12.The brilliance of his satires was________make even his victims laugh.

291.She _______ fifty or so when I first met her at a conference.

290.If there were no subjunctive mood, English _______ much easier to learn.

289.What a nice day! How about the three of us _______ a walk in the park nearby?

288.My mother was determined to help those in need and she ( ) immensely proud of what has been achieved these last 20 years. The italicized part in the sentence expresses ___________.

287.Which of the following italicized words DOES NOT carry the metaphorical meaning?

286.She hired a lawyer to investigate, only to learn that Gabriel had removed her name from the deed. The infinitive verb phrase “only to learn” is to used ____________.

285.At ___________, photography is a chemical process, during which a light-sensitive material is altered when exposed to light.

284.Indeed, it is arguable that body shattering is the very point of football, as killing and maiming ____________.

283.I long to alleviate ___________, but I cannot.

282.She was once a young country wife with chickens in the backyard and a view of ___________ mountains behind the apple orchard.