Evenaftercenturiesofexploration,theoceanstillholdsitsmy...

问题详情：

Even after centuries of exploration, the ocean still holds its mysteries. Although we know more today about the world’s oceans and creatures living in them than ever before, every once in a while the sea brings up something so strange, so unexpected, that makes the world wonder what it could be.

Such was the case when the currents (水流) of the Mediterranean Ocean recently washed a 13-foot-long, smelly body onto the shores of the village of Villaricos in Andalusia, Spain. An early report in the Spanish publication Lavante described the strange, horned (带角的) body as what might seem like a big fish, but it was already in pieces. Locals joked that it was some kind of Loch Ness Monster.

The media jumped right on the creature, of course. Some sites called it a horned sea monster. The popular newspaper BoingBoing called it a dragon. Some people guessed that it might be an oarfish, which is actually a rarely seen kind of big fish that can grow up to 55 feet long.

But now the experts have weighed in and we’re sorry to report that it’s not a dragon, a Loch Ness Monster, or even an oarfish. “That is actually a shark skeleton （骨架）,” Professor Grubbs from Florida State University told NBC News. “The parts toward the back were confusing me, but those are the lower caudal fin (尾鳍) supports. The “horns” are the scapulocoracoids which support the pectoral fins.” Scapulocoracoids are backbones common to many animals.

So there we go, another mystery solved. Well, the ancient maps that once described areas of the ocean as places of dragons have yet to be proven true. But it’s good to know that the ocean still has a few surprises for us, even in cases where they’re just dead, smelly bodies.

21. The creature mentioned in the text          .

A. was about 15 feet long with a horn

B. could probably grow up to 55 feet long

C. was already in pieces but it was still alive

D. was found on the shores of a village in Spain

22. What does the underlined word “it”in Paragraph 2 refer to?

A. A dragon.                                              B. A shark skeleton.          

C. An oarfish.                                            D. A horned sea monster.

23. The third paragraph is mainly about           .

A. how the creature was found                        B. the characteristics of an oarfish

C. people’s guesses about the creature         D. Boing Boing’s opinion of the creature

【回答】

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