No. 1 Before the conference, the presenters met to ------- about how to proceed. (A) refer (B) plan (C) talk (D) discuss No. 2 ------- her sister who has never been out of Japan, Anna has been to a lot of foreign countries on business. (A) Although (B) Despite (C) Unlike (D) Opposite No. 3 Northwest Department is planning a special one-day event only for its most ------- customers this fall. (A) value (B) valuable (C) valuation (D) validated No. 4 The fight between the two companies started when one started to buy ------- the firm's stock. (A) under (B) through (C) up (D) down No. 5 Heather is currently working on two projects - one is almost finished, and ------- is in the planning phase. (A) other (B) another (C) the other (D) the another No. 6 If done consistently over a period of time, investing a small portion of your earnings can produce considerable -------. (A) hints (B) expense (C) payment (D) rewards No. 7 Nancy is still thinking of buying more winter clothes though her drawer can ------- hold any more things. (A) mostly (B) possibly (C) hardly (D) occasionally No. 8 ------- Kimberly had a lot of trouble right after she started her own business, she managed to run the business for more than 10 years. (A) Although (B) Even (C) As a result (D) Despite No. 9 Please let Ms. Potts know when it is ------- for you to meet with her. (A) conventional (B) convertible (C) convenient (D) converged No. 10 Open Gov. is an initiative to increase ------- of public administration and has been successfully operated for the past 20 years. (A) transparent (B) transparency (C) transparentize (D) transparentizing