 Speaking

Look at the notes and the useful expressions, then compare and contrast life in the city and life in the country.

City life high pollution levels, noise, traffic jams, easy to find a job, open-minded people, good public transport system, many schools, hectic lifestyle, lots of entertainment facilities, high crime rate, unfriendly people, many hospitals, small houses, stressful, etc.

Country life healthy, picturesque surroundings, poor entertainment, monotonous, poor public transport system, relaxing, friendly people, intruding people, low crime rate, low pollution levels, few schools/hospitals, larger houses, isolated, no variety of jobs, etc.

Useful expressions: although, unfortunately, whereas it is, both compared to, on the contrary, different to, however, too, also, in comparison to, etc.

E.g. Life in the city is very different from life in the country. Life in the city is more stressful in comparison to life in the country, etc.

 Reading

a. Read the text on the next page about the advantages and disadvantages of living in a city. There are three paragraphs. What is the purpose of each one?

b Replace the words underlined with one of the following.

in spite of another point is that all things considered to sum up one disadvantage is that moreover

pros and cons one advantage is that for instance in my pinion especially finally

Living in the City

Living in a city has both advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, it is often easier to find work, and there is usually a choice of public transport, so you don’t need to own a car. Also, there are a lot of interesting things to do and places to see. For example, you can eat in good restaurants, visit museums, and go to the theatre and to concerts. What is more, when you want to relax, you can usually find a park where you can feed the ducks or just sit on a park bench and read a book. All in all, city life is full of bustle and variety and you need never feel bored.

However, for every plus there is a minus. For one thing, you might have a job, but unless it is very well-paid, you will not be able to afford many of the things that there are to do, because living in a city is often very expensive. It is particularly difficult to find good, cheap accommodation. What is more, public transport is sometimes crowded and dirty, particularly in the rush hour, and even the parks can become very crowded, especially on Sundays, when it seems that every city-dweller is looking for some open space and green grass. Last of all, despite all the crowds, it is still possible to feel very lonely in a city.

In conclusion, I think that city life can be particularly appealing to young people, who like the excitement of the city and don’t mind the noise and pollution. However, many people, when they get older, and particularly when they have young children, often prefer the peace and fresh air of the countryside.

 Writing

Write rough notes about the pros and cons of living in the country. Compare them with your partner. Write three paragraphs called “The Pros and Cons of Living in the Country”. In the conclusion give your own opinion. Write about 250 words.

Listening

New York and London

a) What do you know about New York and London? Have you been there? What did you do? What did you think of these cities?

b) Work in two groups.

Group A Listen to Sheila and Bob talking about when they lived in New York.

Bob and Sheila spent two years living in New York because of Bob’s work as a banker. Neither of them had lived in a big city before. They now live back in England, in a small village outside London.

Group B Listen to Terry. She is an American who lives in London

Terry Tomscha talks about her experience of living and working in England, where she has been for the past eleven years.

c) What do they/does she say about the following things?

	BOB AND SHEILA	TERRY
1 People What are they like? What is important to them? What do they like doing? Where do they live? 2 Shops What are they like? Do they like them? What time do they open? 3 Work and holidays 4 Transport What do they mention? 5 General opinions -- Is it a good place to live? Why?

d) Find a partner from the other group. Compare your information.

Exercise 7

Read the text below and look carefully at each line. Some of the lines are correct, and some have a word which should not be there. If a line is correct, put a tick by it. If a line has a word which should not be there, write it in the space provided. There are two examples at the beginning (0) and (00).

0 I live in Mexico City. To me, it is the most exciting and most	__most__
00 friendliest city in the world, but I have to admit that it can	_______­­­_
1 be more uncomfortable and very more stressful than other	________
2 places. It is the oldest city in North America and was being built	________
3 on the remains of the Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan. It is also	________
4 one of the much most modern; new buildings and roads are always	________
5 being constructed, making districts you thought you knew more well	________
6 look unfamiliar! If I would feel like a less urban sight, I raise my	________
7 eyes and look at the mountains which surround the city like as	________
8 the rim of a dish. In the south east there are two volcanoes,	________
9 Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl, which are permanently be covered	________
10 with snow. If fewer have had cars in Mexico City, we would	________
11 be able to enjoy this poetic sight many more often. Unfortunately,	________
12 the pollution usually prevents you from seeing vary far at	________
13 all. Newcomers, even young ones, sometimes look like as if	________
14 they are old and sick because the altitude (2,240 meters) can	________
15 make breathing it difficult at first. But, if I could live anywhere in the world, I would still choose Mexico City.	________

Exercise 8

Translate into Ukrainian.

1.This year come to Rio! See the dancing and the costumes and hear the music, at the most famous carnival in the world. And live in luxury at a beautiful hotel. 2.Now is the time to think about next year’s vacation. And why not think about London? No other city offers you more. There’s more history: see where modern democracy has its roots, in the British Parliament. There’s more tradition: all over Britain you can enjoy annual festivals that have been held each year for many, many years. There’s more shopping: look at all the beautiful stores around our famous Trafalgar Square. 3.What city has more ancient monuments than any other? What city was founded by two children who were raised by a wolf? Where can you see the sculpture that commemorated the birth of those two children? In what city can you see the most ancient metropolitan area? Where else but Rome? Come and experience it. 4.You say you love winter recreational activities? In Helsinki you can leave your hotel, put your skiis on at the door and go cross-country skiing through the streets and into the woods. And we may be small, but we are not provincial. You’ll find the best food, the most up-to-date hotels. Finland - the heart of Scandinavia.