No. 1 Jeff was surprised to ------- that one of his colleagues had been fired while he was on leave. (A) find (B) think (C) told (D) saw No. 2 All of the staff were reminded of the seminar beginning ------- at 2 p.m. in the auditorium. (A) promptly (B) prompt (C) prompted (D) prompter No. 3 Nitro Spinning Company has used this machine, which needs to be ------- operated after an earthquake occurs, for more than 50 years. (A) manual (B) manually (C) manualize (D) manualized No. 4 Analysts had predicted ------- that the Japanese market would shrink this year. (A) now (B) so (C) earlier (D) ago No. 5 Ms. Watson's plan always leaves no ------- for change. (A) emptiness (B) environment (C) room (D) objection No. 6 Ms. Fedelar called her assistant before she got on the plane to confirm the ------- status of the project. (A) current (B) favorite (C) potential (D) busy No. 7 The chief editor Alex Anderson changed the front page headline at the last ------- because a suspect was arrested. (A) month (B) week (C) hour (D) minute No. 8 A customer at Brooks Books is reminded to keep his or her receipt ------- a proof of purchase. (A) off (B) except (C) as (D) on No. 9 A doctor told Carmen to take a leave of ------- because she was under too much stress at work. (A) absence (B) incense (C) offense (D) pretense No. 10 The serial ------- on the computer don't match the ones on the document. (A) spoons (B) bowls (C) boxes (D) numbers