Chapter 3
Cities of the world
Introduction
At the present time, many people like to travel in their own country. On the
other hand, some people prefer to travel outside their country. The tourist agencies
provide package tours for visitors. The tourist places are always in famous cities and
are where tourists love to visit because they are beautiful and safe. The aims of this
chapter are to give students the chance to learn about some of the cities in the world.
They will also learn about comparative and superlative adjectives and word attack
skills. The areas of this chapter are vocabulary, reading paragraphs, speaking or
presentations, and writing sentences or short paragraphs about the cities in the world.
Before you study the topic, take a look at the questions and answer each of these
questions with your partner.
1. Which city is the capital city? How do you know?
Sydney Brasilia
Perth
New York
Pictures form Wikipedia, free encyclopedia
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2. Which cities are located in Europe, Asia, and America? Put the name of the
city into the correct boxes.
Europe
Asia
America
Shanghai Rio de Janeiro London Athens
Paris Singapore New York Geneva
Pictures form Wikipedia, free encyclopedia
3. Which city in the world would you most like to live in? Give reasons.
4. What things are important to you in a city?
Put the following in order 1 to 5 (1 is the most important).
climate transport education
safety recreation
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Vocabulary
1. Read the word-attack skills to understand the words in bold.
Word-attack skill on new words
Sometime the different parts of a word can help you guess the meaning.
Look at the word “liveable” in this Look at the word “renamed” in this
sentence. sentence.
Vancouver, Canada had the highest In 1886 it was renamed after a
score, which means it is the most liveable British naval captain George Vancouver.
city.
Look at the three parts; re- / name / -ed
Look at the two parts; live / -able re- is a prefix meaning do it again
live is a verb name is a verb
-able is a suffix that means you can -ed is a suffix indicating past tense
So, liveable is adjective meaning you can So, rename is verb meaning It was
live there. named again.
(Harrison, 2010, p. 50)
2. Study prefixes & suffixes and their meaning
“A prefix is an affix which is placed before the root of a word.” (Mathews,
2005, p. 292) For example, the word "unhappy" consists of the prefix "un-" [which
means "not"] combined with the root word "happy"; the word "unhappy" means "not
happy." (See the prefixes in Chapter 2, page 19)
“A suffix is an affix is placed after the root of a word.” (Mathews, 2005, p.
362) For example, the word sadness consists of the root word "sad" combined with
the suffix "-ness": thus –ness is in a suffixal position and the formation of nouns in -
ness a suffixal formation.
SUFFIX MEANING EXAMPLES
Located, doubled, preserved,
-ed past tense changed, included
-s present tense Allows, estimates, covers
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-s many, a lot Buildings, parts, examples,
tourists, factors
-er comparative
-est superlative bigger, stronger, nicer, drier
-ful full of
-ment Forming an noun strongest, tiniest, largest
beautiful, grateful
-ing Denote to the continuous action or
form of gerund government, agreement,
-ly forming an adjective advertisement
-ness denoting a state or condition suggesting, counting, building,
remaining, sprawling
originally, monthly, commonly,
clearly, hourly
kindness, wilderness
Activity 1: Separate the words in bold into smaller parts that contain the meaning.
1. Many nouns such as time, air, water, and information are uncountable.
2. If you fail the exam, you will have to retake it next semester.
3. Bela is a very disorganized person. She is late for lessons and always forgets her
books.
4. After the fire, they rebuilt the school.
5. The city was unrecognizable – it had changed so much.
Grammar
Comparative and Superlative Adjective Form
(Samran Kamying, 2009, pp.534-542) Comparative adjectives compare two
things. Superlative adjectives compare more than two things. Commonly, adjectives
that contain only one syllable or end in 'y' use 'er' to form comparatives and 'est' to
form superlatives. For adjectives ending in y, change the 'y' to 'i' before adding the 'er'
or 'est'.
