Sentence:  `` In view of the current expansion , which promises to be substantial '' he said the odds appear to favor rising interest rates in coming months , but `` there is reason to believe the change will not <WSD>be</WSD> as abrupt as in 1958 nor as severe as in late 1959 and 1960 '' . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  have the quality of being; (copula, used with an adjective or a predicate noun)