Slowness has been a sweeping trend in sustainability.Slow food celebrates local produce and traditional cooking methods；slow fashion is made with a focus on people and the planet.You may have even heard of the slow city，a campaign to restore local cultures and turn cities back to their natural environments.
   Slow design developed from the larger slow movement.Although the term was only recently introduced，the idea of thoughtful design looks back to a time when buildings and furniture were made with great craftsmanship （手藝） and by hand-before the mass-produced throwaway furniture took over.You can think of the term "slow" as a celebration of timelessness：both the timelessness of a piece and the timelessness of the relationship between that piece and its owner.
   One example of slow design today is what's been dubbed the brown furniture revival （復興）.Brown furniture refers to the heavy wooden furnishings that were popular in your grandparents' day but suddenly fell out of style at the turn of the century.Brown furniture is often associated with dark woods，such as trees like mahogany，walnut，and teak，that take decades to reach maturity and true craftsmanship to transform into functional pieces.
   Today's furniture industry is dominated by the ＄13.1 billion-and-growing global ready-to-assemble（RTA） furniture market.RTA furniture is usually constructed from low-quality fiberboard，which lasts a small part of traditional furniture's lifespan （壽命）.The weight of furniture landfilled in 2018 was 9.7 million tons，4.5 times what was landfilled in 1960.
   In a less direct way，the idea of timelessness also lends itself to a lower environmental impact.Besides their demonstrated physical durability，slow materials and design are meant to outlive trends and never be thrown out simply because they're out of style.
   As second-hand shopping becomes more appealing to today's young generation-because of its low environmental impact and affordability-the brown furniture of yesteryear is making a comeback.

（1）Why is the first paragraph written？
A．To explain a new term.
B．To present the topic of the text.
C．To provide background information.
D．To highlight the importance of slowness.
（2）What does the underlined word "dubbed" mean in paragraph 3？
A．Known as.
B．Mistaken for.
C．Compared to.
D．Connected with.
（3）What can be inferred about RTA furniture？
A．It is out of date.
B．It has a long lifespan.
C．It is heavy and expensive.
D．It has bad effects on the environment.
（4）What is good news for the brown furniture revival？
A．Grandparents are buying new furniture.
B．The brown furniture will soon be mass-produced.
C．The young generation favors second-hand shopping.
D．Materials for slow design furniture are more available.

【考點】說明文；日常生活．

【答案】C；A；D；C