TOWN AND COUNTRY Check your vocabulary for TOEFL

Check your vocabulary for TOEFL

TOWN AND COUNTRY

Exercise 1

Complete sentences 1 – 12 with a word or expression from the box. Then take the letter indicated at the end of each sentence, and write it in the grid that follows the sentences. If you do this correctly, you will “find” another word which means “showing the influence of many different countries and cultures”.

agriculture        amenities         apartment block        arable land        atmosphere        to breed crime        building sites    Central Business District (CBD)       commute          commuter         commuter belt        congestion        construction     cost of living        crops       crowded         cultivation         cultural events        depopulation         development             drug abuse       employment          environment           facilities          fields             green belt       industry       infrastructure       housing project         inner city         lively         mall / shopping mall          melting pot         metropolis     migration        nature          nightlife         outskirts        peaceful          peak period         pedestrian precinct          pollution        population           population explosion           poverty          productive land         property prices     prospects           resident         residential area      rural         rush hour          slum          street crime         stressful         suburbs        traffic jam          unemployment        urban           urban lifestyle              urban sprawl

1	If the town in which you live offers you good __________, it offers you the chance for success, especially in a job or career. (Write the 7th letter of this word in the grid)
2	A __________ is a big city, especially one that is busy and exciting. (Write the 5th letter of this word in the grid)
3	An __________ is the set of systems within a place or organization that affect how well it operates (for example, a public transportation system or road system). (Write the 6th letter of this word in the grid)
4	A __________ is someone who travels regularly to and from work. (Write the 3rd letter of this word in the grid)
5	The __________ of a town or city are the areas that are furthest away from the center. (Write the 1st letter of this word in the grid)
6	__________ is a situation in which many people leave a place in order to live somewhere else. (Write the 3rd letter of this word in the grid)
7	__________ occurs when there are a lot of vehicles on the road, and as a result the traffic moves very slowly. (Write the 2nd letter of this word in the grid below)
8	If a town or city is described as a __________, it has people of many different races, religions, cultures, etc., living together. (2 words: Write the 3rd letter of the 1st word in the grid)
9	__________ refers to the movement of people from one place to another (often from one part of a country to another, or from one country to another country). (Write the 2nd letter of this word in the grid)
10	__________ refers to the movement of people from one place to another (often from one part of a country to another, or from one country to another country). (Write the 2nd letter of this word in the grid)
11	__________ is an adjective relating to towns and cities. (Write the 4th letter of this word in the grid)
12	A town's __________ are the things that make it comfortable and pleasant to live in (for example, parks, theaters, stores, etc.). (Write the 4th letter of this word in the grid)

Exercise 2

Use your dictionary to check the meanings of the other words and expressions in the box.

Exercise 3

Complete this essay with appropriate words and expressions from Exercise 1. You may need to change the form of some of the words, and one of the words you will need is the extra word you revealed by doing Exercise 1.

“Describe a place where you live or have lived, outlining its good points and bad points”. For seven years I lived in Singapore, a (1) _____________ of almost three million people. Like London, Paris, and New York, Singapore is a (2) _____________ city, with people from different parts of the world living and working together. I enjoyed the (3) _____________ lifestyle I led there, and made the most of the superb (4) _____________, ranging from the excellent stores to some of the best restaurants in the world. In the evenings and at weekends there were always (5) _____________: with such diverse attractions as classical western music, an exhibition of Malay art, or a Chinese opera in the street, it was difficult to get bored. Perhaps most impressive, however, was the remarkable transportation (6) _____________, with excellent roads, a swift and efficient bus service, and a state-of-the-art subway system which could whisk (7) _____________ from the suburbs straight into the heart of the city (this was particularly important, as the government banned private cars from entering the (8) _____________ during the morning and afternoon (9) _____________ in order to reduce (10) _____________ on the roads and (11) _____________ from the exhausts). Of course, living in a city like this has its disadvantages as well. For a start, the (12) _____________ can be very high – renting an apartment, for example, is very expensive. And as the city is expanding, there are a lot of (13) _____________ where new apartments are continually being built to deal with the (14) _____________ which is a direct result of the government encouraging people to have more children. Fortunately, Singapore doesn't suffer from problems that are common in many cities such as (15) _____________, which is partly the result of the government imposing very severe penalties on anyone bringing narcotics into the country, so it is safe to walk the streets at night. In fact, the (16) _____________housing estates there are probably the safest and most orderly in the world. Singapore wouldn't be ideal for everyone, however, especially if you come from the countryside and are used to a (17) _____________ lifestyle. The traditional villages that were once common have disappeared as the residents there realised there were no (18) _____________ for their future and moved into new government housing in the city. Nowadays, there is very little (19) _____________ around the city, which means that Singapore imports almost all of its food. And despite a “green” approach to city planning, the (20) _____________ which has eaten into the countryside has had a detrimental effect on the (21) _____________.

Exercise 4

Now try this essay. Use words and expressions from the vocabulary box in Exercise 1, and any other words or expressions that you think would be relevant.

Some people prefer to live in the countryside or in a small town. Others prefer to live in a big city.
Which place would you prefer to live in? Use specific reasons and details to support your answer.

ANSWER KEY