CHALLENGES FACING

THE WORLD’S CITIES

Unit 4
Reading 4
Pages: 159-168
Where would
you rather live?
Why?
Previewing and predicting
1. Introduction
2. Social challenges: poverty, housing, and crime
3. An environmental challenge: pollution
4. Future trends: the environment
Pre-teach vocabulary:
• Prosperity
• Urban
• Rural
• Poverty
• Consequences
• Nutrition
• Squatter
• Cemetery
• Tomb
• Inequality
• Emissions
Prosperity (N)
the state of being successful and having a lot of money:

Example: A country's future prosperity depends, to an

extent, upon the quality of education of its people.
Urban (Adj)
relating to towns and cities

Example:
The speed limit is strictly enforced on urban roads.
Rural (adj)
in, of, or like the countryside:

Example: The area is still very rural and undeveloped

Poverty (N)
the condition of being extremely poor:

Example: Two million people in the city live in abject (= very

great) poverty.
Consequences (N)
a result of a particular action or situation, often one that is
bad or not convenient:

Example: Not making a will can have serious

consequences for your children and other family members.
Nutrition (N)
• the substances that you take into your body as food and
the way that they influence your health:

Example: Good nutrition is essential if patients are to make

a quick recovery.
Squatter (N)
• a person who lives in an empty building or area of land
without the permission of the owner
Cemetery (N)
an area of ground in which dead bodies are buried

Example: His father is buried in the cemetery on the hill.

Tomb (N)
• a large stone structure or underground room where
someone, especially an important person, is buried

Example: When they opened up the tomb they found

treasure beyond their wildest dreams.
Inequality (N)
the unfair situation in society when some people have more
opportunities, money, etc. than other people:

Example: The law has done little to prevent racial

discrimination and inequality.
Emissions (N)
• an amount of something, especially a gas that harms the
environment, that is sent out into the air

Example: Many countries are reluctant to cut emissions if it

means sacrificing economic growth.
 Paragraph 1
• Can you guess the meaning of ‘migrate’?
• What is the definition of ‘Megacities’?
• What are Megacities a result of?
• Can you guess the meaning of ‘urbanization?

• What is the main idea of the whole article?

Table 4.1
Section 2 predictions
What do you expect to read about in a section entitled:

‘Social challenges: poverty, housing, and crime’?

What are the ideas you expect to be covered in the next

paragraphs?
 Paragraph 2
What is the main idea of this paragraph?

What is the
number $2.5
used to
illustrate?
Paragraph 3
• What is the main idea of this paragraph?
• What is the percentage of people living in extreme
poverty / homelessness in urban areas?
• What was approximately the population of Cairo in
1980?
• What is the population of the City of the Dead?
The city of the dead, Cairo.
Paragraph 4
• What is the main idea of this paragraph?

• What is the distinction that the writer is making between

Brazil, Mexico and Peru on one hand and Tokyo on the
other?
Paragraph 5
• What is the main idea of this paragraph?
• What is the similarity between the urbanisation that happened
in the 1800s and today’s urbanisation?
• In addition to poverty, what is another factor that leads to crime
in urban areas?
Paragraph 5
Section 3 predictions
What do you expect to read about in a section entitled:

‘An environmental challenge: pollution’?

What are the ideas you expect to be covered in the next

paragraphs?
Paragraph 6
• What is the main idea of this paragraph?
• What are the cities that are reported in this paragraph to suffer from
pollution?
• What is the majot cause of this pollution?
• What is the consequence of this pollution?
• Can you guess what ‘respiratory illnesses’ mean?
Paragraph 7
• What is the main idea of this paragraph?
• What are the challenges that Cubatao in Brazil had to
face? Is the situation better now?
• What does ‘it’ in sentence 5 refer to?
Section 4 predictions
What do you expect to read about in a section entitled:

‘Future trends: the environment’?

Do you expect to read about more problems or solutions?
Paragraph 8
• Is the main idea of this paragraph stated at the beginning?
• What does ‘these trends’ refer to?
• What does ‘they’ in sentence 6 refer to?
• What are the points at the end of the paragraph used to illustrate?
Paragraph 9

What are the

benefits of
living in a place
like BedZED?
BedZED, London
Rooftop garden
Paragraph 10
• What is the main idea of this paragraph?
• What is an example of a smart city in China?
• How does Tianjin makes walking easier for its residents?
Tianjin, China
Paragraph 11
• What are the ideas that we are reminded on in this
paragraph?
Answers
A B C D E
5 6 9 2 7 Main idea check, p. 164

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A closer look,
B FALSE C C TRUE C A,C,D,E FALSE p. 164- 165

1 Consequences 1 a. Poverty 1 Sector

2 Nutrition 2 similar
b Inequality
3 Cycle 3 Consequences
c Similar
4 Persist 4 Community
5 Generation d Provide 5 Cycle
6 Unique 2 e. Face 6 Evolved
7 Cemetery f Rate 7 Internal
8 Tomb 8 Unique
g Victims
9 Bury 9 Persist
10 respiratory h huge 10 series
Definitions, p.166 Words in context, p. 166-167 Academic word list, p. 167