12. Having finished their morning work, the clerks stood up behind their desks, ________ themselves.
| A．expanding | B．extending | C．expressing | D．Stretching |
The captain determined to be with the ship forever and never to disappointment even when the ship sank．
| A．gave way | B．gave over | C．gave off | D．gave up |
It is said that the old pot ____under the earth for about 1000 years by the time it was discovered.
| A．had buried | B．had been buried | C．buried | D．were buried |
They suffered a flood last year, but the harvest was not ,____ they got the year before．
| A．as many as | B．as much as | C．fewer than | D．less than |
Protecting the earth is not ____ to be left to the government．Everybody should be concerned．
| A．nothing | B．something | C．everything | D．anything |
It' s obviously not urgent, ____ they would have called us straight away．
| A．or rather | B．or else | C．rather than | D．other than |