--- Have you booked a room at the hotel?

--- I ­­­___ to the hotel the other day, but they ___ yet.

A. have written; didn’t answer                     B. wrote; haven’t answered

C. had written; haven’t answered                 D. wrote; answer

____________ hard late into the night, he soon fell ill in bed.

A. To work    B. Working  C. Having worked   D. Being worked

They will never give in _______ they might do or say about the plan.

A. although  B. no matter how    C. whatever      D. how

The meeting was over, but the problem ___ unsolved.

A. kept             B. left            C. continued           D. remained

 If you act like that, you’ll get yourself ___.

A. dislike      B. disliked         C. disliking           D. to dislike

There is a mountain ___ the top is always covered with snow.

A. of that     B. of which        C. its        D. that

阅读下列应用文及相关信息，并按照要求匹配信息。请在答题卡上将对应题号的相应选项字母涂黑。

首先，请阅读以下六种社会群体的简介：

Future Foundation咨询公司对英国社会的生活方式进行了研究，发现了六种群体：

A. Transient 20s

The transient 20s are an emerging group who refuse to settle down. They regularly change jobs, and move from one area to another for adventure and travel. Driven by changes and new challenges, they reject job and home security. Areas like Manchester and Bright will see a flood of these 20-somethings over the next decade.

B. Urban Farmer

The urban farmer is a city-dweller but tries to re-create country life by growing his own organic vegetables in a garden. He may live in the busy suburbs and drive a sporty vehicle, but nothing better than a long walk.

C. Young Fogy

The young fogies are a generation of youthful Londoners who behave as if they were middle-aged. They are in their 20s, but they give up night clubs for radio programs, and trendy bars for traditional bars. They are also characterized by a love of real ale, good housekeeping and comfort-over-style clothes.

D. Brickies' Wags

These wags' (wives and girlfriends) spending power is growing. The tradesman's wife now uses his cash for designer clothes, Vogue and champagne, gold jewelry and expensive cars. This woman is most likely to be found within easy reach of central London, where her husband makes a fortune.

E. Virtual Villagers

This group of people has nothing to do with the popular online game Virtual Villagers. They are the people who are set to take advantage of major technological advances. Offices could be emptying out over the next 10 years as the number of Brits escaping to rural areas will triple because of the World Wide Web. Areas where countryside and motorways are in good supply will be key homes for these villagers.

F. The Unstoppable

The unstoppable are those people over 65 who still enjoy eating out, traveling, taking evening classes and generally having a good time.

阅读下面五个人的情况介绍，请与相应的社会群体匹配：

56. D. Gruber used to work with a foreign trade firm in central London for many years. He felt so tired physically and mentally that he was about to give his job up. Luckily, with the help of his wife, a computer programmer, he can continue his job at home by using the Internet. He enjoys the advantages technology has on his life.

57. Irene Ponbs has settled down in London after he graduated from college in 2003. Unlike his colleagues who spend most nights in a noisy place such as a club and a bar, he prefers to live a quiet life, listening to radio programs and doing housework.

58. J. Barnes had a hard time adapting himself to the retired life. Later, he found great happiness visiting different places before he was addicted to planting vegetables in his gardens. Now he is much healthier by eating such vegetables and taking a walk in the morning.

59. M. Neilson recently often quarrels with his girlfriend May. May is eager to marry and have a stable home. However, Neilson thinks it is foolish to stay in the same place and do the same job to support a family.

60. H. Wolf now is very grateful to her parents' decision. Otherwise, she would live in the countryside and struggle to make both ends meet with Jim. Now, she only needs to learn how to shop and dress herself up. Her parents chose Mr. Right for her, who could afford almost everything she dreamed of.

In 1996 I wanted to buy a Honda Civic. I went to the local dealer. "Oh, you want a Civic, do you?" said the fellow. "And I suppose you'd also like us to throw in a couple of front-row Superbowl tickets? Haw! Haw! Haw! Haw!"

When his laughter ended, he explained that the Civic was such a hit in Europe that Honda was getting an extra $ 2,000 per car there, making Civic practically unavailable in the States. But he did offer to let me add my name to the waiting list--if I agreed to pay $1,000 over the sticker (标贴) price.

When Honda dealerships No. 2 and No. 3 gave me the same story, I was ready to try anything. I carefully looked over to www.autobytel.com. For a skinflint like me, Auto-By-Tel's scheme (方案) is nearly irresistible. You indicate the car you want to buy, compete with the freedom to choose. The nearest participating car dealer mails you back with a cut rate offer. There's no charge for any of this ― and no obligation to accept the offer. It surely seemed no less to me.

Sure enough, two days later, a dealer 30 minutes away wrote me. "Unfortunately, 96 Civics are in very short supply," his message said, "The best we can offer you is $1,200 under sticker price. “I was in happiness. Ah! Bliss! Ah, saving! Ah, revenge!

When I picked up the car, it got better. Since there was no haggling (还价), the dealership fellow was friendly and congratulatory instead of everything. Now this, I thought, is the way to buy a car.

     Auto-By-Tel makes money by charging a fee to each participating dealer. The dealers make money by receiving hundreds of ready-to-buy customer names off the Web. And you save money because your price doesn't reflect advertising, test drives, sales commissions, and so on.

My only regret is that I didn't think up Auto-By-Tel first.

