Unit5
Toshi: Hi, Isabel. How are you?
Isabel: Okey, Toshi… Well, ctually, I’m missing Spain today—especially the food.
Toshi: You are from Madrid, right?
Isabel: Not exactly, I go to school in Madrid..
Toshi : Oh, where do you live then?
Isabel: Getafe. It’s a small suburb near Madrid.
Toshi : I don’t know it.
Isabel: Well, only about 150,000 people live there. It’s kind of boring. But it’s very affordable.
Toshi : That’s good. The city I’m from is very expensive. You’re lucky.
Isabel: Yes, but we have a problem: the traffic. Sometimes I drive to school and the traffic is terrible.
Singapore is a great city for a vacation. There are a lot of interesting things to see. You can visit Chinatown and Little India, and go shopping on Orchard road. Singapore also has many good restaurants. There are some great beaches for swimming near the city, and the parks are really beautiful. The city has very good public transportation—you can take a bus, train, or subway. It’s a safe city, and there isn’t much crime. It’s also a clean city. There isn’t much pollution. The only problem is that Singapore is expensive. The population of Singapore is approximately 4.84 million. With a medley of Chinese, Indian, and Malay influences and a tropical climate, tasty food, good shopping and a vibrant nightlife scene, this Garden city makes a great stopover or springboard into the region.
Choosing a city
Istanbul is a very unusual city— one part is in Europe, and the other part is in Asia. About 9 million people live there. Visitors love Istanbul because it has many beautiful, old buildings, and the food is great. At night, the seafood restaurants are very popular. And everything in Istanbul is very affordable for visitors. Traffic is a problem in the city, because there are too many cars for the old streets. There are also subways, trains, and buses, and some people take boats to go between the European side and the Asian side. The weather is very good in summer, but in winter it’s sometimes very cold.
Vancouver is one of the most beautiful cities in the world. It’s near the mountains and the sea, and there are many great parks where you can walk, ride a bicycle, or just relax. The city has good public transportation, with buses and fast trains that go everywhere. There are about 600,000 people in Vancouver, but it’s a very clean city, and there’s not much pollution. Two bad points—prices there are very high, and the weather is not very good. Vancouver is famous for rain! But there are many good museums for those rainy days, and in the evening, the city has great restaurants and nightclubs to visit.
Two magazines recently listed the best cities to live in. Here are two of the cities listed as “the world’s best.” San Jose, Costa Rica. When people think of Costa Rica, they imagine rain forests, rivers, and beautiful beaches. These things are not in San Jose. But this city is still the world’s best, why? Unlike other cities in Central and South America, San Jose has comfortable weather all year(15℃/60℉to 26℃/79℉). Housing is affordable in San Jose. Also, many of the city’s older neighborhoods are very beautiful and have small hotels, art galleries and cafes. Beautiful volcanoes and mountains surround the city. You can visit them easily from San Jose. Minuses: There’s good public transportation, but traffic and air pollution are a problem in the city center.
Hong Kong, China. Why live in Hong Kong? Here are two good reasons. The city—once a small village— is today an international business center. It is an interesting mix of East and West, old and new. Modern skyscrapers are next to small temples. Popular nightclubs are close to traditional teahouses. Busy crows fill the streets at all hours of the day. But outside the city, there are parks for walking or relaxing. The food: Hong Kong is famous for its wonderful native dishes (try the dim sum). There is also food from Europe, North America, and other parts of Asia. Minuses: This small city has a large population. How many people live in Hong Kong? Almost seven million! That’s why housing is often very expensive. Traffic and air pollution are also a problem.