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.
