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  3. New evidence of a sick, deprived population working under harsh conditions contradicts earlier images of wealth and abundance fr

New evidence of a sick, deprived population working under harsh conditions contradicts earlier images of wealth and abundance fr

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问题     New evidence of a sick, deprived population working under harsh conditions contradicts earlier images of wealth and abundance from the art records of the ancient Egyptian city of Tell el-Amarna, a study has found.
    Tell el-Amarna was the capital of ancient Egypt during the reign of the pharaoh(法老)Akhenaten, who abandoned most of Egypt’s old gods in favor of the Aten sun disk and brought in a new and more expressive style of art. Akhenaten, who ruled Egypt between 1379 and 1362 BC, built and lived in Tell el-Amarna in central Egypt for 15 years. The city was largely abandoned shortly after his death and the ascendance of the famous boy king Tutankhamun to the throne.
    Studies on the remains of ordinary ancient Egyptians in a cemetery in Tell el-Amarna showed that many of them suffered from anemia(贫血症), fractured bones, stunted growth and high juvenile mortality rates, according to professors Barry Kemp and Jerome Rose, who led the research.
    Rose, a professor of anthropology(人类学)in the University of Arkansas in the United States, said adults buried in the cemetery were probably brought there from other parts of Egypt. " This means that we have a period of deprivation in Egypt prior to the Amarna phase. So maybe things were not so good for the average Egyptian and maybe Akhenaten said we have to change to make things better," he said.
    Kemp, director of the Amarna Project which seeks in part to increase public knowledge of Tell el-Amarna and surrounding region, said little attention has been given to the cemeteries of ordinary ancient Egyptians.
    Rose displayed pictures showing spinal(脊柱)injuries among teenagers, probably because of accidents during construction work to build the city.
    The study showed that anemia ran at 74 percent among children and teenagers, and at 44 percent among adults, Rose said. The average height of men was 159 cm(5 feet 2 inches)and 153 cm among women. " Adult heights are used as an indicator for overall standard of living," he said. " Short statures(身长)reflect a diet deficient in protein... People were not growing to their full potential. "
Why does the author mention ancient Egyptian adult heights in the last part of the passage?
选项 A、To realistically describe common people’s physical conditions at that time.
B、To reveal the oppressive working pressure faced with ordinary Egyptians.
C、To illustrate the fact that the quality of common life was truly low of the day.
D、To demonstrate the average Egyptian’s unhealthy diet habits in ancient times.
答案C
解析 语义理解题。由定位句可知，成年人的身高是衡量人们总体生活水平的重要指标。联系下文Short statures(身长)reflect a diet deficient in protein…People were not growing to their full potential．及全文主题可知，作者在最后一段提到古埃及人的身高就是为了说明那时候古埃及普通民众的生活水平低下，故C)为答案。虽然这里是在描述古埃及普通人的身体状况，但这并不是作者的目的，故排除A)；前文提到了普通民众在工作时受到的伤害，但作者是希望通过这样的事例证明他们生活的不易，故排除B)；a diet deficient in protein说明古埃及人的饮食中的蛋白质摄人量不足，但这并不是他们的本来意愿，而是被生活所迫，所以D)中“不良的饮食习惯”不妥，故排除。
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