English - FL Answer the Questions [2 MARKS]

King Tut’s mummy was the first one to be X-rayed by an anatomy professor in 1968. On 5 January, 2005 CT scan created virtual reality and produced life-like images. King Tut is one of the first mummies to be scanned. Thus, in death as well as in life Tut moved regally ahead of his countrymen.

The advances in technology have helped in improving forensic analysis. Many scientific tests can be carried out to determine the causes of crime. These include X-ray, ultrasound, CT scan, postmortem, autopsy and biopsy. All these help in diagnosis and provide exact information.

The results of the CT scan were quite encouraging. 1700 digital X-ray images in cross¬section were created. A grey head appeared on screen. Neck vertebrae were quite clear. The images of hand, ribcage and skull were equally bright. These revealed that nothing had gone seriously wrong with Tut’s body.

Akhenaten means the servant of the Aten i.e., the sun-disk. He moved the religious capital from the old city of the Thebes to the new city of Akhetaten, known now as Amarna. He smashed the images of Amun, a major God and closed his temples. These deeds led Ray Johnson to describe Akhenaten as ‘wacky’.

Tutankhamun means ‘Living image of Amun’. He was a major god in ancient Egypt. King Amenhotep smashed the images of Amun and closed his temples. Tut oversaw a restoration of the old ways. He also changed his name to express his belief on Amun.

The ancient royals of Egypt were fabulously wealthy. They believed in afterlife. They also believed that they could take their wealth with them. So, gilded treasures were buried with them.

Carter found that the ritual resin that was used as a polish has hardened. The result was that the mummy was cemented to the bottom of the solid gold coffin. Neither the strongest force could move the mummy nor the burning sun could loosen the remains of the king.

Howard Carter’sinvestigation was resented because he used unsciencetific methods to cut the body away from the wooden base. He also focused more on the discovery of gold than on the fascinating details of Tut s life and the mysteries of his death.

King Tut’s body has been subjected to repeated scrutiny for the riches it was buried with. There has also been a lot of speculation about the manner of his death and the time of his death.

Certain steps must be taken to help prevent the extinction of languages and dialects. The most important is to encourage its use. A language thrives as long as it is used by masses. Measures should be taken to propagate the languages and dialects used in certain areas. The help of interpreters may be provided for interaction between native users of language/dialect and non-users. Certain incentives in the form of stipends, scholarships, preferences in jobs, etc. may also prove handy in attracting the youth towards languages and dialects which are on the verge of extinction. State patronage can also help in the preservation of languages.

I think it is important to preserve langu ages. Various languages are the vehicles of thought and medium of interaction between the users of that language and the outside world. A language has intimate connection with the lives, culture and civilization of the people and reflects their thinking.

A language becomes extinct when Its use is restricted to certain classes or categories of people. Secondly, the harshness of rules and lack of flexibility in usage also contribute to the extinction of languages.

For the motion:
Modern world has expanded the frontiers of knowledge. In fact the whole world has become a global village. Within a few seconds we become aware of incidents happening thousands of miles away. Information technology has indeed brought a revolution in the field of knowledge. Still our knowledge of the world is incomplete without the knowledge of about past lives.
We are the direct descendants of our ancestors and we must be aware of the circumstances in which they existed and how they coped with them. The structure of future is rooted in the past. We draw lessons from future the past and make improvements. The lives the people of the past are like bear on lights to guide and inspire us and enlighten us about the world we live in.
Against the motion:
We are constantly learning new things about the world we live in. The knowledge of our present circumstances and future prospects is more important than the knowledge about past lives. Their additions, rituals, tools, ways of conduct and ethos are not going to help us in our struggle for existence in the highly competitive and complex modern world.
The knowledge about past lives can at best make us retrograde instead of being progressive. For many of us the world means their sphere of activities and the environment they live in. People aim at specializing in restricted fields instead of being Jack of all trades. As such the knowledge of the world we need is also restricted to our requirements and we need not bother about knowledge about past lives.

For the motion:
Different religions, cultures and civilizations follow various traditions, rituals and funerary practices. The dead bodies buried under the earth, are supposed to lie in rest peacefully till the doom’s day or the day of resurrection or after life. The ancient Egyptians had mastered the art of mummifying. Certain traditional rituals were performed while treating the dead body with special oils and wrapping it in cloth. Ritual resins held the mummy close to the bottom of the coffin. The burial chamber and grave contained all the important things that the king might need in after life. The funerary practices had a certain sanctity for the followers of that particular religion. We must learn to be more tolerant of the belief of others. Hence, I conclude that traditions, rituals and funerary practices must be respected.
Against the motion:
The world is on the move. We have to be forward looking. We can’t remain content with the achievements of the past or rest on our laurels. If traditions, rituals and certain funerary practices block the flow of information and knowledge, these may be overlooked for the greater benefit of humanity, i.e., clearing the air of mystery, ignorance and superstitions surrounding some of the age-old beliefs. However, in our quest for knowledge, we should not be intolerant or disrespectful. We must conduct our probe objectively and dispassionately. Facts must be given more weightage than the beliefs attached to them. A detached outlook can provide clear understanding of past events.

