2.1_city

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Ex. 43 a Answer the following questions:

1. Do you often sit on benches in the streets or in parks? 2. Do you think benches in your city are comfortable?

3. Do you think there are enough benches in your city?

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Ex. 43 b Read the glossary carefully, read the text below and underline the words and phrases from the glossary:

GLOSSARY a spike n a sharp metal object with a point at the end

time’s up exp if the “time’s up”, there is no more time – something has finished

to share out evenly exp if you “share something out evenly”, you give an equal piece to everyone

to grab v to take something quickly, usually so others can't have it

the fairest way exp a way of doing something so that everyone has the same opportunities installation art n art that is created for a specific place, often using materials or things from that place satire [sætaiǝ] n comedy that makes something or someone appear to be ridiculous or silly

commercialisation n making things that should be free into something that is sold for profit

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BENCH ATTACK

Park benches designed to deter sitters.

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When was the last time you sat on a park bench? Did you stay for long? A new range of park benches will limit the amount of time you can sit there. Germany and China have already had pay- as-you-sit benches. And if you don’t get up in time, it could get extremely painful.

The new benches have a unique feature: numerous sharp spikes on the part that you sit on! Visitors who want a rest need to put a coin in a machine next to the bench. Once the money has been accepted, the spikes disappear into the bench, allowing you to sit down in comfort... but only for half an hour. When the time’s up, the spikes slowly start moving up again. It doesn’t hurt at first, but after a minute, they start coming up even more quickly. They aren’t long enough to cause serious injury, but they do cause pain, as tests have shown. But why have they been installed?

“Our public parks are extremely popular in summer,” a spokesperson for the local council where the benches have been installed explained. “But with all the thousands of people who visit the park, there aren’t enough benches for everyone. We want to ensure that the facilities are shared out evenly, and to stop people grabbing a bench and staying there all day. Fitting steel spikes seemed to be the fairest way of stopping people doing this.”

Apparently, the idea came from German sculptor Fabian Brunsing, who created a similar bench as part of an installation art piece called “Pay and Sit Private Park Bench”. He intended it as a satire on the overcommercialisation of modern life, and thought he was exaggerating... but if only he knew. Once again, life

imitates art.

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Ex. 43 c Answer the following questions:

1.What inspired the introduction of spiked benches? What is ironic about it?

2.Why were spiked benches installed in German and Chinese parks?

3.How can you pay for sitting on a spiked bench?

4.How long can you sit on such a bench?

5.What do you think about pay-as-you-sit benches?

Ex. 44 a Read the text and complete the definitions:

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Ex. 44 b Complete the sentences:

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Ex. 45 Complete the Problems column:

Ex. 46 a Read the texts about city problems and do the exercises below:

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Ex. 46 b Answer the questions using the expressions from 46a:

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Ex. 46 c Match the beginnings of the flowing sentences with their endings:

Ex. 47 Complete the sentences with suitable words:

1.Don’t forget to ___________ your ___________ belt when you ___________ the car.

2.In the morning, the _______________ starts at about 7 o’clock and goes on until at least 9.30. Then it starts again about 4.30 in the afternoon.

3.It was raining, so when I ______________ the car didn’t stop quickly enough, and I _______________ into the back of the car in front.

4.The bicycle hit me just as I stepped off the _______________ to cross the road.

5.The car _____________, so I phoned a garage and they sent someone to repair it.

6.There was a terrible _______________, and that’s why it took me two hours to get home in the car.

7.I was doing 65 mph on the inside ______________ of the motorway, and suddenly a car _______________

me doing 90 mph.

8.________________ is anger or violent behavior by one driver toward another driver.

9.A ________________ is a part of the road that is set aside for people on bicycles, and which may not be ! used by drivers of motor vehicles.

Ex. 48 Complete the sentences with suitable words (there are the first letters of the words):

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Ex. 49 Write the words which complete the names of these facilities:

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Ex. 50 Complete the definitions and sentences with suitable words:

1.You can borrow books or study at ___________.

2.You can leave your car with a lot of other cars at ____________.

3.The areas outside the city centre where people live are called ____________.

