5、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.

4、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

3、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

2、When referring to love, we cannot fail to find people have their own love day __31__ they live. Just as westerners observe Valentine's Day, Chinese lovers have fun on the lunar July 7th. It originates from __32__ ancient folk story. A cowboy fell in love with a fairy at first sight so they got married __33__ (secret). However, when the queen in the heaven learned about it, she ordered the fairy __34__ (take) away by force. The cowboy kept running after the fairy until a river, __35__ (know) as the Milky Way, got __36__ his way. For weeks on end, the fairy was so concerned about her lover and kids that she was in no mood to eat and drink, __37__ (beg) the queen to have mercy on them. The queen was moved and gave them a chance to see each other each year. The legend has it told __38__ all the magpies on the earth fly to the sky to build __39__ a bridge on the day. Later this day is seen as traditional Chinese Valentine's Day __40__ lovers send gifts such as flowers, chocolates to express their deep affections for each other.

1、

The story goes that some time ago, a man had a very lovely little daughter. One day the man __21__ his 3-year-old daughter for __22__ a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became __23__ when the child tried to decorate a __24__ to put under the Christmas tree. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father the next morning and said, "This is for you, Daddy."

The man was __25__ by his earlier __26__, but his anger flared again when he found out the box was __27__. He yelled at her, stating, "Don't you know, when you give someone a present, there is __28__ to be something inside?" The little girl looked __29__ at him with tears in her eyes and cried, "Oh, Daddy, it's not empty at all. I blew kisses into the box. They are all for you, Daddy."

The father was flushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her __30__.

40、It is difficult to           the exact meaning of some words when you translate them into a foreign language.

A. show off          B. turn out                   C. bring out                 D. take to

39、We can see monuments here and there. Those who have made great          to human beings and society will never be forgotten.

      A. advance            B. progress                  C. contribution             D. achievement

38、Recently, there ________ a boom in population mobility, and according to the survey in 2000, 17 percent of the population _______ every year.

       A. is; moves          B. has been; moves             C. is; move                   D. has been; move