8/13/2019 Learnenglish Magazine Town or Country Mouse Support Pack

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Podcasts Themes City vs. country

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IntroductionDownload the LearnEnglish Themes podcast. Youll find more information on this page:http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-podcasts-themes.htm

This support pack contains the following materials:

the article that you can listen to in the podcast

an optional language activity based on the article

links to other activities on the LearnEnglish website on this theme (city vs. country).

Read the article

Town or country mouse?by John Russell

Once upon a time, there were two mice

cousins. One lived in the town and the other inthe country. The town mouse was a very superiormouse, who thought that living in the town wasfar better than living the country. So one day, heinvited his country cousin to stay with him in histown house and experience the civilized lifestyleof the town. They sat down to a meal, which tothe country mouse was a feast. Goodness mehe said. If I was in the country, I would be havingonly simple bread and cheese in the quiet of mypeaceful home. Suddenly, there was a loudnoise at the door. Dont worry, said the town

mouse, thats just my neighbour - the dog, hewants to join us for dinner. The country mouseate a little faster. Another noise was heardoutside, even louder this time. Oh dear said thetown mouse, the cat who lives facing my housewants to join us too. Quickly eating the last of hismeal, the country mouse said, thank you, but Ithink I will return to the peace and quiet of myown house after all! Then he ran back home asfast as his legs could carry him.

This simple tale (taken from Aesops famous

stories) shows that what may be a good place tolive for one person, may not be good for another.A modern version of this story might look like this:

Maria lives in a big city surrounded by the speedand convenience of urban life. She works in anoffice with 1000 other employees, and travels tooand from there on a crowded Metro. Her home isa flat overlooking a busy city-street, which isalways alive with the sound of traffic and peoplepassing by. After work she meets with friends in abar or restaurant before going on to a disco or

nightclub. Weekends are spent in the shoppingmall with its numerous shops, multi-screencinemas, fast food and entertainment complexes.

Alex, however, lives in a small village in the

countryside. He cycles to work down countrylanes every morning, the sound of tractors, birdsand animals in his ears. In the evening, herelaxes at home in front of the fire with a goodbook to read. At weekends, he goes for longwalks in the fields with his dog.

Unfortunately, life is not as simple as storiesmake it. A lot of todays town mice such asMaria would be happy to live in the country. Manymodern cities have very large populations (Tokyoor Mexico City - over 25 million) and can be

crowded, dirty and dangerous places to live.More than half the worlds population now lives incities. In much of Europe and North America thiscan be as high as much as 80% of a countryspopulation. (According to the United Nations,approximately 1 billion people in cities are livingin slum conditions overcrowded and unhealthy).

The 18th Century marked the beginning of theIndustrial Revolution, the depopulation of the

countryside, and the move to towns. The townsbecame places of mass employment in factoriesand offices. Today, many town dwellers wish to

8/13/2019 Learnenglish Magazine Town or Country Mouse Support Pack

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Podcasts Themes City vs. country

Page 2 of 2The United Kingdoms international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations.We are registered in England as a charity.

reverse this trend and return to a slower pace oflife like Alex, our modern country mouse. Yet, amodern country existence is not without its

problems; poor transport, lack of access tohospitals and education, and services found intowns such as large shops, banks andentertainment.

The debate between town and country ismeaningless these days, as so many people livein towns, and very few people are actually able tochoose where they live; this is dictated by theirwork or birth. The internet and other mass mediahave linked country areas to the world, providingaccess to information even to remote areas. If

people are to be persuaded to stay in thecountryside, other benefits of the city need to beavailable (employment, healthcare and

education). Conversely, the introduction of cityparks and forests, and traffic free zones, hashelped in bringing a little of the countryside to thecity streets.

The UN World habitat day (4th October) this yearlooks at this issue. It emphasises the need forstrong links between town and countryside, andtheir mutual dependence upon each other.

Are you a town mouse or a country mouse?

Af ter readingExercise 1: Below are 10 sentences from the text, but the words are in the wrong order and thepunctuation is missing. Can you put the words in the correct order and put in the punctuation?

1. civilised mouse town the city life thought was2. peace quiet the and country missed mouse3. marias a busy house overlooks street city4. the shopping weekends goes to maria mall at5. reading of the alex enjoys front in fire6. large very modern have cities populations7. to are live slums places overcrowded

8. in 18thmoved to countryside people city the from century9. internet in information the people to provides local areas10. the is world un in october day habitat

More activities on this top icYoull find links to all the following activities connected to the theme of city vs. country at:http://www.britishcouncil.org/learnenglish-central-themes-city-country.htm

Word game:Townand Country puzzles. Practise idioms containing the word "town" in the town jigsawpuzzle. Practise different expressions containing the word "country" in the country jigsaw puzzle.

Poems:Town & country.In 'Progress', Osbert Sitwell provides negative images of the city and conjuresup fond memories of the country. In 'The City', Charles Hanson Towne does the opposite. Compare

them! Trivia:Everything you (n)ever wanted to know about city vs. country.

There is also a city vs. country-related cartoon, a poll and some carefully selected external links.Answers to language activi ty :

1. The town mouse thought city life was civilized.2. The country mouse missed peace and quiet.3. Maria's house overlooks a busy city street.4. At weekends Maria goes to the shopping mall.5. Alex enjoys reading in front of a fire.6. Modern cities have very large populations.7. Slums are overcrowded places to live.8. People moved from countryside to cities in the 18th century.

9. The Internet provides information to people in remote areas.10. The UN World Habitat Day is in October.