4. We wanted to go by plane but we couldn’t afford the air _______. 5. Burt and Mary __________ the bus, so they had to walk.

6. They’ve just apologised for the late __________ of our train. They now say it’ll be here in 20 minutes.

7. Announcement: ladies and gentlemen, we apologise for the delay. This train is due to _________ at London King’s Cross in 15 minutes.

8. The speed __________ in cities is often 30 mph in the UK.

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Ex. 51 Complete the sentences using the correct form of the word in the brackets:

1. Some people feel that towns are too ___________ for them to live in. (noise) 2. Generally the countryside is less __________ than towns. (pollute)

3. Living in cities can be very ___________ for some people. (stress) 4. The countryside is much less ___________ than towns. (crowd)

5. Some people enjoy the countryside more because it’s ___________. (peace) 6. I always feel ___________ in town than in the countryside. (safe)

7. However, life in town is certainly more __________. (excite)

8. Some people believe it is more ___________ to live in town. (danger)

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Ex. 52 Correct the mistake in each sentence:

1. Go along of this road and take the first turning on your right. 2. He got on the car, fastened his seat belt and drove away.

3. Keep go down this street, until you get to the bank.

4. When you drive, be careful not to break the limit of speed.

5. The new complex will include a concert house and a sports hall.

6. The streets around the stadium are always strewn with beer cans, cigarette packets and other pollution after a match.

7. The scenery to the north of the lake is equally impressed. 8. We made our way through the crowdy streets.

9. Cross the bridge and turn right at the first set of traffic light.

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Ex. 53 Point out the odd notions in each set and explain why it is odd:

1. bus stop, petrol station, taxi rank, railway station

2. youth hostel, B&B, police station, hotel

3. disco, rush hour, traffic jam, commuting

4. citizens’ advice bureau, job centre, department store, registry office 5. catering, vandalism, crime, pollution

6. housing estate, slums, parking meter, residential area

7. cycle lane, railway station, speed limit, traffic jam

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Ex. 54 Complete this essay with appropriate words and expressions from the box:

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“Describe a place where you live or have lived, outlining its good points and bad points”

For seven years I lived in Singapore, a (1) _____________ of almost three million people. Like London, Paris, and New York, Singapore is a (2) _____________ city, with people from different parts of the world living and working together. I enjoyed the (3) _____________ lifestyle I led there, and made the most of the superb (4)

_____________, ranging from the excellent stores to some of the best restaurants in the world. In the evenings and at weekends there were always (5) _____________: with such diverse attractions as classical western music, an exhibition of Malay art, or a Chinese opera in the street, it was difficult to get bored. Perhaps most impressive, however, was the remarkable (6) _____________, with excellent roads, a swift and efficient bus service, and a state-of-the-art subway system which could carry (7) _____________ from the suburbs straight into the heart of the city (this was particularly important, as the government banned private cars from entering the Central Business District during the morning and afternoon (8) _____________ in order to reduce (9)

_____________ on the roads and (10) _____________ from the exhausts.

Of course, living in a city like this has its disadvantages as well. For a start, the (11) _____________ can be very high – renting an apartment, for example, is very expensive. And as the city is expanding, there are a lot of (12) _____________ where new apartments are continually being built to deal with the (13) _____________

which is a direct result of the government encouraging people to have more children.

Fortunately, Singapore doesn't suffer from problems that are common in many cities such as (14)

_____________, which is partly the result of the government imposing very severe penalties on anyone bringing narcotics into the country, so it is safe to walk the streets at night. In fact, the (15) _____________ housing estates there are probably the safest and most orderly in the world.

Singapore wouldn't be ideal for everyone, however, especially if you come from the countryside and are used to a (16) _____________ lifestyle. The traditional villages that were once common have disappeared as the residents there realised there were no (17) _____________ for their future and moved into new government housing in the city. Nowadays, there is very little (18) _____________ around the city, which means that Singapore imports almost all of its food. And despite a “green” approach to city planning, the (19)

_____________ which has eaten into the countryside has had a detrimental effect on the (20) _____________.