For the motion:
I fully subscribe to the observation that advanced technology gives us conclusive evidence of past events. Even my opponents will agree that there is no proper written record about many past events. Myths and legends surround even the most celebrated personalities and events of their life or circumstances of death. Facts and fiction are mingled together and sometimes have become inseparable.
Various persons have given coloured versions of the past events to suit the demands of their masters or to serve their own ends. The evidence that opposed their point of view has been condemned and rejected. Thus, sometimes we get a warped version and subjective account of past events. Only advanced technology can help us understand the past in right perspective.
Against the motion:
I disagree with the remarks that advanced technology gives us conclusive evidence of past events. It may hold good in certain cases where evidence can be reconstructed and examined closely with the sophisticated techniques of modern science available now. However, it will be unfair to generalise and hold it true in all cases. Sometimes the processing of available data may yield contradictory accounts and create more confusion than unravelling the knotted issues. Moreover, the available evidence may not be worthy of analysis and examination. The tests may determine the possible time period of the action, but it is quite difficult to assess the causes that prompted it or the results that followed it.

For the motion:
Every nation glorifies its past histoi-y culture and civilization. However, certain myster qes pe buried with them. Rituals and legends ai-e insufficient to clear the wrap of mystery surrouilcpng them. For example, take the case of Tutankl iamun’s mummy. He was laid to rest laden with gold more than 3300 years ago.
Since the discovery of his tomb in 1922 AD, the modern world has speculated about him. Some people believe that the boy king might have been murdered. There is a mystery around his life as well as death. Scientific intervention is necessary to clear the dust and cloud of mysteries around him. Hence, if we want to study archaeology properly we must take help of scientific techniques.
Against the motion:
If present is perfect and future uncertain, why worry about the past? Let the dead past bury its dead and the mysteries surrounding them. In the present world full of competition, we must devote our money, time and energy to build up our resources and sustain the lifestyle. Scientific techniques should be employed to feed the hungry millions and clad the naked ones. Some mysteries of the past have lost their relevance with the passage of time. Won’t it be futile and wastage of precious resources of a developing nation in this idle pursuit ? Let the thinkers, philosophers and priests worry about mysteries – not the scientists.

Real history is the objective portrayal of events and facts that depicts development and destruction. True history is never coloured in the hues of politics. It reflects the myriad facets of society. Modern technology has made its portrayal objective. History puts forward lessons for us and provides us with chances to improve. So, itis true that those who do not pick up these lessons are condemned to repent. Shrewd people have used history to rouse mass hysteria to grind their own axe. Distortion of history causes havoc in society. To the intelligent people, history is a window through which they peep into the past to collect facts and interpret them in an objective manner. By and large, history is the study of past events, political, economic and social development of a country and many a time we feel belittled knowing that our forefathers were better than us in many respects. We can learn a lesson from them and refrain from making the same mistakes.

For a handful of gold, man can go to any extent. Tut’s mummy was buried deep in the desert with a lot of gold and other things believing that the dead Pharaoh would need those things in the afterlife. It was a matter of faith. When Tut’s tomb was discovered, much of the treasure had already been looted. The thieves did it being driven by the mad force of materialism. Materialistic attitude attaches no importance to beliefs, religious sentiments and social rites and rituals. But when Carter finally succeeded in discovering Tut’s tomb, he found the richest royal collection—all made of solid gold—in the tomb. Even the coffin was made of gold. In order to remove Tut from his coffin, Carter had to cut the body from its joints. So, man doesn’t allow even the dead to sleep in peace.

King Tut’s mummy was first discovered in 1922 by Howard Carter. The embalmed of the boy king was buried in the tomb along with lots of gold ornaments, sandals masks and coffin—all of pure gold. His death was a big event. He was the last of powerful ruling family. But he died in mysterious circumstances at an early age, just nine years after his coming to the throne. In 1968, Tut’s body was X-rayed. The anatomy professor’ found Tut’s breastbone and front ribs missing. But the researchers sought the help of advanced technology to solve the mystery. On January 2005, Tut’s head was pushed into a CT scanner. (The boy king had died 3,300 years ago) The operation took less than three hours. The pharaoh was rested in peace again. The mystery has not been resolved so far.

Howard Carter, a British archaeologist, discovered King Tut’s tomb in 1922, after years of searching. He found fabulous treasures in the tomb, even though it had been ransacked earlier. The treasure consisted of a golden coffin, gold ornaments and even petty things of everyday need. Carter found three coffins. In the first, he found the garlands of leaves and flowers. But when he reached the mummy, he ran into trouble. The resins used to embalm Tut’s body had hardened. The coffin was of solid gold. Neither human force nor the scorching sun could loosen the body. So Carter used chisel and hammer to remove the resins. He had little choice. Tut’s mummy also had to be removed part by part. Having taken out the gold coffin, the body parts were reassembled, put in a wooden box and placed in the tomb again.

Tut was a teenager when he ascended the throne. He was the last heir of a powerful royal family. He was laid to rest 26 ft below the earth’s surface in a tomb. His mummy was discovered in 1922 by a British archaeologist, Howard Carter. He found a fabulous treasure in the tomb. The casket in which Tut’s body was laid, was made of pure gold. Tut’s body was X-rayed and scanned to find out Tut’s age at the time of death and how he died. His life remained as great a mystery as his death. In 1968, the X-rays of the mummy showed a broken breastbone and some missing ribs. Tut’s untimely death at a young age is still a matter of research. How he died—whether under natural circumstances or unnatural ones—is still not confirmed.

Scientific investigations on King Tut's mummy, like x-rays, CT scans, and DNA tests, have revealed key facts about his health and Egyptian civilization. X-rays showed fractures, and CT scans exposed his cleft palate and scoliosis. DNA tests confirmed his parents were siblings, indicating inbreeding. Malaria and genetic disorders likely contributed to his early death. These methods also uncovered details about Egypt's embalming process and royal wealth, offering valuable insights into ancient Egyptian life.