Towns and Places, Living in a town and a village

TOWNS AND PLACES

Places have always been important in people's lives. Birthplace is the place where we were born and our family and friends live. It is written in our birth certificate, ID card and passport. Hometown  is the place where we work, meet our friends, live with our families, the place that is our home Homeland is the country where we were born (Slovakia). A 'real home' is a place where all the family members can feel safe and happy and they help each other. There are some other important places in our lives: the place of our study (university) where we spend several years, places where we met certain people important to us, where we spent perfect times on holidays etc..

In the past, people didn't have many possibilities to leave their hometowns or even birthplaces.

But nowadays, when people want to be educated – they commute to schools,

they want to earn money – they commute to work,

they want to explore new cities – travel to different countries – go sightseeing, on holidays,

they visit families etc.

There are simple ways of travelling, you can get to other continents in several hours today.

Living in a town and a village:

There are many pros and cons when we talk about living in the city or in the countryside. In general, young people usually prefer living in the town or city, and middle aged and older people would rather stay in the countryside. But it is not always like that.

Living in a crowded cityseems to be easier because everything is available; there are many cultural, sport and shopping facilities. It is easier to find a job or change it, when you want or it is necessary. Those who like bars, pub, and cafés can enjoy nightlife of the city. Of course, people have more privacy there, which can be positive and negative as well, when you need somebody to be with.

You can find some of the things in most towns and cities:

 shopping centre – place with many shops, either indoors or outdoors

 commercial centre – area with lots of banks and company offices

 car parks – places where you can leave your car

 skyscrapers – buildings with many floors

 libraries – places where you can borrow books

 factories – buildings where different goods are produced or manufactured

Different facilities you can find convenient in the town or city:

 educational – school, university, library, museum, evening classes

 cultural – theatre, opera house, concert hall, art gallery, cinema

 sports – sports centre, tennis court, swimming pool, skating rink, football pitch

 transport – system of public transport, taxi rank, parking

 catering and night-life – restaurant, hotel, café, take-away, nightclub, B&B (bed and breakfast), youth hostel, dance-hall, disco

 others – health centre, job centre, registry office, bank, department store, estate agent, police station, Town or City Hall, chemist´s, housing estate, etc.

One of the disadvantages of living in a town is high level of criminality. The environment is usually more polluted than in the countryside, there is nowhere to park in the centre, so you have to take a bus into town or get a taxi. Hectic life and people moving in a rush can be seen in cities every day. There are some other special problems: they are noisy, dangerous and crowded

• there are traffic jams (especially in the rush hours), roads are full of cars and it can be

stressful for commuters

• in some cities there are slums: parts of the city in a very bad condition with lots of poor

people

• vandalism: pointless destruction of other people's property
• overcrowding: too many people live in small places
• pollution: the air and water are not pure, they are polluted

On the other hand, living in the countrysidecan also be interesting, there is fresh air and you get peace and quiet. People there live in their houses, in beautiful surroundings. There is not so much noise and countryside offers to its residents peaceful atmosphere, but only in case you have nice neighbours. Houses have big gardens where you can spend your time with your family and friends. Those who are interested in farming can keep animals (e. g. Cows, sheep, chickens or pigs) and grow crops (e.g. wheat, oat, potatoes, vegetables and fruits). It is ideal to bring up your children in the countryside in the house with a big garden. On the other hand, there are not many shops, job opportunities, so people are forced to commute to the town every day. Elderly people are usually very curious, they love gossiping, and therefore you can miss your privacy.

Different places

There are large cities such as Tokyo, New York, Mexico City, where life is really fast and developed. A lot of rich people live in big houses and villas with big gardens and they drive expensive cars. Other people live in blocks of flats /or apartments/ and travel by public traffic.

On the other hand, there are people who live far away from civilization – for example Siberia, the Amazon Jungle and so on. People in these places live simple life. Some of them live in simple wooden houses and cottages and work on their fields – they grow plants, fruit, vegetables and so on. They have their own customs and traditions, which are important to them.

We are choosing a holiday destination according to our interests, hobbies, money we want to spend... We can go to different towns (cities) and places in the world:

1. Hot or exotic countries - most people like to go on holiday to hot or exotic countries because there is hot weather and a sea and they can lie on the beach, sunbathe and swim in the sea. For example people like to go to Spain, Egypt, Croatia, Italy, Egypt, Canary Islands and so on.
2. Sightseeing places - some people don’t want to sunbathe and lie on the beach, but they want to spend their holiday actively. They want to see new things and learn a lot about new countries, people and their customs and traditions. They prefer places like Vienna, London, New York, Paris – they visit museums, galleries, concerts and art exhibitions. For example people go to Paris to see the Eiffel Tower, Louvre – there is the picture of Mona Lisa…
3. Mountains – some people like to spend their holiday in the mountains – for example they go skiing to Alps or High Tatras. In summer they go hiking
4. Wild places ‒ people who like nature and interesting places can go to Amazon, Grand Canyon, Sahara etc.
5. Lots of people are interested in Wonders of the world: Great Pyramids of Giza, Machu Picchu,

The Great Wall etc. which belong to the most mysterious places in the world.

