________, the northerners like noodles while the southerners are fond of rice in China.
174. The teacher asked his students to help the old lady to do some housework and they made a good _____ of it.
173. One of my Japanese friends sent me two _____, but I didn’t accept them.
172. Since the disaster of September 11, American economy has got into a jam. The underlined part probably means _____.
171. You should put down your jacket, otherwise both of you will have a quarrel. That will make things worse. The underlined part probably means _____.
170. So long as you work hard enough, a(an) _____ rod can be ground into a needle. (prov.)