1 . The National Parks Service has confirmed the discovery of an ancient crab (螃蟹) fossil (化石) found along the shores of Assateague Island National Seashore.

Sharon Conn, a visitor to the area, found the fossil in early October on the shore of Assateague Island. “It is very uncommon to find fossils of this nature. We have a very small number in our museum collection. That is what makes this discovery very exciting,” Liz Davis chief of Assateague Island National Seashore said.

The parks service identified the rare blue crab fossil with the help of the Department of Paleobiology. Matthew Mille, museum specialist at the National Museum of Natural History, tested the fossil to find out how it is. He concluded it was likely from the Pleistocene age, about 2 million years ago. “The extra rock around it is such a well tough ground that it can’t be easily eroded (腐蚀),” he said. “The claw did erode a bit though — which is why it isn’t immediately recognized as a claw. Gone are the tips and parts of the infilled area where the original flesh would have been through, making the whole fossil looks a bit strange.”

The fossil was found on public land and is protected by law. Davis told the Daily Times it was currently at the National Parks Service Toms Cove Visitor Center in Virginia. “We hope to have a small collection of fossils on display at the NPS Assateague Island Vistior Center in Maryland later in 2022,” said Davis.

1. What does Liz Davis think of the ancient crab fossil?

A．It is invaluable.

B．It is very old.

C．It is imperfect.

D．It is rare.

2. How old is the fossil according to the text?

A．Around 2 million years old.

B．2 million years old.

C．3 million years old.

D．Less than 2 million years old.

3. Whom do you think the fossil should belong to?

A．Sharon Conn.

B．The country.

C．Liz Davis.

D．The National Parks Service.

4. What can be the best title for the text?

A．A Lucky Visitor.	B．Assateague Island.
C．An Ancient Blue Fossil.	D．An Important Discovery.

2 . 阅读下面短文，在空白处填入1个适当的单词或括号内单词的正确形式。

On the north bank of Fuxian Lake in Chengjiang County, Yunnan Province sits a straw-hat-shaped mountain     1     (call) Maotian Mountain,     2     a 512-hectare site is praised as a “world-class treasure trove of fossils” by the international scientific community. On July 1,1984, young paleontologists in China discovered a fossil of the arthropod (节肢动物化石) with a long tail in Maotian Mountain. “    3     we had studied in China were just shell of fossils. The arthropods, lifelike fossils with legs, which belonged to fossils of soft-bodied animals, are     4     game changer in the research of China’s paleontology (古生物学)”, Hou Xianguang, a paleontologist said.

Scientists have obtained a large number of research results on Chengjiang Fossil Site. The reason why Chengjiang fauna (动物群) is     5     great significance is that it is closely related to the emergence of the animal tree of life.

Up to now, more than 20 phyla and more than 280 species     6     (record)in the Chengjiang Fossil Site, of which, 80% are new species. On July 1, 2012, the Chengjiang Fossil Site     7     (be) inscribed on the World Heritage List by UNESCO,     8     (become) China’ s first World Heritage Site for paleontological fossils.

The UNESCO evaluation says the Chengjiang Fossil Site is one of the     9     (early) records of a complex marine ecosystem of the early Cambrian communities. The property displays excellent quality of fossil     10     (preserve). It presents an exceptional record of the rapid diversification of life on Earth during the early Cambrian period.