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Are big cities wonderful places? Are they terrible? There are different ideas about this. William H. Whyte writes books about cities. He is happy in a crowded city. He loves busy streets with many stores and many people. He likes the life in city parks and restaurants.

Many people don’t like big cities. They see the large population of cities and they are afraid. Many cities are growing very fast. They are ‘monster’ cities. (A monster is a big, terrible thing.) in some countries, there aren’t jobs in small towns. People go to cities to work; 300,000 people go to Sâo Paulo, Brazil, every year. These cities are megalopolises. A megalopolis is a very large city. But now there is a new word in English: megacity. A megacity is a very, very large city. Mexico City is a megacity with a population of over 22, 000, 000. Tokyo-Yokohama is another megacity, with nearly 35, 000, 000 people.

There are problems in all cities. There are big problems in a megalopolis or megacity. In U.S. cities, there are many people with no jobs and no homes. The air is dirty. There are too many cars. A terrible problem is crime. Many people are afraid of crime.

Population density is a big problem in megacities. Density is the number of people in every square mile. In Seoul, South Korea, there are 44, 597 people in every square mile. Is this crowded? Yes! But in Teheran, Iran, there are 29,424.6 in every square mile. Do you think William H. Whyte likes Hong Kong? The population density is 16,452!

MAIN IDEAS. Circle the letters.

1.- ‘Monster Cities’ is about
a) William H Whyte
b) the number of people in American cities.
c) the number if people in some very big cities.

2. Mexico City, Teheran and Hong Kong are three
a) small cities
b) very big, crowded cities.
c) cities with no crime or dirty air.

Answer:

A monster is a big, terrible thing.
What’s a monster? ________________________________

A megacity is a very, very large city.
What’s a megacity? ________________________________

Density is the number of people in every square mile.
What’s density? ________________________________

Making guesses. Circle the letter to complete the sentence.

The word monster is in the title (‘Monster Cities’) because
a) the writer is happy in big cities
b) some cities are growing too fast
c) the air is dirty in some cities.

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