# Lesson 77 A successful operation 一例成功的手术

## 一、课文原文

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.

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## 二、重点词汇详解

| 单词 | 音标 | 词性 | 释义 | 用法说明 |
|------|------|------|------|----------|
| **mummy** | /ˈmʌmi/ | n. | 木乃伊 | 古埃及保存的干尸 |
| **Egyptian** | /ɪˈdʒɪpʃn/ | adj. | 埃及的 | Egypt n. 埃及 |
| **temple** | /ˈtempl/ | n. | 神殿，寺庙 | Temple of Thebes 底比斯神殿 |
| **mark** | /mɑːk/ | n. | 斑点，标记 | strange marks 奇怪的斑点 |
| **plate** | /pleɪt/ | n. | 板，片 | X-ray plates X光片 |
| **disease** | /dɪˈziːz/ | n. | 疾病 | die of a disease 死于疾病 |
| **resin** | /ˈrezɪn/ | n. | 树脂 | hard resin 硬树脂 |
| **section** | /ˈsekʃn/ | n. | 切片，部分 | a section of 一部分 |
| **wax** | /wæks/ | n. | 蜡 | wax figure 蜡像 |
| **figure** | /ˈfɪɡə/ | n. | 塑像，体态 | a wax figure 蜡像 |
| **survive** | /səˈvaɪv/ | v. | 幸存，存活 | survival n. 幸存；survivor n. 幸存者 |

### 词汇拓展

**1. die of 与 die from 的区别**

| 短语 | 用法 | 例句 |
|------|------|------|
| die of | 死于（内因：疾病、饥饿等） | die of cancer 死于癌症 |
| die from | 死于（外因：外伤、污染等） | die from a car accident 死于车祸 |

**2. operation 相关搭配**
- perform an operation 做手术
- have an operation 接受手术
- operate on sb. 给某人做手术

**3. prove 的用法**
- prove to be + 形容词/名词：证明是…
- The operation proved to be very difficult. 手术证明非常困难。
- 后接形容词时可省略 to be：The operation proved very difficult.

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## 三、语法知识点

### 1. 一般过去时与完成时复习

| 时态 | 用法 | 课文例句 |
|------|------|----------|
| 一般过去时 | 过去的事实 | Shepenmut **was** once a singer. |
| 现在完成时 | 已完成的结果 | The mummy **has just had** an operation. |
| 现在完成进行时 | 一直在做 | Doctors **have been trying** to find out. |
| 过去完成时 | 过去的过去 | ...the hard resin which **had covered** the skin. |

### 2. whether 引导的宾语从句

> ...doctors have been trying to find out **whether** the woman died of a rare disease.

**whether vs if**：
| 场景 | whether | if |
|------|---------|-----|
| 宾语从句（两者皆可） | ✓ | ✓ |
| 介词后 | ✓ | ✗ |
| 与or not连用 | ✓ | ✗ |
| 主语从句 | ✓ | ✗ |

### 3. as 引导原因状语从句

> **As** there were strange marks on the X-ray plates, doctors have been trying to find out...

**as vs because vs since**：

| 连词 | 语气 | 位置 | 用法 |
|------|------|------|------|
| because | 最强 | 主句前后皆可 | 强调原因 |
| since | 中等 | 多在主句前 | 已知原因 |
| as | 较弱 | 多在主句前 | 顺便提及原因 |

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## 四、重点句型分析

### 1. prove to be

> The operation **proved to be** very difficult.

**结构**：prove (to be) + adj./n. 证明是…

- The report proved (to be) true. 报告证明是真的。
- He proved (to be) an excellent doctor. 他证明是一名出色的医生。

### 2. fall to pieces

> They feared that the mummy would **fall to pieces**...

**含义**：碎成碎片，散架

类似表达：
- break into pieces 碎成片
- come apart 散开
- crumble 崩碎

### 3. The mummy is that of...

> The mummy is **that of** Shepenmut...

**that** 代指前面提到的 the mummy，避免重复。

- The weather here is better than **that of** Beijing. 这里的天气比北京的好。
- The price of this book is higher than **that of** that one. 这本书比那本贵。

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## 五、课文翻译

死于公元前800年的一位埃及妇女的木乃伊刚刚接受了一次手术。这是曾在底比斯神殿里当过歌手的赛潘姆特的木乃伊。由于在给这个木乃伊拍摄的X光片子上有奇怪的斑点，所以，医生们一直试图搞清这位妇女是否死于一种罕见的疾病。搞清的唯一办法就是手术。手术持续了4个多小时，非常难做，因为皮肤上覆盖着一层硬硬的树脂。医生们从木乃伊身上取下一个切片，送去化验。他们还发现了X光片所没有显示的东西：一个蜡制的杜瓦木特夫神小塑像。这种牛头人身的神像通常被放在木乃伊体内。医生们至今还未确定这位妇女的死因。他们曾担心在把木乃伊切开后，它会散成碎片，但幸运得很，这种情况并未发生。这具木乃伊成功地经受了这次手术。

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## 六、语言点精讲

### 1. 古埃及木乃伊文化

古埃及人相信死后灵魂需要身体，因此将尸体制作成木乃伊保存。制作过程中会用树脂（resin）涂抹皮肤以防腐，这正是课文中手术困难的原因。牛头神Duamutef是古埃及的葬礼神灵之一。

### 2. B.C. 的含义

B.C. = Before Christ 公元前，用于表示公元1年之前的年份。对应 A.D. = Anno Domini 公元。

### 3. 课文的科学精神

课文展现了现代医学技术与古代文明遗物的碰撞——用X光和手术来研究木乃伊，体现了科学探索精神。

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## 七、课后练习要点

### 1. 语法练习
- 多种时态的综合运用（一般过去时/完成时/完成进行时）
- whether 与 if 的用法区别

### 2. 词汇运用
- 用 prove, survive, section 造句
- die of 与 die from 的区分练习

### 3. 写作练习
- 描述一个医学发现或科学探索过程（使用多种时态）

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## 八、本课小结

| 项目 | 内容 |
|------|------|
| **核心语法** | 一般过去时/完成时复习、whether宾语从句、as原因状语从句 |
| **重点词汇** | 11个（mummy, Egyptian, temple, mark, plate, disease, resin, section, wax, figure, survive） |
| **重点短语** | die of, prove to be, fall to pieces, that of |
| **学习难点** | 多种时态综合运用、whether vs if、that代词替代 |

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*本课以木乃伊手术为题材复习多种时态，重点掌握whether从句和prove to be结构。*