Sharon has been a serious runner for six years. She has completed three marathons and several shorter races. Each week she runs about 20 miles.
Her favorite shoes? A $25 pair of Champion shoes she bought at Target. “I like running in simple shoes,” she said, “The more you pay, the more trouble you get.” She is right. Money often buys higher-quality goods, but not when it comes to running shoes.
Over the last forty years, running has been popular as a leisure (闲暇的) sport. In 2009, 476,000 runners took part in a marathon. In 1976, the number was just 25,000. Sales of running shoes reached a record $ 2.36 billion in 2009, 60 percent more than ten years earlier.
But some of those dollars may not have been well spent. In 2007, Scottish researchers tested running shoes at three price levels, ranging from $80 to $150, and found that low-cost and mid-cost shoes within the same brand protected runners’ feet just as well as high-cost ones, sometimes even better.
“The common idea is that if you pay more, you will get better shoes,” said Abboud, director of the Institute of Motion Analysis and Research at the University of Dundee in Scotland, “Our research did not show that.” Professor Abboud and his colleagues have just completed a similar study, as not yet published, with nearly the same results.
If you want to run well and run safely, consider fit first and price last. “You want a shoe that helps you keep a balanced position,” said Mark Montgomery, manager of the JackRabbit Sports store in Union Square in New York, “A more expensive shoe is not always the solution.”
“The less you think about a shoe, the better,” said Ms Bakoul, a marathoner.
【小题1】According to Sharon, ________.

Sony  4  to say more about its sales plans for the silver round-eyed SDR-4X to reporters last week. "This robot was designed to live with people in  5  , "said Sony only.

"The SDR-4X has sensors on the bottoms of its  6   so it can walk on carpets and other uneven surfaces. It even knows   7   get back on its feet when it falls, "Sony said.

The 58-centimetre-tall SDR-4X is equipped with two  8   , allowing it to see better than its predecessor. It can  9   the difference between the edge of a table and patterns on the floor. The SDR-4X will be more expensive than the Ambo which   10   for 180 000 yen(US $ 1 400) in Japan and US $ 1 500 in the US. The SDR-4X can carry on simple  11  (It knows about 60 000 words. ), and be taught to sing by inputting music. It can also recognize faces,  12  and names.

Entertainment robots have grown into a fad, and toy makers are coming out with  13  imitations. Mitsubishi company   14  two entertainment robots to a museum. They can talk with children, play simple games and draw pictures. Yashawa Electric Corp has developed a 13.8  15  yen(US $105 000) bed-shaped robot that can help patients who need to strengthen their legs.

1.(　)

A. as many as　　　　　　　　　　    B. as much as

C. so many as　　　　　　　　　　    D. so much as

2.(　)

A. before　　　　　　　　　　    B. later

C. ago　　　　　　　　　　    D. after

3.(　)

A. ever　　　　　　　　　　    B. every

C. even　　　　　　　　　　    D. never

4.(　)

A. continued　　　　　　　　　　    B. used

C. forgot　　　　　　　　　　    D. refused

5.(　)

A. families　　　　　　　　　　    B. houses

C. homes　　　　　　　　　　    D. offices

6.(　)

A. hands　　　　　　　　　　    B. feet

C. arms　　　　　　　　　　    D. legs

7.(　)

A. when to　　　　　　　　　　    B. how to

C. what to　　　　　　　　　　    D. why to

8.(　)

A. umbrellas　　　　　　　　　　    B. bands

C. telephones　　　　　　　　　　    D. cameras

9.(　)

A. talk　　　　　　　　　　    B. speak

C. say　　　　　　　　　　    D. tell

10.(　)

A. sales　　　　　　　　　　    B. sells

C. buys　　　　　　　　　　    D. borrows

11.(　)

A. diaries　　　　　　　　　　    B. conversations

C. competitions　　　　　　　　　　    D. dialogues

12.(　)

A. noises　　　　　　　　　　    B. bodies

C. voices　　　　　　　　　　    D. entrances

13.(　)

A. cheap　　　　　　　　　　    B. cheaper

C. dear　　　　　　　　　　    D. more expensive

14.(　)

A. sold　　　　　　　　　　    B. have sold

C. has sold　　　　　　　　　　    D. will sell

15.(　)

A. hundred　　　　　　　　　　    B. thousand

C. million　　　　　　　　　　    D. billion

Zhang Jin was so lucky to have a free trip to Thailand. But he didn‘t 35 to have a dangerous experience. The next day, when Zhang Jin arrived in Bangkok (曼谷), he was shocked to find himself in a city 36 with street battles (战斗) between two groups. One group was supporting the Thai government while the other was 37 it and had street battles with the 38 . Two people were killed and hundreds injured. Because of it, 240,000 foreign tourists, including over 3,000 Chinese people like Zhang, failed to leave and had to 39 in the country.
"We were 40 on the streets. But we felt at home with other Chinese from HongKong or Taiwan," said Zhang. 41 , the Chinese government sent flights to bring the people back. Now, all the Chinese tourists are safely back home. "The moment the plane left Thailand, we cheered for joy," said Zhang.
Last week the street battles finished. 42, the country‘s tourism industry(旅游业)needs 43 to return to normal. Tourism is the 44 part of the country‘s economy (经济)， Thailand is called "Land of Smiles" and has some of Asia‘s best beaches. It has made ￥17 billion from 15.5 million tourists this year.