families of those killed and injured in this attack.

　　A．sympathy B．comfort

　　C．inconvenience D．trouble

　　解析：选A。句意：据报道，这位政府官员对这次袭击中死伤者的家属表达了最深切的慰问。sympathy"同情，慰问"；comfort"舒服"；inconvenience"不便"；trouble"麻烦"。根据句意选A。

　　4．The Chinese ________ their language as Han, which is often called "Mandarin" in the west.

　　A．refer to B．come to

　　C．belong to D．introduce to

　　解析：选A。考查短语辨析。句意："中国人称他们的语言为汉语，也就是西方人所谓的中国官方语言。"refer to ... as ... "称......为......"；come to"提及，想起，总计"；belong to"属于，归......所有"；introduce sb. to sb."把某人介绍给某人"。

　　5．Mary didn't get there on time because of the bad weather. What's more, her car was in poor ________.

　　A．collision B．condition

　　C．situation D．direction

　　解析：选B。考查名词辨析。in poor condition意为"处于不好的状况"。句意：由于天气恶劣，加之车况也不好，玛丽没能按时赶到那里。

　　6．The teacher's explanation ________ the problem that had been confusing to the whole class.

　　A．answered B．dealt

　　C．clarified D．instructed

　　解析：选C。考查动词词义。answer"回答"(后常跟the question)；deal为不及物动词，常跟with搭配，意为"处理，对付"；clarify"澄清，阐明"；instruct"指示，教导"。句意：老师的讲解阐明了那个一直令全班同学困惑的难题。

　　7．We are rather ________ about the sympathy he claims to have for the poor because he is mean with his money.

　　A．controversial B．positive

　　C．sceptical D．cautious

　　解析：选C。考查形容词辨析。由"因为他在金钱方面很小气"可判断选C，表示"怀疑的"。他说他对穷人有同情心，对此我们表示"怀疑"。A项意为"引起争议的"；B项意为"积极的，肯定的"；D项意为"小心的，谨慎的"。

　　8．We would maintain the world balance of power ________.

A．at all costs B．at cost