选择知识点

—The machine is working again!

—Yes，it broke down yesterday，but it_______．

With the widespread use of the Internet，communications across the world have____developed over the years．

    Race walking shares many fitness benefits with running，research shows，while most likely contributing to fewer injuries．It does，however，have its own problem．

    Race walkers are conditioned athletes．The longest track and field event at the Summer Olympics is the 50-kilometer race walk，which is about five miles longer than the marathon．But the sportˈs rules require that a race walkerˈs knees stay straight through most of the leg swing and one foot remain in contact（接触）with the ground at all times．Itˈs this strange form that makes race walking such an attractive activity，however，says Jaclyn Norberg，an assistant professor of exercise science at Salem State University in Salem，Mass．

    Like running，race walking is physically demanding，she says．According to most calculations，race walkers moving at a pace of six miles per hour would burn about 800 calories（卡路里）per hour，which is approximately twice as many as they would burn walking，although fewer than running，which would probably burn about 1，0000 or more calories per hour．

    However，race walking does not pound the body as much as running does，Dr． Norberg says．According to her research，runners hit the ground with as much as four times their body weight per step，while race walkers，who do not leave the ground，create only about 1.4 times their body weight with each step．

    As a result，she says，some of the injuries associated with running，such as runnerˈs knee，are uncommon among race walkers．But the sportˈs strange form does place considerable stress on the ankles and hips，so people with a history of such injuries might want to be cautious in adopting the sport．In fact，anyone wishing to try race walking should probably first consult a coach or experienced racer to learn proper technique，she says．It takes some practice．

Why are race walkers conditioned athletes？
A. They must run long distances． B. They are qualified for the marathon． C. They have to follow special rules． D. They are good at swinging their legs．
What advantage dose race walking have over running？
A. Itˈs more popular at the Olympics． B. Itˈs less challenging physically． C. Itˈs more effective in body building． D. Itˈs less likely to cause knee injuries．
What is Dr． Norbergˈs suggestion for someone trying race walking？
A. Getting expertsˈ opinions． B. Having a medical checkup． C. Hiring an experienced coach． D. Doing regular exercises．
Which word best describes the authorˈs attitude to race walking？
A. Skeptical． B. Objective． C. Tolerant． D. Conservative．

   Some parents will buy any high﹣tech toy if they think it will help their child，but researchers said puzzles help children with math-related skills．

    Psychologist Susan Levine，an expert on mathematics development in young children at the University of Chicago，found children who play with puzzles between ages 2 and 4 later develop better spatial skills．Puzzle play was found to be a significant predictor of cognition（认知）after controlling for differences in parentsˈ income，education and the amount of parent talk，Levine said．

    The researchers analyzed video recordings of 53 child-parent pairs during everyday activities at home and found children who play with puzzles between 26 and 46 months of age have better spatial skills when assessed at 54 months of age．

    "The children who played with puzzles performed better than those who did not，on tasks that assessed their ability to rotate（旋转）and translate shapes，" Levine said in a statement．

    The parents were asked to interact with their children as they normally would， and about half of the children in the study played with puzzles at one time．Higher-income parents tended to have children play with puzzles more frequently，and both boys and girls who played with puzzles had better spatial skills．However，boys tended to play with more complex puzzles than girls，and the parents of boys provided more spatial language and were more active during puzzle play than the parents of girls．

    The findings were published in the journal Developmental Science．

In which aspect do children benefit from puzzle play？
A. Building confidence． B. Developing spatial skills． C. Learning self-control． D. Gaining high-tech knowledge．
What did Levine take into consideration when designing her experiment？
A. Parentsˈ age． B. Childrenˈs imagination． C. Parentsˈ education． D. Child-parent relationship．
How do boys differ from girls in puzzle play？
A. They play with puzzles more often． B. They tend to talk less during the game． C. They prefer to use more spatial language． D. They are likely to play with tougher puzzles．
What is the text mainly about？
A. A mathematical method． B. A scientific study． C. A woman psychologist． D. A teaching program．

—You are a great swimmer．

—Thanks．Itˈs because I ______ a lot these days．

According to Professor Johnson，we donˈt have to read the book if we donˈt want to，as it is ______．

I never worried about my son while I was away because my mother ______ him．

Awesome Renaissance Festivals
The Renaissance（复兴）is often romanticized in books． But there's a specific type of live event that caters to（迎合）those who want to pretend they're walking through the 16th-century England．
Texas Renaissance Festival
The Texas Renaissance Festival is the largest event of its kind in the country． It takes place over nine weekends in Todd Mission． When it first started over four decades ago， the festival drew 30，000 people． Now， it sees over a half-million attendees during its run each October and November． Each weekend has a different theme to keep happenings fresh for repeat visitors．
Sterling Renaissance Festival
The Sterling Renaissance Festival， held on weekends in July and August， takes place in Warwick， which has been created to look like a 16th century English town． Actors play the role of real historical figures like Queen Elizabeth I． The performers not only play on stages， but also wander around interacting with attendees． This gives the Sterling festival more of a "living history" feel than other similar events．
Bristol Renaissance Faire
The Bristol Renaissance Faire is held in July and August． Like Sterling， this one is set during the period of Elizabeth I． An actor playing the part of the famous English ruler makes an appearance with her "court" each year． Other actors also take part in the Bristol Faire． Many of these performers are professionals from Second City and the Players Workshop．
Arizona Renaissance Festival
Renaissance festivals are often summertime affairs． But that's not the case in Arizona， where the Arizona Renaissance Festival kicks off in February and runs through the end of March． This helps the fest-goers avoid the hot Southwest summertime， and it also allows for special themed weekends． The Renaissance Festival is a big attraction here， drawing about 250，000 people per year．



Where can visitors enjoy the largest Renaissance Festival？ ______

A. In Warwick．
B. In Second City．
C. In Todd Mission．
D. In Arizona．

What makes Sterling Renaissance Festival special？ ______

A. People can see "Queen Elizabeth I"．
B. It is held on weekends in July and August．
C. It gives people more of a "living history" feel．
D. It takes place in a town built in the 16th century．

Which festival takes place in spring？ ______

A. Bristol Renaissance Faire．
B. Texas Renaissance Festival．
C. Sterling Renaissance Festival．
D. Arizona Renaissance Festival．

His vivid descriptions of country life quickly became popular，which established his_____as one of Americaˈs greatest writers．

The company is willing to____the new technology if it can be shown to reduce production costs．