[单项选择]Two thirds of the US basketball players are black, and the number would be greater ______ the continuing practice of picking white bench warmers for the sake of balance.
A. was it not because of
B. had it not been for
C. were it not for
D. would it not have been for

[单项选择]Two thirds of the US basketball players are black, and the number would be greater ______ the continuing practice of picking white bench warmers for the 'sake of balance.
A. was it not because of
B. had it not been for
C. were it not for
D. would it not have been for

[单项选择]Two thirds of the U.S. basketball players are black, and the number would be greater ______ the continuing practice of picking white bench warmers for the sake of balance.
A. was it not because of
B. had it not been for
C. were it not for
D. would it not have been for

[单项选择]Professor Black had us ______ compositions every Friday.
A. to write
B. written
C. write
D. writing

[单项选择] Scientific research indicates that two-thirds of the earth surface _____ with water.
A. covered
B. are covered
C. covers
D. is covered

[单项选择]Almost two thirds of the land in the northwest areas of the country ______ suitable for farming.
A. are not
B. is not
C. can not
D. not being

[单项选择]Some polls show that roughly two-thirds of the general public believe that elderly Americans are ______ by social isolation and loneliness.
A. reproached
B. favored
C. plagued
D. reprehended

[单项选择]In a landscape scene, two-thirds of the picture should be _________.
A. land
B. sky
C. clouds
D. sea

[单项选择]Two-thirds of his property （） lost in the fire.
A. were
B. are
C. had been
D. was

[单项选择]About two thirds of the population in China ______ in the countryside.
A. is still living
B. were still living
C. was still living
D. are still living

[简答题]

翻译题：The price will be about two-thirds that of a new book and generally they are in good condition. If you take a course for which the professor has selected a new text, then you are stuck paying the full price for it.

[单项选择](Two-thirds) of (the) area (are) covered by (water).
A. Two-thirds
B. the
C. are
D. water

[单项选择]Professor Black often reminds us to ______ ourselves of every chance to improve our English.
A. notify
B. avail
C. inform
D. assure

[单项选择]

Passage Two To us it seems so natural to put up an umbrella to keep the water off when it rains. But actually the umbrella was not invented as protection against rain. Its first use was as a shade against the sun! Nobody knows who first invented it, but the umbrella was used in very ancient times. Probably the first to use it were the Chinese, as early as the eleventh century B. C. We know that the umbrella was used in ancient Egypt and Babylon as a sunshade. And there was a strange thing connected with its use: it became a symbol of honour and authority. In the Far East in ancient times the umbrella was allowed to be used only by royalty or by those in high office. In Europe, the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella as a sunshades. And the umbrella was in common use in ancient Greece. But it is believed that the first persons in Europe to use the umbrella as protection against the rain were the ancient Romans. During the Middle Ages, the use of the umbrella practical
A. No one exactly knows who was the inventor of the umbrella．
B. The umbrella was first invented to be used as protection against the sun．
C. The umbrella changed much in style in the eighteenth century．
D. In Europe the Greeks were the first to use the umbrella．