24. Luckily the bullet narrowly missed the captain ___ an inch.

a. by　 b. to　 c. at　 d. from

23. We walked as fast as we could, ___to catch the early bus.

　　 a. hoped　 b. having hoped　 c. for hoping　 d. hoping

22. _____ his wife will sit at the table to wait for him to come back.

a. however he is late　 b. however is he late　

c. however late he is 　d. however late he is

21. The famous cherry tree ____ because of pollution.

　　 a. has died　　 b. had died　 c. is dead　　 d. is dying

20. I can’t hear clearly ____ the noise outside so loud.

　　 a. because　 b. because of　 c. with　 　d. for

19. I would love ____ to the party last night but I had to work extra hours to finish a report.

　　 a. to go　　 b. to have gone 　c. going　　 d. having gone

18. Young children soon ___ the words which they hear their elders’ use.

　　 A put forward　　 b. turn up　 c. look forward to　 　d. pick up

17. More than one car ____ destroyed in the accident.

a. is　 　b. was　 c. are　　 d. were

16.The country he was used to ____ greatly since the opening policy.

　 a. has changed　　 b. changing　　 c. pulled　 d. dragged

15.--- What do you think of Jack?

--- He ___ hard ___ some shortcomings.

a. studies , except　　 b. studies, but　 　c. does study , except for

d. do study , except