Howard Carter Finds King Tut's Tomb

Howard Carter was only 17 years old when he first went to Egypt in 1891. His father was quite successful as a portrait painter in England. Howard had a great deal of artistic talent, but he did not want to become a portrait painter like his father. He wanted adventure. With his father's help, he got a job with an archaeologist who was on his way to Egypt. This was an exciting opportunity for young Howard Carter.

In Egypt, Howard Carter worked as an artist for some of the best Egyptologists（埃及古 物学者）of his time. An Egyptologist is an archaeologist whose focus is learning about ancient Egypt. It was not long before Howard Carter was quite well known among Egyptologists, not only as an artist but also for his knowledge about ancient Egypt and archaeology.

Howard Carter wanted to hunt for King Tut's tomb, but that took men and money. Howard Carter finally got lucky. Lord Carnarvon was a very rich man. Lord Carnarvon allowed Howard Carter to hire 50 men to help him search for Tut's tomb.

In November 1922, by the light of a candle, Howard Carter cut a hole in a secret door. Lord Carnarvon and Howard Carter carefully looked through the hole. What they saw through the peephole（窥视孔）） was amazing! They could not believe their eyes! The room was filled with treasures—couches shaped like animals, jeweled chests, vases, statues, and even chariots（二轮战车），all glittering with gold. It took months to move the treasures they found in the first room alone before they could open the doors in that room that led to other rooms! In other rooms, they found the chair King Tut had used as a small child.

The tomb was an incredible discovery, not only for its monetary value but also for its history. Historians learned so much about the people who lived over 3,000 years ago, about their culture and beliefs and daily life, from the objects found in King Tut's tomb. Howard Carter became world famous.

This was the first real task I received in my new school. It seemed simple: go on the Internet and find information about a man named George Washington. As I searched the name, I found that there were two famous people having the same name who looked completely different! One invented hundreds of uses for peanuts, while the other led some sort of army across America. I stared at the screen, wondering which one my teacher meant. I called my grandfather for a golden piece of advice; let the coin decide. I flipped (掷) a coin and Ah! Tails (背面)! My report would be about the great man who invented peanut butter, George Washington Carver.

Weeks later, I stood in front of the classroom and proudly read my homework. But things started to get strange. I looked around the room, only to find my classmates with big smiles on their faces and tears in their eyes and my stone-faced teacher. I was completely lost. “What could be causing everyone to act this way?”

Oh well, I dropped the paper and sat down at my desk, burning to find out what I had done wrong. As a classmate began his report, it all became clear, “My report is on George Washington, the man who started the American War of Independence.” The whole world became quiet! How could I know that my teacher meant that George Washington?

Of course, my subject result was awful. Sad but fearless, I decided to turn this around. I talked to the headmaster Miss Lancelot, but she said firmly: No re-dos; no new score. I felt that it was not fair, and I believed I deserved a second chance. So I threw myself heartily into my work for the rest of the school year. Ten months later, I sat in the headmaster’s office again, but this time a completely different conversation. I smiled and flashed back to the terrible moment at the beginning of the year as the headmaster told me I was good enough to skip (跳过) the 6th grade and started the 7th grade next term.

If you love something enough but lose it, it may just find its way back to you.

That’s a lesson a Connecticut man learned this week, when he miraculously (神奇地) recovered a dollar bill that his wife had signed years before.

Peter and Grace Bilillo were married for 50 years before Grace lost her battle with cancer. They first met in Peter’s home in Sicily when his mother introduced her unmarried son to the pretty girl down the street.

It was love at first sight. “We got married in 40 days,” said the 86-year-old man.

About seven years ago, the devoted couple each took a dollar bill and signed the names - Grace on one and Peter on the other - as a sign of their love.

“I said, ‘This dollar bill is going to be in my wallet forever,”’ Peter Bilillo said.

Forever didn’t last as long as Peter hoped, though - two years after signing the two bills, he fortuitously spent them. When his wife died, he was heartbroken.

“I felt sorry, very sorry. I thought we were never going to see those two dollars back again,” he said.

So, imagine Peter’s surprise when seven months after his beloved wife’s death, he took his granddaughter to a local subway shop, glanced at the change handed back to him by the cashier and saw his beloved Grace’s name staring at him from one of the dollar bills.

“I never thought I was going to get that dollar back again,” he said. “The first thing I said was, ‘Grace, she did this to make me happy.’”

“It’s a miracle to get it back,” he told reporters. “Who knows how many millions of people got that dollar in their hands?”

Peter says he hopes that, with a little help from Grace, the dollar with his signature will make his way back to him as well.