D
An “apple-polisher” is one who gives gifts to win friendship or special treatment. It is not exactly a bribe（贿赂）, but is close to it.
“Apple-polishing” is as old as human society, but the phrase itself is recent, about 50 years old. It comes from the schoolroom. For a long time, some schoolboys would leave a shiny（有光泽的，发光的） apple on the teacher’s desk. They would rub and polish the apple to give it a bright shine, so as to make it look more tasty. Such a gift, the students hoped, might make the teacher shut her eyes to their poor work and give them a good mark.
All sorts of people are apple-polishers, including politicians and people in high offices—almost everybody.
There are other phrases meaning the same thing as “apple-polishing”— “soft-soaping” or “buttering-up”. A gift is just one way to “soft-soap” somebody, or to “butter him up”.
Another way that is just as effective as apple-polishing is flattery, giving someone high praise — telling him how good he looks, or how well he speaks, or how wise he is. Flattery, of course, is the cheapest kind of “apple polishing”.
To flatter another costs you nothing and you can give it as freely as you want. And you can always find somebody eagerly looking for it.
53. An “apple-polisher” is one who ________.
A. tries to please someone to get favor   
B. bribes with money to get something
C. is really friendly to everyone around him
D. plants apple trees and polishes his apples every day
54. Why did the students polish the apple for their teacher?
A. They hoped that she would not pay attention to them.
B. They didn’t want her to wash the apple by herself.
C. They wished to draw her attention.
D. They longed for her giving them a good mark.  
55. According to the passage, the cheapest way to please someone is ________.
A. to flatter him                                               B. to bribe him
C. to talk freely with him                             D. to play jokes on him
56. The author seems to suggest that ________.
A. nobody likes to be flattered                    B. very few people apple-polish others
C. apple-polishing is a kind of bribe            D. many people like to be soft-soaped