Directions: After reading the passages below, fill in the blanks to make the passages coherent and grammatically correct. For the blanks with a given word, fill in each blank with the proper form of the given word; for the other blanks, use one word that best fits each blank.

(A)

I hated dinner parties. But I decided (25)__________ (give) them another try because I’m in London. And my friend Mallery invited me. And because (26)__________ dinner parties in London are very different from those in New York. In New York, “I’m having a dinner party” means “I’m booking a table for 12 at a restaurant you (27)__________ hardly afford and we’ll be sharing the check evenly, (28)__________ you eat.” Worse, in Manhattan, there is always someone who (29)__________ (leave) before the bill arrives. They’ll throw down cash, half of what they owe, and then people like me, who don’t drink, end up (30)__________ (pay) even more. But if I try to use the same trick, the hostess will shout: “Where are you going?” And it’s not like that I can’t say I have somewhere to go: everyone knows I have nowhere to go.