He sat at the desk, __________ a novel.

With housing prices ______ sharply, many people have no idea whether they should buy an apartment or not．

The man preferred ______ in the room to read to ______out for a walk.

_________in the IT company, David decided to say goodbye and start his own business.

Nobody but doctors or nurses and those __________ by Dr. Hu ________ to enter the patient's room.