeled as figures. A physically attractive woman is said to have a nice figure. We also say that a prominent person is a well-known figure. The word also can refer to a number, as in "a dollar figure." As a verb, the word suggests deciphering, as when you figure something out. Go figure.
wax
The verb wax is most often found in the company of its opposite, "wane." To wax is to grow larger or increase, whereas wane means to grow smaller or decrease.
As the moon grows towards fullness, it waxes. It wanes, or diminishes in size, as the new moon approaches. This is the most common context for the verb wax, but it is also used to describe other phenomena that grow or increase, particularly those that are cyclical. Figuratively, if you wax eloquent, lyrical or poetic about something, you talk about it at great length and with growing enthusiasm.（说话变得【热情、雄辩、伤感等】起来） The noun wax refers to chemical compounds that can be shaped and molded, for example into candles, when warm.
wax and wane你来啦，复习复习你。
literary: to increase then decrease in strength, importance, etc. over a period of time （力量、重要性等）兴衰枯荣，盛衰；殷勤圆缺
wax居然还有“耳屎”的意思，oh my~~~
5. They feared that the mummy would fall to pieces when they cut it open, but fortunately this has not happened.
fall to pieces/bits
~~~1. to be in a very bad condition because of being old or badly made.
~~~2. to be so upset or unhappy that you cannot behave normally
~~~3. if a theory, system, or relationship falls to pieces, it no longer works.
In ancient Egyptian religion, Duamutef is one of the Four Sons of Horus and a protection god of the canopic jars. Commonly he is saidto be the son of the god Horus the Elder.
The name Duamutef means "He who adores his mother". In war, the most frequent cause of death was from injuries in the torso and stomach. The deity protecting this organ was associated with death by war and gained the name Duamutef, meaning "adoring his motherland".
Duamutef was originally represented as a man wrapped in mummy bandages. From the New Kingdom onwards, he is shown with the head of a jackal.[3] In some cases his appearance is confused or exchanged with that of Qebehsenuef so he has the head of a falcon and Duamutef has the head of a jackal.
Duamutef usually was depicted on coffins and as the lid of canopic jars. Many images of the Judgement of the Dead show him together with his brothers in front of Osiris on a small lily flower.
练习感悟：
今天没有时间练习，坐动车，复盘，听课，就到现在了。困到眼皮要撑不起来了。明天可以好好学习了。
