Unit 13 Living in the city

--- A City life compares life in the country and in the city
B Safety and crime focuses on ways of staying safe in urban areas.

Objectives:
ensure students will be able to
1. talk respectively about the urban life and the country life
2. compare the two different life and find out some aspects that people truly
enjoy
3. talk about the urban safety and crime and recommend ways to stay safe

Lead-in
During the recent decades of years, with the flow of population from the country to
the city, and meanwhile our government also issuing and carrying out some policies
and measures contributing to narrow the gap between the country and the city,
people’s ideas about country life and urban life have changed a lot. Some people and
books extol the virtues of country life, such as the peaceful surroundings, friendly
people, the clean atmosphere, the closeness to nature and the gentle pace of living.
Every time the country life is mentioned, an appealing picture is being unfolded
before us: you may wake up with first cockcrow, the twittering of birds at dawn, and
indulge yourself in the sight of the rising sun glinting on the trees and farms. But
anyway, this idyllic pastoral scene is only part of the picture. There still inevitably
exist differences between the country life and urban life. And you all, city born and
city bred, of course, have the true picture of city life. You cannot deny that to
great extent, city life is somehow superior to country life, and that Shanghai city
can provide you with the best that life can offer. Now, before coming to our further
discussion on this topic, I’d like to offer you a poem for your appreciation.

I live in city - I was born in hospital

I live in village - I was born in my home.

I live in city - from today, I become happy citizen of the country.

I live in village - from today, I become an honorable tax payer for the country.

I live in city - I am ill. Dad brings me to hospital. I am curious whether insurance

cover it.
I live in village - I am ill. Dad sold the pig, and bring me to doctor.

I live in city - My family bought motor cycle, and prepare to buy car several years
later.
I live in village - My family bought a new baby pig. Perhaps the year after next year,
it will have more baby pigs.
I live in city - Dad wants to have a business of his own.
I live in village - Dad wants to go into city, to be a farm worker

I live in city - country gave Dad all kinds of benefits, and waived all tax.
I live in village - Dad has to pay all the tax and fees back in home, and need to pay to
get all kinds of licenses.

I live in city - Dad goes to bank everyday, and servant smiles to him.
I live in village - Dad asks for delayed salary at the year end, but was beaten and
insulted by business owners.

I live in city - Government said Dad work on startups, and benefit the economy
I live in village - government said Dad's rushing into city made big problems, and
maliciously asking for salary.

I live in city - I can move freely in my country.

I live in village - I can live freely in my village.

I live in city - Tomorrow is promising.

I live in village - Tomorrow is hopeless.

13A City life

Activity 1
Step 1 Invite students to page 56 and to read the words in the box out aloud, then
ask some students to give explanation to several simple words, offer help
if necessary .

construction: an object that has been made or built, like an impressive steel and
glass construction / skyscraper/ high-rise
grass: lawn; grassland;
inconvenient: (convenient) causing problems or difficulties for someone
litter: rubbish which is left lying around outside/ n. or v. (be littered with)
noisy: making a lot of loud or unpleasant sound
time-consuming: using large amounts of time
gorgeous: (someone or something) extremely pleasant or attractive

Step 2 Pair work

Have students form pairs to look at the pictures and describe the scenes of
city life using the words above mentioned or in your own words.
Then a few minutes later, help students generalize the descriptions of the
three aspects (environmental problems in public places; noise pollution;
 traffic problems) of urban life shown in the pictures.
Step 3 Group work
1. Have students join their partners (four students a group ) to talk about
the advantages of city life and country life, and to take notes on their
discussions.
city life country life
stores/shopping less crime
a large variety of ethnic restaurants usually cheaper
nightlife with bars and clubs traffic not so bad
cafes and street life closer to nature
lots of movie theaters friendlier people
more large and top universities
2. Tell students to find words to describe the city or town where they live
(esp. Shanghai city). What do they like and dislike about it? Circulate as
students work, listening to as many groups as possible, and encourage
them to have more interactions with partners.
3. Brainstorm a list of ideas on the board. For example, lots of movie
theaters, different ethnic restaurants, large universities, traffic jam,
violence, crime, cathedrals, commuters, department stores,
expressways, highways, high rent/cost of living, different types of
school, homelessness, museums, parks, pickpockets, pollution, public
transportation, skyscrapers, stylish clothes, zoo.

