Cities used to be invaded by cars, buses, lorries.... there used to be traffic jams everywhere. This is no longer happening in cities like Bordeaux in France, Seville in Spain, Freiburg in Germany or Norwich in Britain. Now city centres are pedestrians' territory and it is really a delight not only because you can walk freely everywhere, but also because of the reduction of pollution and noise.
Here's a listening exercise to do: Pedestrianisation - is it good for cities and towns? (6 Minute English, BBC Learning English)
And now let's watch a video about the transformation of the city of Bordeaux (Bordeaux avant après), some bits of which are in French:
And here are some articles to read about the issue:
Bordeaux reborn (The Guardian)
Pedestrians are an endangered species on city roads (The Economic Times)
Pedestrian power to shape future cities (BBC News)
Not long ago we saw the Question Tags! in English. Here's an interesting video to watch
Some extra activities for my students in 2º Bachillerato to do (UNIT 2. Society)
False friends . Complete the sentences with the correct form of the words in the list :
attend - assist - poor - pay attention
1. If you don’t … in class, you won’t learn anything.
2. When I was young, my family was quite … – we never had much money.
3. I’m learning to speak French – I … classes on Tuesday evenings.
4. If you need help, our staff will be happy to … you.
Vocabulary . Complete the sentences with the correct prepositions, then check their answers in the text.
1. Most of us can turn … family and friends … help.2. Charities provide real support … young people … this situation.
3. He donated his final payment to fund projects … young people.
4. Sonya struggled … school and was arrested … shoplifting.
5. She visited children … serious illnesses.
Grammar . Rewrite these sentences using UNLESS.
1. You will fail your exams if you don’t work harder.
2. We won’t have a barbecue if it isn’t sunny.
3. You can’t help people if they don’t want to help themselves.
Vocabulary . Combine each pair into one sentence using too / (not) … enough.
1. This coffee is very hot. I can’t drink it.
2. Paul is very young. He can’t watch that film.
3. That team isn’t very good. It won’t win the match.
4. Sam doesn’t work very hard. He won’t pass his exams.
5. That book was really boring! I couldn’t read it.
6. He didn’t run very fast. He didn’t catch the bus.
I think the idea of making cities in such a way that bikes are more used and that you walk more. in this way we can pollute less the cities and towns and we could endure a little more. What a pity it is America, I would have liked to have this example man for the whole country.
ResponderEliminarI try to do the exercises, but my level in English is not very high.
Is a big city with good air quality possible? Air pollution in cities increases when sustainable development isn't carried out. The emissions produced by factories, vehicles and other mass activities can generate high levels of pollution that seriously affect the health of its inhabitants.
ResponderEliminarTo start many cities have established many measures, such as increasing the use of public transport, the use of bicycles or control emissions of industries, which can make a city improve its air quality. We have a clear example in France and in Madrid, where on even days you can drive the cars of even number plates and vice versa and also reducing the speed.
On the other hand, other types of measures have also been taken in some cities, such as Madrid and New York, which have created large parks that serve as lungs, reducing pollution levels in turn. In addittion in London for instance in the center of the city the cars must pay a toll if they want to circulate in this area, so the purpose of reducing CO2 emissions decreases. The introduction of electric cars has also been a good idea too.
All in all, in spite of the great emissions that exist today, with the technological advance and the awareness of all of us in relation to the conservation of the planet are going to be reduced little by little, and for this it is absolutely necessary that the Cities become pedestrian zones.
Paola Ruiz 2ºBach A
It is true that a improve the life in the city or town and now haven't got the noise in the street but in big city have got a lot of contamination and they are restircting the traffic in main street but it is true that there aren't a lot of noise in the street and that's better.
ResponderEliminarBy Jose Corzo Garzón
It is true that you improve the life in the city or town when there are no cars. We haven't got so much noise in the street. Big cities used to have a lot of pollution when the traffic was not restricted in the main streets. Now there is not much pollution in the city centres and that's better.
ResponderEliminarEste comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.
ResponderEliminarEste comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.
ResponderEliminarIt's true, our life is much better when there aren't any cars, lorries, motorbikes… in the city centres .It will help us, for example reduce the level of pollution. The streets will be safer because the people will be able to walk freely and there will be less noise.
ResponderEliminarEste comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.
ResponderEliminarEste comentario ha sido eliminado por el autor.
ResponderEliminar
EliminarNowdays there are many kinds of pollution, but air pollution is the one that has the greatest impact on us. With the big number of vehicles on the road we are heading towards smoggy skies and dirty air if we do nothing to stop it.
How does pollution affect us? There are a large variety of effects, for example: there is a higher risk of heart diseases, cancer, asthma and other respiratory diseases. Plants and water are being contaminated, which are eaten and drunk by animals. The pollution then ends up in our food chain and finally gets to us.
