City SolutionS  3

THINK AND DISCUSS

Answers will vary. Possible answers:

1. The biggest cities in my country are New Delhi and Mumbai. They both have very big populations. So they are both very lively! Both cities are very modern in some parts, but there are also poorer areas with

poor infrastructure.

2. My favorite city is Singapore. I like it because there are great parks, the public transportation is easy to use, and there is a diverse population of people from all around the world. There’s also terrific food and shopping!

EXPLORE THE THEME

A Answers will vary. Possible answers:

1. More and more people are living in urban areas in all parts of the world.

2. Latin America and the Caribbean; Asia

3. Africa and Asia

B urban; growth; dense (Note: The noun density is used to talk about population in comparison to land space: population density.)

Reading 1

PREPARING TO READ

A 1. aspect

2. spread out

3. income (Note: Income can be hourly, daily, weekly, yearly, etc.)

4. productive

5. tend to

6. concentration (Note: Another common meaning of concentration is focus.)

7. suburb

B Answers will vary. Possible answers:

1. I like suburbs and rural areas because they are less crowded.

2. The aspects of city life that appeal to me include good work opportunities and easy access to public transportation. However, housing in the city is very expensive.

C Answers will vary. Correct answer: c

UNDERSTANDING THE READING

A 1 (See Paragraph C.); 3 (See Paragraph G.);

4 (See Paragraph H.); 6 (See Paragraph K.)

B 1. d (Explanation: Recent decades, however, have seen a widespread change in attitudes toward urbanization.)

2.b (Explanation: This closeness reduces the cost of transporting goods, people, and ideas, and allows people to be more productive.)

3. a (Explanation: …cities tend to produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions per person than suburbs.)

4. f (Explanation: …it proves that a poor country can urbanize successfully and incredibly fast.)

5. e (Explanation: Some ways to densify suburbs include creating walkable town centers. … This would make people less dependent on cars.)

6. c (Explanation: …dense and carefully planned cities are looking more like a solution—perhaps the best hope for lifting people out of poverty without wrecking the planet.)

C 1. reduced cost of transporting goods, people, and ideas; easier to share information and learn from one another

2. less impact on the environment (example: half of the world’s population lives on only 4 percent of land / fewer resources needed to maintain city infrastructure / city apartments use lesser energy / fewer cars)

3. managing urban growth

D 1. Information can be shared easily in cities, allowing people to learn from one another.

2. A city’s urban growth must be supported by economic development.

3. the issue of urban sprawl

4. Expanding suburban areas have led to increased energy use, air pollution, and greenhouse gas emissions.

E Answers will vary. Possible answer:

Overall, I think urbanization has a positive impact on human societies because city living is more environmentally friendly. Life is also more

convenient for everyone.

DEVELOPING READING SKILLS

A 1. The graph shows South Korea’s economic growth from 1980 to 2015 in comparison to major European countries.

2. Paragraph F: In the same period, South Korea has also gone from being one of the world’s poorest countries to being richer than many countries in Europe.

3. The graph provides more details about South Korea’s rapid growth compared to some European countries.

B 1. The colors represent the levels of emissions—red indicates higher greenhouse gas emissions (per person), while green indicates lower emissions.

2. c

3. Paragraph D: As a result, cities tend to produce fewer greenhouse gas emissions per person than suburbs.

Video

BEFORE VIEWING

A Answers will vary. Possible answer: There’s not a lot of space in cities for farming, and underground farms won’t take up land that people live on.

B 1. Transporting food across long distances causes greenhouse gas emissions, which are a big contributor to global warming.

2. “Food miles” are likely to increase as the population increases.

3. Answers will vary. Possible answer: One way to reduce food transportation is for people to buy more food from local farmers instead of buying imported food.

C 1. distribution

2. utilize

3. LED

4. carbon-neutral

5. hydroponic farming

WHILE VIEWING

A 1, 3, 4, 5

B 1. F (We are in a tunnel system that was built during the Second World War.)

2. T (In London, for example, we’re going to have an additional two million people in the next 10 years.)

3. NG

4. T (And so we got one bench, but when we populate it—the whole of the tunnel—we’ll have a bench on the floor, bench halfway up, and a bench up here as well, so we’ll be growing that.)

