After retirement, Steven ________ painting, which he had always loved but had not had time for．

A．left out

B．took up

C．made up

D．picked up

What satisfies us is that the position of the house combines quietness and ________．

A．convenience

B．efficiency

C．variety

D．settlement

She has mastered English grammar and ________ a large vocabulary without the help of a teacher．

A．solved

B．explored

C．acquired

D．removed

It is reported that by careful questioning the police managed to ________ the information they were looking for．

A．dig out

B．add up

C．set down

D．go through

They've been told that if they want to build a highway between the two towns, they should first try to ________ how much it is going to cost．

A．recover

B．ignore

C．recognize

D．determine

Mother told Ann that she would ________ her chances of getting the job if she wore that miniskirt to the interview．

A．ruin

B．hurt

C．bend

D．injure

We've made up our minds that we'll go to Wales for our summer vacation, but we still haven't ________ when we're going．

A．organized

B．expressed

C．settled

D．requested

As far as I can tell, Jack is a ________ child, whom you cannot easily persuade to change his mind．

A．grateful

B．stubborn

C．sincere

D．extreme

There is a(n)________ bus service into the centre of town, which makes it much easier for farmers to go to sell their vegetables there．

A．gradual

B．frequent

C．official

D．fluent

Believe it or not, I've heard from a ________ source that the company in which she is starting to work is doing very badly．

A．concerned

B．calm

C．native

D．reliable