Mar 13, 2009 Volume 5 -- Daily Life in China, #16(43)

lintelleUID: 2297267

1. Curiously enough, it was a series of more or less fortuitous circumstances which allowed this _____ for commerce, so little in harmony with the traditional ethics of China, to flourish.
2. The general control exercised by the State on prices and on the volume of means of payment was bound to ensure a _____ stability for the economy of China.
3. These facts _____ to  demonstrate the competition offered by the State, in all the various economic spheres, to private enterprise.
4. Yet however great the amount of this small-scale trade might be, the main part of Hangchow’s commerce consisted in the _____ of its inhabitants, so vast in number for that period.

A) suffice
B) salutary
C) provisioning
D) aptitude

answer
D) aptitude
B) salutary
A) suffice
C) provisioning

suffice:
be enough or adequate

salutary:
(esp. with reference to something unwelcome or unpleasant) producing good effects; beneficial

provision:
noun
1 the action of providing or supplying something for use
• ( provision for/against) financial or other arrangements for future eventualities or requirements
• an amount set aside out of profits in the accounts of an organization for a known liability, esp. a bad debt or the diminution in value of an asset.
2 an amount or thing supplied or provided
• ( provisions) supplies of food, drink, or equipment, esp. for a journey.
3 a condition or requirement in a legal document
4 historical Christian Church an appointment to a benefice, esp. directly by the pope rather than by the patron, and originally before it became vacant.
verb
1 [ trans. ] supply with food, drink, or equipment, esp. for a journey
2 [ intrans. ] set aside an amount in an organization's accounts for a known liability

aptitude:
1 noun (abbr.: apt.) (often aptitude for) a natural ability to do something
• a natural tendency
2 archaic suitability or fitness