Vocabulary 21．I couldn’t ______ cigarettes even though my doctor had repeatedly warned me not to smoke.A. persist B. resist C. insist D. consist2. In many cultures, the shape of the human skull is a ______ that represents death.A. superiority B. symbol C. sympathy D. symptom3. Our party will be held next Saturday. We’ve started sending out ______.A. individualism B. inspections C. interference D. invitations4. My uncle has spent a ______ amount of money on that house --- much greater than he had expected.A. talented B. tender C. tremendous D. truthful5. She worried a lot about her husband’s health because she learned there was no ______ for his disease.A. crime B. crush C. cure D. curriculum6. People living in cities often have the illusion that ______ life is always leisurely and comfortable. In fact, it is not necessarily the case.A. rural B. urban C. metropolitan D. harmonious7. Science, especially computer science, has ______ changes in many aspects of our lives, such as the way we work, study and communicate.A. brought about B. brought into C. brought back D. brought up8. A cyber-education encourages students to argue their points and their perspectives without the _____ of a professor.A. interference B. glance C. inference D. injure9. Absent-mindedness is not at all allowed while you’re working. It’s the sort of work that _____ a high level of concentration.A. calls off B. calls for C. calls at D. call up10. ______ the lack of cooperation between the two sides, the project has made little progress so far.A. According to B. Owing to C. In terms of D. As to11. He had a suspicion that the certificate was not genuine, but on close ____, he realized that it was not forged.A. inspiration B. inspection C. expectation D. emphasis12. Workers usually demand high wages while the boss always seeks high profits — it’s almost impossible to ____ these two aims.A. reconcile B. recognize C. resign D. consist13. It’s not unusual to hear people complaining that educational standards are in ____ rather than on the rise.A. incline B. cline C. online D. decline14. What does the future hold _____ for kids who quit school at an early age?A. on store B. in store C. for store D. out store15. ____, they have never met each other even though they’ve been living in the same street for ten years.A. Oddly enough B. Curiously enoughC. Fortunately enoughD. Fairly enough16. Her greatest ______ is her kindness which has earned her lots of friends in the neighbourhood.A. attitude B. avenue C. attribute D. arrival17. People who cannot ______ colours are said to be colour-blind.A. distinguish between B. distribute betweenC. divide between D. distort between18. She gets lost easily while driving; so now whenever she is uncertain ______ which road to take, she will telephone her husband.A. as a result of B. as to C. as a whole D. as the saying goes19. The two countries are ______ by common interests; so I think their relationship is likely to remain stable in the coming years.A. undone B. unfolded C. uplifted D. united20. The ______ that women should serve as homemakers has already gone out of fashion.A. theory B. principle C. impression D. notion