The Rise of the Machines
Text I
The World’s First Megapolis
In 1982 the town of Shenzhen, just forty kilometers north of Hong Kong, was a fishing village with two main roads, fields and a population of 30,000. Now its population is about 3 million. It is growing at an incredible speed. The Chinese government hopes that in less than ten years this area will be the biggest city on earth, with a population of 40 million people.
China is changing. It is no longer a country where absolutely everything is owned and controlled by the state. Developers are welcome. The old China of bicycles and Little Red Books is disappearing. A world of mobile phones and capitalism is arriving.
The Chinese people seem to welcome all changes. They don’t worry about losing traditional ways of life. They want the new.
Shenzhen is a shocking place, like nowhere else on earth that I have ever seen. It is a city with no boundaries and no centre. There are thousands of new concrete office blocks, factories, and housing blocks as far as the eye can see. And it is all happening so fast. It takes just six months to design, build and finish a 60-storey, air-conditioning sky-scrapper. As one architect said to me, ‘If you move too slowly here, someone will walk over you.’
The new Hopewell Highway runs from Shenzhen to Guangzhou, and it takes just two hours to do the 123 kilometers. This superhighway will become the main street of a huge new city.
There will of course be more and more cars on the road. People don’t want bicycles. If you have a car, it means you have made money. So the traffic will be like in Bangkok. People ear and work in their cars.
This Pearl River City won’t be beautiful, but its power, energy, and wealth will be felt in all corners of the world.
Vocabulary:
developer – 1. развивающийся человек;
highway – шоссе, магистраль.
Text II
No consumer product in history has caught on as quickly as the mobile phone, global sales of which have risen from six million in 1991 to more than 400 million a year now.
The mobile phone has transformed our lifestyles so much that men now spend more time on the phone than women, according to the results of our special opinion poll.
The survey found that men with mobile phones (72% of all men) spend more than an hour a day making calls on an average weekday. The average man spends sixty-six minutes on his landline or his mobile.
But the poll reveals that, while men are using their phones a lot more, women are actually spending less time on the phone. Slightly fewer women (67%) have a mobile phone, and the survey shows that the average amount of time they spend on the phone on a weekday has gone down from sixty-three minutes before they got a mobile to fifty-five minutes now. The explanation might lie in the fact that men love to play with techno toys while women may be more conscious of the bills they are running up.
Innovation in mobile phones has been happening so fast that it’s difficult for consumers to change their behaviour. Phones are constantly swallowing up other products like cameras, calculators, clocks, radios, and digital music players. Mobiles have changed the way people talk to one another, they have generated a new type of language, they have saved lives and become style icons.
Obviously, the rich have been buying phones faster than the poor. But this happens with every innovation. Indeed, as mobile phones continue to become cheaper and more powerful, they might prove to be more successful in bridging the gap between the rich and the poor than expensive computers.
There are obviously drawbacks to mobiles as well: mobile users are two and a half times more likely to develop cancer in areas of the brain adjacent to their phone ear; mobile thefts now account for a third of all street robberies in London; and don’t forget about all the accidents happening to people when they drive with a mobile in one hand.
Vocabulary:
to catch on – становиться модным;
survey – опрос, анкетирование;
average – нормальный, среднестатистический;
to swallow up — поглощать;
to account – насчитывать.
Text III
The Rise of the Machines
Cars have given us freedom. We can go wherever and whenever we want to go. They have also given us independence. Cars provide us with personalised, door-to-door transport solution that’s always available. But they also change the world we live in.
If you had to consider the impact of cars on your town first of all you would probably think of traffic jams and the difficulty of getting about in a car in the rush hour. Or maybe you would think of pollution, and how the toxic fumes erode the facades of buildings. But there is a much bigger change we almost never think about. Cars change the face of the towns themselves.
As people buy more and more cars, roads keep getting widened to accommodate the increasing volume of traffic. They encroach upon formerly green spaces: lawns, flowerbeds, or trees that used to line the roads. They expand until the pavements become a thin strip along the foot of the buildings, further narrowed by the parked cars that invade the last remaining inches of pedestrian space.
