单选题 Directions: In this part there are three passages and one advertisement, each followed by five questions or unfinished statements. For each of them, there are four suggested answers. Choose the one that you think is the best answer. Mark your answer on the ANSWER SHEET by drawing with a pencil a short bar across the corresponding letter in the brackets.
Bra, where there is a church clock that is a half hour slow, is not only the home of an international movement that promotes "slow food" but also one of 31 Italian municipalities that have joined the " slow cities". These cities have declared themselves paradises from the accelerating pace of life in the global economy. In Bin, the town fathers have declared that all small food shops be closed every Thursday and Sunday. They forbid cars in the town square. All fruits and vegetables served in local schools must be organic. The city offers cut-rate mortgages to homeowners who do up their houses using a local butter-colored material and reserves commercial choice real estate for family shops selling handmade chocolates or specialty cheeses. And if the movement leaders get their way, the slow conception will gradually spread across Europe.
The argument for a "Slow Europe" is not only that slow is good, but also that it can work. The Slow City movement, which started in 1999, has turned around local economies by promoting local goods and tourism. Young Italians are moving from larger cities to Bra, where unemployment is only 5 percent, about half the nationwide rate. Slow food and wine festivals draw thousands of tourists every year. Shops are thriving, many with sales rising at a rate of 15 percent per year. "This is our answer to globalization" says Paolo Satumini, the founder of Slow Cities.
France is the favored proving ground for supporters of what might be called slow economics. Most outsiders have long been doubtful of the French model: short hours and long vacations. Yet the French are more productive on an hourly basis than counterparts in the United States and Britain, and have been for years. The mystery of French productivity has fueled a Europe-wide debate about the merits of working more slowly.
单选题 The church clock that is a half hour slow serves as a symbol of ______.
  • A. fast movement
  • B. slow movement
  • C. global economy
  • D. city growth
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。第一段“Bra, where there is a church clock that is a half hour slow is not only the home of an international movement that promotes 'slow food' but also one of 31 Italian municipalities that have joined the 'slow cities' .”是从侧面说明此城的“慢节奏”。故答案为B。
单选题 In Bra, local specialty businesses ______.
  • A. are not open on Thursdays and Sundays
  • B. are not allowed in the town square
  • C. enjoy low-rate loans from the bank
  • D. enjoy priority in business sites
【正确答案】 D
【答案解析】[解析] 细节题。第一段“…and reserves commercial choice real estate for family shops selling handmade chocolates or specialty cheeses.”可知市政府对地方特色经济给予优待。故答案为D。
单选题 The low unemployment in Bra is mentioned to prove that ______.
  • A. unemployment is in proportion to population
  • B. a good concept works well in its birthplace
  • C. the Slow City movement is successful in Bra
  • D. tourism brings great job opportunities
【正确答案】 C
【答案解析】[解析] 例证题。题干问：“文中提到的失业的例子是为了证明什么?”应从它所支持的论点分析答案，而第二段观点为“The argument for a 'Slow Europe' is not only that slow is good, but also that it can work. ”意为：提倡慢节奏的欧洲不仅是因为慢节奏好，而且因为慢节奏很有效果。故答案为C。
单选题 It can be inferred from the passage that ______.
  • A. British workers work longer hours than the French
  • B. French workers work longer hours than the Italians
  • C. Italian workers are less productive than the Americans
  • D. American workers are more productive than the British
【正确答案】 A
【答案解析】[解析] 推理题。由第三段“Most outsiders have long been doubtful of the French model: short hours and long vacations. Yet the French are more productive on an hourly basis than counterparts in the United States and Britain, and have been for years. ”可知：把法国同美国和英国作比较，法国人崇尚的是工作时问短而假期长的模式，由此可推断法国人的工作时间比美国人和英国人的都短。故答案为A。
单选题 The increased French productivity tends to ______.
  • A. throw doubt on slow economics
  • B. confirm merits of slow economics
  • C. favor an accelerating pace of life
  • D. encourage a slow economic growth
【正确答案】 B
【答案解析】[解析] 主旨题。由第三段“The mystery of French productivity has fueled a Europe-wide debate about the merits of working more slowly. ”可知：这一现象引起了更多人的关注，越来越多的人认为“慢节奏”的概念是很好的。故答案为B。