试题题干
But, he knew like all the other firms they had to shadowbox around the issue until things got （） and it was apparent they had discussed everything in the world but money.
参考答案
正确答案：
试题解析
threaten：恐吓，威胁；unknown：不知名的；awkward：尴尬的；monstrous：丑陋的，巨大的，畸形的
句意：但他明白他们也像其他公司一样避免直接谈及这个问题，直到事态变得很尴尬而且很明显除了钱不再有其他任何可谈的。