We all enjoy the facilities that shopping malls, cinemas and enormous entertainment complexes bring — because we can use our cars to get to them. They are efficient, convenient, and fast. At the same time, we are saddened by the loss of our local groceries, our beautiful Art Deco picture-houses and the friendly neighborhood community centres. What we must also realise is that these changes go hand in hand, and we are to blame.
Preferring our freedom to sharing transport with others, we get into our cars to get to our workplaces, to do our shopping, to go out to the theatre, and many would even drive to go for a walk in the fields. And wherever we drive to, we have to park, too. Parking spaces are huge areas used up by empty cars waiting for hours for their passengers to return. What used to be a vast grassy meadow now becomes a small muddy field fringed by a square of concrete and tar. And what cars have changed will never be like it used to be, ever again.
Vocabulary:
traffic jam – автомобильная «пробка»;
rush hour – час пик;
to accommodate — приспосабливать(ся);
to encroach ((up)on) – вторгаться;
grocery — бакалейная лавка;
to fringe — обрамлять, окаймлять;
Text IV
Child Prodigy
Child prodigy Ruth Lawrence made history yesterday when she came first out of the 530 candidates who sat the entrance exam for St. Hugh’s College, Oxford. The all-women’s college is likely to offer her a scholarship. Ruth sat three three-hour papers – Algebra and Geometry; Calculus, Probability and Statistic; and Maths, Pure and Applied.
Ruth, who lives in Huddersfield, has never been to school. Her father, Harry Lawrence, a computer consultant, gave up his job when Ruth was five to educate her at home. Her mother, Sylvia, who also works in computers, is the family breadwinner.
Harry Lawrence explained that, besides mathematics, Ruth also enjoyed English, history, geography, nature study and other subjects. She began to read at four and started academic subjects at five. ‘We did not start off with the thought that she would not go to school’, he said, ‘but we enjoyed teaching her so much that we just carried on.’
Because she does not go to school, Ruth has not mixed much with other children. She enjoys serious conversation with adults, so her father hopes that she will not feel out of place at Oxford. He does not think she works harder than children her age, but concentrates on what she enjoys, principally mathematics. She also watches TV, plays the piano and has quite a wide range of interests.
If she does well at St. Hugh’s, Ruth expects to take further degree and eventually hopes to become a research professor in mathematics. The Lawrence family plans to move to Oxford when Ruth takes up her place in October 1983. Before then, she plans to take four A levels to satisfy the college requirements.
Miss Rachel Trickett, the principal of St. Hugh’s, said last night: ‘We are all very excited about Ruth. She is obviously quite brilliant and has shown genuine originality.’
When Ruth becomes a student, her father looks forward to concentrating his efforts on his younger daughter Rebecca, who is seven.
Vocabulary:
prodigy — одаренный человек; to satisfy – удовлетворять;
to sit the entrance exam – сдать requirement – требование;
вступительный экзамен; to look forward to – с нетерпением ждать.
paper – письменная работа;
to educate — воспитывать, обучать;
to mix with – общаться, дружить;
to feel out of place – чувствовать себя не в своей тарелке;
Analysis of ideas and relationships. Circle the letter next to the best answer.
1. Expert A’s main idea is:
a. megacity’s growth is a well-managed process
b. megacity’s growth is a self-regulated process
c. megacity’s growth is an infrastructure-dependent process
d. megacity’s growth is a transportation-dependent process
2. Expert B’s main idea is:
a. Japan builds separate cities for scientists
b. Japanese government may be moved out of town
c. Tokyo transport system is inefficient
d. Japan has found a new way to solve megacity’s problems
3. Expert C argues that:
a. cities are environmentally damaging
b. there is no land for farming left
c. urbanization has its own advantages
d. sprawl helps to combat air pollution
4. Expert D comments on:
a. disadvantages of metropolises
b. disadvantages of traveling by car in metropolises
c. disadvantages of air pollution in metropolises
d. disadvantages of high murder rate in metropolises
Explain the meaning of the following words and word-combinations in the texts.
built-in limits (A); metropolitan area (A); annual growth rate (A); edges of metropolises (A); satellite city (A); sister city (B); Science City (B); from scratch (B); vacant (B); lush (B); satellite (B); Space Center (B); environmentally (C); environmentally damaging (C); planet’s resources (C); move people around (C); tract house (C); filter the air (D); commuter (D); substandard housing (D).
