Wednesday, 16 October 2019

QUORA: A FORUM COMMENT ON THE FUTURE OF CITIES

What will cities look like 40 years into the future?

Click HERE to read the whole forum.

INSTRUCTIONS: Write two short comments on the forum (100 words each). One of the comments must reflect your personal views and the other one must reflect the opinion of one of the people listed below. Think of what comments these people might leave on the forum and elaborate an answer according to their profile. Use your best English.
  1. An apocalyptic environmentalist
  2. A greedy builder
  3. A corrupted politician
  4. A technological visionary
  5. A virtuous campaigner
  6. A wealthy philanthropist
  7. Greta Thunberg
  8. A scholarly & optimistic citizen
  9. A renowned expert
  10. An apathetic & pessimistic citizen








IELTS SPEAKING: TOWNS AND CITIES

See the full website HERE


RELIGION AND BABIES

POVERTY AND OVERPOPULATION

Wednesday, 9 October 2019

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: A REPORT ON WORLD POPULATION

  A United Nations report on world population trends has provided some interesting food for thought on the future demographics of our planet. The world’s population is currently 6.5 billion and is set to increase and level off to about 9 billion people. The report says population explosions will occur in Africa and Asia, but not in the rest of the world, “Considerable diversity exists in the expected population growth of countries. The
population of many countries, particularly in Africa and Asia, will increase greatly inthe coming decades.”  
  Conversely, population levels in developed countries are expected to fall, because of decreased fertility rates caused by increased contraceptive use. The report also indicates half of the world’s population will be city dwellers by 2007. That is a huge jump from the figure of 30% urbanization in 1993. The five most populated cities today are Tokyo (35 million people), Mexico City (19 million), New York (18.5 million), Bombay (18.3 million) and Sao Paulo (18.3 million). In 1950 only Tokyo and New York had populations of more then 10 million people. By 2050 there will be 22 cities of that size. 
  The report concludes, “the current population picture is one of dynamic population change, reflected in new and diverse patterns of childbearing, mortality, migration, urbanization and ageing. The continuation and consequences of these population trends present opportunities as well as challenges for all societies in the twenty-first century.”

Monday, 7 October 2019

CITY LIFE OUTSIDE THE CITY

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS 
1. When did the urbanization process begin? 
2. What triggered this process? 
3. What three factors made people move to the cities? 
4. If people could telework, what impact would that have? 
5. Regarding access to services and goods, what is the current problem with delivery in rural areas? 
6. How can the problem of delivering goods in rural areas be solved? 
7. Regarding energy efficient houses, can living in the country be eco-friendly? 8. According to Julio Gil’s predictions, will cities disappear?