AROUND THE WORLD

Famous Cities 1
Think about it!
Can you name some famous cities around the world? What
are they famous for?

Useful language
country • capital • city •
town • population •
inhabitants • area •
km2 – square kilometres •
economy • industry •
consumer goods

Catch on to it!
Read the following texts about some famous cities, then fill in the name of the correct city
in each table:
Los Angeles, California, is one of the
most populated areas in the United States
of America: 3,845,542 inhabitants. The
city is a very important industrial and
financial centre. Some of the most
important activities include petroleum
and film industries. The city also has a
diversified economy: over 60% of the
largest companies in California have their
head offices there.
Rome, the capital of Italy, is one of the oldest
cities in
the world. It was already a large city during the
Roman
Empire. Today, with a population of about 2,553
,873
people, Rome is also a major centre of European
culture. There is no heavy industry in Rome, but
commercial activities, especially banking and touris
m,
are extremely important to the economy of Rome
.
Universities, national radio and television and
the
movie industry also play an important part in
the
economy of Rome.

City: City: City:

Country: Australia Country: USA Country: Italy
Area: 12,145 km2 Area: 1,215 km2 Area: 1,285 km2
Population: 4,198,543 Population: 3,845,541 Population: 2,553,873

10 LIMBA ENGLEZĂ • GHIDUL ELEVULUI

 g
Sydney, Australia, is the larg
est city in Australia, coverin
financi al
Reading numbers
. The city pla ys a large
an area of about 12,145 km
2

ind ust ries are in con sum er

in
and commercial role. The ma 100 – one hundred
ustries include engineering,
goods production. Other ind 1,000 – one thousand
equipment, electronics,
railway and transportation jor
ned petroleum products. Ma 10,000 – ten thousand
chemicals, plastics and refi
wheat and wool.
exports include coal, meat,
100,000 – a hundred
thousand
1,000,000 – one million
2,553,873 – two million five
Work on it! hundred and fifty-three
thousand eight hundred
1. Read the text about the three cities again, then answer and seventy-three
these questions:
a. Which one is the largest city on its continent?
b. Which city is one of the oldest in Europe?
c. Where is there an important film industry?
d. Which of the three cities has no heavy industry? Remember!
e. Which is one of the most populated American cities?
How to use superlatives:
2. Compare the data for the three cities, then find the answers Short adjectives:
to the following: small – the smallest
a. the smallest area; old – the oldest
b. the greatest area; great – the greatest
c. the greatest number of inhabitants; large – the largest
d. the smallest number of inhabitants. heavy – the heaviest
Long adjectives:
3. Listen to your teacher reading the numbers in the factfiles important – the most important
again. Then try to read these numbers: beautiful – the most beautiful
a. 2,550,169 d. 16,312,511 interesting – the most
b. 50,182 e. 1,291,313 interesting
c. 476,153 Other adjectives:
good – the best
bad – the worst
Go for it! many – the most
much – the most
1. Write 4-5 sentences to describe your town/village. How big
is it? How many inhabitants has it got? What about its
economy? etc.

2. Discuss with your colleagues about your town/village:

• What is the tallest building? Do you know?
• Which is the oldest bridge?
• What is the longest street? Today the world’s
• Which is the newest shop? population is about half
urban. Cities have always
been the most important
Did you get it? centres of economic growth
and cultural production.
Different people think and feel differently. Discuss with But their rapid growth has
your classmates about the most important things in your also brought negative things
lives: is it having a job, being healthy, having a family, such as poverty,
having friends, having a home? homelessness, and
You can start like this: The most important thing in my pollution.
life is …

PROGRAMUL „A DOUA ȘANSĂ” • NIVEL SECUNDAR 11

 AROUND THE WORLD
City or Countryside?
Think about it!
Do you prefer living in the city or country? Why?
Catch on to it!
Read the story below. What does the story mean?
You shouldn’t eat fast.
It is better to live in the country.
It is polite to invite your friends over for a meal.
The Town and the Country Mouse
by John Russell
Once upon a time, there were two mice –
they were cousins. One lived in the town
and the other in the country. The town
mouse was a very superior mouse. He
thought that living in the town was much
better than living the country. So one day,
he invited his country cousin to stay with
him in his town house and experience the
civilized lifestyle of the town. They sat
down to a meal, which to the country mouse
was a feast. “Delicious,” he said. “In the
12 LIMBA ENGLEZĂ • GHIDUL ELEVULUI
2
Useful language
city • country • farm •
lifestyle • medical care •
neighbour • office •
peaceful • quiet • services
• shops • transportation •
village
country I have only simple bread and cheese
in my quiet peaceful home.”
Suddenly, there was a loud noise at the
door. “Don’t worry,” said the town mouse,
“that’s just my neighbour – the dog, he wants
to join us for dinner.” The country mouse ate
a little faster. Another noise was heard out-
side, even louder this time. “Oh dear,” said the
town mouse, “the cat wants to join us too.”
Quickly finishing his meal, the country
mouse said, “thank you, but I think I will re-
turn to my quiet peaceful house in the coun-
try,” and he ran back home as fast as his legs
could carry him.
 Work on it!
1. Read the story again. Then circle T (true) or F (false) for each statement below:
a. The town mouse thinks life in the city is more civilized. T F
b. Life in the city is more peaceful than in the country. T F
c. The country mouse eats better food than the town mouse. T F
d. The city mouse is not worried about the dog. T F
e. The country mouse eats faster because it is hungry. T F

2. Write the comparatives of the following adjectives. Then, place them in the correct
column, according to the way they are formed:
easy • comfortable • fast • peaceful • good • quiet • civilized • bad • healthy • noisy •
loud • many

…er …y – …ier more… good – better

3. Use the correct comparatives to finish the

following sentences: Remember!

a. Travelling by plane is _________________ peaceful How to use comparatives:

than travelling by train. Short adjectives:
rich—richer
b. Living in the city is ___________________ many poor—poorer
than living in the country. cheap—cheaper
busy—busier
c. ___________________ people live in cities easy Long adjectives:
than in the country. expensive—more expensive
beautiful—more beautiful
d. It is _________________________ to live in fast peaceful—more peaceful
the country. Other adjectives:
good—better
e. Finding a job can be __________________ expensive bad—worse
in a town. many—more
much—more

Go for it!
1. Write 3-4 sentences to compare living in the city to living
in the country.

