PART FOUR
·Read the following text.
·Choose the best word to fill each gap.
·For each question (19—33) mark one letter (A, B, C, D) on your answer sheet.

Nineteen California pharmacies filed a state lawsuit Thursday accusing the world’s largest (19) companies of conspiring to (20) U. S. drug prices. The pharmacies accuse the 15 drug (21) of illegally conspiring to charge inflated prices in the United States while barring pharmacies from buying the makers’ drugs at (22) prices outside the country. "We are being charged higher prices than foreigners are being charged," said Joseph Alioto, representing the pharmacies. "If we are selling the same drug we want to pay the same prices as (23) else. " The lawsuit, filed in Alameda County court in Oakland, (24) the pharmaceutical companies have (25) the pharmacies’ bottom lines by (26) California’s antitrust and unfair business practices laws. The lawsuit comes at a time when pharmaceutical companies are under increased (27) over drug costs and their marketing (28) . Many of the same drugs sold in the United States are available in Canada and elsewhere for (29) of the U.S. retail prices. The Food and Drug Administration has repeatedly (30) requests to import drugs from Canada, where the government controls prices. The state of Vermont has filed a lawsuit against the federal agency over the (31) . Many of the drug companies either declined (32) or didn’t return telephone calls Thursday. The drug industry has in the past defended its U. S. prices as a way to (33) research and development costs.

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