1. in the USA you can visit
   • New York – we can see the Statue of Liberty, Manhattan, Times Square there
   • The US National Parks – the Grand Canyon National Park, the Yellowstone National Park …
2. in Europe:
   • Paris – we can see Louvre there, the Eiffel Tower and many other sightseeing places
   • London – the Buckingham Palace, The Tower Bridge, The Houses of Parliament, Big Ben…
   • Rome – the Coloseum
3. other places in the world:
   • Rio – there is a famous carnival every year
   • Africa – people like to see safari and wild life

The most favourite destinations of the Slovaks are Croatia, Greece, Bulgary or Italy in summer, while in winter Slovaks love skiing in the Alps.

- on the other hand, some people like to spend their holiday at home. They don’t want to travel and so they stay at home and read a book, watch TV or they just spend time with their family and friends.

Towns and places in Slovakia

Slovakia also offers lots of interesting places. There are:

• Mountains => The High Tatras, The Low Tatras, Slovak Paradise
• Old towns/villages => Vlkolínec, Čičmany, Levoča, Kežmarok, Banská Štiavnica, Kremnica
• Caves => The Dobšinská Ice Cave, Belianska Cave, Domanica
• Castles => Devín Castle, Bratislava Castle, Bojnice Castle, Spiš Castle, Orava
• Spas/spa baths/ => Piešťany, Bardejov, Rajecké Teplice, Sliač
• Bratislava => capital city
• Other Slovak cities => Košice (the historical St. Elizabeth’s Cathedral), Trenčín, Prešov...

• The nature in Slovakia is beautiful – in summer we can go hiking, mountaineering, walking, cycling and in winter, we can go skiing in our mountains. We have The High Tatras and The Low Tatras - the nature there is protected by law (TANAP).
• Folklore festivals in Detva and Východná are also very popular.

My favourite place

I like many places in the world, but my favourite place is my home town, because I have lived here for all my life and I have a lot of friends here. I know my home town very well and I know many people who live here and they know me. Moreover, my family lives here and therefore I will always be happy to come back to my home town, even if I move away.

My second most favourite place is my grandmother’s house in ……………. because I have holidays there and I always like to visit my grandmother. I like to spend holidays at my grandmother’s house, because she looks after me well and because she can bake excellent cakes. In addition to this, I can go for a walk to the forest and pick mushrooms in summer because my grandmother lives near a forest.

Every summer millions of people set off for their holiday destinations and spend several days of weeks far from home, relaxing, having fun and learning about different cultures. If their holiday is a long one, they get homesick and long for the place they know. After coming home they feel relaxed and full of energy. But when they are at home, you may hear the well-known phrases: “East or west, home is best”, “There is no place like home” or “Home, sweet home”.

VOCABULARY

adventure ‒ dobrodružstvo

all over the world – po celom svete

in my opinion – podľa môjho názoru

different ways of life – odlišné spôsoby života

developed – rozvinutý

imagine – predstaviť si

birthplace ‒ miesto narodenia (rodisko)

homeland ‒ rodná krajina

hometown ‒ rodné mesto

birth certificate‒ rodný list

explore‒ objaviť

cave‒ jaskyňa

crowded ‒ preplnený

protected by law‒ zákonom chránený

housing estate‒ sídlisko

infrastructure ‒ infraštruktúra

hiking‒ pešia turistika

mysterious‒ záhadný

spa‒ kúpele

skyscraper‒ mrakodrap

rural ‒ vidiecky

suburb ‒ predmestie

public transport ‒ verejná doprava

rush hour ‒ dopravná špička

block of flats ‒ panelák

spa town ‒ kúpeľné mesto

far away from civilization ‒ ďaleko od civilizácie

memories ‒ spomienky

Wonders of the World ‒ divy sveta

slum ‒ chudobná štvrť

wooden houses ‒ drevené domčeky

a cottage – chata, chalupa

field – pole

grow plants – pestovať rastliny

customs and traditions – zvyky a tradície

the Statue of Liberty – Socha Slobody

sightseeing places – miesta s pamätihodnosťami

wild life – život v divočine

pick mushrooms – zbierať huby

depend on – závisieť od, záležať na 

lie on the beach – ležať na pláži

sunbathe – opaľovať sa

Canary Islands – Kanárske Ostrovy

prefer – uprednostňovať

art exhibitions – umelecké výstavy

mountains – hory

square – námestie

law court – súd

football pitch – futbalové ihrisko

car park – parkovisko

amusement park – zábavný park

cemetery – cintorín

meadow – lúka

facilities – vybavenie

outskirts – okraj mesta

fair – trh

high-rise building – výšková budova

industrial zone – priemyselná zóna

open-air museum – skanzen

east or west, home is best – všade dobre, doma najlepšie