Daggers! Arrows! A fight to the death! Some scientists believe that Europe’s famous “Iceman” died in battle. The Iceman, called ?tzi, is one of the world’s oldest and best-preserved mummies.（保存最完好的木乃伊）

Two hikers（旅行者） discovered the Iceman’s body on the border of Italy and Austria（奥地利） in 1991. Ever since, （从此）scientists have debated the cause of his death. Recently, scientists working in Australia came up with a new theory.

Like detectives at a crime scene, the scientists examined the clues.（线索） They looked at the blood on the Iceman’s clothes and the wounds（伤） on his body. Using this evidence, they concluded（断定） that the Iceman died from injuries（伤） to his back and hand.

The Iceman, the scientists believe, probably ran into deadly conflicts with at least two other hunters. The scientists say that blood on the Iceman’s weapons （武器）show that he shot two people with his arrow. His enemies returned fire, （还击）hitting him in the back with an arrow. They also cut him with a knife on his hands, rib cage,（胸腔） and wrists.（手腕）

How did the scientists get all this information from a 5,000-year-old body? Since the Iceman died in a cold climate, his body froze.（冻住了） A frozen body remains preserved for hundreds, even thousands of years.  As a result, scientists can see how the Iceman’s body looked when he died. The cut on the Iceman’s thumb（拇指）, for example, did not have a scar.（疤） This means that the cuts did not heal （愈合）before his death.

Not all scientists agree with the battle theory, however. Some say that the Iceman may have been killed in a ritual sacrifice.（不是所有科学家都同意这种战死论, 有人说那个冰人是在一场祭祀活动中被当成祭品给杀掉了）

Help:

dagger  n.短剑，匕首

arrow  n.剑

run into 陷入

conflict  n.斗争，冲突

ritual  adj. 典礼的， （宗教）仪式的

sacrifice  n. 牺牲， 献身， 祭品， 供奉