23. Mr. Smiths was busy writing a story, only ______ once in a while to smoke a cigarette.
I would gladly pay __________ for the book, because it is quite a use- ful one.
__________ with the size of the whole earth, the highest mountain does not seem high at all.
The number of people who __________ killed in the earthquake __________ reached 30,000.
He still does not get the point. How many times do I have to repeat myself to get it __________?
She picked up a knife and __________ the man bravely.