Complete the sentences below with the word from Activity 3.
1. This big chemical plant is_______. 2. We should remember that the_____are not endless. 3. Is there a_____room in the house? 4. The city planners are concerned about the_____of this_____city. 5. Tomorrow they’ll be taken on the excursion about the______in_____. 6. The inhabitants of the_____often live in______. 7. A thick smog was hanging in the air over the_____. 8. Her dream has always been to have a plot of land and a_____surrounded by picturesque scenery. 9. The majority of the village dwellers are_____. 10. It is getting harder and harder to_____the growing city. 11. There are hundreds of weather______orbiting the Earth. 12. The car has its own_____, so it cannot move faster than it was designed to. 13. It was months since he had played tennis, so had to start_____. 14. It was a really_____house – very beautiful and expensive. 15. The term_____is just another name for a “satellite city”. 16.______, this plant does not make any sense – it’ll be a permanent source of air pollution, and we’ll have to_____coming into our homes.
Find in the text the words meaning.
Utilities and services (5 words and word combinations);
Transportation (4 words and word combinations);
Negative aspects of life in the recently emerged megacities (7 words and word combinations).
Complete the sentences below with the words from Activity 5.
1. _____is one of the most serious problems with the youth, it’s dangerous for their health. 2. Having spent more than 3 hours in a_____, he was furious. 3. Hurry up! You’ll be late for school if you miss the_____! 4. Even today many country houses have no_____, so the people have to bring water in and take the garbage out every day. 5. This is a new town, and its_____has not been sufficiently developed yet. 6. Due to the efficient work of the police_____has decreased by 12 per cent. 7. The children were taken to school by______to avoid the rush-hour_____. Little John enjoyed this quick_____-an excellent means of_____. 8. ______make people’s lives more comfortable – telephone, radio, television make the process of sending and receiving messages much easier. 9._____is much worse in industrial areas, the well-heeled even install special equipment to filter the air. 10._____made him start working at a very early age. 11.______and______are often connected, people living in the street often violate the law.
Study the collocation table and then proceed to the tasks.
| Noun Adjectives | Verb + Word | Word + Noun | Preposition | Phrase |
| neighbourhood | friendly, nice, respectable, select, poor, run-down, residential, middle-class, Asian, entire, whole | move into | police, school | around/ round the |
| community | large, small, close, close-knit, lively, international, local, ethnic, immigrant, religious, farming, rural, village, business, scientific, world | center, college, work, spirit, relations, group, leader | in/within a/ the- | a as a whole/ at large a member of the-part of a-a sense of |
| suburb | outer, outlying, inner, northern, Cincinnati, comfortable, prosperous, wealthy, poor, respectable, quiet, leafy, industrial, ‘ residential, sprawling | move out to, grow | from the Translate using the collocation table. 1. Округа, район, місцевість, сусіди: район для мешканців, що належать до середнього класу суспільства; район для бідних/обраних, привітні/приємні сусіди, житловий район, переїхати до району, район для вихідців з Азії, пристойний район, увесь район; поліційний відділок/школа, що відповідає за даний район; у цьому районі, в цілій окрузі, поза межами району. 2. Суспільство, громада, група людей, колектив, населений пункт, мікрорайон/мешканці мікрорайону: громадський дух, сільськогосподарська община, етнічна група, наукові кола, громадська робота, колектив коледжу, велика/мала громада, приміщення для проведення громадських культурних заходів, згуртована громада, сільська громада, громадські відносини, колектив працюючих на підприємстві, громада в цілому, міжнародне співтовариство, громадський лідер, відчуття громади, місцева громада, іммігрантські кола, ділові кола, релігійна община, член громади, світова громада, частина громади. 3. Передмістя: переїхати з міста до передмістя, ближнє передмістя, з передмістя, віддалене передмістя; передмістя, що розростається; південне передмістя, промислове/житлове передмістя, багате/бідне передмістя, передмістя Лондону, спокійне/тихе передмістя, зелене передмістя, пристойне передмістя, у передмісті. 