Being in the right place at the right time can mean the difference between life and death. When     1    abnormal ice storm felled runners in a 100-kilometer cross-country race in China’s north-western Gansu Province, a shepherd(牧羊人）    2    (name) Zhu Keming braved the elements to pull three men and three women to    3    (safe).

The day of the race began with mild temperatures. Zhu was tending his sheep as usual when temperatures     4     (drop) quickly. Small hard balls of ice mixed with rain began to fall to the earth, and then Zhu took shelter     5    a small cave he'd been using for years to store emergency supplies. It was from this position that Zhu noticed a man in obvious danger. Zhu brought the man back to the cave to warm him up. After     6    (light) a fire, Zhu returned to the mountainside, shepherding five     7    (addition) runners to the cave. Unprepared for the sudden shift in the weather, most racers were outfitted in lightweight clothing that was no match for the    8     (extreme) cold weather.

"I want to say     9     grateful I am to the man who saved me," said Zhang Xiaotao, who was one of the runners. While Zhu is now considered as a hero, the humble shepherd said," I am just an ordinary person and did what I could    10     (help) these runners.

In the city of Nanjing, 300 captive-bred (圈养的) Chinese sturgeon (鲟), along with other rare fish, were released into the     1     (long) river in the country.

It marked the first time the first-class state-protected animal had been released in the Nanjing section of the Yangtze River. Some 4,000 mullets (鲻鱼), a species under second-class state protection, were released     2     the same time.

These released sturgeon, which     3     (raise) through artificial breeding (人工养殖), are generally 15 months old,     4     (measure) between 50 cm to 80 cm. Each of these sturgeon is equipped with a harmless transponder (应答器) to track their whereabouts.

Nicknamed “aquatic (水栖的) pandas”, Chinese sturgeon     5     (exist) for more than 140 million years. However, the population of the species in the Yangtze fell     6     (sharp) in the late 20th century due to human activities.

Releasing artificially bred sturgeon is     7     (benefit) to the reproduction and recovery of the species’ wild population in the Yangtze River. Since a 10-year fishing ban took effect in the waters of the Yangtze River in 2021, the population of rare aquatic     8     (creature) has increased. For example, a scientific investigation,     9     was conducted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs in 2022, showed that     10     number of Yangtze finless porpoises (江豚) had passed 1,200, up 23.42 percent from five years ago.

Scientists exploring the ocean floor in Antarctica have found a larger group of fish nests than ever before. The discovery came     1     a surprise, and it will help scientists develop a more complete idea of the ocean food web in the area.

In the south Weddell Sea, not far from Antarctica’s Filchner Ice Shelf, scientists were    2     (amaze) to discover a group of about 60 million icefish nests on the ocean floor. Before this, the     3     (large) group of icefish nests that had ever been found includes less than 60 nests. Lilian Boehringer, a research student, was the first     4     (discover) the nests. “They were everywhere,” she told The New York Times.

The researchers used a special device called OFOBS to make two more four-hour “dives” ,    5     (try) to discover the limits of the nesting area. The nests scientists found were in the shape of     6     circle. Each nest held about 1,700 eggs. Usually, Weddell seals (海豹)    7     (spot) in the waters above the nesting site. Trackers     8     (fix) on some Weddell seals show that they dive all the way to the sea floor.

The team placed a camera on the sea floor before leaving,     9     will take a picture of the nests in the area     10     (two) a day for the next two years. They hope the pictures from this camera will help them learn more about the lives of the icefish.