Away from It All is a very popular TV series in England, and it has surprised everyone

by becoming a huge success. The series is about the relaxing lifestyles of people who live in the country. None of the action can be seen on TV today. There are also no stressful moments, busy offices or crowded cities. It tells simple stories about people d kindness in the English countryside.

The directors of the TV series say that its success is a sign of teenagers suffering from stress. They say that watching Away from It All helps teenagers forget about the pressures of exams and homework, and the troubles that fill the world today. They also say that it’s a good sign of today’s young people turning to happier TV series as it shows they would like a happier and healthier world.

Although the series’ success might have a good side, many teachers and parents are worried. They say that some of their students and children are becoming couch potatoes all day and are using Away from It All as an excuse for not completing their homework. Some children have even refused to study for exams because they say that they can only achieve personal happiness by avoiding stressful situations completely.

And what do the experts say? Paula Ray, an expert of education, says that TV can. influence (影响） children’s lifestyles. But she says that if a child reacts (回应）strongly, it’s likely that there are other reasons for his change in behaviour. She says that there is nothing wrong with watching Away from It All, but she suggests that parents should make sure that their children know TV is not the same as the real life.

38. What’s the life like in the TV series Away from It All? A. Colorful. C. Annoying.

B. Boring. D. Peaceful.

39. What can we infer according to the second paragraph?

A. Teenagers can solve their problems by watching way from It All. B. The purpose of the TV series is to help teenagers reduce pressure. C. Watching Away from It All can help teenagers study better. D. Teenagers want to live a happier and healthier life.

40. What does the third paragraph mainly tell us?

A. Many parents don’t allow their kids to watch the TV series. B. Why the TV series is so popular in England C. The disadvantages of the series9 success.

D. The TV series makes a difference to both parents and children. 41. What can we know according to Paula Ray?

A. Adults should help kids learn the differences between TV series and the real life.

B. Watching Away from It All has a bad influence on kids’ lifestyles. C. The TV series can cause a child to change a lot.

D. Kids can achieve personal happiness by watching the TV series.

E

It’s important to have difficult conversations in the daily life, so why do we avoid them? We avoid difficult conversations for many reasons — we don’t want to make things worse, we fear we’ll be attacked back, we don’t want to be unfriendly, and so on.

It’s natural for us to dread difficult conversations. However, the truth is that when we treat each other with respect, the conversations are not often as difficult as we expect. When we avoid difficult conversations, the problem never has a chance to be solved. Besides, as we play the stories over and over again in the mind, they get louder and the people in the stories become bigger and bigger bad guys. When we take part in difficult conversations, we have a chance to build trust and respect. We also learn that we can challenge each other without fear, which means our relationships with other people and organizations improve greatly. When we take part in difficult conversations, we show that we respect others and their opinions, experiences and education. We realize that we might have missed something if we had not discussed it with someone else —two minds are better than one. This can build confidence in ourselves and our relationships, and create trust and respect.

So how to prepare for and have difficult conversations? Overall, stay positive, listen carefully, be kind (don’t attack), and do not be defensive (自卫的).Difficult conversations are seldom bad situations unless we make them that way. Get clear on your purpose — make sure that your purpose is not about teaching others a lesson. If you get emotional (情绪激动的）and impatient, then it’s likely that they will also have the same feeling as you.

Having difficult conversations is important to healthy relationships. So don’t avoid having difficult conversations with others. And finally, do not be afraid of being uncomfortable. Yes, difficult conversations will be uncomfortable. But your purposes are good and you are willing to be uncomfortable for the things that you can get from the conversations, the relationship or the company. 42. What does the underlined word “dread” mean? A. Fear.

B. Start.

C. Follow. D. Improve.

43. Which of the following statements would the writer agree to? A. Difficult conversations often make things worse. B. Difficult conversations should be avoided at times. C. It’s not that difficult to have difficult conversations. D. We often avoid difficult conversations for no reason.

44. According to the writer, what should we do when having a difficult conversation? A. Get others emotional when necessary. B. Stop at once when we feel uncomfortable. C. Control our unpleasant feelings. D. Try our best to protect ourselves.

45. What’s the writer’s purpose of writing the passage? A. To encourage us to have good conversations.

B. To encourage us not to avoid difficult conversations. C. To explain why difficult conversations are good. D. To explain why people avoid difficult conversations.

第二卷非选择题（25分）

IV.语法填空：用所给单词的适当形式填空，未提供单词的根据上下文填入适当的词。（共 10小题，每小题1分）

Last year, I asked a worker to repair my house. While he (46)________(work), his wife telephoned to say his son had a bad cold. So I decided (47) ________ (drive) him home. On the way, he was silent all (48) ________ time. When we arrived, he invited me to meet his family.

As we walked towards the door, he stopped at a small tree, and touched it with both of his (49) ________ (hand). After he opened the door, I (50) ________ (be) very surprised to see that he changed into another person and there was a big smile (51) ________ his face.

After a while, I asked him (52) ________ he had touched the tree just then. “Oh, that’s my trouble tree,” he answered “Sometimes I have troubles on my job，but they don’t belong to my family. So I just hang up the troubles on the tree every night (53) ________ I come home. Then in the morning they (54) ________ (pick) up by me again.” “But when I come out in the morning to pick them up,” he said (55) ________ (happy), “I hardly remember what I put there the night before.”

V.书面表达(共1题，15分）

一本好书，相伴一生。但今天的我们，却常常被包围在电视、电子游戏和网络所构筑的世界中，而与书本的距离越来越远。假若你是某班的班长，请你用英语写一份倡议书，呼吁同学们以书为友，每天读好书。

1. 没有形成良好的读书习惯； 沉迷于电脑游戏、电视网络等。 开阔视野，增长知识； 学会思考，享受美好。 现状 2. 读书的 1. 重要性 2. 建议 要求：

……（至少提两条建议） 1. 所写内容必须包含所给提示；