Episode 249 B

EPISODE 249
LEVEL B2

 

READING COMPREHENSION

 

CITIES, TOWNS AND VILLAGES

People live in big cities, smaller towns or quite small villages. The choice of the place to settle down in depends on many factors.
In cities or towns, you have a wide choice when it comes to the place of living. You can choose to live in the very heart of the city, or as Americans say downtown. Most of the inhabitants (= people who live in a particular place) of big cities, however, live further away from the busy centre, in the American uptown. This is when you still live within the city boundaries. The areas of cities/towns that are the furthest away from the centre are called the outskirts, so you live on the outskirts. If you still want more peace and quiet, you will probably need to leave the city and move to a residential area (= a place where there are many houses) in the suburbs.
Those who are not fond of living either in a city or a town, move away to the country or countryside (= areas away from the cities/towns, consisting of fields, farms etc.). If you mean one concrete place, like a town in the country, then you say that you live in a village. Villages, just like cities and towns, have their names.

 

More contexts for the new words:

• Our son attends one of the suburban schools since we don’t want him to travel a long way to the city centre. (= in a suburb, relating to a suburb)
• The whole village was invited to the wedding. (= the people who live in a concrete village)

 

EXERCISE 1

Add the missing vowels (a, e, I, o, u).

1. The family lives in the SBRBS ………………………….. .
2. She was born in a small VLLG ………………………….. called Szczekociny Dolne.
3. Many supermarkets are now placed on the TSKRTS ………………………….. of big cities.
4. My school is in the very HRT ………………………….. of the city.
5. I just love the green fields and blue sky in the CNTRSD ………………………….. .
6. John lives in DWNTWN ………………………….. Los Angeles.

 

EXERCISE 2

Put the phrases in the right order, then answer the questions.

1. the disadvantages / What are / of the city? / in the heart / of living
2. in the suburbs? / the pros / of living / What are
3. in your / inhabitants / How many / residential area? / are there

 

ENGLISH IN USE

 

You have learnt in today’s lesson that you can live on the outskirts of a city. The noun 'outskirts’ belongs to an interesting group of nouns which are always plural and so they are used with a plural verb. Other commonly used nouns that are not used in the singular form are e.g. scissors, trousers, pyjamas, glasses (ones that you wear), tights, premises, refreshments.

If you want to 'measure’ such nouns somehow, you can use words such as 'some’ or 'a pair of’ before them.

Look at a handful of examples showing how to use plural nouns in sentences:

Where did you put the scissors? They were on the table a few minutes ago.
I need to get myself some new trousers. The ones I’m wearing are really worn-out.
Our school’s premises are worth a lot of money.

IDIOM CLOSE-UP

 

A/ There are so many young people coming to the capital.
B/ I know. And unfortunately many of them will end up in CARDBOARD CITY.

A cardboard city is an area of a large city where many people without a home sleep outdoors. Cardboard is a type of thick, stiff paper used to make the boxes that these people sleep in to keep warm.

PHRASAL VERBS CLOSE-UP

 

1. When something STICKS OUT, it is easy to notice or remember because of being unusual or different.

One building in the town centre stuck out.
One face really stuck out from the crowd.

 

2. When you GROW IN something, you begin to have more of a particular quality.

The suburbs are gradually growing in importance.
He was growing in confidence every day.

 

EXERCISE 3

Complete each gap in this news report with one word.

With Mexico City growing (1) …………………….. importance as a vital manufacturing centre for the rest of the country, thousands of people are flocking in their droves to the location. However, the city itself is unable to provide accommodation for so many, so the newcomers often have to settle in one of the cardboard (2) …………………….. on the outskirts. These shanty towns are an eyesore, and really stick (3) …………………….. in – what can otherwise be called – one of the most amazing locations in the world.

 

NEWS

 

THE RICHEST CITY IN POLAND

Not surprisingly, a recent survey showed that Warsaw is still the richest city in Poland, in terms of both income and spending. People living in the capital tend to earn – on average – almost twice as much as those inhabiting other areas of the country. Still, it must be borne in mind that these figures are dramatically inflated by the salaries of CEOs of international companies, whose offices are often located in Warsaw. Their remuneration might be even ten times larger than of those at the bottom of the pecking order. Also, the spending in the capital is higher than in other areas, simply because the cost of living is much bigger. While the goods might have comparable prices, service providers charge exorbitant sums for their work.

 

GLOSSARY
– to bear sth in mind – to remember about sth
– a CEO – Chief Executive Officer; the most senior manager in a company
– remuneration – salary
– pecking order – order of power or importance
– goods – objects you buy
– exorbitant – very high

 

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