SPEAKING PART 2 AND PART 3

TOPIC: CITY LIFE

PART 2
1. Work in pairs. Discuss the good and bad things about your town or city. Choose from these
things.
Transport entertainment work parks sports facilities shopping
2. Study the examples and explanations
Examples Explanations
It is comprised of two main parts… We use to be + made up of, comprised of,
composed of/ comprises to talk about the
composition of a city.
It’s a relatively modern city located in the We use to be + located, situated to talk
south-east of Australia. about location. We often use points of the
It is situated between the Jura uplands and compass with these
the Tara Mountains
In the immediate south …. We can use immediate(ly) and directly,
with points of the compass to talk about the
distance.
UNESCO has made the old quarter a We use borough, area, quarter and district
World Heritage site.. to talk about areas of a city.
It’s on the coasts …. On the banks of the We often use geographical features to
River Vistula… describe the location of a city.

Can you think of your own examples? Write them down here.
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3. Listen to three students talking about their city. Take notes of useful phrases. (Track 2.6)
Speaker 1 Speaker 2 Speaker 3
4. Read the task card and talk about the topic.
Describe a city in which you have lived.
You should say:
- Where it is
- How it has changed
- How you hope it will change in the future
and explain what you like or dislike about it.

PART 3

Vocabulary

- Exposure: the state of having no protection from something harmful.

Eg: Prolonged exposure to heat can be harmful.
- Respiratory diseases: Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions
affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals.
Eg: Chain smokers are often detected with respiratory diseases.
- Do wonders: to cause improvements or have a very good affect.
Eg: Aloe vera gel did wonders to my skin.
- Squander: to spent extravagantly or to waste money.
Eg: The rich brat squanders his father’s money on his friends.
- Country-dwellers: a person who lives in the country
Eg: Country-dwellers spend their money wisely.
- To the best of my knowledge: used to say that a person thinks something is true.
Eg: The thesis submitted by me is to the best of my knowledge.
- A myriad of: a very large number
Eg: There are a myriad of spiders in the old house.
- Living standards: the quality of housing, material comfort, and wealth experienced by an
individual or group.
Eg: Over the decades, living standards among the people have been improved.
1. What are the advantages of living in the countryside?
Living in the countryside can benefit people in a wide range of ways. Living in the countryside is
better for one’s health condition, thanks to significantly lower levels of air pollution. It is
undeniable that air quality in big cities is so bad that long-term exposure to it may
cause respiratory diseases and other health problems. Besides, the cost of living in rural areas is
likely to be lower than that in cities. Although people in the city tend to make more money than
people in the countryside do, they have to spend more on food, accommodation and transportation.
Therefore, one can save more money by living in the countryside without working as hard.
 2. What are the disadvantages of living in the countryside?
Although living in the countryside can do wonders for your wellbeing, it is undeniable that there
are still some drawbacks of living in the countryside. To be more specific, not
having good transport on your doorstep, will make it inconvenient to travel to a far-away place,
which also means you will squander more time on commuting. Another disadvantage is
that country-dwellers also have fewer job opportunities compared to those in the cities,
thereby resulting in a lower standard of living.
3. What kinds of people live in the countryside?
To the best of my knowledge, many people decide to live in the countryside because they want
to downshift to a less stressful life. Although people who live in the countryside can still lead hectic
lives, the peace of their surroundings helps to bring them to a gentle halt and remind them not to
rush life away.
4. What do people living in the countryside like to do?
I reckon that when living in the countryside, people can enjoy a myriad of activities that they
hardly have in cities such as going out at night without fear of street criminals, doing exercise in
the early morning to enjoy the fresh air.
5. How has life changed over time in the countryside?
The countryside has experienced specific changes for the last few decades. Firstly, people,
especially farmers, have applied modern technologies in their work. Therefore, productivity has
significantly improved while people don’t have sweat as much as they used to. Moreover, young
people in the countryside tend to move to town to seek job opportunities. As a result, the population
in the countryside is reducing and ageing.
6. Do you think it is better to live in the countryside or in the city?
As often as this question is raised, I believe it remains a tough decision to make when it comes
to choosing between living in the countryside and living in the city. Many people have been
attracted to live and work in big cities because of better employment opportunities and
higher living standards. This massive rural-to-urban migration has, however, led to an increase in
environmental pollution, traffic and social issues in urban areas. It would be a better idea for people
to live in the suburb and travel into the city to work every day so that they can enjoy the best of
both worlds.
7. How is the countryside different from town?
There are many things which differ in the countryside from town. It is much less crowded in the
country than in cities. Besides, the pace of life in the countryside is slow while people living in big
cities always seem to be in a hurry. Also, it is much more healthy to live out of big cities because
the air in the country is fresher and there is not as much noise.