The clock rules our lives. The more we try to save time, the less time we seem to have. In every area of our lives we are doing things faster. And many of us live in towns and cities which are getting noisier and more stressful as each day passes. But now a worldwide movement, whose aim is to slow life down, has started. Its supporters are people who believe that a happier and healthier way of life is possible.

The Slow Food movement was founded the day that an Italian journalist, Carlo Petrini, saw that McDonald’s had opened a restaurant in a beautiful square in Rome. He thought it was sad that many people today live too quickly to sit down for a proper meal and only eat much fast food. He decided that he had to try to do something about it and so he started the Slow Food movement. Slow Food has become a global organization ever since and now has more than 80,000 members in 100 countries.

Slow Food also encourages people to eat local and regional food, to use local shops and markets, to eat out in small family restaurants, and to cook with traditional recipes.

The idea of Slow Cities was inspired by the Slow Food movement. The aim of Slow Cities is to improve people’s quality of life. Towns which want to become a Slow City have to reduce traffic and noise, increase the number of green areas, plant trees, build pedestrian zones, and promote local businesses and traditions. Now it has spread to other countries all over the world, from the UK to Japan and Australia. There are now 135 Slow Cities in 24 countries across the world that have been named since founding of the organization in 1999. Gao Chun County, in east China’s Jiangsu Province, is expected to be named the first “Slow City” in China next year.

“Slow Cities are about having a community life in the town,” said a local resident. “It is not ‘slow’ as in ‘stupid’. It is ‘slow’ as in the opposite of ‘worried’ and ‘stressful’.”

But not everybody is happy. For teenagers, who have to go 25km to Norwich, the nearest city, to buy CDs, living in a Slow City is not very attractive. “It’s all right here,” says Lewis Cook, 16. “But if you want excitement, you have to go to Norwich. We need more things here for young people.”

1.What’s the aim of the Slow Food movement?

2.All the following are necessary to be a Slow City EXCEPT ______.

3.From the fourth paragraph, we know that ______.

4.What’s Lewis Cook’s attitude to living in a Slow City?

5.What would be the best title for the passage?

A young and successful executive was traveling down a street , going a bit too fast in his new car; He was         for kids rushing out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something.

       his car passed a brick        the car’s side door, He pressed hard the         and spun the car back to the         from where the brick had been thrown,.

He jumped out of the car,        a kid and pushed him up        a parked car,shouting,”what was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are you doing?”        more and more angry, he wen on “That’s a new car and that brick you threw is gonna        a lot of money, Why did you do it?””Please ,mister,please,I’m sorry, Ididn’t know what else to do!”      the youngster, “It’s my brother”,he said ,”He fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t        him up”,Sobbing ,the boy asked the executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair?”He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”

      beyond words, the driver tried to       the rapidly swelling lump(块)in his throat, He       the young man back into the wheelchair and took out his       and wiped the scrapes (擦伤)and cuts,      to see that everything was going to be okay.

“Thank you ,sir, And God bless you,”the       child said to him ,The man then watched the little boy      bis brother to the sidewalk toward their home.

It was a long slow walk back to his car, He never did       the side door ,He kept the dent(凹痕)to remind him not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your      .

1.A、looking              B、watching               C、caring                    D、waiting

2.A、Before                        B、After                     C、as                           D、while

3.A、hit                     B、blocked                C、dropped               D、scratched

4.A、hit                      B、brakes                            C、brick                      D、wheel

5.A、spot                   B、which                    C、that                        D、this

6.A、saw                    B、found                    C、stopped                D、grabbed

7.A、on                      B、in                           C、against                  D、towards

8.A、Remaining                  B、Growing                C、Building up           D、Making up

9.A、cost                    B、spend                    C、use                        D、take

10.A、begged                     B、required               C、asked                    D、wondered

11.A、get                            B、pick                        C、lift                          D、put

12.A、Worried                   B、Depressed           C、Moved                  D、Surprised

13.A、chew                        B、melt                       C、spit                        D、swallow

14.A、helped                     B、pulled                   C、held                       D、took

15.A、medicine                 B、handkerchief       C、belt                        D、money

16.A、demanding              B、expecting             C、checking               D、wanting

17.A、delighted                 B、sad                         C、helpless                D、grateful

18.A、push                         B、bring                     C、hand                      D、raise

19.A、recovery                  B、repair                    C、reform                           D、record

20.A、information             B、help                       C、attention              D、notice

A volcanic eruption in Iceland has sent ash across northern Europe. Airlines have stopped or changed the flights across the Atlantic Ocean, leaving hundreds of passengers stuck in airports.  

