No. 1 Before the conference, the presenters met to ------- about how to proceed. (A) refer (B) plan (C) talk (D) discuss No. 2 Ms. Rolling wrote a courteous letter to the hotel manager ------- the visit, requesting a special arrangement to commemorate their 50th wedding anniversary. (A) on time (B) in advance (C) prior to (D) close to No. 3 It required a lot of ------- to open new shops in those major cities at the same time. (A) orders (B) effort (C) purposes (D) hesitation No. 4 Thomas took some time off from work to think ------- about his life after his mother's death. (A) alike (B) ahead (C) hard (D) hardly No. 5 The company purchased a new photocopier because the previous model was -------. (A) outnumbered (B) outdated (C) outgoing (D) outward No. 6 Analysts had predicted ------- that the Japanese market would shrink this year. (A) now (B) so (C) earlier (D) ago No. 7 The package arrived the day before -------, which was much earlier than Mary expected. (A) yesterday (B) today (C) tomorrow (D) now No. 8 The human ------- department of Virginia Home Deco is currently planning campus hiring for fall. (A) development (B) assignment (C) management (D) resources No. 9 We have to be careful about making a future plan because neither possibility can be ------- out. (A) leaned (B) ruled (C) lied (D) rolled No. 10 The database is going to be down ------- maintenance purpose at midnight. (A) against (B) under (C) for (D) with