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Ancient Egypt the Legend of the Pharaoh's Curse

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Ancient Egypt the Legend of the Pharaoh's Curse Ancient Egypt – The Legend of the Pharaoh’s Curse Ancient Egypt The Legend of the Pharaoh’s Curse It’s 1922. An empty house sits on a bank of the Nile River in Egypt. A canary chirps in its cage. All of a sudden, the chirping stops. The neighbors are worried. They run next door to find the bird lying on the bottom of its cage. The bird is dead. A cobra slithers1 out of the cage. The house and the bird belonged to a man named Howard Carter. Carter had just discovered the tomb of King Tut. King Tut was one of the pharaohs of Ancient Egypt. Some people thought the canary’s death was the result of an ancient curse.2 They claimed King Tut had placed the curse on anyone who entered his tomb. They believed the death of the bird was a result of this curse because cobras were sacred3 to pharaohs. The snakes were thought to protect these Ancient Egyptian kings. The story gets worse, though. The canary was not the only one to die. Others who helped Carter find the tomb also died. Legend has it that when one of them died, all the lights in Cairo mysteriously went out at the moment of his death. Carter himself, however, lived 17 more years. He died at the age of 65. 1 slither – to slide or move like a snake 2 curse – a magic spell that causes harm or evil 3 sacred – holy Questions: Ancient Egypt – The Legend of the Pharaoh’s Curse Name: ____________________________ Date: _______________________ 1. In the passage, what happens after the neighbors find the bird? a. The bird chirps. b. The bird escapes its cage. c. A cobra leaves the cage. d. King Tut’s tomb is discovered. 2. According to the passage, which animals were sacred to Egyptian pharaohs? a. canaries b. cobras c. cats d. spiders 3. The passage suggests that the lights that mysteriously went out in Cairo a. caused the deaths of the people who discovered King Tut’s tomb b. may have been connected with the death of someone who helped find King Tut’s tomb c. may have been connected with the death of Carter’s canary d. showed that King Tut had placed a curse on the people of Cairo 4. The passage is mainly about a. why cobras were once considered sacred b. the life and death of King Tut c. the lives of Ancient Egyptians who lived under the pharaohs d. a possible curse on those who found King Tut’s tomb 5. The author of this passage probably wants to a. inform readers b. scare readers c. make readers visit Egypt d. describe the rule of King Tut Questions: Ancient Egypt – The Legend of the Pharaoh’s Curse 6. According to the passage, what caused the curse to begin? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 7. Why does the author most likely point out the age at which Howard Carter died? ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ 8. The question below is an incomplete sentence. Choose the word that best completes the sentence. It is believed that several people who helped find King Tut’s tomb died __________ the ancient curse placed on anyone who entered the tomb. a. before b. despite c. as a result of d. in contrast to 9. Read the following sentence. At the same time as one of the people who helped discover King Tut’s tomb died, the lights in Cairo mysteriously went out. Answer the following questions based on the information provided in the sentence you just read. One of the questions has already been answered for you. What? the lights (did) What? ______________________________________________________ Where? _________________________________________________________ When? __________________________________________________________ Questions: Ancient Egypt – The Legend of the Pharaoh’s Curse 10. Vocabulary Word: legend: a very old and popular story that may be true. Use the vocabulary word in a sentence: ________________________________ ________________________________________________________________ Answers: Ancient Egypt – The Legend of the Pharaoh’s Curse Teacher Guide and Answers Passage Reading Level: Lexile 610 Featured Text Structure: Descriptive – the writer explains, defines or illustrates a concept or topic Passage Summary: The passage discusses the ancient curse King Tut placed on anyone who enters his tomb. It is believed that this curse brought about several deaths of people associated with the discovery of his tomb in 1922. 1. In the passage, what happens after the neighbors find the bird? a. The bird chirps. b. The bird escapes its cage. c. A cobra leaves the cage. d. King Tut’s tomb is discovered. 2. According to the passage, which animals were sacred to Egyptian pharaohs? a. canaries b. cobras c. cats d. spiders 3. The passage suggests that the lights that mysteriously went out in Cairo a. caused the deaths of the people who discovered King Tut’s tomb b. may have been connected with the death of someone who helped find King Tut’s tomb c. may have been connected with the death of Carter’s canary d. showed that King Tut had placed a curse on the people of Cairo 4. The passage is mainly about a. why cobras were once considered sacred b. the life and death of King Tut c. the lives of Ancient Egyptians who lived under the pharaohs d. a possible curse on those who found King Tut’s tomb 5. The author of this passage probably wants to a. inform readers b. scare readers c. make readers visit Egypt d. describe the rule of King Tut Answers: Ancient Egypt – The Legend of the Pharaoh’s Curse 6. According to the passage, what caused the curse to begin? Suggested answer: According to the passage, the curse began because Howard Carter and others entered King Tut’s tomb. 7. Why does the author most likely point out the age at which Howard Carter died? Suggested answer: The author points out the age at which Howard Carter died in order to highlight the fact that he did not seem to be directly affected by the ancient curse. Carter led the team that discovered King Tut’s tomb, yet he lived for many years afterward, making the nature of the curse all the more mysterious. 8. The question below is an incomplete sentence. Choose the word that best completes the sentence. It is believed that several people who helped find King Tut’s tomb died __________ the ancient curse placed on anyone who entered the tomb. a. before b. despite c. as a result of d. in contrast to 9. Answer the following questions based on the sentence below. At the same time as one of the people who helped discover King Tut’s tomb died, the lights in Cairo mysteriously went out. What? the lights (did) What? mysteriously went out Where? in Cairo When? at the same time as one of the people who helped discover King Tut’s tomb died 10. Vocabulary Word: legend: a very old and popular story that may be true. Use the vocabulary word in a sentence: answers may vary. .
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