We are entering a new time in the history of the world. Before this, most people were farmers. They lived in the country. Now many people are leaving the farms and moving into the cities. They are looking for jobs. The cities are growing very quickly.

Most cities are very crowded. People are driving more cars, burning more fuel, using more water, eating more food, making more garbage, and producing more things in factories than ever before. Life is becoming difficult.

Some governments are trying to plan for the future. They are building new roads, putting up new houses, looking for more water, and limiting growth in certain areas. Still, city planners are getting worried. People are crowding into the cities faster than the cities can take them. The cities are running out of room. What is the answer to this problem?

Using commas in a series

A comma is used between all the members of a list, or a series.

We need eggs, cheese, milk, and bread.

Copy the sentences, and make all the corrections that are necessary.

Use capital letters when they are needed.

1. what do you see hear feel and smell
2. i see cars people houses stores and factories
3. the largest cities in the world are new york city mexico city tokyo los angeles shanghai buenos aires paris and peking
4. people are using more food fuel water and air
5. they are planning cities building roads finding water putting up houses and limiting growth
6. the growth of cities is a problem in europe africa asia north america and south america
7. what are we doing about the traffic the noise the pollution and the crowding
8. do these problems have an answer

Spelling -ing verb forms

The present progressive tense is a combination of two verbs. The auxiliary is a form of be, and the main verb takes an -ing ending. The spelling rules depend on the order of vowels and consonants in the verb.

1. Verbs that end with e drop the e and add -ing. Write the forms below with the correct spelling.

She is writing. (write, drive, live, come, move)
We are dancing. (dance, shave, hide, smile, hope)

2. Verbs that end in a vowel followed by a double consonant or in a double vowel followed by a consonant simply add -ing. Write the forms below with the correct spelling.

He is cooking. (cook, wait, help, count, sleep, think)
They are working. (work, eat, read, watch, finish, walk)

3. Verbs that end in a single stressed vowel followed by a single consonant must add another consonant before adding -ing. Write the forms below with the correct spelling.

I am swimming. (swim, win, plan, sit, stop)
You are cutting. (cut, run, dig, shop, get up)

Notice that verbs with the stress before the last syllable do not follow this pattern. They do not take a double consonant: visit – visiting, enter – entering, limit – limiting.

4. Verbs that end in ie change the ie to y and add -ing. Verbs that end in other vowels simply take -ing.

She is dying. (die, lie, tie, go, see)

Subject-verb agreement + present progressive

Rewrite the paragraphs below, adding the correct form of the verbs. The verb be must agree with the subject. The main verb takes -ing.

Many farm people are coming into the cities. (come) They ____ ____ their farms for a life in the city. (leave) They ____ ____ jobs, houses, and a new set of friends. (look for) The cities ____ ____ very crowded. (become) The government ____ ____ to help the people, but the problem is too serious. (try) The head city planner ____ ____ worried about the future. (get)

“We ____ not ____ new houses fast enough,” he says. (build) “The city ____ ____ of room, water, jobs, and houses. (run out) We ____ ____ a limit on growth. (think about) Our big cities ____ ____ too fast. (grow) Few farmers ____ ____ grain and vegetables for us to eat. (raise) This situation ____ ____ the whole country in danger.” (put)

Dicto-comp

Your teacher will read one of the paragraphs three times. Listen carefully, but do not take notes. After the third reading, write the paragraph as well as you can from memory.

Using the definite article the before prepositional phrases.

The general rule for the definite article is that we use the when we know the identity of the noun. We often know which particular noun is meant if there is a prepositional phrase to define it.

Example: Every person has X problems. (No article because “problems” is a very general word here.) The problems of cities are serious. (Here we use the because we know which problems we are talking about. They are the problems of cities.)

Write these phrases. Add the at the beginning.

1. ___ growth of cities
2. ___ smell of pollution
3. ___ noise of the crowd
4. ___ pollution from cars
5. ___ cars in the street
6. ___ government of Russia
7. ___ products from our factories
8. ___ noise from factories
9. ___ sound of a horn
10. ___ history of the world

Making questions about topics

There is usually more than one way to ask a question. For each topic below you may ask a question at least two ways. Use the vocabulary that is given and write two questions for each topic. You will need to add auxiliary verbs.

1. moving

where/farmers/moving Where are farmers moving?
farmers/moving/to the city Are farmers moving to the city?

2. looking for jobs

what/people/looking for
people/looking for/jobs

3. growing

how fast/cities/growing
cities/growing/very quickly

4. building

what/governments/building
governments/building/new roads and houses

what/governments/looking for
governments/looking for/water

6. feeling

how/city planners/feeling
city planners/feeling/worried

Incomplete dialog

Below are the answers to some questions. Write a good question before each answer. When you finish, you will have a dialog that you can act out with a partner.

Reporter: Are you Roger Collins?
Planner: Yes, I am. I’m Roger Collins. Are you the reporter from the Chicago Press?

Reporter: Yes, I’m Kent Clark. __________?
Planner: Yes, it’s a good time to talk. Normally I am a very busy man, but right now I’m just killing time.

Reporter: __________?
Planner: I’m waiting for a phone call about a new air pollution rule from the government office. I’m very worried.

Reporter: __________?
Planner: Because the phone call is late. It’s an important call. We need a new pollution rule.

Reporter: __________?
Planner: Because the air in the city is very dirty. It’s a dangerous situation for old people and for children. We are making plans to move some of the companies into the country.

Reporter: __________?
Planner: Some companies agree, but others don’t. This new rule will make our job easier.

Reporter: __________?
Planner: Yes, there are several companies in the country now. The Allen-Foster Insurance Company, for example, is in the country. Their move is a great success.

Reporter: __________?
Planner: Well, no, not really. An insurance company is actually quite clean. But the Allen-Foster Company is setting a good example, and their workers are very happy now.

Reporter: __________?
Planner: These moves help the city in many ways. First, we need to limit growth. Second, we need to cut pollution. Third, we need to limit traffic in the city.

Reporter: __________?
Planner: Yes, we do. We have other plans to help the city. For example, with water . . .

Reporter: __________?
Planner: Yes, we are. We’re looking for water. And houses . . .

Reporter: __________?
Planner: Yes, we are. We’re building 200 new houses. Excuse me, my phone call is here.

Reporter: Good-bye, and thank you for the interview.

Choosing relevant information

Choose sentences from the list below and write two separate paragraphs. Choose relevant information and organize the sentences into a clear order. The topics are: “Crowding” and “Pollution”. Each paragraph will have six sentences.