Countries and Towns

Every place has a character of its own. A hill village of slate roofs under a snow peak, a tight cluster of stone houses on a dry slope, a crowded city spread around an ancient stupa, and a wide new road with arched gateways: each shows a different way of living. When we set two places side by side and say how they are alike and how they differ, we are comparing and contrasting. This unit is built around that one skill. You will read a comparison, hear one, speak one and write one, and you will learn the grammar that makes a comparison precise.

Look at the four places above and notice what changes from one to the next: the number of buildings, the materials they are made of, the space between them, the land around them and how busy each place seems. Those are the points of comparison. A good comparison always picks a point and then says something about both places on that point. Here are sentences that do exactly that:

• The village below the snow peak looks greener and more peaceful than the city.
• The stone village is more tightly packed than the mountain village, but both are built on steep slopes.
• The city around the stupa is far more crowded than either village.
• The new road is much wider than any path in the two villages, although it looks less busy than the city streets.

London and Paris are two of the most visited cities on Earth, and travellers often cannot decide which to choose. 'London vs Paris' is a piece of travel journalism written for exactly that reader. It does not tell a story. It takes one topic at a time (location, size, culture, food, cost, entertainment, transport, tourism, sights, people and weather) and sets the facts about the two cities against each other, so that the reader can make up their own mind.

Location and history. London is the capital of the United Kingdom and also its largest city. It stands on the River Thames in South East England, and its history goes back to Roman times. Paris is the capital of France, in the north-central part of the country, on the River Seine. It has a rich European history and is regarded as a world centre for culture, fashion, art and gastronomy, which is the art of choosing, cooking and eating good food.

Size. London is one of the largest metropolitan areas in Europe, covering about 1,572 square kilometres. Paris covers only about 105 square kilometres, so London is roughly fifteen times larger. Yet Paris is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe, with about 20,700 people living in each square kilometre.

Culture. Visitors are often surprised by the cultural gap between the two cities, which comes from the difference between England and France. In England a handshake is the normal greeting, and the British assume that everyone speaks English. The French accept a handshake, but a kiss on the cheek is the conventional hello; a visitor who is uneasy with that can brush cheeks and kiss the air. The French are protective of their language, and Parisians are pleased when a foreigner tries to speak French, however rusty it is. When French urbanites meet for a drink, they head to a cafe and take their time over espressos.

Food and cost. France is famous for its cuisine, and Paris restaurants have earned more Michelin Stars than London's. London's food should not be written off, though. Because people come to London from all over the world, its restaurants have embraced food from many cultures, and its vibrant mix offers a wide array, from cheap curries to fish and chips. Paris is known for its bread, pastries and baguettes. Both cities are expensive to live in, but London is more expensive overall. Groceries and other consumer goods cost less in London, while local transport and utility bills are cheaper in Paris. For a traveller on a budget, Paris is the pocket-friendly choice.

Entertainment and transport. London has the advantage in leisure. It has 380 public libraries to Paris's 69 and 240 museums to Paris's 153. Football fans lean towards London, which has six major clubs in the top league, while Paris has only one, Paris Saint-Germain (PSG). London's transport network is widespread: six international airports (London City, Gatwick, Heathrow, Luton, Stansted and Southend) against three in Paris (Beauvais, Orly and Charles de Gaulle), about 22,500 registered taxis against 17,000, and twice as many bus and train lines. Paris, however, has subway stations that are more evenly spread, and it is steadily expanding a new tramway network.

Tourism and planning a visit. In a 2018 report by MasterCard, London was the second most visited city in the world after Bangkok, and Paris came third. Tourists also spend more money in London. Three to four days are enough to see the main sights of Paris, while four to five days suit London. In Paris a visitor should see the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, the Palace of Versailles and Disneyland; in London, the London Eye, Warner Bros Studio and Big Ben.

People and weather. Locals in both cities are warm and welcoming, but it is easier to get to know someone in Paris. Londoners tend to keep to impenetrable cliques, small closed groups that are hard for a stranger to enter. Parisians are a little culture-sensitive but fun once you know them. In both cities a visitor must watch out for pickpockets and chuggers. London's weather is mild, so it can be visited at any time of year, though autumn is best, when the weather is pleasant and the city is full of events and festivals. The best time for Paris is June to August, when the days are long and sunny. The writer ends without a winner: which city is better depends on what you are looking for and on what you value.

The article is easy to follow because every paragraph deals with one point and gives both cities a turn. Notice the small words that swing the reader from one city to the other. They are the tools you will need in your own writing:

• while: 'London has 380 public libraries, while Paris has 69.'
• on the other hand: 'Paris, on the other hand, is the capital city of France.'
• although: 'Although Paris is smaller in terms of area, it is one of the most densely populated cities in Europe.'
• nonetheless: 'Nonetheless, London's food should not be written off.'
• both ... but: 'Both London and Paris are known for their high cost of living, but London is more expensive.'

