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
【答案】B。
【考点】考查名词的固定搭配。
【解析】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. 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
【答案】A。
【考点】考查名词用法辨析。
【解析】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. Though having lived abroad for years, many Chinese still ______ the traditional customs. (2008湖北卷)
A. perform B. possess C. observe D. support
【答案】C。
【考点】考查动词用法辨析。
【解析】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. 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
【答案】A。
【考点】考查动词用法辨析。
【解析】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. 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
【答案】C。
【考点】考查短语动词辨析。
【解析】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. 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
【答案】D(http://ask.yygrammar.com/)。
【考点】考查短语搭配。
【解析】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. 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
【答案】B。
【考点】考查短语动词辨析。
【解析】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. 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
【答案】D。
【考点】形容词辨析。
【解析】normal 意为“正常的，平常的”；constant意为“持续不断的，经常发生的”；permanent 意为“长久的，永久的，永恒的”；primary意为“主要的，首要的”。根据句意，选D最佳，句意为：那些日子里，我们主要的考虑就是给被暴雪受阻的人们提供食物和健康照护。
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
【答案】A。
【考点】考查副词用法辨析。
【解析】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. When she first arrived in
A. in need B. in time C. in preparation D. in store
【答案】D(http://www.yygrammar.com/)。
【考点】考查习惯用语的用法。
【解析】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。