Exercise 2. List the advantages and disadvantages of city and rural life

 

Advantages of living in a large city	Advantages of living in a village or a small town

Exercise 3. Read and translate the dialogue

Ted: Hi, Pat, We haven't seen you for a while.

Pat: Hi, I've just got back from New York.What a wonderful city! I'd really love to live there. Have you ever been there, Ted?

Ted: No, I wouldn't want to. I can't think of anywhere I'd want to live less. I've heard all about it and it sounds absolutely terrible - so much crime and violence. Did you get robbed while you stayed there, Pat?

Pat: Of course, not. As long as you take care and don't go anywhere you shouldn't go, you are safe. What I really love about cities is that there are so many different kinds of people to see, and so many different things to do. It's impossible to get bored I mean, whatever your interests there's something to do: entertainments, artistic events, museums - you name it, it's there.

Ted: No, I'd rather live in a small village where everyone knows everyone else, and people talk to each other, and they help each other out. In a city nobody knows who you are - everybody is in a hurry, and nobody has the time to be friendly. I know Marty agrees with me, don't you?

Marty: Well, up to a point I do But I think you are generalizing a bit Some villages are full of unfriendly people and some cities are full of friendly people. It all depends. If you live in a city and want to be alone and don't want to socialize, you can do that. Nobody will mind if you keep yourself to yourself. But if you try doing that in a village, people will call you unfriendly and unsociable and they'll make life difficult for you

Ted: Well, yeah I'll tell you what: the worst thing of all is...

Marty: What's that, Ted?

Ted: The traffic and the public transport. Now, I'd hate to live in a place where you just have to squeeze onto a bus or an underground train just to get anywhere. Oh, yeah. Underground trains are terrible, aren't they?

Pat: I do agree about the traffic, but the subway in New York is really the best way to get around and it doesn't matter if you are squashed together because you know you can get anywhere you want in just a few minutes.

Marty: I do have to agree that cities are exciting places to live in. Not like a village where nothing goes on from one week to the next

Ted: But that's the whole point, as far as I'm concerned, that's exactly what makes a village so great to live in, the peace and quiet.

Marty: Well, I have the best of both worlds. I live in a small town which is within easy reach of London and it's very close to the country.

 

Exercise 4. Decide which adjectives describe a city and which describe the country. Give reasons.

polluted, scenic, crowded, relaxed, noisy, quiet, peaceful, lively, picturesque, healthy, natural, dirty, entertaining, busy, slow, modern, remote, stressful.

 

Exercise 5. Look at the notes and the useful expressions, then compare and contrast the two pictures.

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, generally, on the contrary, different from, however, too, also, in comparison with, etc

 

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

Exercise 6. More and more young people are leaving their villages for towns and cities. Why is this happening? What should be done to encourage them to stay? Look at the notes, then discuss the problems and the solutions in pairs. You may add your own ideas.