• Read the following passage and mark the letter (A, B, C, or D) on your answer sheet to indicate the correct word that best fits each of the numbered blanks.
BERTHA
Fifty feet below downtown Seattle, the world's largest (1) _________ machine, nicknamed Bertha after the city's (2) _________ mayor, lies still. This (3) _________ vehicle weighs 7,000 tons, stretches nearly 330 feet long, and has a 60-foot diameter. When fully (4) _________, Bertha has an intrepid crew of 25. In early August, Bertha began carving out a two-mile road tunnel to replace the Alaskan Way viaduct, an ugly double-decker motorway that has been (5) _________ Seattle's waterfront since the 1950s.
Dozens of (6) _________ were considered, including twin tunnels, another elevated roadway, and even scrapping the highway in favor of improved surface roads and better public transport. As it happens, (7) _________ dithered long enough for tunneling technology to develop (8) _________ facilitating another option: a single tunnel large enough to accommodate two levels of multi-lane traffic. Many local (9) _________ are against Bertha, but she has already chewed up and spit out one politician. As the new mayor settles into his new role, he will surely be hoping that Bertha (10) __________ finds her appetite for muck, not mayors.
1, A. tunnel-drilling B. drill-hole C. tunnel-boring D. soil-drilling
2, A. increasing B. progressing C. progressive D. progression
3, A. remarkable B. extraordinary C. noteworthy D. impressive
4, A. operating B. operational C. operative D. postoperative
5, A. mutilating B. disfigured C. deformed D. disfiguring
6, A. replacements B. alternatives C. surrogates D. substitutions
7, A. politicians B. legislators C. lawmakers D. policymakers
8, A. satisfactorily B. abundantly C. adequately D. sufficiently
9, A. delegators B. commissioners C. legislatures D. representatives
10, A. speedily B. quickly C. rapidly D. precipitately
1, A. tunnel-drilling B. drill-hole C. tunnel-boring D. soil-drilling
2, A. increasing B. progressing C. progressive D. progression
3, A. remarkable B. extraordinary C. noteworthy D. impressive
4, A. operating B. operational C. operative D. postoperative
5, A. mutilating B. disfigured C. deformed D. disfiguring
6, A. replacements B. alternatives C. surrogates D. substitutions
7, A. politicians B. legislators C. lawmakers D. policymakers
8, A. satisfactorily B. abundantly C. adequately D. sufficiently
9, A. delegators B. commissioners C. legislatures D. representatives
10, A. speedily B. quickly C. rapidly D. precipitately
