They _____ friends since they met in Shanghai.
Air and the sun's rays create much distortion, and whatever tends to _____ their influence is useful to the astronomer.
His job at the hospital did not pay much, so he found another _____.
Because the children keep interrupting her whenever she reads a book, she is always _____ her place.
Russia's withdrawal of its experts from China did not strangle (压垮) the Chinese people; _____ it stirred up their enthusiasm for greater exertions.
The shop-assistant was straight with his customers. If an article was of _____ quality, he'd tell them so.