9B Reading and Speaking

ENGLISH SUPERIOR V
NAME: FLOR YUDITH QUISPE CHQUEHUANCA
1. READING AND SPEAKING
ANDREW MARR’S MEGACITIES

By 2050, 70% of the world will live in cities, and by the end of the century three quarter
s of the entire planet will be urban. There are now 21 cities called “megacities,” e.g.,
they have more than 10 million inhabitants. In Andrew Marr’s BBC series Mega cities,
he traveled to five of these cities, including
TOKYO AND MEXICO CITY.
TOKYO
Tokyo, with a population of 33 million people, is by far the largest city in world. It's
also the most technologically advanced, and the city runs like digital clockwork. The
automated subway, for example, is so efficient that it is able to transport almost eight
million commuters every day and on the rare occasions that it doesn't work well,
nobody believes it. If you are late for work in Tokyo and, as an excuse, you say that
your train was late, you need to provide written proof from the train company. The idea
of late trains is almost unthinkable. There is very little crime, violence, or vandalism in
Tokyo and the streets are safe to walk both day or night. There is also relatively low
unemployment compared to other big cities in the world.
But such a huge population creates serious problems of space, and as Marr flew over
Tokyo in a helicopter, he saw soccer fields, playgrounds, even driving schools
constructed on top of buildings. Streets, parks, and subways are extremely overcrowded.
Property prices are so high and space is so short that a family of six people may live in a
tiny apartment of only 270 square feet.
There are other problems too, of alienation and loneliness. The Hikikomori are
inhabitants of Tokyo who cannot cope with “the mechanical coldness and robotic
uniformity” of a megacity and have become recluses, rarely or never leaving their
homes. There is also a new business that has grown up in Tokyo that allows friendless
people to “rent a friend” to accompany them to a wedding or just to sit and talk to them
in a restaurant after work.
Another strange group of people are the Hashiriya, Tokyo's street racers who risk their
lives driving at ridiculous speeds along the city streets. During the week these men have
ordinary jobs and they're model citizens. But on Saturday nights they spend the evening
driving through the city as fast as they possibly can. It's a deadly game, but it's just one
way of escaping the daily pressures of life in the metropolis.
MEXICO CITY
As a complete contrast to Tokyo, Marr takes us to Mexico City, a colorful and vibrant
city of about 20 million people where people live their lives on the street. Marr says that
“in Mexico City, food and friendship go hand in hand.” The city is full of taco stands
and cafes where people meet and socialize and Mariachi bands stroll through the
boulevards and squares playing songs for money. And on Sundays people of all ages
gather to dance in the street.
But it's a city with problems of its own, too. It can take two-and-a-half hours for
commuters to drive to and from work during rush hour through choking traffic fumes,
and pollution levels are high. And, looking down from a helicopter, Marr shows us the
huge social divide. On one hillside we massive, luxurious houses and on the next hill,
slums.
It's a city of great wealth but also extreme poverty, and there are many homeless people.
Because of this social imbalance, it can be a dangerous city, too, with high levels of
crime, especially kidnapping. In fact, there are boutiques that sell a rather special line in
men's clothes: the shirts, sweaters, and jackets look completely normal, but are in fact
bulletproof, made of reinforced Kevlar.
But despite the crime, the traffic, and the pollution, Andrew Marr describes Mexico City
as “a friendly, liveable place” and the most enjoyable megacity of all that he visited.
1.- READING & SPEAKING
a) What do you think a “megacity” is? Read the introduction to the text to check
your answer. With a partner, in two minutes list what you think are probably the
biggest problems for people who live in a megacity.
For me, megacities have millions of inhabitants, with space problems, where a space to
live has very high prices and is difficult to acquire
There are overcrowding problems as mentioned in the text, in 30 or 50 years 70% will
live in cities and this will cause a big problem of not being able to supply people's
needs, and the poverty and contamination that already exists will grow. Problem in
megacities for example the space where they live and poverty.
b) Read the article once. In which city are the things you discussed in a a) problem:
Tokyo, Mexico City, both, or neither?
The problem is in both countries, in Tokyo due to space problems, alienation and
loneliness and in Mexico security problems, poverty and environmental contamination,
but you also have positive things, as Tokyo is very safe and well organized, that
megacity and Mexico its culture.
c) Read the article again. Then, in pairs, using your own words, say why the
following are mentioned.
TOKYO
33 million eight million a letter from the train company
driving schools 270 square feet the Hikikomori
Rent a friend the Hashiriya
MEXICO CITY
taco stands Mariachi bands two-and-a-half hours
social imbalance kidnapping Kevlar
The difference between these two countries is great, in Tokyo they have advanced
technologies, they are highly organized in every aspect, while in Mexico there is great
cultural wealth
d) Find words in the article that mean...
TOKYO
1 AUTOMATED adj operated by machines not people (paragraph 1)
2 UNTHINKABLE adj impossible to imagine (paragraph 1)
3 UNEMPLOYMENT noun the number of people who don't have a job (paragraph 1)
4 OVERCROWDED adj with too many people in it (paragraph 2)
5 ALIENATION noun a feeling that you don’t belong to a community (paragraph 3)
6 LONELINESS noun the feeling of not having any friends (paragraph 3)
MEXICO CITY
7 POLLUTION noun the process of making air (and water) dirty (paragraph 2)
8 WEALTH noun the state of being very rich (paragraph 2)
9 POVERTY noun the state of being poor (paragraph 2)
10 HOMELESS adj not having a house (paragraph 2)
e) Talk to a partner.
1 If you had to go to work or study in either Mexico City or Tokyo, which would
you choose, and why?
If I had the opportunity to work or study it would be in Tokyo, because I consider that
Tokyo can teach me how to be disciplined and technology is very advanced, I think
there would be more opportunities to live better
2 What do you think are the main advantages of living in a big city?
The main advantages would be job opportunities and other things, in addition to leading
a better life.
3 What’s the biggest city you’ve ever been to? Why did you go there? What did
you think of it?
I consider that the largest city I have visited is Lima, I went to visit my aunt on vacation,
it was very stressful with all the problems that exist in Lima, as car traffic.

9B Reading and Speaking

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ENGLISH SUPERIOR V

NAME: FLOR YUDITH QUISPE CHQUEHUANCA

1. READING AND SPEAKING

ANDREW MARR’S MEGACITIES

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