Don’t mention that at the beginning of the story, or it may             the  shocking end.

give out

give away

give up

give off

考查动词短语辨析。句意：不要在故事的开头提到它，否则会泄露令人震惊的结局。A. give out分发；B. give away泄露；C.give up 放弃；D. give off发出（光），根据“the shocking end”可知，此处表示“泄露”。故选B项。

As a matter of fact,           beauty of           nature there made an excellent impression on me.

a; the; /

a; the; the

the; the; /

a; /; the

考察冠词。句意：事实上，那里的自然之美给我留下了极好的印象。as a matter of fact “ 事实上”，为固定短语。第二个空表示特指，用定冠词the。Nature表示“大自然，自然界”时，前面一般不加冠词。故选A项。

The old rules have to be          because they only applied to the circumstances that existed when they were made a hundred years ago.

developed

established

observed

revised

考查动词的辨析。句意：老的规则需要被修改因为它们只适合一百年制定时的状况。A.develop发展；培养；B.establish建立；C.observe观察；D.revise修改，由because they only applied to 可知它只适用于以前，需要修改。故选D项。

With a lot of difficult problems           ,he feels like a cat on  hot bricks.

to settle

being settled

settling

settled

考查非谓语动词。句意： 因为有一大堆难题要解决，他感觉像像热锅上的蚂蚁。本句with +名词+to do sth,动词不定式表示的动作尚未发生或当时看来尚未发生。本句表示“因为有一大堆难题要解决”。故选A项。