The spelling rules for comparatives and superlatives
1. One syllable adjectives add –er or est
For example the words “high, small”
Comparative: add -er = higher
Superlative: add -est = the highest
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Comparative: add -er = smaller
Superlative: add -est = the smallest
2. One syllable adjectives ending in 'e' add only –r or -st
For example the words “nice, large”
Comparative: add -r = nicer
Superlative: add -st = the nicest
Comparative: add -r = larger
Superlative: add -st = the largest
3. One syllable adjectives ending in consonant - vowel - consonant double the
last letter
For example the words “hot, big” = hotter
Comparative: add consonant ‘-t’ + -er
Superlative: add consonant ‘-t’+ -est = the hottest
Comparative: add consonant ‘-g’ + -er = hotter
Superlative: add consonant ‘-g’+ -est = the hottest
4. One or more syllable adjectives ending in 'y' change -y to –i and add -er, -est
For example the words “dry, happy” add -er = drier
Comparative: change -y to –i
Superlative: change -y to –i add -est = driest
Comparative: change -y to –i add -er = happier
Superlative: change -y to –i add -est = the happiest
5. Two or more syllable adjectives do not change but instead more / less to
comparative form and the most / the least to superlative form.
For example the words “beautiful, hardworking”
Comparative: add more / less = more / less beautiful
Superlative: add the most / the least = the most / least beautiful
Comparative: add more / less = more / less hardworking
Superlative: add the most / the least = the most / hardworking
6. Irregular adjectives change to a new word
For example the words “good, bad, far”
good - better - the best
bad - worse - the worst
far - further - the furthest
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little – less – least
much – more – most
Activity 2: Write the comparative ad superlative forms of the adjectives in the box.
Adjective Comparative Superlative
hard harder the hardest
beautiful more beautiful the most beautiful
dry
wet
friendly
low
perfect
large
popular
loose
dirty
Activity 3: Look at the population statistics for three countries in Asia. Complete the
paragraph. Use the statistics from the table and the adjectives in the box.
Births (per 1000 Total population
population)
Using high / low for birth rate Japan 9.37 127,463,611
Using big / small for China
population South Korea 13.25 1,313,973,713
10 48,846,823
The table shows population statistics for three Asian countries: Japan, China, and
South Korea. China has the population, over 1.3 billion people. Japan’s
population is about million. This is more than South Korea’s population,
which is just under million. South Korea has the population
of these three countries. The country with the birth rate is
China. There are births per million population. Japan has the
birth rate, ________births per 1000. south Korea’s birth rate is a little
than Japan’s but than China’s. (Harrison, 2010, p.48)
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Activity 4: Complete the following sentences using comparative forms of the
adjective.
1. You should write ………………………… than you do.
a) oftener b) more often c) either could be used here.
2. It is ………………………. than you think.
a) easier b) more easy c) either could be used here
3. I have got ……………………. energy than I used to have.
a) less b) fewer c) either could be used here
4. The baby is ……………………….. ugly than you.
a) less b) lesser c) either could be used here
5. He is ……………………….. than he looks.
a) cleverer b) more clever c) either could be used here
Activity 5: Write the appropriate comparative or superlative form of the given word
in each blank.
1. Today is than yesterday. Tomorrow will be the day yet. (cold)
2. The building in Hong Kong is in Asia. (high)
3. The moon is more to the earth than the sun. (close)
4. Tokyo is than Taipei. (expensive)
5. P.P. island is in Thailand. (interesting)
Activity 6: Fill in the blanks with the word in the parenthesis.
1. My friend has a pretty purse, but I have a one. (prettier, prettyer,
best pretty, )
2. The weather is yet to come! (good, best, most)
3. Today's sunshine is beautiful than yesterday's. (least, best, more)
4. Changhai tower is building in China. (taller, the taller, the tallest)
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5. The modern building is colorful than the old building. (more, most,
less)
Reading
Activity 7: Scan the article “The world’s best city” to find the information.
1. the name of the group that did the survey
2. the number of cities in the survey
3. the ‘best’ and the ‘worst’ cities
4. the top Asian cities
Activity 8: Look at the article again to complete the table “Top Ten Cities”.
The world’s best city
Which is the best city in the world to live and work in?
Every year the Economist Intelligence Unit asks this question. It
uses factors such as climate, transport, education, safety, and TOP TEN CIYIES
recreational facilities for around 127 world cities. It gives scores
for each, and then ranks the cities in order – from the ‘best’ to 1
the ‘worst’.
