1 . Ask people to name the world's tallest peak and anybody with sound general knowledge will name Mount Qomolangma. But quiz them on its exact __and many will be not sure.

In 1975, Chinese surveyors __ that Mount Qomolangma （Mount Everest） was 8848. 13 meters high. As __ improved, satellites, photoelectricity, radars and gravity measurement technologies were __ to get more exact figures. Of course, someone still had to carry __ to what is the world's rooftop.

In 2005, a Chinese team scaled Qomolangma and found that it was not as high as that, as they __ the height to be 8844. 43 meters. Scaling Qomolangma is no __ task. The average air temperature there is -29 degrees Celsius, even four degrees_____ than in Antarctica. The snow there is 4 —5 meters thick and hurricane-like __ blow all the time. Team members were training to __the extreme conditions.

In a nutshell, measuring the Qomolangma's height is a tall order, __ huge amounts of money and human resources, But it is worth the_____. Qomolangma is the perfect __ for observing crustal （地壳的）movements. And changes to the peak's height could __ whether the two plates are heading toward or away from each other.

Besides, the condition of snow and other natural materials at the top is an indicator of upcoming climate change on the Tibet-Qinghai Plateau. That's __ measuring the Qomolangma's height is so significant. Put to good use, it can benefit mankind.