1. Although there had been several attempts to resuscitate sales, it was eventually decided that to keep the struggling business going would be an .......... proposition.

2. The receptionist felt a sense of .......... that the promotion had been given to a younger, less skilled applicant.

3. The leader had worked long and hard to .......... a sense of positivity in his team, but that had all been undermined when two of his key workers were fire.

4. After the global financial crisis, many companies with links to the banking sector found it difficult to even remain .......... let alone record good profit margins.

5. The telco .......... the suggestions of its customers and paid the ultimate price going bankrupt within its first year of trading.

6. The investment talks .......... to a halt almost as quickly as they had begun.

7. When the telco realised that its target .......... was no longer buying its products, it employed a research agency to explore other market segments.

8. With the last client pulling out at the end of December, the self-employed businessman spent much of January wondering how he was going to .......... an income.

9. Although the first year of trading had proved fruitful, sales of the new car model were .......... by a rival company which soon began offering a very similar model at a much cheaper price.

10. Unfortunately, the manufacturers were only able to .......... the benefits of the new trade agreement for a limited time.