In conversation, we compare things by agreeing, adding a point and then turning to a difference. Listen to how two friends talk about a traditional house and a modern one.

Roshan uses a comparative adjective, 'smaller than'. Sujita agrees by saying the same fact in a new way, 'not as big as', and then turns to a contrast with 'However', adding 'more artistic than'. Those three moves (compare, agree, contrast) are the pattern to copy. The pairs below each come with the adjectives or adjectival phrases to use.

Bridges: long, attractive to look at, wide.

Dogs: big, easy to tame, hairy.

Heaters: clean, economical to run.

Shops: pleasant to shop at, wide range of goods.

To choose between the two forms, find the word being described. If it is a person or thing, use the adjective; if it is an action, use the adverb. In 'The cook patiently removed the boiling pot', patiently tells us how the cook removed the pot, so it is an adverb. In 'My poor family can't afford a car', poor describes the family, so it is an adjective.

• Adjective: 'She gave a soft answer.' (describes the answer)
• Adverb: 'She answered softly.' (describes how she answered)
• Adjective after a linking verb: 'The kitten looked timid.'
• Adverb with an action verb: 'The kitten peered timidly from under the couch.'

• Most one-syllable words add -er and -est: long, longer, longest.
• Two-syllable words ending in -y change y to i and add -er and -est: heavy, heavier, heaviest.
• Longer words take more and most: complicated, more complicated, most complicated.
• Adverbs ending in -ly take more and most: quickly, more quickly; beautifully, more beautifully; gracefully, more gracefully.
• Some adverbs have the same form as the adjective and add -er: fast, faster; hard, harder; long, longer.
• Some words are irregular: good and well become better and best; bad and badly become worse and worst.

To make a comparison stronger, put 'much' or 'far' before the comparative: 'The journey by bus takes much longer than by plane.' 'London is far larger than Paris.' A comparative is usually followed by 'than', and the superlative usually has 'the' before it: 'London is the largest city in the United Kingdom.'

A couple of paragraphs comparing Kathmandu with another city in Nepal is a small version of the London and Paris article. Work through it in this order:

• Choose the second city and list four or five points of comparison: location, size and crowding, famous places, climate, what life is like.
• Note one fact about each city for every point, so that no point is one-sided.
• Open with a sentence that introduces both cities and says what they share.
• Give the similarities in one paragraph and the differences in the next, using comparatives and linking words such as while, whereas, however and on the other hand.
• Close with a sentence of judgement: which city suits whom, and why.

Model: Kathmandu and Pokhara are the two cities most visitors to Nepal see first, and both depend heavily on tourism. Each is the capital of a province: Kathmandu is also the capital of the whole country and lies in Bagmati Province, while Pokhara is the capital of Gandaki Province. Both are surrounded by hills, and from both a visitor can see the Himalaya on a clear day.

There the likeness ends. Kathmandu is much bigger, busier and noisier than Pokhara. Its streets are crowded, its traffic is heavy and its air is often dusty. However, it is far richer in history, with ancient sites such as Pashupatinath, Swayambhunath and Boudhanath. Pokhara is calmer and cleaner. Its greatest treasure is natural rather than historical: Phewa Lake, with the peak of Machhapuchhre reflected in it on a still morning. A student of history will prefer Kathmandu, whereas someone looking for rest and fresh air will find Pokhara more pleasant.

The story of a country mouse and a city mouse is one of Aesop's fables, told for more than two thousand years. This version is a poem by Richard Scrafton Sharpe. It makes the same kind of comparison as the article, between country life and city life, but instead of facts it uses a story, and instead of leaving the choice to the reader it ends with a clear lesson.

• Stanza 1: A plump country mouse lives in a warm little cottage, free to roam the whole house without being disturbed. She is content with plain food: cheese for breakfast, bacon for dinner, grey peas for supper.
• Stanza 2: A mouse from the town wanders to the cottage for a short visit. She sets her table cheerfully and serves him her best bacon and peas.
• Stanza 3: The visitor frowns and tries to be clever. In the city, he says, everyone would be shocked by such food; nobody there eats 'horrid' grey peas.
• Stanza 4: He invites her to town and promises excellent food that she can feast on for as long as she likes.
• Stanza 5: She cannot refuse so kind an invitation, and he is in a hurry. Unwillingly, she leaves the fields, the trees and her simple meals.
• Stanza 6: They creep under the door of a grand parlour where a feast was held the night before, and they seize on delicacies far better than bacon and peas.
• Stanza 7: The table holds custard, trifle, cheesecakes, sweets, jellies and twenty other things: everything a cook could invent to please the taste, except bacon and peas.
• Stanza 8: In the middle of the feast the dog, the cat and a maid with a broom burst in. The terrified mice jump into a custard up to their knees, and the country mouse longs for her bacon and peas.
• Stanza 9: She begs her friend to get her away safely. She cannot stay in London any longer; if such interruptions are common, she would rather have her own plain food.
• Stanza 10: His life is splendid and cheerful, she admits, but he lives in constant fear of being disturbed. She finds true delight in contentment and ease, and her bacon and peas are a feast to her.