51. This text mainly tells about the story of _____.

A. saving money charging

B. quarrelling with the dealers

C. the experience of buying a car

D. regretting buying a new Civic

52. What’s the meaning of the underlined word “skinflint”?

A. A person who doesn’t like wasting money.

B. A person who has few words.

C. A person who is afraid of everything.

D. A person who believes in others.

53. From the text, we can draw a conclusion:_____.

A. Believe others' good remarks while buying something

B. If you want to do anything, you must have a will

C. The writer was not generous at all and he loved money very much

D. Be sure of yourself and you will fail

54. What do you think of the Auto-By-Tel?

A. It makes money by not giving taxes.

B. It is good at advertising.

C. It is good at the business.

D. It makes money by cheating customers.

55. Which of the following statement is TRUE according to the text?

A. In 1996, Honda was so famous that it was hard to buy one in Europe.

B. If the dealer mails you with a cut rate offer, you should accept it but without any charge.

C. At last, the writer paid $1,200 for the car he liked.

D. It was with the fourth dealer that the writer made a successful deal.

For poets, bird song is a beautiful expression of nature in full bloom. But for scientists, the chirps of birds are far more meaningful than just pretty sounds. Latest studies show the way that young birds learn to sing is similar to that of a human baby learning to speak.

"The question we're trying to answer is how a young bird learns its song," says Professor Michale Fee of MIT. Bird's creative, trial-and-error type of learning provides an ideal model for studying similar processes in humans. An example is how a baby's babble turns into the recognizable syllables of mama and papa.

Also the part of the brain that is involved in bird song is very similar to that of a human. So birds may have something to teach us about our own brains, Fee said.

The study shows that young birds like to create new and imperfect songs. Gradually, the youngsters' songs become less different and more similar to the sound of their parents. Scientists disabled part of a young finch's brain and stopped the learning in midstream. The bird still sings. But never learns the right songs.

Fee's team found that the part of the brain involved is called the anterior forebrain pathway. Its neurons produce random bursts that make the young bird make new sounds and compared it with that of their parents. They also find out that once a bird is old enough that part of the brain will be less active.

The study does not enable us to really understand the meaning of bird language. But Fee believes it will eventually be applied to human brain diseases, such as Parkinson's disease.

46. The subject discussed in the passage is _____.

   A. bird language

   B. how birds learn songs

   C. human brain diseases

   D. how birds create new songs

47. According to the scientists,        plays the most significant role in the learning process of young birds.

   A. the part of brain called anterior forebrain pathway

   B. the trial-and-error type of learning

   C. the example of their parents

   D. the creation of new and imperfect songs

48. Which of the following statements is NOT true?

   A. Birds learn to sing songs in a trial-and-error fashion.

   B. The study of bird song will enable us to understand bird language.

   C. The study of bird song might help find cure for human brain diseases.

   D. The chirps of young birds can be imperfect but creative.

49. It can be inferred from the story that _____.

   A. young birds are always making meaningless sounds

   B. if a bird had its anterior forebrain pathway damaged, it can never sing

   C. a bird can't live happily without its anterior forebrain pathway

   D. as a bird grows older, it may not learn new songs quickly

50. Parkinson's disease is mentioned here to _____.

   A. show how our brain works

   B. exemplify human brain disease

   C. explain how serious brain disease can be

   D. prove that human brain diseases are curable

Today I find myself in one of the safest cities in the world, Singapore. But the truth is, even here in Singapore, security cannot be taken for granted. It is a small nation that has no natural resources to speak of, even something as basic as water is constantly threatened to be cut off by Malaysia. Months after the September 11^th attacks on US oil, a plot to bomb American soldiers near their military base in Singapore was uncovered by the local authorities.

The United Nations has tried for more than half a century to architect peace for the world. But it has clearly failed. The grand horrors of the World Wars may have stopped but only in the forms they had existed before. When the enemy is unseen and there are no front lines, have we in fact created a more peaceful and secure place?

Where have we gone wrong? Perhaps it is because the international body has never understood that peace was, is, and will never be something it can manage. Not recognizing this truth, the methods it provides are often short-lived and some even dangerous. Solutions for threatening situations tend to require the countries to carry out economic and political reforms so that they will become idealized democratic society like America or Britain. The UN fails to consider that hundreds of years of evolution gave rise to these strong democracies. So the result is further chaos and corruption, worse for all.

Actually, an international organization or a government cannot possess peace to give away, but there are those who do possess it. Those who own peace are us, as individuals who cherish life, not our own but all others'. The act of achieving peace lies in us when we choose to respect social and cultural differences and appreciate that all our lives are fragile.

41. The author mentions Singapore to point out that_____.

A. Singapore isn't rich in natural resources

B. Singapore was involved in catching those who launched the September 11th attack

C. Singapore also has problems with security

D. Malaysia possesses a threat to Singapore

42. Why hasn't the UN created peace for the world?

A. Because it hasn’t won the recognition of the world.

B. Because it hasn't found solutions yet.

C. Because it has relied too much on America.

D. Because it has a wrong concept of peace.

43. Who takes the responsibility to bring peace and security to the world?

A. The individuals.

B. The governments.

C. The international bodies.

D. The democratic countries.

44. It can be inferred from the passage that_____.

A. political and economic reforms cause less terrible results

B. democracy is a long process

C. the horrors of World War don't exist.

D. those who value their lives possess peace

45. The purpose of the passage is to show us_____.

A. the UN plays an important role in the world-peace keeping

B. security is a growing problem in the world

C. human beings can achieve peace by cherishing and respecting others

D. the UN is responsible for the trouble of some countries