Part I urban and rural life

Did you live in a village, a town or a big city? Where would you prefer to live? Why?

 Reading

Read the text and find Ukrainian equivalents to words in bold type.

Town and country

Today people all over the world are moving out of small hamlets and villages in the country to big, noisy cities. They are moving from the peaceful hills and mountains, fields and plains, valleys, rivers and streams of the countryside to the busy world of overcrowded streets, buildings and traffic. This movement from rural areas to urban areas has been going on for over two hundred years.

In many countries, the main reason people come to live in towns and cities is work. After one or two large factories have been built in or near a town, people come to find work, and soon an industrial area begins to grow. There is usually a residential area nearby, where the factory workers can live. The inhabitants need schools, hospitals and shops, so more people come to live in the area to provide these services – and so the city grows and develops.

Life in the city was never very easy, but the Industrial Revolution made 19th-century cities almost uninhabitable. Most city dwellers were overworked, underfed, and poorly housed. While in earlier times wealthy people usually lived in the centre of the city, during the nineteenth century rich people began to move to the outer areas. The poor people, who had no means of transportation, were forced in the highly polluted central areas.

Most modern cities have paved roads, sidewalks, electric lights. Improvements are still being made. The main problems are overpopulation, crime, poverty, and water pollution.

In every major city in the world, there is a business district where the big companies have their main offices. In the United States, their area is usually in the city centre downtown. It is here that you can see the huge skyscraper office blocks springing up. The people who work here often travel a long way to work each day. Many of them live in the suburbs of the city, far away from the industrial area and the city centre.

But what is the future of the big cities? Will they continue to get bigger and bigger? Perhaps not. Some major cities have actually become smaller in the last ten years, as people are also moving out of major cities back into provincial areas.

Exercise 1

Decide whether these statements are true (T) or false (F) according to the passage.

1. Many people from small villages go to live in big cities.

2. Urban areas contain mainly hills, mountains, rivers and streams.

3. Many people go to live in urban areas to find schools.

4. Plants are built inside residential areas.

5. Business districts are usually in the city centres.

6. Workers in the city centres often live in the skyscrapers in suburbs.

7. The suburbs of a city usually contain more trees, parks and gardens than the city centres.

8. The movement from country to city will definitely continue in the future.

Exercise 2

Look at these pairs of items. Decide which is larger in size and put a cross (x) next to it. Explain your decision.

Example: hill – mountain x, as hill is usually just a rounded natural elevation of land lower than a mountain.

1. settlement – town 2. city – business district 3. field – countryside 4. urban area – city centre 5. skyscraper – residential area

6. river – stream 7. park - garden 8. shop – department store 9. factory – industrial area 10.rural area – farm

Exercise 3

Look at the list of buildings below.

a.write (H) next to those buildings which can be people’s homes;

b.write (A) next to those buildings which are ancient and (N) next to those which are new;

c.explain what these buildings are used for.

Example: Monastery (H) (A) - an establishment in which members of a religious community (as of monks) live and carry on their work.

Castle	Farm	Mansion
Duplex house	Pyramid	Abbey
Greek theatre	Palace	Hotel
Cathedral	Casino	Church
Mosque	Bungalow	Garage
Triumphal Arch	Campanile	Tomb
Minaret	Colonnade	Gallery

 Reading

Read the text and say what are the advantages and disadvantages of living in cities.