Read the paragraphs below and choose the alternative that fills in correctly and respectively the blanks with the comparative of equality, the comparative of superiority or the superlative of the given adjectives in parentheses.
This is how stars die
5,000 light years away in Centaurus, a large constellation in the southern sky, is the Boomerang Nebula, a cloud of gas being expelled from a dying star.
This cloud is one of _________ (bizarre)1 and ___________ (mysterious)2 objects in the universe. Here, within the gas streaming outwards, astronomers have found that the temperature drops ___________ (low)3 nearly absolute zero.
It is, ___________ (far)4 anyone knows, the coldest place in the universe.
It may also prove to be quite important. Because this ____________ (frigid)5 place, and objects like it, albeit a tad ___________ (warm)6 – may help astronomers unravel a host of cosmic conundrums, from the violent yet spectacular deaths of stars and the formation of galaxies to cosmic explosions and the origin of life itself.
Death of stars, birth of life
In many respects the Boomerang Nebula is unremarkable. All stars have to die some day. When ___________ (small)7 stars end, those about eight times _____________ (massive)8 our own sun, they produce a similar display of gas and dust.
