8. Neither of them thought highly of him and they both tried to _____ him in his work.
A. hamper B. support C. assist D. encourage
[答案]A. hamper
[注释]hamper(=hinder, prevent free movement or activity)阻碍：Lack of equipment is hampering our work.
本题译文：他们两人都认为他不怎么样并极力阻碍他工作。
Think highly of... 对...评价很高，认为......很好。
9. Her display of bad temper completely _____ the party.
A. harmed B. damaged C. spoilt D. hurt
[答案]C. spoilt
[注释]spoil指出意指“使...... 扫兴，搞糟”，如：Quarrelling spoilt the picnic.(争吵使这次野餐弄得很扫兴。)hurt伤害，damage 损坏，harm危害，均不合题意。
10. We forgave his bad temper because we knew that his son´s illness had put him under great _____.
A. emotion B. excitement C. crisis D. stress
[答案]D. stress.
[注释]put sb. under(great) stress使某人处境（非常）紧张，使某人受（很大）压力。
11. The reference she made to her friend, the poet, was interesting but too _____ for anyone to appreciate.
A. drastic B. dull C. obscure D. distinct
[答案]C. obscure.
[注释]obscure(=not clearly seen or understood)模糊难懂得。drastic激烈的，严厉的；dull单调的；distinct清楚的，明显的；截然不同的（from）。
本题译文：她提到她的朋友----诗人时所说的话是令人感兴趣，但没有说清楚，以致没有人为此感激。
12. He _____ his engagement just before the wedding.
A. broke out B. broke away from C. broke off D. broke up
[答案]C. broke off.
[注释]break off(=cease suddenly, discontinue)突然中断；break off one´s engagement(解除婚约)。Break off(=interrupt) one´s conversation(打断谈话)。Break out(=begin suddenly)爆发。Break away from摆脱，从......退出。
13. When she heard from the hospital that her father had died, she _____ into tears.
A. burst B. went C. exploded D. fell
[答案]A. burst
[注释]burst into tears放声大哭；又如：burst into thunderous cheers(发出雷呜般的欢呼)；burst into laughing(捧腹大笑)。
14. Your help is _____ for the success of the project.
A. indispensable B. indicative C. inevitable D. inherent
[答案]A. indispensable.
[注释]indispensable(to, for)不可缺少的，必需的。Indicative(of)指示的。Inevitable 不可避免的。Inherent固有的，内在的，天生的。
15. _____ the English examination I would have gone to the concert last Sunday.
A. In spite of B. But for C. Because of D. As for
[答案]B. But for
[注释]but for(=without, except for)若非，要不是：But for your help we could not have finished it in time.(要不是你的帮助，我们本来不会及时完工。)
16. It was difficult to guess what her _____ to the news would be.
A. impression B. comment C. reaction D. opinion
[答案]C. reaction.
[注释]reaction(to)对......的反应：Our reaction to a joke is to laugh.
17. Our attitude toward our teachers should be _____, but not slavish or superstitious.
