Many in the credit industry expect that credit cards will eventually _____ paper money for almost every purchase.

A. exchange                        B. reduce               C. replace                     D. substitute

The fried scallops（扇贝）we ate at the restaurant yesterday is marvelous. I’d like to have them again even if they cost ______.

A. as twice much                                              B. much as twice

C. twice as much                                              D. as much twice

An Asian normally does not open a gift in the presence of the giver, ______ an American tends to open it immediately when he gets it.

A. since                              B. while                C. when                D. as

 It has been estimated that the earth’s surface temperature has increased ____ half to three quarters of a degree since 1850.

A. to                    B. by                    C. at                            D. with

We went through a period _______ communications were very difficult in the rural areas.

A. which                      B. whose               C. in which            D. with which

Chaplin, for _____ life had once been very hard, directed a film about life in an American factory.

A. whose                      B. whom               C. him                  D. which

The poor man suddenly found he was _______ he had been and was at a loss.

A. to which                 B. where               C. to the place                 D. what

More consumers are waiting for the further drop of housing prices with money in their hands ______ buying houses, according to a report released by the chamber of commerce on China's real estate.

A. better than               B. more than          C. other than          D. rather than

When his mother entered the room, he pretended _______ his homework attentively.

A. to do                       B. to doing            C. to be doing              D. to have done

Practical jokes are tricks in which an unsuspecting victim is placed in an embarrassing position or made ______a fool.

A. looking                           B. look                  C. to look                     D. looks