1.   There was strong evidence of a slow but methodical spread of this knowledge.

2.   Moreover, the numbers on airline travel are nowhere near as bad as they were in the fall and appear to be on a slow but steady rebound.

3.   Defenders said the record showed slow but steady improvement, but critics called it mediocre.

4.   The return mail was slow but Melnichenko, an Orthodox Christian living in a predominetly Moslem Kazakhstan, finally got his response.