Below you will see the
words and word combinations you are going to work with in the following
exercises. First, read the text and fill in the gaps with a proper word or
word combination:Living in the City Teaches You ToleranceThe countryside? It must be nice if you're retired … or dead.
If you want to have a semblance of a social life and like to do wild things
like, oh, going to the cinema on a Monday night, the city is for you. The world is a diverse place
– and in the city, you learn that fast. There's a reason New Yorkers are
considered to be the most thick-skinned people on earth: nothing fazes them,
because no one has time to be fazed and they've seen it all anyway. Someone is
rude to on the subway? пустоKnock you over getting off the bus or train? пустоPush to get past people on the downward escalator? Move along. Or someone blocks
the aisle and you пустоcause an accident to get off the bus? Take it easy. Someone cuts you while queuing in
the supermarket? Or пустоtakes your parking spot without пустоspills coffee on you ? Get ahead and get
even. But cities also teach patience and empathy because, after all, you're all
in this together. Compromise is in the very fabric of city living. Someone пустоhit someone's car in a morning hustle
and bustle (pushing and shoving)? There are so many shops in the downtown… Or barista пустоscratch another car ? You coffee is
still in Starbucks, be sure. If you live in a city you cannot afford much space.
Private mansion is an exception, rather than a rule. Neighbours complaining
about your Saturday party? You have to
reach an agreement. People who don't act, think, or speak like you do? Kids who
annoy you by listening to rap music in the bus? They share your space, too. And
you, theirs. Traffic, parking or vehicles are another bane of big cities.
Practically no one can avoid parking accidents. You пустоmake a complaint when parking? Or someone пустоgets your order wrong ? That is our daily routine. We dial our
insurance agent number or пустоcut in line to the personnel department. Only if you don’t пустоhave to push ahead of people or пустоmaking excuses on the road ... The
police matter. It's an imperfect and
fragile microcosm, which, no matter its many drawbacks, seems to work. Almost
like magic!