21. The young man made a ______ to his parents that he would try to earn his own living after graduation. (2008湖北卷)
A. prediction B. promise C. plan D. contribution
22. The top leaders of the two countries are holding talks in a friendly ______. (2008湖北卷)
A. atmosphere B. state C. situation D. phenomenon
23. Though having lived abroad for years, many Chinese still ______ the traditional customs. (2008湖北卷)
A. perform B. possess C. observe D. support
24. As nobody here knows what is wrong with the machine, we must send for an engineer to ______ the problem. (2008湖北卷)
A. handle B. raise C. face D. present
25. The teacher stressed again that the students should not ______ any important details while retelling the story. (2008湖北卷)
A. bring out B. let out C. leave out D. make out
26. In modern times, people have to learn to ______ all kinds of pressure although they are leading a comfortable life. (2008湖北卷)
A. keep with B. stay with C. meet with D. live with
27. The present situation is very complex, so I think it will take me some time to ______ its reality. (2008湖北卷)
A. make up B. figure out C. look through D. put off
28. In those days, our ______ concern was to provide people who were stopped by the snow storm with food and health care. (2008湖北卷)
A. normal B. constant C. permanent D. primary
29. As he works in a remote area, he visits his parents only ______. (2008湖北卷)
A. occasionally B. anxiously C. practically D. urgently
30. When she first arrived in China, she wondered what the future might have ______ for her, but now all her worries are gone. (2008湖北卷)
A. in need B. in time C. in preparation D. in store
【答案与解析】
21. B。make a promise为固定搭配，意为“许诺”，如：It’s easy to make a promise. 许愿是容易的。He made a promise that he would pay back within a week. 他答应在一周之内会偿还。
22. A。比较：atmosphere意为“气氛”；state意为“状态”；situation意为“状况，处境”；phenomenon意为“现象”。根据句子语境，显然只有A最合适。
23. C。observe在此表示“遵守，奉行”，又如：This law must be strictly observed. 这项法律必须严格遵守。
24. A。handle的意思是“处理，应付，对待”，又如：Correctly handle the contradictions among the people. 正确处理人民内部矛盾。
25. C。leave out的意思是“未包括；省略；删除；遗漏；排除”，又如：This chapter may be omitted. 这一章可以删除。 This word is wrongly spelt; you’ve left out a letter. 这字拼错了，你漏了一个字母。
26. D。live with sth的意思是“接受或容忍某现象”，又如：You’ll have to learn to live with it, I’m afraid. 我看，你得学会容忍这种现实。
27. B。figure out有两个用法：一是表示“理解某人，弄明白某事”，如：I’ve never been able to figure him out. 我一直不能理解他。We must figure out how to do it. 我们必须想出做这事的办法。二是表示“演算(计算)出某事物”。如：Please figure out the total cost. 请计算出总费用。It took me hours to figure out these maths problems. 算出这几道数学题花了我几个小时。
28. D。比较：normal意为“正常的”，constant意为“不断的”，permanent意为“永久的”，primary意为“基本的”。分别将四个选项代入句中，显然只有D最合句意。
29. A。上文说“他在一个很远的地方工作”，所以他看望父母的机会自然会比较少，故答案选occasionally(偶尔，有时)比较合适。
30. D。in store for是习语，其意为“为……储备着”“等待着……”，如：The runner kept some energy in store for spurting at the end. 那名赛跑的人为最后的冲刺贮存精力。 There’s a surprise in store for you. 你一定要大吃一惊的。