The laid off workers’ conditions ___ the same ___ before.

A. were stayed; as B. were; to　　　　 C. stayed; as 　　　　　 D. stayed; to

A large number of workers were laid off during the Great Depression．

1. A.
   dismissed
2. B.
   given up
3. C.
   on holidays
4. D.
   hired

The first telegraph cable was laid under the sea between England and France in 1850.Cables are much  1 and heavier than telegraph wires.There are a number of reasons for this:one reason is that the salt water of the sea harms  2  telegraph wires,and so they have to be 3  , another is that,because electricity 4 easily through water,wires have to be 5  to prevent electric signals which are passing through them 6 escaping and getting lost in the sea;a third reason is that cables have to be very strong 7 they will break while they are being 8 along the bottom of the sea from a ship sailing on the surface.

  The 9  cables that men tried to lay  10  England and America broke and were 11 during storms.At last,after nine years of hard work,the two English-speaking nations of Britain and America were 12 in 1866 by the electric telegraph under the sea.

    Later,all the different 13 of the world were joind up by a 14 of cables.It is 15 easy to send a message by cables as it is to 16 an ordinary telegram,and it takes no longer for a message to 17 half way round the world than from one town to the 18 .Every hour of the day and night 19 are being flashed under the ocean to and20 every country in the world.

1. A.thicker        B.better      C.longer       D.larger

2. A.ordinary       B.special     C.plain        D.simple

3. A.raised         B.fixed       C.protected    D.repaired

4. A.comes          B.passes      C.escapes      D.sends

5. A.hid            B.circled     C.covered      D.dressed

6. A.from           B.through     C.by           D.into

7. A.so             B.or          C.but          D.and

8. A.lined          B.pulled      C.laid         D.covered

9. A.best           B.most        C.first        D.thickest

10. A.between        B.around      C.beside       D. among

11. A.cast           B.thrown      C.drawn        D.lost

12. A.fixed          B.joined      C.met          D.mixed

13. A.cities         B.countries   C.parts        D.peoples

14. A.set            B.packet      C.sort         D.network

15. A.very          B.so           C.as            D.not

16. A.make          B.send         C.use           D.write

17. A.find          B.travel       C.visit         D.meet

18. A.next          B.second       C.last           D.another

19. A.news          B.pictures     C.messages       D.telegrams

20．A.out           B.in           C.from           D.off

In one firm alone over three hundred people were laid _____ during the last month.

a. in b. out c. on d. off

I was feeling a little blue. My mother had been laid off from her job, but she said she was OK since her boss wasn't the nicest person   36   .
I got off the college bus and started walking. That's   37   I heard piano music and singing rising above the   38  of the people and the traffic. I walked a little slower   39  I could find out where it was coming from.   40  the crowd I saw a young lady sitting at a piano with a   41  next to her, singing songs about love. The way she was singing   42  me a bit. I stood there watching her   43  for about fifteen minutes, thinking that it must take   44  to perform on her own in public.
Feeling my presence, she looked in my   45  . I walked over and put some money in her carriage. “I have been going through a   46  time lately, but you’ve made me hopeful again.”
"I'm happy that I could   47  . Why are you so sad?"
"Well, my mum had got   48  from her job, but I’m not sure what to do….”
"You see, the way you were   49  ," she explained. “Don't look defeated,   50  come in different ways. If your head is down you might never see it. Smile more ...   51  your head up."
I smiled slightly, amazed by how she was   52  me.
“Why are you playing here?” I asked.
“I am not making music. I study psychology. I often see many   53  people and hope to relieve their   54  and make them think positively by sharing music.”
I smiled a little wider. She was doing a good thing. My heart was touched by a   55  soul.