1. I think we should promote Adam. He is dependable and is as hard as .........., Rick said to the chief of the fire department.

2. Why do you think Mark missed work today? Tim asked Rob. "As likely as .......... . he drank too much last night and didn't feel like coming in to work today. I have known him since high school and he is almost always drunk," Rob replied.

3. Do you have any nails left over from your deck project that you could spare? Tom's neighbor asked. "As .......... would have it, I do. Come by at about 6 o'clock and I will let you have the nails," Tom answered.

4. I heard that Tom was in a major car accident. Do you know what happened? Tina asked Lacey. She replied, "As the .......... goes, he was heading home on the highway when a big-rig truck popped a tire and went into his lane. He swerved to avoid it and ended up hitting a tree."

5. He wanted to ask for her .......... in marriage but couldn't think of where he wanted to ask her. He was torn between a picnic on the beach or underwater during scuba-diving lessons.

6. Watch out for Steven. He will promise you the .......... to get you to go out with him. Once you do, he is all about himself and what he wants, Mary told Kathy.

7. He knew that he would have to study very hard to pass the test in Business Law. The class was now almost over and he couldn't afford a poor grade at this .......... of the game.

8. I am sorry, Sir. I am at a .......... as to how this happened. I completed the project yesterday and saved it on my computer. When I came in this morning, the file was gone. I don't know how to explain this. I worked with Tina yesterday on the project and she can verify that it was completed yesterday, Luke said to his boss.

9. Tommy, you need to start working faster. You are working at a .......... pace. If you don't start working faster, the job won't be completed on time, the foreman told him.

10. I am sorry that I arrived too late for the game. I didn't know that we had to be here at a .......... time. I thought that this was an informal party that one could show up to anytime in the afternoon, Jess said to Blake.