Watching TV is a very popular pastime in the UK but what kind of programmes do British people like to watch? Well, the most-watched TV programmes every week are very popular dramas that are usually on at least four times every week. They are dramas based in one neighbourhood that try to describe ordinary life in the UK --- we call these dramas ‘soap operas’ or ‘soaps’.

       In the early days of TV, there were often dramas on during the day. Back in those days, it was traditional for the husband to go out to work and for the wife to stay at home and look after the house and the children. Most of these daytime dramas were aimed at entertaining the housewives who would traditionally be at home, probably doing the washing. Companies selling washing powder would advertise their products at times when these dramas were on, and sometimes those companies would even sponsor (赞助) the drama. Hence the word ‘soap’.

       So what about the word opera? Well, that’s because these dramas are often an exaggeration (夸大) of real life. They are supposed to represent ordinary life but to make them entertaining, lots of dramatic events like murders, divorces, affairs (风流韵事) etc. all happen probably much more regularly than they would in a normal neighbourhood.

       Most soap operas these days are shown in the evening. Each show will have several different storylines happening at once that continue over several shows. The same cast members will appear in every show too.

       There are lots of different soaps on in the UK on different channels but there are three main popular ones. ‘Coronation Street’ has been on since 1960. It is set in a suburb of Manchester and it’s supposed to represent working class life in the north of England. Then there’s ‘Eastenders’ which started in 1985, set in the East End of London and ‘Emmerdale’, which is set on a farm in Yorkshire, in the north of England.

56. The text is mainly about ______.

       A. some popular soap operas

       B. how people spend their spare time in the UK

       C. why soap opera is so called

       D. how companies sell soaps

57. Which opera should you watch if you want to learn about people’s life in London?

       A. Coronation Street.                                 B. Eastenders.

       C. Emmerdale.                                          D. None of the above.

58. The underlined part “cast members” in paragraph 4 probably means ______.

       A. actors and actresses                              B. people who sell washing powder

       C. characters in Coronation Street               D. opera producers

59. We may infer from the second paragraph that ______.

       A. companies often sold washing powder from door to door

       B. soap operas were produced only for women

       C. men didn’t like watching TV

       D. today more women go to work

60.   Which of the following stories takes place in Manchester?

       A. Coronation Street.     B. Eastenders         C. Emerdale           D. None of the above.

My father doesn’t know how to express love. It is my mum that makes everyone happy and calm in our family; while Daddy only works day and night, never looking us in the face. But Mum makes a wrongdoing list of us for Daddy scolding us. She was a spy!

Once, I stole a candy. Daddy asked me to put it back and told the shopkeeper I would like to carry loads for her. Well, Mum told him I was jut a child.

I broke my leg on the playground. It’s still Mum that held me tightly in her warm arms. Daddy drove us right to emergency room. He was asked to move the car away for that space was for ambulance. Daddy got angry, “What do you think of it? A touring car?”

On my birthday party, it was, again, my mum that took over the cake for me. And my dad was busy with blowing balloons and setting the table and doing the housework.

While looking over our album, my friends always ask, “What does your father look like?” God knows. He photos others all the time. So there are many photos of my mum and me, pretty and lovely photos.

And I still remembered the day when dad taught me riding. I asked him not to let his hands away, but he did the opposite. And I certainly fell onto the ground. I got angry and decided to get on the bike and rode. But he smiled again.

Mum wrote every letter to me while I was in college. He, except checks, did write a letter, but extremely short, just a few words, saying, “Without your playing on the lawn, my son, my lawn grows prettier than before.”

Every time I phoned, it seemed that he wanted to talk, but he would say, “I will get your mum.”

On the day of my wedding, Mum cried as if we would never meet again, while dad went out with a nasal sound.

From very young, I heard him saying, “Where have you been?” “When do you go home?” “Did you get oil for your car?” “…” Dad really knows nothing about showing love. Unless…

Maybe he showed while I didn’t notice.

68．From the first and second paragraphs, we can infer that ______.

A. it was the daddy that was in charge of his children’s education

B. the children were all afraid of their father so they had to be cute

C. the writer’s parents loved their children, at the same time, they were strict with them

D. the writer’s mom was like a spy who reported what the children did to the father

69．According to Paragraph Six, we know the father ______.

A. was not patient when he taught the writer riding

B. might want his son to learn riding through independent practice

C. used a wrong way of teaching his child riding

D. might want to see his child fall off the bike

70．Which of the following is NOT true according to the passage?

A. The dad scolded the writer for having damaged the lawn.

B. The dad had no single photo of his own in the album.

C. The dad posted checks to the writer while he was in college.

D. The dad got excited when participating in the writer’s wedding.

I heard many parents complaining that their teenage children are rebelling（叛逆）．I wish it were so．At your age you ought to be growing away from your parents．You should be learning to stand on your own feet．But take a good look at the present rebellion．It seems that teenagers are taking the same way of showing that they disagree with their parents．Instead of striking out boldly on their own, most of them are clutching(紧握）at one another's hands for reassurance．

They claim they want to dress as they please．But they all wear the same clothes. Then set off in new directions in music．But somehow they all end up with listening to the same record together．Their reason for thinking or acting in thus-and-such a way is that many people are doing it．They have come out of their cocoon（茧） into a larger cocoon．

It has become harder and harder for a teenager to stand up against the popularity wave and go his or her own way．Industry has firmly carved out a teenage market．These days every teenager can learn from the advertisements what a teenager should have and be． 

And many of today's parents have come to award high marks for the popularity of their children．All this adds to a great barrier(障碍） for the teenager who wants to find his or her own path．

But the barrier is worth climbing over．The path is worth following, You may want to listen to classical music instead of going to a party．You may want to collect rocks when everyone else is collecting records．You may have some thoughts 'that you don't care to share with your classmates at once, well, go to it．Find yourself．Popularity will come-with the people who respect you for who you are．That is the only kind of popularity that really counts．

1.In this passage, the author wants to tell         .

A．teenagers how to learn to decide things for themselves

B．readers how to be popular with people around

C．parents how to control and guide their children

D．people how to understand and respect each other

2.According to the author, many teenagers think they are brave enough to act on their own, but in fact, most of them            ．

A．have much difficulty understanding each other

B．lack confidence

C．dare not cope with （处理） problems single-handed

D．are much afraid of getting lost

3.Which of the following is true according to the passage?

A．There is no popularity that really counts．

B．What many parents are doing is helping their children find their own paths．

C．It is bad for a teenager to disagree with his or her classmates．

D．Most teenagers claim that they want to do what they like to, but they are actually doing the same．

4.What does the author think of advertisements?

A．Convincing．               B．Influential.

C． Instructive．              D．Authoritative（权威的）．

5.During the teenage years, one should learn to       .

A．differ from others in as many ways as possible

B．get into the right reason and become popular

C．find one's real self

D．rebel against parents and the popularity wave