2 . Living in a modern society has its advantages and disadvantages. One disadvantage is that you often have to live closer to other people than you would like to. Sometimes, your neighbours make noise that you are not comfortable with.

The best way to solve this problem is to talk with your neighbour first. You should be very polite and ask your neighbour if he knows how thin the walls of your homes are. This way doesn’t criticise (批评) his behaviour; it simply points out that he may not realise how far his sound travels. Tell him that you know that sometimes you make noise as well, but that you do your best to keep it down. Often this will solve the problem right away, but sometimes the neighbour may become angry.

If your neighbour becomes angry with you, there are some more steps you can take. You might write a letter to the neighbourhood committee. Make sure you write down the source of the noise and the time in the letter. They will review the situation and decide whether your neighbour is out of line. Some noise is considered to be reasonable, even if it bothers you. So you may prepare a good pair of earplugs (耳塞).

Even if your neighbour makes too much noise, you don’t have to live your life in discomfort. It’s always a good idea to be friendly with your neighbours. You may clean the rubbish in front of his door. He’s sure to appreciate behaviour like this and be more open to your suggestions about the noise level.

1. What is the first step to deal with the noisy neighbour?

A．To buy a good pair of earplugs.

B．To offer suggestions to the neighbour.

C．To ask the neighbourhood committee for help.

D．To tell the neighbour how bad his behaviour is.

2. The underlined word “reasonable” in Paragraph 3 probably means “        ”.

A．terrible	B．loud
C．proper	D．useful

3. What does the last paragraph mainly talk about?

A．You should control your noise as well.

B．You can live comfortably even if there is noise.

C．Your neighbour may be more friendly than you think.

D．You should offer some suggestions to your neighbour.

4. The author wrote this passage to tell us        .

A．why we should get on well with neighbours

B．how to relax ourselves in modern society

C．how to become known among neighbours

D．what we should do with our noisy neighbours

3 . 假如你是李华，你校最近开展了中学生如何处理人际关系的讨论，请你写一篇你们小组的讨论总结，发表在英语校报上，写作要点：
1.做好自己；
2.尊重他人；
3.学会沟通。
注意:
1.词数80左右；
2.请在相应位置作答。

Recently, we held a heated discussion about how to live harmoniously in the school. Here are the opinions of our group.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

We hope all of us can enjoy our school life.

5 . There is a time when many Americans question whether a college degree is worth its cost. However, a recent study found Americans who completed college or university are more likely to have friends and are less lonely than those who only finished high school.

Daniel Cox, director of the Survey Center on American Life, said that in general Americans are experiencing a “friend recession”, meaning a decline in their number of friends. Cox noted, “Americans have fewer close friends today than we did in the early 1990s. But men and those without a college degree are particularly affected because they seem to have experienced a much more dramatic decline over that period.”

The Center questioned 5, 054 people this past summer. It found Americans with a college degree feel more socially connected and are more active in their communities than people who didn’t go to college. As a result, those who completed college report feeling less lonely.

Previous research showed that Americans who didn’t go to college are less likely to marry. A 2012 study found that college-educated women are much more likely to get married than women who dropped out of high school. A 2013 study of people born between 1957 and 1964 found that both men and women who didn’t finish high school are less likely to marry than those with more education.

Today, 65 percent of college-educated Americans over age 25 are married. About 50 percent of people with a high school diploma, or who dropped out of high school, are married. Those numbers were different in 1990, when marriage rates among the college graduates were at 69 percent, compared with 63 percent for those who did not go to college, says a Pew research report.

The American Community Life Survey found around 1 in 10 college graduates say they have no close social connections. That number rises among Americans without a degree, where almost 1 in 4 say they have no close friends.

1. When was the study carried out according to the passage?

A．When psychological problems arose sharply.

B．When the number of college graduates declined.

C．When Americans experienced a friend recession.

D．When concerns about college costs appeared.

2. Why are some studies mentioned in paragraph 4?

A．To provide evidence for the research.	B．To analyze the reasons for loneliness.
C．To show the importance of marriage.	D．To compare differences in generations.

3. In which column of a magazine may this passage appear?

A．Entertainment.

B．Education.

C．Technology.

D．Health.

4. What is the passage mainly about?

A．Social problems in the American society.

B．Reasons for Americans’ low marriage rates.

C．Links between education and social interaction.

D．Discussions about whether to get a college degree.

6 . How would you feel if a colleague suggested you take a comedy class to improve your sense of humor. I felt stressed.    1    Yet according to Jennifer Aaker and Naomi Bagdonas, humor is not something you are born with or without.    2    What’s more, finding our funny sides strengthens relationships, unlocks creativity, and makes us more likable. It helps in any life situation.    3    

I turned to Aaker and Bagdonas and they agreed to teach me how to find my funny bones. In our first call, we discuss the common misunderstandings that stop many of us in our comedy tracks. The first, Aaker says, is the belief that humor has no place in certain situations, especially at work.    4     But 98% of the bosses say they prefer employees with a sense of humor and believe they do better work.

They believe the power of humor that they also improve the ability to help people avoid difficult situations.    5    Research shows that people who watch a funny video before trying to solve a puzzle are twice as likely to be successful.

A．Rather, it can be developed gradually.

B．We worry that humor is not welcomed in the office.

C．Humor has been proved to increase creativity.

D．Some people just aren’t funny and I’m one of them.

