In the Underground

- Excuse me, which line do I take for Holborn, please?

- Take the Bakerloo to Oxford Circus and change to the Central.

- Where do I go now? I’m a stranger here and I’m afraid to lose my way.

- Oh, yes. The London Underground system is very complicated. There are ten lines here and it’s very easy to get lost. But if you follow the direction signs you can’t go wrong. Go straight down the stairs and get the lift over there.

- Thank you very much, indeed.

• Why is it easy to get lost in London underground?

V. Эталон ответа темы № 9 «Проблемы мегаполиса».

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«Проблемы мегаполиса». Предполагаемые вопросы для собеседования.

1. Where would you prefer to live in the city or in the country?
2. What are advantages and disadvantages of living in the modern city?
3. Where the cost of living is much higher and why?
4. Where is the life more stressful and noisier?
5. Who has got more opportunities to find a prestigious and well-paid job – the city-dwellers or the outsiders?
6. Why do most of us like living in the city?
7. Would you like to have a house in the countryside?
8. If you were an outsider, what would you do there?
9. What do you like or don’t like about the place you live in?
10. Do you like living in Saint-Petersburg? Why? Why not?

Эталон ответа:

Living in a big city has both advantages and disadvantages. On the plus side, it is often easier to find work. Besides, the city-dwellers are more advantaged in education. The students can attend lectures and preparatory courses and have more chances to enter a university than the outsiders. After graduating from university the residents of big cities are more likely to find a prestigious and well-paid job, than the rural inhabitants. What is more, when you want to relax, you can do a lot of interesting things such as going to the concerts, performances, festivals, films or visiting art galleries, museums, nightclubs, discos and gyms. In addition, some people find city an easier place to make friends in and they wouldn’t swap life in the city for anything in the world.

However, life in the city is more stressful and noisier than that in the country. The demand for accommodation is so great that it is particularly difficult to find a good, cheap flat to live in. The cost of living is very high; just about everything you buy is likely to be more expensive than it would be in the country. Moreover, public transport is sometimes crowded and dirty, particularly in the rush hour, drivers suffer from accidents and car crashes, pedestrians curse an endless procession of human sardine tins. The streets are so crowded, that there is hardly room to move on the pavements. Also people suffer from constant queuing and irregularity of public transport and clerks are scared to lose their jobs. In addition to all this, city-dwellers live under constant threat. The crime rate in most cities is very high. Houses are burgled with alarming frequency. Cities breed crime and violence and are full of places you would be afraid to visit at night.

There are many health benefits to living outside of the city, or even in the suburbs: clean air and an abundance of foliage are enough to convince many city-dwellers that country living is for them. But services such as municipal water and sewage disposal are often a rarity in very rural areas. In city areas, it is fairly easy to access transportation with city bus systems and taxis. The opposite is the case in rural areas: without your own transportation, it is difficult to get around.

While one could argue that city life is more exciting and at times more convenient, it's not necessarily better than country life. The city life can be particularly appealing to young people, who like the excitement of the city and don’t mind the noise and pollution.

However, many people, when they get older find the worst place to live would be in a big city and try to escape to the peace and fresh air of the countryside. I think that, especially for a family with children, the only reasonable way to live is to get food locally within a small community that is working together.

As for me, I wouldn’t swap live in the city for anything in the world. I suppose the monotony and harmony of rural provincial existence would very soon bore me. I love my city for its non-stop entertainment you can experience all year round. There are over 140 museums, lots of theatres and galleries to visit. If it is theatre, you can enjoy a mainstream success in Mariinsky Opera House or take a chance on an experimental production performed in a loft. Whatever you want, you can be sure the city will satisfy it both at a grand and an ultimate scale.

ТЕМА 10. «УСТРОЙСТВО НА РАБОТУ».

Инструкции по выполнению тренировочных заданий:

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