1.The tendency to lie is perhaps _____ originally by imitations. It grows into a habit, unknown to its possessors.

A. taken to

B. taken over

C. taken in

D. taken up

答案: D

详解：take to表示“喜爱”;take over表示“接管”;take in表示“欺骗”;take up表示“接受，形成”。

2.There were no tickets _____ for Friday's performance.

A. preferable

B. considerable

C. possible

D. available

答案: D

详解：词形辨析和句意搭配题。以"-able"或"-ible"结尾的形容词表示被动，意为“可……”或“值得……”的意思。preferable指“更可取的，更合意的”;considerable指“可观的，相当多的;值得考虑的”。possible指“可能的”。

3.Don't _____ this news to the public until we give you the go-ahead.

A. release

B. relieve

C. relate

D. retain

答案: A

详解：词形辨析题。release news指“泄露消息。”其余不构成搭配。relieve 指“减轻、缓解”。relate指“叙述、连接”;retain指“保留、维持”。

4.The actual _____ by which coal is extracted is well worth watching.

A. process

B. procession

C. pattern

D. conduct

答案: A

详解：process表示“步骤，程度，制作方法”;procession表示“行进的队伍”;pattern表示“模式，方式”;conduct表示“行为，方式”。

5.As a _____ president, his views are treated with respect when he is interviewed

A. prior

B. previous

C. late

D. former

答案: D

详解：词义辨析题。former指“前任的，前一个”，表示顺序上的前一个;prior指“较早的”，“优先的”是比较级形式，常和to连用，previous指“先前的，上文的”，表明时间和方位上的先后。late指“迟的，晚期的”，强调时间上的先后。