AFTER VIEWING

A Answers will vary. Possible answers:

It shows that young people who grow up in cities lack an understanding of how food is actually produced. With underground farms, the food will

come from a local source. If underground farms become the norm, city people will have easy access to farms and fresh food.

B Answers will vary. Possible answers:

If a disease breaks out at an underground farm, it’s likely that many people will be affected. Another possible problem is that constructing

underground farms might cost cities too much money.

Reading 2

PREPARING TO READ

A 1. safety

2. consumption; majority

3. phenomenon; increasingly (Note: The plural of phenomenon is phenomena.)

4. industrial; varied

5. basically

6. attempt; enhance

B Answers will vary. Possible answers:

1. Two ways to enhance the quality of city life include making sure everyone has access to clean drinking water, and making sure the city is safe for all who live there.

2. One thing I can do to reduce my energy consumption is to unplug my electronic devices when I am not using them.

UNDERSTANDING THE READING

A a

B 1. a (Explanation: The project’s aim is to standardize the way information about cities … is collected and shared.)

2. b (Explanation: People flock to cities because…)

3. e (Explanation: There’s no readily available information on the speed of growth of cities.)

4. d (Explanation: So I decided to gather consistent information on 19 cities that will have more than 20 million people in the 21st century.)

5. c (Explanation: …you can’t solve a problem with a collection of little ideas. One has to understand them in context and in comparison to other places.)

C 1. architect

2. urbanization

3. business

4. media

5. 5 years

6. standardize

7. urban planners

8. environmental impact

9. 20 million

10. resources / energy

11. online

D 1. go there

2.large

3. in comparison with

4. obvious

5. poor

E Answers will vary. Possible answers:

1. The maps compare the amount of green spaces in Abu Dhabi, Tokyo, and London.

2. London (most); Abu Dhabi (least)

3. This information might help urban planners look at ways to increase green spaces in cities.

F Answers will vary. Possible answers:

1. Brand

2. Wurman

3. Wurman, Glaeser

4. Ange

Writing

EXPLORING WRITTEN ENGLISH

A 1. b

2. c

3. a

LANGUAGE FOR WRITING

B 1. moved

2. invested

3. was

4. has improved

5. has increased

WRITING SKILL

C 1. b (Explanation: Main points to be discussed are clear.)

2. a (Explanation: Main points to be discussed are clear.)

D 1. b (Explanation: an interesting question)

2. a (Explanation: a surprising fact)

3. b (Explanation: an imaginary situation)

E a. 3

b. (extra)

c. 2

d. 1

F Answers will vary. Possible answers:

Topic 1: The increased number of parking lots in the downtown area has made it more convenient for drivers to find a place to park their car.

Topic 2: As a result of an increased number of pedestrian-only areas and stoplights, the number of pedestrian-related accidents have fallen.

Topic 3: Thanks to a new metro and more new homes in the city center, the traffic issue has improved.

G Answer will vary. Possible answers:

Topic 1: This improvement in parking will likely make visiting the downtown area a more pleasant experience in the future. / Topic 2: With safer roads, cities will become a better place to live.

WRITING TASK

A Answers will vary. Possible answer:

City: San Francisco; Improvements: removed Embarcadero Bridge, renovated the waterfront area, etc.

B Answers will vary. Possible answer:

Introductory Paragraph

Hook: Imagine your shock when you visit San Francisco for the first time, and you have to walk under an ugly freeway to get to the bay.

Thesis Statement: However, one improvement that has made the city a more beautiful place for residents and tourists is tearing down the

Embarcadero Freeway.

Concluding Paragraph

Summary Statement: The removal of the Embarcadero Freeway has made the waterfront area attractive and accessible to both visitors and San Franciscans.

Final Thought: What other improvements might make the city an even more beautiful place to live and visit?

REVISING PRACTICE

1. c, a, b

2. d. Sentence to cross out: Visitors can take ferries to Alcatraz and take a tour of the old prison.

e. Walking under the freeway was not a pleasant experience.

f. In 1989, part of the freeway was destroyed by an earthquake …

EDITING PRACTICE

1. The city has made a lot of changes over the past 10 years.

2. Residents have enjoyed the renovations to the city center and the public parks.

3. The new subway system has made it easier to get across town.

4. It is now safer for people to ride their bikes to work because the government has added bicycle lanes to busy streets.

5. San Francisco city planners have created a beautiful walkable area alongside the bay.