G012- Slow Food and Slow Cities - Gerund or Infinitive

Gap-fill exercise

Fill in all the gaps, then press "Check" to check your answers. Use the "Hint" button to get a free letter if an answer is giving you trouble. You can also click on the "[?]" button to get a clue. Note that you will lose points if you ask for hints or clues!

Fill in Gerund or Infinitive (with or without to)

Slow Food

The Slow Food movement was founded the day that an Italian journalist, Carlo Petrini, saw that McDonald’s had opened a restaurant in Piazza di Spagna, the beautiful square in Rome. He thought it was tragic that many people today live too quickly (SIT) down for a proper meal and only eat mass-produced fast food. He decided (TRY) to do something about it and so he started the Slow Food Movement. Although he didn’t succeed in (BAN) McDonald’s from Piazza di Spagna, slow food has become a global organization and now has more than 80,000 members in over a hundred countries.

“We believe in people (TAKE) time to enjoy the food that they eat”, says Fiona Richmond of Slow Food UK.

Slow food also encourages people (EAT) local and regional food, (USE) shops and markets and (DINE) out in small family restaurants. Says Richmond, “There is nothing more satisfying than (RELAX) around a table with friends. The pleasure of (EAT) quality food should be celebrated.


Slow Cities

The idea of “Cittaslow” or “Slow Cities” was inspired by the Slow Food movement and was started by the mayor of the Italian town of Greve in Tuscany. The aim of Slow Cities is (MAKE) our towns places where people enjoy (LIVE) and (WORK), and where they value and protect the things that make the town different. Towns which are interested in (BECOME) a slow city must reduce traffic and noise, increase the number of green areas and build pedestrian zones.

Many other small towns in Italy have been persuaded (JOIN) the movement and it has spread to other countries all over the world.

Slow Cities are about (HAVE) a community life in the town, so people don’t come home from work, shut their doors and that’s it.