Activity 2
Step 1 Warm-up work
1. As a warm-up, find out if any students have visited or know about San
Francisco and New York City. If so, ask them what the cities are like.
2. Lead students to quickly go over these profiles of San Francisco and
New York City, answering any questions about vocabulary that may arise.
3. Have the class form pairs to answer the questions about the profiles. Call
attention to the speech balloon, and encourage students to use it as a
model for the beginning of their own talk.
Step 2 Pair work
1. Help students brainstorm cities around the country. List all answers on
the board.
2. Have students work in their pairs to discuss the questions.
----what’s the largest city you’ve ever been to? What was it like there?
----what’s your favorite city to visit? Why?
----if you could choose a city to live in, which would it be? Why?
3. If time allows, one or two students might be invited to give their own ideas.

Activity 3 (students should be informed of this mission beforehand in

 order to get them well prepared)
Hold a debate on whether the city life is superior to country life.
Divide the class into three groups with one group of five students (Group C), the
other two groups of about twelve students (Group A and Group B). Group C is
appointed to take notes of main aspects from both Group A and Group B, and
meanwhile act as the Judge to decide which group performs better. The students in
Group A and B are the debaters respectively in support of the city life or country
life.

13B Safety and crime

Activity 1
Step 1 Warm-up
As a warm-up, lead a brief class discussion about safety in the city or town
where you live.
Step 2 Work alone
1. Preview the questionnaire. Tell students to quickly read over the chart.
Answer any questions about vocabulary that may arise.
personal alarm: a small gadget(a small machine or device which does a
useful task/ 小巧的机械 ;小器具 ) that makes a loud
noise if you are attacked
flashlight: a small portable electric light which gets its power from
batteries
2. Have students complete the questionnaire individually. Allow enough
time for them to do this.
Step 3 Pair work
1. Have students form pairs to compare answers and discuss how they
protect themselves against crime. Call attention to the speech balloon,
and encourage students to use it as a model for the beginning of their
own talk.
--stand near other people while waiting for the subway
--have locks on the windows of your apartment
--avoid making eye contact with people on the street
--have your apartment keys ready
--don’t walk alone late at night
--don’t let strangers into your apartment building
--always look like you know where you’re going
--tell your roommate where you’re going
2. After a few minutes, find out which of the things listed in the chart the
groups do and don’t do.
3. Have pairs make and share a list of safety dos and don’ts for taking
public transportation, driving alone, or going out at night.
4. If time allows, discuss the types of crimes that students think are the
 most common in China and Shanghai city.
for example, robbery, burglary, theft, mugging, littering

Activity 2
Step 1 Pair work
1. Lead students to the graph, and tell them to explain in words the
statistics in the graph. If necessary, offer help by explaining some
words and expressions.
injury: damage to a person’s body
theft: the act of taking something that belongs to someone else and
keeping it
to steal: to take something that doesn’t belong to you
graffiti: unofficial drawing or writing on public places
stationery: paper used for writing letters
2. Put students into pairs to discuss the questions.
--which country is the safest?
--do you worry about crime where you live?
--when you travel to another city or country, what precautions do you
take in order to stay safe?
3. After several minutes, invite some students to share their opinions of
how safe their country is.
Step 2 Work alone
Ask the class to read over the seven situations, then work individually to rate
the situations according to their seriousness, from 1 (the most serious) to
7 (the least serious).
Step 3 Group work
1. Put students into small groups to compare evaluations. Point out the
speech balloons, and tell the class that their ratings are based on their
individual opinions.
2. Walk around the room as students work, offering advice and
encouragement.
3. After several minutes, reassemble the class and ask volunteers to
share their evaluations.
4. Encourage students to come up with some ways to punish the illegal
crimes. Provide relevant terms such as fines, jail, prison, sentence.