[单项选择]Rising energy costs increase operating costs ______ for many older air - conditioning systems in large buildings, causing owners to seek help.


A. heatedly
B. severely
C. fiercely
D. drastically

[单项选择]Due to the rising costs, starting July, the yearly ______ to this sports magazine will increase from $100 to $120.
A. subscription
B. description
C. prescription
D. inscription

[单项选择]The rising costs made it hard to ______ the business.


A. carry off
B. carry on
C. carry out
D. carry through

[单项选择]The low operating costs of the foreign company will______the high labor costs the business pays in its own country.
A. offend
B. obstruct
C. oblige
D. offset

[单项选择]

As prices and building costs keep rising, the "do—it—yourself" (DIY) trend (趋势) in the U.S. continues to grow.
"We needed furniture(家具) for our living room," says John Ross, "and we just didn’t have enough money to buy it. So we decided to try making a few tables and chairs. "(76) John got married six months ago, and like many young people these days, they are struggling to make a home at a time when the cost of living is very high. The Rosses took a two-week course for $ 280 at a night school. Now they build all their furniture and make repairs around the house.
Jim Hatfield has three boys and iris wife died. He has a full—time job at home as well as in a shoe making factory. Last month, he received a car repair bill for ＄ 420. "I was deeply upset about it. Now I’ve finished a car repair course, I should be able to fix the car by myself."
John and Jim are not unusual people. In o
A. makes shoes in his home
B. does his extra work at night
C. does his own car and home repairs
D. keeps house and looks after his children

[单项选择]Solar energy causes


A. less pollution than oil
B. more pollution than oil
C. the same pollution as oil
D. financial problem

[单项选择]What aid will Britain increase


A. Overseas deployment aid.
B. Overseas development aid.
C. Overseas investment aid.
D. Overseas humanitarian aid.

[单项选择]According to the passage, slowly rising birthrate perhaps is good for ______.


A. a developed nation
B. every nation with a high population
C. a developing nation
D. every nation with a small population

[单项选择]Falling sales and rising overheads have obliged the company to review each customer's ______ limit.
A. credit
B. currency
C. check
D. certificate

[单项选择]World population will continue rising from the current 5 billion until about 2050, but if the trends of the 1980s continue, it will ______ at about 9 billion.
A. level up
B. level off
C. level on
D. level down