I called you up last night but I couldn’t _____________.

John waited until he got back his breath and could speak      .

—What do you think about smoking?—Well，just as someone puts ________，smoking kills.

China will continue to curb inflation(通货膨胀) and the economy still has great _______ for rapid growth in the near future.

Just as a famous Chinese saying goes, a timely heavy snow is a ______ of good harvest next year.