Fill in the blanks with right forms of the following words or phrases: shrewd stump surpass distort crumble discern in exchange for flare up make out of appeal to 1. As the gender barriers _________, the number of women working as lawyers, doctors or bankers began to increase significantly. 2. With the data collected each year, the owner of the shop can _______ customer trends. 3. His supervisor pushes and motivates him in such a positive manner that he is not only able to reach but to _______ his personal goals. 4. He is a man with a(n) _______ business sense. He has built his initial investment into a large fortune. 5. I was not only shocked but also disgusted that the report tried to _______ the scientific facts in such a manner. 6. The officials did not expect us to ask such tough questions and when we finally did, they got _______ and did not know what to say. 7. Knowing just how quickly a wildfire can spread, some residents of the village decided to leave their homes after the flames ________ nearby. 8. He was determined not to sour a perfectly good day with the memory of one jealous classmate trying to _____ a fool ______ him in front of the entire class. 9. The mayor says that it is the worst epidemic ever to hit the city, and that he_______________ the country for help, asking in particular for medical workers. 10. As urban populations exported finished goods _______________ raw materials from neighboring populations, organized trade grew greatly.