1.en.6 Revision of comparatives to help you compare cities: size, population, wealth, density

Now, we’ll have a closer look at grammar and see how to compare adjectives. There are some rules you must bear in mind.

Look at this excellent power point from grup14  and check if you understand how comparing adjectives works. Take notes in your workbook. Label your notes: grammar, comparatives and also make a reference to the post (1.en.6.) this way you will always know where your notes come from.

Did you find the presentation useful?

We shall do more practice in class and you must have the rules at hand, but now some homework. Before Tuesday the 27th

Go to  Vicent Viel’s first post: Principals aglomeracions urbanes and click on the link he gave you:

http://www.citypopulation.de/world/Agglomerations.html

Homework: Tuesday 27th September. Make 3 sentences comparing the cities that appear in the chart and post them to the blog. Copy the sentences you post in your notebook too.

Rules for doing this exercise.

• You cannot repeat a sentence that has previously been posted.
• When you mention a city, you must know where the city  is a you must also be able to locate the city in a map.

It will be easier for the first ones to post the comments to the blog, so Hurry up!

Useful terms.

more populated than

most heavily populated

more densely populated than

less populated

the most populated in .. /the least populated in …..

You can compare cities at world level, within a continent or within a country. You can also compare continents.

No excuses for lack of data. If you run out of information to make your three sentences check this other site:

http://www.citymayors.com/statistics/largest-cities-mayors-intro.html

1.en.5 Are cities sustainable? How much energy do they spend? Orbital tour of cities at night: glowing spider webs in the darkness

In his first post this year, Vicent, your History teacher, posted about mega cities and gave you a link so you could find out the huge number of people that live nowadays in conurbations, megacities and metropolitan areas.

Let’s consider the amount of energy they consume at night. We’ll be orbiting the earth at night. We shall reflect on the different patterns they reflect. Can you draw any conclusions from this variation in patterns?

 

Have a look at a you tube video that zooms in different cities at night. The images are beautiful and they give you a different perspective of cities too, you will see variations in light patterns. You have already analysed in History lessons different city structures.  This time you will see what cities look like at night, depending on light. You will have an unusual vantage point: thanks to technological advances you will be orbiting the earth on a sattelite. Enjoy!

The narrator tells us the name of the city, the country and makes some comments on the pattern of lights and the colours.

I do not want you to do any difficult homework, it is a long video, just concentrate on the beauty of the images and get used to how cities are pronounced in English.

I have included a list of the cities and places that appear in the video and  grouped them by continents. You have also a map, to give you the opportunity to situate the cities in the map.

 

1. Zurich, Switzerland
2. Milan, Italy
3. Athens, Greece
4. Antwerp, Belgium
5. Madrid, Spain
6. London, England
7. Cairo Egypt
8. the pyramids
9. the Nile
10. Tel Aviv Israel
11. Jerusalem
12. Riyahd, Saudi Arabia
13. Jedda, Saudi Arabia
14. Mecca, Saudi Arabia
15. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
16. oil field  fires near Kuwait city
17. North west coast of India
18. Karachi, Pakistan
19. Manila, Philippines
20. Yangon, Myanmar
21. Hong Kong, China
22. Busan, South Korea
23. Fukuoka, Japan
24. a fleet of fishing boats in the Korea Strait
25. Tokio, Japan
26. Nagoya, Japan
27. Brisbane, Australia
28. Sao Paolo, Brazil
29. Mexico City, Mexico
30. El Paso, Texas
31. Phoenix, Arizona
32. San Francisco Bay area, USA
33. Miami, Florida
34. Huston, Texas
35. Los Angeles and San Diego, USA
36. Wahshington DC, USA
37. Las Vegas, USA

Here follows some of the sentences you will hear in the video:

the cities of the Middle East are multicoloured and strikingly beautiful

Cities in Europe display a network of roads that radiate outwards like glowing spider webs

Some north American cities display a clear North,South, East,West grid pattern

We now have a database of 400.000 images of cities at night

Homework: Tuesday 26th September

1. Choose a couple of cities you had not heard of and try to locate them in the map.
2. Practice the pronunciation .
3. Send a post to the blog with the 2 cities you have learnt to situate on the map.
4. Which cities, if any, did you miss in the list?
5. Any other comments?
6. Did you like the images?
7. Did you learn any geography?
8. Are all the cities that appear on the video reflected in the map that opens this post?
9. Which continent/continents are less represented?
10. Which place would you like to visit and why?

Remember not to repeat the same answers. Copy your answer in your notebook too. 

1.en.14. From Liverpool to Palma: exploring cities

Welcome Paquita!

It is good to make a post after a musical one, even if it is about wolves! It’s great to have you with us, you bring music to our blog. You have already brought “Imagine” to our class, now that  we are exploring our city, Palma,  you reminded us of  a famous  pedestrian crossing in Abbey Road;  The Beatles made it famous all over the world. The Beatles were from Liverpool and they wrote many songs about their life as young people in their hometown. This term we are working with cities, that is one of the reasons why we know a lot about cycle lanes and pedestrian crossings.  Now we’ll follow the Beatles into a small street in Liverpool, a lane, a narrow passage between houses, called Penny Lane. Here follows the lyrics, but some words are missing. Look at the images, they might help you find the correct words to fill the gaps. Some words are repeated:

ears, laugh, barber, fireman, poppies, hello, queen, pouring rain, skies, pies

Enjoy the music!

In Penny Lane there is a ________ (1)showing photographs
Of every head he’s had the pleasure to know
And all the people that come and go
Stop and say____________ (2)

On the corner is a banker with a motorcar
The little children ______(3) at him behind his back
And the banker never wears a mack
In the_________ ­ ____(4), very strange

Penny Lane is in my___________(5) and in my ___________(6)
There beneath the blue suburban ___________(7)
I sit, and meanwhile back

In Penny Lane there is a ___________(8) with an hourglass
And in his pocket is a portrait of the ___________(9)
He likes to keep his fire engine clean
It’s a clean machine

Penny Lane is in my ___________(10)and in my ___________(11)
A four of fish and finger___________ (12)
In summer, meanwhile back

Behind the shelter in the middle of a roundabout
The pretty nurse is selling ___________(13)from a tray
And though she feels as if she’s in a play
She is anyway

In Penny Lane the ___________(14)shaves another customer
We see the banker sitting waiting for a trim
And then the fireman rushes in
From the  _________ ­ ____(15), very strange

Penny Lane is in my ___________(16)and in my ___________(17)
There beneath the blue suburban___________ (18)
I sit, and meanwhile back

Penny Lane is in my ___________(19)and in my ___________(20)
There beneath the blue suburban ___________(21)

Written by Paul McCartney and John Lennon

Homework: We shall do this song together with Taylor on Thursday the 21st of October but, as I know there are excellent musicians in our group, you might try to volunteer to be the first ones to sing, then we’ll follow you.

Do you like this song?

Are there any other songs from the Beatles you like?

Can you think of any other songs from other bands where “the city” is the main character?

Post your comments on the song and to the questions before Thursday.