Just outside the northern Italian town of Bra, there rises a church tower with a clock that is a half hour slow. Though not far from the industrial city of Turin, Bra smells of roses, and leisure(悠閑) is the law. It is both the home of an international movement that promotes slow food and one of Italian cities that have joined the slow cities. In Bra, population 27,866, 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(有機的). And as the movement goes well, the slow concept gradually spreads across Europe.

The argument for a Slow Europe is not only that it is good, but also that it can work. The Slow City Movement, which started in 1999, has improved local economies(經(jīng)濟) 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 doing well, many with sales rising at a rate of 15% per year. “This is our answer to the world.” says Paolo Samrnini, the founder of Slow Cities.

France is in favor of slow economics. Most outsiders have long been doubtful of the French model: short hours and long vacations. Yet the French are more productive than those in the United States and Britain, and have been for years.

The mystery of French productivity has risen an Europewide debate about the advantages of working more slowly.

60. The church clock that is a half hour slow severs as a symbol of ________.

A. industrial development                             B. slow movement

C. global economy                                       D. city growth

61. The low unemployment in Bra proves that ________.

A. the population is not large

B. tourism brings great job chance

C. the Slow City Movement is successful  

D. the slow concept works well only in its birth place

62. 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

63. The increased French productivity tends to ________.

A. favor a fast life style                                B. throw doubt on slow economics

C. encourage a slow economic growth              D. confirm advantages of slow economics

On our trip, we turned on the TV at the motel and saw the second plane crash into the World Trade Center. Seeing it falling down, I said to my kids: “I’m going to Afghanistan”. And a few weeks later, international Medical Corps sent me to set up 20 clinics in provinces where people had no health care. In these field clinics surrounded by frightening shoots or deadly bombs, we were eventually serving 27,000 patients a month in a very busy schedule. Tired and nervous, I gradually had a sense of achievement, a sense of purpose, and my depression went away.

In the years to follow, I went to Indonesia after the tsunami, Pakistan after the earthquakes, Sudan after the civil war and Iraq after more and more bombs. Each time after disasters one after another, hundreds of people were killed, wounded and many more had to flee. We once set up movable clinics in an area with 19,000 refugees, and it was supposed to hold 13,000 originally. Flu broke out, one of the biggest killers of kids in refugee camps, and it spread like wildfire. Water and food were also serious problems. “Adventures or not?” I often asked myself.

When my wife passed away, I thought my life was done. But in reality, it was just getting started. At the end of her life, she went unconscious. I held her head in my hands and told her of all the places we would visit and the exciting adventures we would have.

I think about the moment many times during my “adventures”. I didn’t know how predictive those words would be. But I know that she is still with me.

56. Where has the doctor been in the past few years?

A. Some countries where he could set up clinics.   

B. Some African countries where flu broke out.

C. The places where the earthquakes happened.

D. The places that the horrible disasters struck.

57. How would the doctor describe his life after he had worked in Afghanistan?

A. Tired and troublesome.  B. Busy and risky.

C. Meaningful and helpful  D. Frightening and depressing.

58. The underlined word “refugees” means people_______________.

A. who are robbed, killed, or wounded

B. who suffer from flu in movable clinics

C. who like to take adventures

D. who have lost homes because of disasters.

59. Which of the following is TRUE according to the passage?

A. the doctor’s wife encouraged him to work in foreign countries.

B. What the doctor said to his wife before her death became reality.

C. The doctor’s adventures made him understand the love of his wife.

D. With the true love of his wife, the doctor started to change his life.

It was Valentine's Day, my freshman year of college. I was so young, the romantic type. All I wanted was a rose. A single rose to __36__ up my Valentine's Day.

Valentine's Day at school was over，and I had no rose to __37__ in my locker like I had hoped. I came home a little __38__. I sat in my room dreaming about next year's romantic Valentine's Day __39__ the doorbell rang. There at the front door was a deliveryman __40__   one single rose to my house. Surely this rose wasn't for me. I didn't have such __41__. I closed the front door with a single rose in my hand and gave it to my mother. “__42__  the card！” she insisted when I told her it must be for her. I unsealed the envelope as my hands were __43__. I slowly lifted the card and read what it said：

To Amanda

From someone who cares

I must have read it twenty times in a matter of seconds, __44__ my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. But they weren't. The rose was for me. I must have been __45__ for about five minutes, until I started __46__ the obvious people and __47__ them of sending me a rose and playing a joke on my __48__ romantic heart. No one knew who sent it to me. My friends, family  and relatives were as __49__ to hear I got a rose from a __50__ someone as much as I was. I was on cloud nine(興奮) for weeks.

I __51__ did figure out who was it who sent me that rose. __52__ I did figure something else out. It didn't __53__ if it was a guy who secretly __54__ me who sent me that rose. What mattered was that it was from someone who __55__ about me and wanted to brighten up my day.

36. A. brighten               B. fill                       C. take                          D. decorate

37. A. hide                    B. hang                   C. plant                     D. stick

38. A. mad                    B. hungry                 C. angry                       D. sad

39. A. before                 B. until                     C. when                        D. once

40. A. posting                B. carrying               C. holding                     D. delivering

41. A. chance                B. luck                     C. value                        D. confidence

42. A. Open               B. Read                    C. Check                      D. Break

43. A. closing                B. moving                C. shaking                     D. spreading

44. A. praying               B. expecting             C. doubting                   D. believing

45. A. sorry                   B. curious                C. happy                       D. nervous

46. A. realizing               B. calling                 C. visiting                     D. questioning

47. A. informing            B. reminding            C. accusing                   D. telling

48. A. specially              B. actually               C. obviously                  D. hopelessly

49. A. surprised             B. excited                C. amused                     D. disappointed

50. A. considerate          B. distant                 C. secret                       D. generous

51. A. anyhow               B. still                     C. already                     D. never

52. A. For                     B. So                      C. Then                        D. But

53. A. happen                B. matter                 C. appear                      D. mean

54. A. loved                   B. helped                 C. pitied                        D. cheated

55. A. asked                  B. worried               C. cared                        D. talked

—I often see him working hard in his spare time.

—________he has won the scholarship from time to time.

A. No wonder          B. No doubt                C. No way                   D. No problem

Years ago we didn't know this, but recent science study ________that people who don't sleep well soon get ill.

A. showed               B. will show               C. has shown               D. is showing

 Is it only on the world market ________we can prove the competitiveness and quality of our goods?

A. where                  B. which                    C. that                         D. how

 —We need a person badly to be in charge of this design.

—________ the new comer have a try?

A. May                    B. Will                        C. Shall                       D. Need

 I wonder why Jack always gets good marks when he does only ________ the others.

A. half as much as    B. as much as half       C. half as many as        D. as many as half

 Not only ________ give people relaxation and pleasure, but ________ increase their knowledge of any kind.

A. can travel; it can  B. travel can; can it     

C. can travel; can it  D. travel can; it can

 When ________ questions in class, one should answer them as clearly as possible.

A. asking                 B. to ask                     C. to be asked              D. asked