E．Therefore, people eagerly sign up for the humor course.

F．Every joke follows the fundamental structure of setup and punch line.

G．If you feel uncomfortable making the jokes, leave them to someone else.

7 . One way to prevent anxiety from getting out of control is to recognise its benefits. It is a mistake to think that we’d make better decisions if only we keep our feelings under control. Instead, a mix of feelings like anxiety and logical thinking leads to sound decision-making. It’s true that there is plenty of research showing that higher levels of anxiety can make us more likely to avoid risks in our decision-making. There is also evidence that anxiety can increase the attention you pay to relevant information.

Recent studies have shown that people who are anxious about their relationships (for example,   they fear to be abandoned) tend to be better at recognising people who tell lies and are more likely to raise the alarm when danger is present.

In the real world though, it’s worth realising that feeling anxious once in a while is extremely common. It communicates to others that you care, and what’s more, it’s probably a sign that you are intelligent. At least two published studies have identified that people who score higher on measures of anxiety also tend to perform better on intelligence tests. This seems reasonable: if you’re a thinker, you are sure to be always thinking about the future and imagine possible plots, including bad ones.

The important thing, if you are a worrywart (杞人忧天者), is not to let your fear destroy your dreams. And don’t bury your head in the sand. Instead, act on your fears—do the research as well as preparation, so rather than walking blindly into that which you fear, you meet the challenge in full readiness.   

When anxiety beats you, or casts a shadow over your life, this is a serious problem. No one is denying that. But like everyday anxiety of this kind that you feel before a presentation or an interview,   you needn’t see it as your enemy. Anxiety is an important feeling, developed through evolution. As for people who are fairly anxious by nature, there is reason for cheer, too. Your nerves are a sign of your watchfulness. Listen to them and act on them. Then you can turn your nervousness into your advantage.

1. What is the theme of the passage?

A．Effective ways to prevent anxiety.

B．Unexpected benefits of anxiety.

C．Tips on how to keep a good mood.

D．Common misunderstandings about anxiety.

2. What can we infer from the first paragraph about anxiety?

A．It can enable us to be more focused.

B．It can stop us from thinking logically.

C．It can make us more willing to take risks.

D．It can be the only reason for all bad decisions.

3. What can we learn from the passage?

A．Anxious people are less sensitive to danger.

B．Anxious people have difficulty discovering liars.

C．Feeling anxious is more likely to put people at risk.

D．Feeling anxious occasionally is a sign of intelligence.

4. How should we deal with anxiety in the author’s opinion?

A．Regard it as our enemy.

B．Take action to control it.

C．Avoid being defeated by it.

D．Treat it as a minor feeling.

8 . How to Communicate With a Deaf Person

Communicating with a deaf person doesn’t have to be as difficult as it might seem. The trick is to be patient, straightforward, and to remember that deaf people communicate visually.

Method1:Starting Your Conversation

    1     You can do this by moving into the person’s field of vision and waving from a polite distance, or by tapping the person gently on the shoulder.

Position yourself carefully. Make sure that the light in the room is shining directly onto your face, and that you’re not standing with your back to a light.    2    

Find out how the person prefers to communicate. Some deaf people are better lip-readers than others. Some deaf people may prefer to write back and forth or to use an interpreter. Man interactions between the deaf and the hearing require a combination of these methods.    3    

Method2:Communicating Through Lip-reading.

Keep your sentences simple and use plain language.    4     The more complex your phrasing and vocabulary, the more likely your deaf companion is to miss something.

When someone else is speaking, don’t turn away from the deaf person in your group.    5     You don’t have to look at the deaf person while someone else is talking, but try to make sure your face is visible.

A．Get the person’s attention.

B．It’s important not to talk too quickly.

C．Or, they’ll miss parts of the conversation.

D．If so, it’ll make them feel left out of the conversation.

E．Stand directly in front of the person,at a normal distance.

F．The best way to know which methods are most effective is to ask.

G．Try not to be too difficult when using your words in the beginning.

9 . Do you remember those times when your mother told you to avoid talking to strangers? But now you’re not a child anymore. In fact, there are advantages of talking to strangers.

       You can meet a really great person.
    1    You can meet a person who'll become your best friend in future. You can also meet someone who’ll give you a chance to get your dream job or somehow help you in life.
           2    
       You have some opinion about different subjects and you know your friends’ and relatives’ points of view about them too. But there are millions of other people who think differently and can give you unpredictable yet smart ideas that'll broaden your horizons.
       You improve your social skills.
       Whatever social skills you have, you can make them better when talking to strangers.     3    You can better these skills when talking to a stranger.
           4    
       If you belong to that shy type of people, talking to a stranger may seem to be a real challenge for you. I’m also extremely shy but I realize it’s not an issue at all. You can overcome your fear of being judged by others by talking to strangers and become more confident.
      You can cheer someone up.
       The thing you'll definitely like about talking to strangers is that you can make someone’s day better. Smile and people will smile in return. Compliment people and they’ll think something pleasant about you.     5    

A．It expands your world view.

B．You'll feel an increase in confidence.

C．It helps you to become a more talkative person.

D．It may show you the solutions you didn't know about.

E．Talking to a stranger is a good habit as you never know who you may meet.

F．Having a short dialogue is one of those perfect chances to make people cheerful.

G．Asking proper questions and attentive listening are two skills that many don’t have.