Unit

1The Great Pyramid of Giza

Located in Egypt

1616

q The Great Pyramid of Giza, completed around 2551 BC after twenty

years of labor by thousands of workers, is a tomb. For thirty-eight

centuries, it was the tallest and arguably1 the most impressive structure

on Earth. It was built to protect the dead body of one man. His name

was Khufu.

w Who was Khufu and what did he do to deserve such a big tomb?

Khufu, also known as Cheops, was a pharaoh.2 He ruled ancient Egypt

during the years 2589 to 2566 BC. It was a big job. Khufu had lots of

power and lots of responsibilities. Then he died.

e When you’re dead, are you done?

Not according to the ancient Egyptians.

They believed in life after death. But

crossing over to the afterlife3 was not an

easy process. For starters, the body had

to be preserved.4 Poor Egyptians had

themselves buried in the sand and hoped for the best. Rich Egyptians

spared5 no expense. They had themselves mummified.6

r Special workers made the mummies.7 They knew how to use a hook8

1. arguably `3rgj8EbyI adv.

2. pharaoh `f5ro n.

3. afterlife `æft/la6v n.

4. preserve prI`z-v v.

5. spare sp5r v.

6. mummify `m9mIfa6 v.

W O R D L I S T

Track 02

Unit 1 The Great Pyramid of Giza 17

1Partto remove the brain through the nose.

Brains got thrown away—the ancient

Egyptians figured they were a waste of

space. Other organs were salted and stored

in spec ia l ja rs . The hear t was more

important. Considered the source of

emotion and wisdom, it was left in the body.

After the body dried out, it was treated with

special oils and wrapped in cloth. Rich

Egyptians built special tombs to protect their mummies. Everything that

might come in handy9 in the afterlife—food, furniture, salted organs,

games—was placed in the tomb.

t For his tomb, Khufu built the Great

Pyramid of Giza. His pyramid was the

biggest of the big, bigger even than his

father Sneferu’s pyramid, if only by ten

meters (you can be sure that was

intentional). Polished10 white stones

covered the entire pyramid. It was

spectacular.11

Unit 1 The Great Pyramid of Giza 17

7. mummy `m9mI n.

8. hook hUk n.

9. handy `hændI adj.

10. polished `p3lISt adj.

11. spectacular sp5k`tækjEl/ adj.

18

y Everything up until that point—building the tomb, the funeral,

mummification,12 even life itself—all led up to the next and most

important step. After an Egyptian mummy was sealed13 within its tomb,

Osiris, the god of the dead, appeared with 43 helpers. It was time for the

ceremony of judgment known as the Weighing of the Heart. Osiris

weighed the heart on a scale.14 If the heart was pure and light—if it

balanced against a feather—then Osiris opened the way to the afterlife.

But if the heart was not pure—if it was heavy with the weight of bad

deeds—then the demon15 Ammit would come. Ammit had the head of a

crocodile. It was her job to eat impure16 hearts.

u Nobody knows what happened to Khufu’s heart. His mummy has

never been found.

18

W O R D L I S T

12. mummification m9m4f4`ke]En n.

13. seal sil v.

14. scale skel n.

15. demon `dimEn n.

16. impure Im`pjUr adj.

Unit 1 The Great Pyramid of Giza 19

1Part

q 20 2551

38

w

2589 2566

e

r

t

y

20

43

u