Cities have become very attractive places because they offer people not only jobs and work, but also many things they can do in their free time. You can go to museums or art exhibitions, relax in public parks, listen to music at concerts or eat out at expensive restaurants that offer food from all over the world. Big department stores give you the pleasure of buying many things without leaving the building.  

Cities offer their residents and the people who work there a variety of ways of getting around. Many people walk or ride a bike, which is often the fastest way to move around in a crowded city.  All cities offer at least some form of public transport: buses, trains or trams. Large cities have subways that travel underground.  

A city has its own government, called the city council. The head of a city is its mayor. City governments have many things to care for. They must organize their own police force to protect the citizens and fight crime. In addition, They provide residents with drinking water, electricity, heating, hospitals and services to get rid of waste. The city council must decide in which parts of a city new factories or houses can be built.


Macy's department store in Manhattan

Macy's department store in Manhattan
Image:  NYC-manhattan-macys.jpg, by Balou46, via Wikimedia Commons, Licence: CC BY-SA4.0



JR East / Yamanote Line E235 series train in Tokyo

Public transport in Tokyo, Japan
Image:  "JR East / Yamanote Line E235 series train", by MaedaAkihiko, via Wikimedia Commons, Licence: CC BY-SA4.0


Words

  • art exhibition = room or building in which you can see paintings by artists
  • attractive = liked by many people
  • care for = here: to do things for the residents
  • citizen = a person who lives in a city or country and has rights there
  • crowded = many people in a small space
  • department store = a large store that is divided into many sections; each section sells something else  
  • electricity =  the power that is in wires and cables and which is used to make machines work  
  • government = here: the people who rule a city
  • offer = give
  • mayor = the highest official in a city
  • pleasure = happiness, satisfaction
  • police force = the police organization of a city
  • protect = keep safe
  • provide = give
  • public = open to everybody
  • public transport = buses, trains, subways etc … that are here for everyone to use
  • relax = rest
  • resident = a person who lives in a city or town
  • services = special help or work
  • variety = many different
  • waste = unwanted material that you don't need after you have used it