232. The branches could hardly _____ the weight of the fruit.

　 A. retain　　 B. maintain　 C. sustain　　 D. remain

[答案]C. sustain.

[注释]sustain(=hold up the weight of)承住，支撑：An old wall cannot sustain a new building.

231. The government has lost a great deal of _____ because of the large increase in food pries.

　 A. strength　　 B. support　　 C. agreement　 　D. vote

[答案]B. support.

[注释]lose support失去支持。vote作为“选票”解时，是可数名称，所以不能与a great deal of搭配。

230. This watch is _____ to all the other watches on the market.

　 A. superior　　 B. advantageous　　 C. super　　 D. beneficial

[答案]A. superior.

[注释]superior。参看Ⅱ，669注释。

229. Arrogance and pride are similar in meaning, but there is _____ difference between them.

　 A. a submerged　　　 B. an indecisive

　 C. an indistinct　　 D. a subtle

[答案]D. a subtle.

[注释]subtle微妙的，微细的，难以捉摸的。a subtle difference.(微细的差别)。Submerged浸没的；indecisive非决定性的，非结论性的，未清楚标明的；indistinct不清楚的，模糊的；subconscious下意识的。

228. We made plans for a visit but _____ difficulties with the car prevented it.

　 A. consequent　　 B. subordinate

　C. substantial　　 D. subsequent

[答案]D. subsequent.

[注释]subsequent(=later, following)随后得，接着发生的：subsequent events(随后发生的事件)。consequent(作为结果)而随之发生的：His long illness and consequent absence put him behind in his work.根据题意，本题用subsequent更妥。

227. He didn't _____ what I read because his mind was on something else.

　 A. hold on　　 B. catch on　　 C. take in　　 D. get over

[答案]C. take in

[注释]take in(=understand)理解。参阅Ⅲ。173注释。hold on(打电话时)不要挂断；catch on明白(作不及物动词用)，catch on to懂得，明白(作及物动词用)；get over克服。

226. Scientists have to work hard to keep _____ with modern discoveries and developments.

　 A. company　　 B. track　　 C. touch　　 D. pace

[答案]D. pace.

[注释]keep pace with跟上：1)This horse is too weak to keep pace with the others. 2)I can't help pace with your plan.

Keep in touch with与......保持联系；了解(情况)；1)People can keep in touch with each other even when they do leave. 2)I find it very difficult to keep in touch with all the recent developments in my subject.(我觉得很难了解我的科目当前的一切新发展。)

Keep company(with)与......相好：Never keep company with dishonest persons.(千万不要和不诚实的人来往。)

Keep track of通晓事态，了解动向：I find it difficult to keep track of my old friends.(我很难了解我的老朋友的情况。)keep track of的反义结构是lose track of(失去联系)。

以上成语均为考试大纲规定的内容，考生务必熟记。

225. She _____ the temptation to buy a coat she could not afford.

　 A. challenged　　 B. obstructed　　 C. contradicted　　 D. resisted

[答案]D. resisted.　 [注释]resist 此处意指(=keep oneself back from)“忍住...”，resist temptation(不受诱惑)。

本题译文：她不受诱惑，不去买她买不起的外衣。

224. He put in a special _____ for an extra day's holiday so that he could attend his daughter's wedding.

　 A. request　　 B. demand　　 C. inquiry　　 D. proposal

[答案]A. request

[注释]request请求，put in a request for (提出请求)。enquiry询问，demand 需求，需要，proposal建议，均不和题意。

223. It was decided to _____ the search when there was no hope of finding the missing girl alive.

　 A. call off　　 B. take up　　 C. keep off　　 D. ring up

[答案]A. call off

[注释]call off(=cancel)取消。详见Ⅲ。25注释。