This year all of the top ten cities came from either 2
Canada, Australia, or Western Europe. Vancouver, Canada had 3
the highest score, which means it is the most ‘livable’ city. Two 4
other Canadian cities, Toronto (9th place) and Calgary (10th),
5
were also in the top ten. In second place was Melbourne,
Australia followed by Vienna (Austria), Geneva (Switzerland), 6 Adelaide
and Perth (Australia). 7 Sydney
Zurich
At the bottom of the list were the cities with the most
difficult or dangerous living conditions. The city with the lowest8
score was Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea in 127th place. Just 9
above were Karachi, Pakistan, and Dhaka, Bangladesh. Some 10
African cities, such as Lagos, Nigeria also did badly. This could
be because of climate, or the political situation in these countries.
In the middle of the list came big cosmopolitan cities
with their transport and crime problems. These included Paris
(32nd), London (44th), and New York (52nd). The Japanese cities
of Osaka and Tokyo did better, however. These cities (both 21st)
also had the biggest scores in Asia. (Harrison, 2010, p.46)
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Activity 9: From the article, answer the following questions giving your opinion.
1. Where are famous cities like Paris, London, and New York in the table?
…………………………………………………………………………………
2. Why do some African cities do badly? What are the reasons?
…………………………………………………………………………………
3.Which city has the highest score, Paris or Tokyo?
…………………………………………………………………………………
4. What do you think of surveys like this?
…………………………………………………………………………………
5. Do you believe the results? Why /why not?
…………………………………………………………………………………
Activity 10: Look at the webpage about “Welcome to Jakarta”. Scan the text to
answer the questions.
Welcome to Jakarta – Indonesian city
Location
Jakarta is a large, sprawling city located on the western end of the north coast of Java.
As well as being the capital city and the home of the Indonesian government, Jakarta
is where most of the big businesses in Indonesia are located. As it is the home of the
government, the Australian Embassy is in Jakarta. This allows the Australian
Ambassador to have close access to people in the Indonesian government and to help
Australian businesses and tourists with their dealings in Indonesia.
Population
The 2010 census the government estimates that, there are 9.58 million people living in
Jakarta. The area of Jakarta is 664 km, suggesting a population density of 14,464
people per km as the ninth largest urban population density in the world. The
population has risen from 4.5 million in 1970 doubled to 9.5 million in 2010, counting
only its legal residents. The population of Greater Jakarta has risen from 8.2 million in
1970 jump to 28.5 million in 2010.
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History
Jakarta was originally known as Batavia by the Dutch traders who settled in the
1600s. The name was changed back to Jakarta by the Indonesian people during World
War II. There are still some examples of colonial architecture in the older parts of
Jakarta. Some of the buildings are preserved today as museums
Climate
Jakarta has a tropical monsoon climate according to the Köppen climate classification
system. The city has distinct wet and dry seasons. The wet season in Jakarta covers
the majority of the year, running from October through May. The remaining four
months (June through September) constitute the city's dry season. Located in the
western part of Java, Jakarta's wet season rainfall peak is January with average
monthly rainfall of 389 millimeters (15.3 in), and its dry season low point is
September with a monthly average of 30 mm (1.2 in).
1. Where is the city located?
…………………………………………………………………………………
2. What Embassy is allowed in Jakarta?
…………………………………………………………………………………
3. What is the population which lives legally in the 2010 census?
…………………………………………………………………………………
4. By how many has the population risen between 1970 and 2010?
…………………………………………………………………………………
5. According to the 2010 census, how many people live in grater Jakarta?
…………………………………………………………………………………
6. What is the old name of Jakarta?
…………………………………………………………………………………
7. When was the name of this city changed? Who changed it?
…………………………………………………………………………………
8. Is there any colonial architecture in Jakarta? What is it?
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…………………………………………………………………………………
9. How many seasons are there in Jakarta? What are they?
…………………………………………………………………………………
10. In which month does the city have the most rainfall?
…………………………………………………………………………………
Presentation
Definition of presentation
1. an activity in which someone shows, describes, or explains something to a
group of people
2. the way in which something is arranged, designed, etc.
3. the way in which something is presented
4. the act of giving something to someone in a formal way or in a ceremony
(Dictionary Online, 2010, n.d.)
A presentation is the process of presenting a topic to an audience. It is
typically a demonstration, lecture, or speech meant to inform, persuade, or build good
will. The term can also be used for a formal or ritualized introduction or offering, as
with the presentation of a debutante.