9. Find in the text the words related to: 1. the dynamics of the megacities’ growth rate: 2. alternatives to living in a megacity: 3. advantages of living outside a megacity: 4. advantages of concentrating people in megacities: 5. disadvantages of recently emerged megacities: 10. Work in pairs. Use Activity 9. What are the dynamics of a megacity development? Why? What are the alternatives to living in a megacity? What are the advantages and disadvantages of living in a megacity? What are the advantages and disadvantages of living outside a megacity? Where would you like to live? Why? Work in pairs. How many “million cities” are there in Ukraine? What kind of problems do they have? Give some examples. What kind of problems are there in the town you live in? Write a 200-word essay on the prospects of the city/town you live in. READING AND SPEAKING The world’s first megalopolis Pre-reading. Are these statements about China true / or false? • China is a communist country. • One in five people in the whole world is Chinese. • Chinese families can only have one child. • Chinese people love tradition. • Chinese people prefer bicycles to cars. • The biggest city in the world is in China. 2. Read the newspaper article about Pearl River City, by Jonathon Glancy. Answer the questions. 1 Has this city got a name yet? 2 Why is it ugly? Why is it exciting? 3 What are some of the statistics about Shenzhen that make it a remarkable place? 4 In what ways is China changing? Why were Deng Xiaoping’s words significant? 5 How are the people changing? Why do they want to own a car? 6 What does Shenzhen look like? 7 Why will this city be important in the 21st century? 8 What do these numbers refer to? 3 million six months less than ten years two hours 40 million four hours What do you think? • In groups, write what you think are the ten largest cities in the world. Compare your list with the class. Your teacher will tell you the answer. • Make a list of some of the problems that these cities face. Decide which are the three most important problems. Compare your ideas with the class. To the north of Hong Kong, the world’s biggest city is growing. It hasn’t got a new name yet, but it will probably be і called Pearl River City. MEGALOPOLIS The town of Shenzhen, just forty kilometres north of Hong Kong, is the world’s biggest building site. In 1982 it was a fishing village with two main roads, fields, and a population of 10,000. Now it has a population of 3 million. It is growing at an incredible speed. It is spreading north towards Guangzhou (also known as Canton) and west towards Macau. The Chinese government hopes that in less than ten years this area will be the biggest city on earth, with a population of 40 million people. China is changing. It is no longer a country where absolutely everything is owned and controlled by the state. Developers are welcome. As Deng Xiaoping, the Chinese leader, said in 1992, ‘To get rich is glorious’. The old China of bicycles and Little Red Books is disappearing. A world of mobile phones and capitalism is arriving. The Chinese people seem to welcome dramatic change. They don’t worry about losing traditional ways of life. They want the new. As the posters on the sides of the highways shout, ‘Development is the only way.’ Shenzhen is a shocking place, like nowhere else on earth that I have ever seen. It is a city with no boundaries and no centre. There are new concrete office blocks, factories, and housing blocks as far as the eye can see. Not just dozens of new buildings, nor even hundreds, but thousands. And it is all happening so fast. It takes just six months to design, build, and finish a 60-storey, air-conditioned skyscraper. As one architect said to me, ‘If you move too slowly here, someone will walk over you.’ The new Hopewell Highway runs from Shenzhen to Guangzhou, and it takes just two hours to do the 123 kilometres. This superhighway will become the main street of a huge new city, as it gets bigger and bigger until the east meets the west, and the countryside in the middle disappears under concrete. There will of course be more and more cars on the road. People don’t want bicycles. If you have a car, it means you have made money. So the traffic will be like in Bangkok, where people spend four hours commuting every day. People eat and work in their car. Pearl River City very nearly exists. It will probably be the world’s First City, the greatest city on earth. It won’t be beautiful, but its power, energy, and wealth will be felt in all corners of the world. Последнее изменение этой страницы: 2016-07-11; Нарушение авторского права страницы Подписаться авторизуйтесь 0 Комментарий Старые |