Buried deep in the ruins of the Shang Dynasty, specifically in Anyang City of Henan Province, bones of the rhino(犀牛)were found.

A collection of archaeological evidence has confirmed the     1    (exist) of rhinos in ancient China. The animal     2     (distribute) across China’s Central Plains,    3     Chinese civilization originated.

Nevertheless, the rhino was no longer wandering in the region after the Han Dynasty. One explanation is that it was the colder climate of Northeast Asia that saw the creature    4    (appear) from the pages of history. However, Zhou Yu, the writer of History of Chinese Armor(盔甲), offered up     5     explanation: the crafting of armor.

Armor was    6    (original) made of bamboo but the material possessed limited     7    (defend)capabilities. Leather armor later became popular during the pre-Qin period. Zhou’s book     8     (read) that the rhino’s thick skin was a primary material for the creation of warriors’ armor. Many ancient accounts recorded the killing of rhinos and     9     (turn) their skin into protective covering. “The huge demand     10     rhino skins might have caused the animal’s disappearance or at least its migration from the Central Plains to the southwestern regions,” Zhou told Beijing Review.

The Changjiang River, China’s longest river     1    (rise) from the Qinghai Tibet Plateau, flows eastwards for 6300 kilometers, eventually reaching Yuantoujiao in Jiangsu Province,     2     it flows into the sea. In the Yangtze River Delta to the north of Yuantoujiao, abundant rivers carry huge amounts of sediments (泥沙) to the sea.     3     also bring nutrients, piling up to form fertile coastlines and unique sandy ridges and sandbars.     4     the coastline of the Yellow Sea, hundreds of kilometres of coastal wetlands and ecological zones     5    (form). Every spring and autumn, nearly 3 million migratory birds around the world stop there to replenish themselves. Next to the Yellow Sea is one of China’s most     6    (economic) developed and densely populated     7    (region). While the economy is developing rapidly there, a large number of coastal wetlands have been preserved. This creates valuable habitats for millions of migratory birds and endangered species that prefer not     8    (disturb). Today, sediment accumulation and continental shelf settlement (大陆架沉降) are two dynamic geological forces, which are constantly shaping the landscape and ecological processes of the Yellow Sea and Bohai wetland,     9    (make ) it one of the most diverse and richest coastlines in the world. It is     10     organic combination of natural, biological and human functions, and a key hub on the East Asian-Australasian flyway of migratory birds.

【推荐2】Directions: After reading the passage below, fill in the blanks to make the passage coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

In 1976, the crew of a US Navy boat near Hawaii witnessed something truly amazing. As they pulled up the anchor from the sea floor some 200 metres below, they were surprised to see that a 4.5-metre shark had swallowed it and was being lifted onto their boat. The crew were fascinated by this wonderful creature,     1    no one had any idea what species the shark belonged to.

Scientists later examined the shark and concluded that     2    was a completely new species. The shark was then given the name “megamouth”—a very suitable name, given its extremely large jaws.

Since this discovery only thirty—six more megamouth sharks     3    (sight). This is one of the newest species of fish     4    (discover), and many things about it are still a mystery.

When we think of sharks, usually we think of predators like great whites. Great whites, at 3.7 metres in length, are     5    (feared)animals in the sea, preying on small whales, seals, other sharks and sometimes even people. They demonstrate incredible power and speed when     6    (hunt). However, not all sharks are dangerous. For example, sharks such as the megamouth live off plankton and other small fish, and will never attack humans. Indeed, there are actually more than 360 species of shark, from the whale shark     7    can reach 14 metres in length, to a much smaller shark which measures only 21 centimetres from head to tail.

Despite their differences, all sharks     8    have some things in common. For example, sharks do not have bones, but have flexible cartilage instead which makes them very good swimmers. Also,     9    most fish, many species of shark hatch their eggs inside their bodies, giving birth to live baby sharks.     10    scientists have learnt a lot in recent years, there are still many things about both sharks and the deep blue sea which we do not understand.

Who knows? There may be many other species of marine life even stranger than the megamouth, still unknown and waiting to be discovered.

The Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) is a worldwide study of 15-year-old school pupils’ performance in mathematics, science, and reading undertaken by the OECD. A closer look at the reading tests     1     (show) the interesting fact    2     girls are outperforming boys in reading and that this is associated with girls’ greater enjoyment of reading.

One key area which has a major impact     3     reading performance, is reading for enjoyment rather than simply for study or school work purposes. Interestingly, the PISA study found that in almost all countries assessed, girls read for enjoyment more than boys. In     4     (country) such as Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and the Netherlands, the difference between boys and girls was most significant. However, in places like Japan, boys and girls read for enjoyment at     5     almost identical level.

What’s more, an interesting area which the PISA study looked at was the types of literature that both girls and boys generally enjoy. Boys were found to enjoy reading magazines, newspapers and comic books more than girls. Girls were found to be twice as likely     6     (enjoy) works of fiction as boys.

While reading in all forms is certainly     7     (benefit) and should be encouraged, the low numbers of boys     8     (read) for enjoyment and their     9     (limit) choices when they do, is evidence of an issue that needs to be addressed. Countries need to think about ways to inspire interest for boys in reading and ensure that they     10     (expose) to a wide variety of different types of literature from a young age.