1. After the speech he shook hands with some of the women. One of them lifted up a baby for him to kiss, but the ________ of Henry's beard must have frightened it because it began to scream its head off.

2. Andrew Higgins kept a close watch on the platform from which Henry was making his speech, while several plainclothes policemen ________ inconspicuously with the crowd.

3. I was ________ this morning and had to empty my desk this afternoon.

4. Even nowadays ________ are still ranging the oceans and no one can feel safe against them.

5. Vera: Now I hope you can see the danger of getting mixed up in politics. You and the family will probably ________ get blown up by a bomb.Henry: Don't exaggerate, Vera. I'm sure it's just a joke.

6. As most of the men were ________ at work, his audience consisted mainly of women and young children.

7. Don't even think of shifting the blame on me, please! It's not my ________ for what happened.

8. I wouldn't call this a bad mistake, it is simply a ________ of the pen.

9. At lunch time he went to his sister's house to see his wife and daughters. They had spent the morning addressing envelopes for the leaflets he was sending out. His sister, Vera, thoroughly ________ of his involvement in politics.

10. My literature teacher speaks so quickly that he often makes ________ of the tongue.