ThemysteryoftheSphinxRead the text and then choose from the list A-J the bestphrasetofilleachgap1-8.Twoofthesuggestedanswersdonotfitatall.

One of the world’s most studied monuments is theSphinx,1)…….theGreatPyramid,sixteenkilometersfromCairoinEgypt.Carvedinancienttimesoutofasinglepieceof limestoneover sixtymetres longandtwentymetreshigh,itweighshundredsoftons.Thisextraordinarymonumentconsistssolelyof theheadofamanandthebodyofacrouching lion,acombination2)……..strengthandwisdom.Overtheyears,someofitsfacialfeatureshavesustaineddamage.

The smile, 3) ……. mysterious, is in fact the result of erosionrather than design, and the nose, which has long since beenbroken away,was probably the unfortunate victim of invadingsoldiers’ targetpractice.Atonetimetherewasaserpenton itsforeheadandaroyalbeard,afragment4)…….inamuseum.

Butwhobuiltthismonument5)…….guardingsignificantplaces,isnotpartofapairbutstandsalone?MostEgyptologistsagreethat itwas built by PharaohKhafre 5,000 years ago.However,somerecentcommentatorshavespeculatedthatitbelongedtoamuch older civilization, 6) ……. a legendary flood 7) …….

everythingintheworldover7,000yearsago.TheyhavetriedtodemonstratethattheweatheringoftheSphinxwascausedbywaterratherthanwindandsand,andonehasevensuggested8)…….on amuch older site about 12,500 years ago.Whatever its origins there is no doubt that to theEgyptians,theSphinxrepresentstheveryessenceoftheircountry’smagnificentculture.

A. whichsuggestsB. ofwhichexistsC. whichdisappearedinD. thatitmighthavebeenbuiltE. whichislocatedclosetoF. thatissupposedtohavedestroyedG. whichsomepeopledescribeH. which,unlikemostoftheothersI. thatitfitsinJ. thatwasclearlyknown