2. Use your ideas in a debate with your colleagues: would Do you know?
you rather be a country mouse or a city mouse?
Around 30 million people
in the European Union live
Did you get it? in housing without a
bathroom or shower.
Can you use comparatives to speak about some of the
things in your classroom?

PROGRAMUL „A DOUA ȘANSĂ” • NIVEL SECUNDAR 13

 AROUND THE WORLD

Cultural Profiles 3
Useful language
family • extended family •
Think about it! household • a few / several
• difference • similarity •
How many children are there in your family? What about birth rate • value •
most of the families that you know? How many children responsibility
would you like to have?

Catch on to it!
Read these cultural profiles for Romanians, Italians and Romani people. Write down some
important aspects of family life in each culture.

Family plays an important role in the day-
to-day lives of Romanians. Children are con-
sidered important in a marriage. Most fami-
lies have one or two children.
Children start their formal education at
the age of 6-7, when they go to school.
Men and women are considered equal,
but this is true more in urban than in rural
settings. Most women who live in cities have
a full time job outside the home. Decisions
within the family are generally made togeth-
er and doing the house chores has become
more and more a shared responsibility.
— Most families have several children: the
In Italy, large families were once the ideal.
Today, the birth rate has dropped to about 1.2
births for every woman, but the extended
family remains important. Extended family
members usually live near each other or in
the same household. Grandparents, aunts,
uncles and cousins often get together to share
family celebrations and Sunday dinner.
Children have a special place in Italian
society. Italians make an effort to include
children in social events. Children go out
with their parents to restaurants. They also
stay up late at night to play in the piazza
while the parents and grandparents enjoy a
drink at a nearby cafe.
The father was once the head of the fam-
ily and the family’s link to the rest of the
world. But this situation is changing today
as more women enter the paid workforce.
—
Family is highly valued by the Roma people.
Everything takes place in the family, so Ro-
mani are dependent on their family groups.
more children, the greater the family fortunes.
In recent years, Romani people have
started to place more value on formal educa-
tion and send their children to school, hop-
ing for a better life.
Romani wives look after the house, raise
the children, and obey their husbands. Men
are the protectors of the family’s prestige in
the community, making decisions and tak-
ing responsibility for their families.

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 Work on it!
1. Read the text again and find the plurals of the following words. Underline them.
family, life, child, city, decision, place, birth, man, house, wife

2. Now write the underlined words in the table below, grouping them according to the way
they form the plural: There is one example for each category.

responsibility situation marriage woman knife

responsibilities situations marriages women knives

3. Finish each sentence with the correct form of the word in

parantheses: Remember!
a. She would like to get married and have two
Plural of the nouns:
_________________________________ (child / children) group – groups
place – places
b. You can choose to finish this course or not. What’s class – classes
day – days
your _______________________? (decision / decisions) boy – boys
family – families
c. Timisoara is one of the most beautiful ______________ country – countries
in our country. (city / cities) Irregular plurals
man – men
d. One of my _________________________ is to learn how woman – women
to drive. (dream / dreams) child – children
wife – wives
e. Many ____________________ nowadays get a paid job.
(woman / women)

Go for it!
Write 5 sentences about your own views on family life. Be
sure to use plurals in each sentence.

Did you get it?

In this text about family life in Ancient Egypt some of the Do you know?
plurals are not used correctly. Can you spot 5 mistakes and
correct them? Work with a partner. The Roma is the largest
“The people of ancient Egypt highly valued family life. ethnic community in
They treasured child and regarded them as a great blessing. Europe, about 10 million
Young boy learned a trade or craft from their fathers or an people. It is estimated that
artisans. Young girls worked and received their training at two thirds of them live in
home with their mothers. Those who could afford it sent Central and Eastern
their sons, from about the age 7, to school to study religion, European countries and
reading, writing, and arithmetic. There is no evidence that about 2 million Roma
they had schools for girl, but some were home taught to people live in Romania.
read and write and some even became doctor.”

PROGRAMUL „A DOUA ȘANSĂ” • NIVEL SECUNDAR 15

 AROUND THE WORLD

Check Your Progress I

Before you do these exercises, go back to the Remember and Useful language boxes in
each lesson of the unit. Have a look at your notes and try doing again the exercises that
you found more difficult.

1. Find the odd word in each of the following lists:

a. Rome / Paris / France / Sydney / London;
b. teacher / school / university / highschool / kindergarten;
c. good / beautiful / interesting / bad / economy;
d. shorter / wider / longer / big / smaller
e. women / children / men / boys / girl

2. Choose the best way to complete each of the following sentences.

a. It is … to travel by train than to travel by plane.
a. faster b. fast c. more fast

b. The … thing to do is wait until they return.

a. goodest b. gooder c. best

c. They have been married for six years and have three ….
a. childrens b. child c. children

d. How many English … have you missed?

a. class b. classes c. classe

e. Do you think it is … to wait here or move along?

a. gooder b. better c. good

f. This is the … thing you have to do right now!

a. more important b. importantest c. most important

3. Write a few sentences to describe the place where you live (town / village / city):

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________________

16 LIMBA ENGLEZĂ • GHIDUL ELEVULUI