4
Life in big cities
Textbook: p. 9
GoalComparing big cities (comparatives); talking about advantages and disadvantages.
New words
population · aholiarea · maydonadvantage · afzallikdisadvantage · kamchilik
Explanation
To compare two things we add -er + than to a short adjective: big – bigger than, old – older than, small – smaller than. Before long adjectives we use more: more crowded than, more expensive than. Irregular forms: good – better, bad – worse. Reading big numbers: 9,000,000 is nine million; 2,500 is two thousand five hundred. Advantages of a big city: many jobs, universities, theatres and museums. Disadvantages: heavy traffic, noise and high prices. For example: “Life in a big city is more exciting than in a village, but it is also noisier.”
Worked examples
Tokyo is bigger than Paris, and Paris is older than many cities in Asia. Tashkent has more people than Samarkand, but Samarkand is older.
Advantages: you can find a good job and the underground is fast. Disadvantages: the air is dirtier and flats are more expensive than houses in a village.
Class activity
“City debate”: two groups take turns saying one comparative sentence each about the city and the village.
Practice
1
Compare: A bus is slow. A train is fast.
A train is faster than a bus.
2
Write the comparatives: expensive, good, small.
more expensive, better, smaller
3
Write the number in words: 3,000,000.
three million
4
Give one advantage and one disadvantage of a big city and explain why.
Advantage: there are many jobs. Disadvantage: heavy traffic, so travel takes a long time.