During the election campaign, the press ___________ the mayor with accusations about his private life. It soon became clear he would never get reelected.

The repairperson said the roof had been ___________ damaged by the hurricane and would need to be completely replaced.

General Anderson knew that, since the enemy army was ___________ in caves near the top of a mountain, it would be almost impossible to defeat.

When plans for a new highway were announced at the town meeting, local residents protested angrily. It was difficult to hear the chairperson because of all the ___________.

Although the sales deal seemed attractive, the CEO felt there were many points that required further ___________ before a final agreement could be reached.

The book describes some of the ___________ performed by famous mountain climbers, beginning with Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's climb to the summit of Mount Everest.

Zara demonstrated her athletic ___________ by becoming the youngest player ever to win a national tennis tournament.

People should be suspicious of _______ e-mails claiming to come from official sources. Many are sent by criminals trying to gain access to people's bank accounts.

After one basketball player punched a player from the other team, players from both teams rushed onto the court and started a huge ___________ that officials had trouble stopping.