3. _____________ all its faults, the local educational system managed to bring forth a considerable number of medical practitioners of international acclaim.

4. On her way home, Sue stopped _____________ cigarettes; it was a habit she simply found impossible to resist.

5. _____________ 100 years ago that modern men not only would take on tasks that strictly were the domain of women but also indulge in the use of personal-care products that had been considered exclusively female?

6. Judging from all the remakes that the film industry _____________, one might be tempted to think that we have run out of new stories to tell.

7. It appears as somewhat ironic that a movie should exalt the benefits of reading a good book while trying to make money _____________ people to do the exact opposite.