📖 Unit 2: City Life - Reading lớp 9

The local newspaper carried out a survey with city dwellers about how to make the city a more (1) ___________ place. Most participants in the survey talked about the city's traffic. First, they wanted stricter traffic (2) ___________ to stop drivers from ignoring traffic lights and breaking speed limits. This would help reduce road accidents. In addition, they hoped their city would improve its (3) ___________ system. For example, buses should be clean and have air conditioners. There should be bus lines that reach almost all areas in the city, so it would be easy for people to (4) ___________. They said that good public transport could also (5) ___________ the city money. The local authority wouldn't need to construct new parking lots and (6) ___________ roads to cater for the increasing number of private cars. Finally, the survey (7) ___________ suggested the local authority build traffic apps. The apps could recommend to drivers the best routes to avoid traffic (8) ___________. The sooner the government started implementing these, the more convenient it would be to travel around the city.

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Living in Vancouver
Vancouver, a coastal city in Canada, ranks among the most liveable cities in the world. Let’s meet three residents to learn why they love this city.

A. Gina (20 years old)
I fell in love with Vancouver’s natural habitats. I can go hiking in the summer and snowboarding in the winter in the mountains. Sometimes I pack my favourite foods and go to Kitsilano Beach to get a bit of sunshine. I like swimming in the Kitsilano pool, which is the longest outdoor swimming pool in North America.

B. Olivia (30 years old)
Life in Vancouver is convenient. The food here is good. There are both great restaurants and food trucks. Farmers’ markets offer a wide range of fresh produce. When I’m too busy to cook, I pick up prepared meals in the supermarket.

C. Hoai (35 years old)
This is such a kid-friendly place. The whole city is like an adventure playground. There are hundreds of activities to entertain children. At weekends, I take my daughters to the mind-blowing museum, explore a rainforest, or play outdoor games with them. Vancouver is a perfect place for family life.

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Twenty years ago, people tried to leave the suburbs for cities but nowadays many people are reluctant to make such a move. They say that compared to suburban areas, city life has many drawbacks.

The high cost of living is the first disadvantage. The bigger the city is, the higher the living cost is. Accommodation and petrol are expensive. Food and drinks are also pricey. Apart from that, city people seem to suffer from more noise and air pollution. The densely populated neighbourhoods, busy traffic, and big construction sites make cities noisy and dusty. These are harmful to people’s health, such as increasing their stress levels, disturbing their sleep and making them suffer from breathing problems.

Lack of space is another drawback of city life. House prices are high in the city, so people tend to live in smaller houses or in apartment blocks. Many cities lack spaces for outdoor activities; therefore, teenagers often hang out at shopping malls or in entertainment complexes instead of doing sports outdoors.

The cities’ authorities are trying to overcome these problems. However, they still have a long way to go before they can reduce living costs and pollution, and increase green space to make all cities in the world more liveable places.