A presentation program is often used to generate the presentation content,
some of which also allow presentations to be developed collaboratively, e.g. using the
Internet by geographically disparate collaborators. Presentation viewers can be used
to combine content from different sources into one presentation.
Tips and techniques for effective presentation
1 Design 2 Preparation
- keep it simple - take time to plan
- understand cognitive load theory - go off the grid
- choose your font wisely - practice
- use effective image
3 Delivery
- do not read your slide
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- use black slide
- connect with the audience
Activity 11: Study the tips and techniques above for effective presentation and then
choose 1 topic to present.
1. The highest building in the world
2. The biggest city in Asia
3. The best University in ASEAN
4. The most beautiful garden in the world
5. Top 10 cities in the world
Writing
Activity 12: Look at the population statistics for three countries. Write one paragraph
of at least five sentences. Use the statistics from the table and the adjectives in the
box. Look at the example in activity 3.
Area (km) Total population
high / low Using for Hong Kong 1,104 7,061,200
big / small birth rate Thailand 513,120 64,460,000
Singapore 724 5,366,000
Using for
population
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
…………………………………………………………………………………………
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Activity 13: Look at the photos of the Taj Mahal and the Shanghai Tower. Write
sentences about them in your own words.
Taj Mahal
Shanghai Tower
……………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Activity 14: Look at the notes about Mumbai. Complete the paragraph using the
notes.
Name: Mumbai (also Bombay)
Location: West coast of India
Climate: Cool and dry in winter hot in spring
Wet in summer (monsoon season)
Population: 18 m (largest city in India)
Famous for: Film industry (Bollywood), Port,
Commercial center
History: Founded 1668 by British East India Company
Things to see: Mini Bhavan Museum, Chowpatty beach
Source: www.wikipedia.org
Mumbai – India’s largest city
Mumbai, which is also known as , lies on the coast of India.
The best time to visit is during the months of December, January, and February. The
spring is very and the summers are wet because this is the _________ season.
The city has a population of people. It is famous for its very successful
industry and its port. It is also an important commercial centre. The city was
founded in by the Company. There are many sights to see in
Mumbai, including the Mani Bhavan , and the famous Chowpatty beach.
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REVIEW
Directions: Find adjectives, nouns, or verbs with negative prefixes using a dictionary
to help you then add them to the diagrams. Make sure your words are negatives
(disagree, not distance; unhappy not university).
un- dis-
Directions: Find adjectives and nouns with suffixes using a dictionary to help you.
Then add them to the diagrams.
-less •.................. -tion • .....................
•.................. -ness • .....................
-or
-re •.................. • ............................
•.................. • ............................
-able •.................. • ................................
•.................. • ................................
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Directions: Read the article “the world’s best city” again then answer the questions.
1. What is the name of the group that does the survey?
a. Scientist
b. Intelligence unit
c. Society
d. Economist Intelligence unit
2. How many cities are used in this survey?
a. one twenty seven cities
b. one hundred cities
c. every city in the world
d. two hundred cites
3. What is the factor in this survey?
a. climate
b. city
c. people
d. scores
4. Which city has got a lower score than the others?
a. Nigeria
b. Dhaka
c. Port Moresby
d. Karachi
5. Why do some African cities do badly?
a. They are bad people
b. their political situation
c. they had low score
d. their undeveloped cities
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Directions: Look at the pictures and guess their name and where they are located.
AB
CD
Picture A
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Picture B
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Picture C
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Picture D
…………………………………………………………………………………………
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References
Merriam-Webster. Presentation. Retrieved June 27, 2016, from
http://www. merriam-webster.com/dictionary/presentation
Matthews, P. (2005). The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Linguistics. Oxford
University Press.
Harrison, R. (2010). Academic Skills: Reading, writing and study skills Level 1.
Oxford University Press.
Samran kamying. (n.d.) Advanced English Grammar. VJ printing, Bangkok.
Wikipedia. Retrieved May 10, 2015, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taj_Mahal
. Retrieved May 10, 2015, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai_Tower
. Retrieved February 23, 2015, from
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girgaum_Chowpatty
. Presentation. Retrieved June 27, 2016, from
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presentation