— Why weren't you at the meeting? — I ________ for a long distance call from my sister in America.
22. The town has changed a lot _____ what it was before.
II、单项填空(共20分) 21. In the center of the room stood a table with a _____ lamp on it, so it is very bright in the room.
20. They _____the battle but lost many men.
19. It’s quite an informal gathering ; you needn’t ______for it .
18. I’m surprised that you should have been fooled by such a(an) ____trick.