Watch how the refrain changes with the speaker. When the city mouse talks, the peas are 'horrid' and 'shocking'. When the country mouse talks, they are 'charming' and 'delicious'. The same food is judged two ways, and by the end of the poem the reader agrees with the country mouse. The poem is also gently comic: the proud city mouse ends up knee-deep in custard.

Before listening, warm up by comparing two provincial capitals of Nepal that you know. For example, Pokhara is the capital of Gandaki Province and Janakpur is the capital of Madhesh Province. Both are important centres for their regions and both attract visitors. They differ in setting and character: Pokhara lies among hills beside Phewa Lake, and is known for mountain views and trekking; Janakpur lies on the flat plains of the Terai and is famous for the Janaki Temple and Mithila art.

The recording is a conversation in which Dave asks a friend about the province of Quebec in Canada. Two cities come up: Quebec City and Montreal. You have two tasks. First, you decide which city each of five statements describes and tick the correct column. Second, you listen again and decide whether five statements about Dave's trip are true or false.

Read every statement before the audio begins and underline its key word. That word is what you listen for:

• 'the biggest city': listen for size words such as biggest, largest, most people.
• 'the capital of the province': listen for capital, government or parliament.
• 'The St. Lawrence River runs through it': listen for the river's name.
• 'third-largest French-speaking city': listen for French and for a number such as third.
• 'Many of the buildings are very old': listen for old, historic or centuries.
• For Dave's trip: listen for why he is going, which languages people speak, how long he will stay, how good his French is and whom he will visit.

To finish, talk briefly about your favourite city. Say where it is, what it is known for and why you like it, and compare it with one other place. Model: 'My favourite city is Pokhara. It is smaller and calmer than Kathmandu, and the air is much cleaner. I love walking beside Phewa Lake early in the morning, when Machhapuchhre is reflected in the water.'

Connectives join ideas and show how they relate. Some show a reason (why something happened) and some show a contrast (something surprising or opposite). The key to using them correctly is to know what kind of words follow each one.

Many villages of Nepal are still untouched by modernity, and their simplicity and rural charm make them hidden treasures. Lamidada is one of them. A description of a place turns notes into flowing paragraphs, and here are the notes to work from:

• located in the Khotang district
• gateway to the sacred temple of Halesi Mahadev
• gorgeous landscape, agricultural land, traditional houses, mountain views, humble villagers, dense forest and more
• a thick settlement of the Rai people
• on the stone-paved path uphill: villagers carrying wood from the forest, children grazing domestic animals
• weather: the morning can be slightly chilly, the daytime is warm

Group the notes into three paragraphs: where the village is and why it matters, what it looks like and who lives there, and what a visitor experiences, including the weather. Add describing words, but only ones the notes support.

Model: Lamidada is a quiet hill village in the Khotang district of eastern Nepal. It is best known as the gateway to the sacred temple of Halesi Mahadev, so many pilgrims pass through it on their way to worship.

The village is blessed with a gorgeous landscape. Traditional houses stand among green terraced fields, dense forest covers the slopes, and on a clear day the mountains rise in the distance. Lamidada is a thick settlement of the Rai people, who are humble and welcoming to visitors.

Walking up the stone-paved path, you meet villagers carrying loads of wood from the forest and children grazing goats and cattle. Mornings can be slightly chilly, but the days are warm and pleasant. Lamidada has kept its simple rural beauty, and that is exactly what makes it worth a visit.

The project asks you to interview five friends about their likes, dislikes, skills and similar things, then prepare a short report and present it to the class. A report is where comparison pays off: once you have five sets of answers, you can say what your friends share and where they differ.

• Prepare the same five or six questions for everyone, for example: What do you enjoy doing in your free time? What do you dislike? What are you good at?
• Interview each friend and note the answers briefly, with their name.
• Look for patterns: what most friends like, what only one likes, which skills are unusual.
• Write the report: a sentence on who you interviewed and what you asked, a paragraph of findings, and a closing sentence.
• Present it clearly, looking at the class, and use falling intonation at the end of each statement.

Model extract: 'I interviewed five classmates about their interests. Four of them enjoy football, while only Anu prefers reading. Everyone dislikes waking up early. Ramesh is the most skilled at drawing, whereas Sita speaks English more fluently than the rest of us.'

Two or more independent clauses are joined by coordinating conjunctions: for, and, nor, but, or, yet, so. For example: 'London is expensive, but Paris is cheaper.' Both halves could stand alone. A dependent clause is joined to a main clause by a subordinating conjunction such as as, since, though, although, because, if, unless, provided that and so that. For example: 'Paris is a good choice if you are on a budget.' The part beginning with 'if' cannot stand alone.