Our life has been taken over by modern technology, for good of course. Young people ___41___ the fast speed that technology can move at. But there is a group of people who cannot ___42___.
It is the group of people who are caught up between traditional and ___43___ society, sort of like the middle child in technology advancement --- not exactly old and ___44___ change, but trying very hard to become modernized, ending up being ___45___ in the middle. They are 40 to 60 years old and ___46___ the latest iPhone or Samsung phone or Huawei. They buy an iPad just ___47___ they can afford to, and play the same games on a larger screen.
They are almost like the teenagers five years ago, ___48___ on their phone playing a game or using social media. They’re everywhere. And I saw something today that made me extremely ___49___.
On a train, a mother was ___50___ playing a Candy Crush-like game. Her daughter was smiling beside her. The little girl, about five years old, was talking to her mother about her day, ___51___ the next stop’s name cheerily --- with obviously desperate attempts to get her mother’s ___52___.
The mother? All she did was nod and say the occasional “mmhm”. With her eyes on the ___53___, she concentrated on completing the level. I watched the girl make a final ___54___ to get her mom to look at her, and when she failed, she ___55___ and fell silent and defeated.
It broke my heart, and got me ___56___: What kind of game can make you ___57___ that you have the most beautiful thing in the world, a person you love with all your heart? What does it ___58___ when you won’t even look into her eyes or listen to her?
The scene was so familiar years ago when parents ___59___ that their children were too interested in their mobile devices. Look at how the tables have turned now. I’m ___60___ whether to laugh or to cry. But all I can do now is hope that this storm passes.
41. A. increase B. challenge C. celebrate D. accelerate
42. A. make up B. keep up C. turn up D. fix up
43. A. stressful B. complicated C. developing D. modern
44. A. resisting B. accepting C. expecting D. considering
45. A. lost B. stuck C. set D. involving
46. A. own B. sell C. pick D. bring
47. A. as B. when C. until D. because
48. A. seldom B. never C. always D. ever
49. A. sad B. happy C. confused D. curious
50. A. tired of B. good at C. focused on D. used to
51. A. shouting B. whispering C. murmuring D. uttering
52. A. advice B. attention C. support D. reward
53. A window B. girl C. book D. screen
54. A. talk B. sigh C. attempt D. practice
55. A. sighed B. sealed C. spoke D. enclosed
56. A. working B. realizing C. learning D. wondering
57. A. forget B. feel C. imagine D. recognize
58. A. change B. mean C. prove D. explain
59. A. admitted B. decided C. complained D. questioned
60. A. uncertain B. uninterested C. afraid D. serious
CBDAB ADCAC ABDCA DABCA
I first went to hear a live rock concert when I was eight years old. My brother and his friends were all ___36____ of a heavy metal group called Black Wednesday. When they ___37____ that Black Wednesday were going to perform at our local theatre, they all bought ____38___ for performance. However, at the last minute, one of the friends couldn’t go, so my brother __39_____ me the ticket. I was really ___40____!
I remember the buzz (嘈杂声) of excitement inside the theatre as we all found our __41____ . After a few minutes, the lights went down and everybody became ___42____. I could barely make out the stage in the ___43____. We waited. Then there was a roar from the crowd, like an explosion, as the first members of the band ___44____ the stage. My brother leaned over and shouted something in my ear, but I couldn’t ____45___ what he was saying. The first song was already starting and the music was as ____46___ a jet engine. I could ___47____ the drum beats and bass notes in my stomach.
I can’t recall any of the songs that the band played. I just __48_ that I really enjoyed the show and didn’t want it to _ 49_. But in the end, after three encores (加演), the show finished. We left the 50_ and walked unsteadily out onto the pavement. I felt a little dizzy, as if I had just 51_from a long sleep. My ears were still 52_with the beat of the last song.
After the 53 , I became a Black Wednesday fan too for a few years before getting into other kinds of music. Once in a while, 54_, I listen to one of their songs and 55_I’m back at that first show.
40. A. relaxed B. embarrassed C. excited D. encouraged
41. A. seats B. entrance C. spots D. space
42. A. comfortable B. quite C. serious D. nervous
43. A. silence B. noise C. darkness D. smoke
44. A. fell upon B. got through C. broke into D. stepped onto
45. A. forget B. hear C. repeat D. bear
46. A. loud B. heard C. sweet D. fast
47. A. feel B. touch C. enjoy D. digest
48. A. realize B. understand C. believe D. remember
49. A. continue B. delay C. finish D. change
50. A. party B. theatre C. opera D. stage
51. A. escaped B. traveled C. benefited D. woken
52. A. aching B. burning C. ringing D. rolling
53. A. competition B. performance C. interview D. celebration
54. A. though B. otherwise C. instead D. besides
55. A. decide B. regret C. conclude D. imagine