Grirmsvom is one of the largest and most active volcanoes in Europe. What makes Grimsvom different is that it lies under a huge glacier（冰川） of ice up to 12 maters thick. The hot volcano heats up the ice above it, which then forms a layer（层）of water between the glacier and the volcano This layer of water puts pressure on the volcano, keeping it stable, As the water flows out from under the glacier, the pressure lifts. The lava（岩浆） from the volcano then comes up to the surface. This is exactly what happened today.  

Now, airlines have to make changes to their flights so as not to fly through the clouds of volcanic ash. According to KLM. one of Europe’s biggest airlines, airplanes cannot go under the cloud or over it. Going through the cloud can result in ash getting stuck in the airplane’s engines, causing damage to the plane.  

The eruption has also caused problems for animals in Iceland. The volcano left ash and sharp. Glass-like rocks all over the countryside. Farmers are keeping their animals inside to stop them from eating ash- covered grass to the sharp object.  

What makes Grimsvom different from other volcanoes? 

A. It is below ice.  

B. It lies under the sea 

C. It is the largest volcano 

D. It is lava affects the airlines 

What keeps Grimsvotn still? 

A. The slow flow of water 

B. The low water temperature 

C. The thick glacier 

D. The water pressure 

Which of the following is the result of the volcanic eruption? 

A. People stop traveling in Europe 

B. Airlines suffer from the loss of planes 

C. It becomes dangerous for animals to eat outside 

D. Farmers have lost many of their animals 

This text is most probably taken from_ 

A. a research paper 

B. a newspaper report 

C. a class presentation 

D. a geography textbook.

It was the district sports meet. My foot still hadn’t healed(痊愈) from a(n)_________(21) injury. I had_________(22) whether or not I should attend the meet. But there I was,__________(23) for the 3,000-metre run.

“Ready… set…”. The gun popped and we were off. The other girls rushed________(24) me. I felt_________(25) as I fell farther and farther behind.

“Hooray!” shouted the crowd. It was the loudest________(26) I had ever heard at a meet. The first-place runner was two laps(圈)）ahead of me when she

crossed the finish line.

“Maybe I should________(27).” I thought as I moved on. _______(28), I

decided to to keep going. During the last two laps, I ran _______(29) and decided not to_______(30) in track next year.It wouldn’t be worth it, ______(31) my foot did heal.

When I finished, I heard a cheer--- ________(32) than the one I’d heard earlier. I turned around, _________(33) the boys were preparing for theirs.  “They must be cheering for the boys.”

I was leaving________(34) several girls came up to me. “Wow, you’ve got courage!” one of them told me.

“Courage? I just __________(35) a race!” I thought.

“I would have given up on the first lap,” said another girl. “We were cheering for you. Did you hear us?”

Suddenly I regained _________(36). I decided to ________(37) track next year. I realized strength and courage aren’t always__________(38) in medals and victories, but in the _________(39) we overcome. The strongest people are not always the people who win, _________(40) the people who don’t give up when they lose.

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Long long ago, there was a small village. This village had a  36   tradition. At the beginning of every year, any boy who had reached the age of majority (成年) was given land and money to build a home. The boy had to  37  his home before winter. If his home failed to endure the cold weather in winter, the villagers could not  38   him in any way．

One _39_, Paul and Marc reached their majority. They  40  their land and money and decided to search nearby villages for ideas on building their homes．In each village, they found the nicest  41  and talked to the owners. Each owner gladly offered  42 ．

After Marc saw several homes, he  43  the best ideas and went back to his own land. Paul, _44_, continued collecting more ideas. Soon he had so many great ideas that he began to  45  some of them. But he always believed he could find even better ideas in the next village．

Marc began building his home. He had several false starts,  46   his home gradually rose from his land. By fall, Marc had finished his home. It wasn't perfect, but it was strong and he could  47  it later. Paul enjoyed all the beautiful homes and 48  with home owners. The first snow came and Paul, realizing he was running out of time, 49   back to his land. He built the best home he could in the time he had, but it was 50  .The first winter storm destroyed his home and he froze to  51 ．The villagers mourned for him．

Marc  52  the winter．Each year, Marc searched for other good ideas he could use to make his own home look better. He became a leader in the village, 53  a family, and lived a happy, content life．

We all build and improve our own mental homes. It’s  54   and fun for us to search for ideas from other mental home owners, but we only improve our own mental home if we actually  55  the best ideas．