The list of cities with a low air quality has increased over the years, due to this reason, more and more city centres, such as Sevilla (Spain), Norwich (Britain) and Paris (France), are pedestrians’ territory.
To conclude, I reckon that we have to raise awareness and try to do something for changing these alarming problems, since it's our responsability and by the time we are old we will be able to say that we have looked after the planet.
Irene Ramón 2ºBach
Currently, it is true that pedestrians are becoming an endangered species on city roads. Cities are full of cars, lorries, buses and there are traffic jams everywhere. This causes that cities aren’t being seen as they are, so many people prefer to visit another place.
ResponderEliminarFor example, a historical city as Seville is invaded by obstacles, so people have no place to walk around. This beautiful city has amazing buildings to show us, like La Giralda. La Giralda is a bell tower which was originally built as a minaret. It is called like that because in the summit it has a small statue called Giraldillo. Another building to see is The Tower of the Gold, which is situated by the Guadalquivir. Now, the city centre in Seville is also almost pedestrians’ territory.
Last, but not least, it happened in other Europeans cities like Bordeaux in France, Freiburg in Germany or Norwich in Britain. Now city centres are pedestrians’ territory. Actually, it is a delight you can walk freely, also you can see all around you. But the most important is that it reduces the pollution and the noise.
Summing up, I think that reducing the traffic in the cities will make them safer; there will be less pollution and noise. A good solution would be using the public transport and inciting the creation of green areas and bike’s networks. We have to try to do things to make our city the most beautiful, so it will be more attractive for tourists.
Andrea Gutiérrez López 2BACH A
Nowadays, it seems that we are thinking for a second time the pros and cons of having our cities invaded by cars. Many cities, like Seville, Bordeaux, Freiburg and Norwich, have made up their minds and have taken action about this issue. Their solution has been the pedestrianisation of their streets, which means converting their streets into walkable areas, forbidding the use of vehicles in them.
ResponderEliminarThis has led to a very positive outcome. First of all, it has drastically reduced the air pollution and noise pollution, which at the same time has helped to improve the life quality of the citizens by; on the one hand, preventing them from respiratory illnesses and improving the air quality, and on the other hand, making the city quieter and better for them and other species.
Moreover, a city without cars, lorries and traffic jams ruining the landscape would attract many tourists (that would be good for the economy) and also, would make the city safer.
Furthermore, Jeff Speck, who is an urban designer that hosted a TED talk, makes a connection that I would never have thought between pedestrianisation and obesity. He classified neighbourhoods in America ranking from more walkable to less walkable, then studied the obesity rate in each of them and saw that if you lived in a walkable area you had a 35% of likelihood to be obese compared with a 60% of likelihood from the less walkable zones.
In conclusion, I believe pedestrianisation will be the future of the cities. In Salobreña, I have observed how we are opening to this idea, for instance, last year, they made the pavements of the town center wider and reduced the traffic ,and this year they have removed roads all along the beach to make it more walkable, and as result, you can see more people doing sport and spending the evenings there.
Nowadays, big cities are full of cars. There are so many cars and cities are being polluted because of them. In some cities, the roads are so big that you have yo take your car because there isn't any space for pedestrians. For these reasons, cities like Sevilla or Bordeaux are making their city centre exclusive for pedestrians.
ResponderEliminarThis change has many positive effects, like the reduction of the pollution and the noise. If there are less cars, the city will be quieter and less polluted. In addition, cities with space for pedestrians are cities with less obese people because people will have to walk to go somewhere. Cities that have been pedestrianised have around 20% or 30% of obese population, while in cities that haven't been pedestrianised have a 66% of obese population.
A pedestrianised city also means a safer city. Thousands of pedestrians die every year because they are hit by cars. A lot of cyclists also die. If cities had bigger sidewalks and bike paths there would be less accidents.
In conclusion, pedestrianisation will benefit many cities. They will be safer, quieter and less polluted. People will be healthier and a city with less cars and lorries will attract more tourists. I hope that in the future all cities would be pedestrianised!
Intuitively, everyone knows what the biological clock is. Each person feels the presence of this internal chronometer that tells them what time to sleep and what time to wake up and that determines different physiological changes throughout the day.
ResponderEliminarAlthough the concept as such is known to many, the discovery of how the biological clock works is relatively recent. It was scientists Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young, award-winners of the 2017 Nobel Prize in Medicine, who unraveled that mystery.
Today we not only know how the biological clock works, but it has also been established that alterations in it are a risk factor for the development of many diseases (organic disorders ranging from depression, memory loss, obesity, some types of cancer, immunosuppression, reproductive disorders, etc.). It is also known that life on Earth moves to the rhythm of these natural cycles.
The biological clock is a dance of genes in which, to understand it simply, two of them predominate during the day, while two others prevail at night. Their action is complemented by at least ten other genes. Between them, they regulate the diurnal and nocturnal processes of the organism.
Adrián García Guardia 4ºA