With the development of science and technology, people’s life _______ in the past few years.

　　A. improved       B. has improved

　　C. is improving   D. had improved

The Western world has always been divided into two types of people—the cool and the uncool. It is a　 __36__　 that starts in school. The cool kids are good at sports. They are　 __37__　 with the opposite sex. They are good?looking and people want to　 __38__　 their style. They can do their homework but they don't　 __39__ a big effort. That would not be cool.

The uncool kids are in the　 __40__　 of the playground. They are very bright，but they don't have great　 __41__skills and they are　 __42__　 at sports. When they are not programming computers or doing calculus(微积分) in their heads, they are reading comic books and watching shows　 __43__　 the X Files. They are　 __44__ as the geeks(怪人)．

Here are the geeks. The geeks are taking over(占上风). Make friends with them now　 __45__　 they will put virus in your computer and　 __46__　 your math homework to ruin. Geeks might not be popular at school, yet they do pass their examinations, and they might not be too popular at university，but　 __47__　 good degrees.

The most important　 __48__　 of the 21st century, computers and IT, has been at least partly created by geeks. Geek heroes like Bill Gates　 __49__　 others to follow their examples. Being a geek is a way of earning good money. And the creation of the Internet gave them a　　 __50__　 of their own to work and play in，making them a global force.　 __51__， the effect of the geeks　 __52__ popular culture has started a new trend. It is now cool to be　 __53__. Geek culture is becoming an important part of general popular culture, in which what you know is more important than　 __54__　 you look like.

But there are also　 __55__. Geeks were often bullied (欺侮)or laughed at in school. Now a geek may be your boss. Perhaps it is time for punishment.

36．A.division 　 B．part C．class 　　 D．habit

37．A.pleasant 　 B．popular C．crazy 　 D．particular

38．A.take B．act C．copy　 　 D．advance

39．A.have B．suffer C．support D．make

40．A.corner 　　 B．team 　C．group　 D．center

41．A.operating　 　　　 B．speaking 　C．social 　 D．experimental

42．A.good　 　　 B．active C．hopeless 　　　 D．sharp

43．A.like 　 B．for 　C．such 　　 D．as

44．A.admired　 B．thought 　C．known D．treated

45．A.and　 B．so 　C．or　 　　　 D．that

46．A.put　 B．place 　C．bring 　　 D．take

47．A.win B．take 　C．wish 　　 D．finish

48．A.industry 　 B．progress 　C．discovery 　　　 D．improvement

49．A.excite 　　 B．discourage 　C．demand D．promise

50．A.room 　　　 B．world 　C．chance D．heaven

51．A.Somehow　 　 B．However 　C．Though D．Besides

52．A.in 　　 B．of C．on D．for

53．A.rich B．uncool C．attractive 　　 D．handsome

54．A.how　 　　 B．that C．how much 　 D．what

55．A.risks B．questions 　C．shortcomings 　　　 D．chances

Some plays are so successful that they run for years on end. In many ways, this is　 36　 for the poor actors who are required to go on repeating the sane　 37　 night after night. One would

 38　 them to know their parts by heart and　 39　 have cause to falter（结巴）.Yet　40　is not always the case.

　　A famous actor in a　 41　 successful play was once cast in the role of an aristocrat　 42　 had been imprisoned in Bastille for twenty years. In the last act，a gaoler（监狱长，看守）would always come on to the stage with a letter which he would hand to the prisoner.　 43　 the noble was expected to read the letter at each　 44　 ,he always insisted that it should be written out in full.

　　One night, the gaoler decided to play a joke　 45　 his colleague to find out if, after so many performances, he had managed to learn the　 46　 of the letter by heart. The curtain went up on the final act of the play and revealed（使显露）the aristocrat sitting alone behind bars in his dark cell. Just then，the gaoler　 47　 with the precious letter in his hands. He entered the　 48　and presented the letter to the aristocrat. But the copy he gave him had not been written out in　

 49　 as usual. It was simply a blank sheet of paper. The gaoler looked on eagerly,　50　 to see if his fellow actor had at last learnt his lines. The noble stared at the blank sheet of paper for a few seconds. Then，squinting（眯着眼看）his eves，he said,“The light is　 51　.Read the letter to me.”And he promptly handed the sheet of paper to the gaoler.　52　 that he could not remember a word of the letter either, the gaoler replied，“The light is indeed dim，sir. I must get my　 53　”With this, he hurried off the stage. Much to the aristocrat’s　 54　 ，the gaoler returned a few moments later with a pair of glasses and the　 55　 copy of the letter which he proceeded（继续进行）to read to the prisoner.

　　36．A. fortunate B. unfortunate C. happy D. unhappy

　　37．A. lines B. words C. plays D. roles

　　38．A. want B. ask C. expect D. wish

　　39．A. always B. never C. sometimes D. often

　　40．A. such B. the thing C. one D. this

　　41．A. highly B. high C. poorly D. poor

　　42．A. where B. what C. which D. who

　　43．A. Because B. Even though C. When D. Though

　　44．A. play B. performance C. role D. case

　　45．A. with B. in C. on D. to

　　46．A. pages B. joke C. lines D. contents

　　47．A. appeared B. disappeared C. came out D. came in

　　48．A. room B. cell C. stage D. office

　　49．A. English B. French C. order D. full

　　50．A. worded B. surprised C. anxious D. afraid

　　51．A. bright B. dim C. dark D. out

　　52．A. To see B. To find C. Seeing D. Finding

　　53．A. glasses B. lines C. light D. letters

　　54．A. surprise B. satisfaction C. anger D. amusement

　　55．A. usual B. old C. unusual D. new