📘 Part 3: Cities

This episode's vocabulary

Glimpse (noun) - an occasion when you see something or someone for a very short time.

Bygone (adj.) - belonging to or happening in a past time.

Era (noun) - a period of time of which particular events or stages of development are typical.

Authenticity (noun) - the quality of being real or true.

Appealing (adj.) - attractive or interesting.

Historical (adj.) - connected with studying or representing things from the past.

To draw (verb) - to attract attention or interest.

To stimulate (verb) - to encourage something to grow, develop, or become active.

Run-down (adj.) - run-down buildings or areas are in very bad condition.

To board something up (phrasal verb) - to cover a door or window with wooden boards.

Residential (adj.) - a residential road, area, etc. has only private houses, not offices and factories.

To unwind (verb) - to relax and allow your mind to be free from worry after a period of work or some other activity that has made you worried.

Insight (noun) - (the ability to have) a clear, deep, and sometimes sudden understanding of a complicated problem or situation.

Lively (adverb) - full of energy and enthusiasm; interesting and exciting.

Mundane (adj.) - very ordinary and therefore not interesting.

Urban (adj.) - of or in a city or town.

Sprawl (noun) - a large area of land covered with buildings, especially ones that have been added gradually over a period of time.

Precaution (noun) - an action that is done to prevent something unpleasant or dangerous happening.

Local (noun) - a person who lives in the particular small area that you are talking about.

To encounter (verb) - to meet someone unexpectedly.

Spontaneous (adj.) - happening or done in a natural, often sudden way, without any planning or without being forced.

To plan something out (phrasal verb) -to think about and decide what you are going to do or how you are going to do something.

To ensure (verb) - to make something certain to happen.

To wander (verb) - to walk around slowly in a relaxed way or without any clear purpose or direction.

Threshold (noun) - the level or point at which you start to experience something, or at which something starts to happen.

Decibel (noun) - a unit for measuring the loudness of sound.

Scenario (noun) - a description of possible actions or events in the future.

Questions and Answers

M: Why are historical cities popular?

R: Well, because they offer a glimpse into the past, allowing visitors to experience the culture and architecture and traditions of a bygone era. They can also provide a sense of authenticity and connection to the past that many people find appealing. Since it's like the real actual place where actions took place.

M: Why do places with historical sites develop the tourism industry more actively?

R: Well, probably because they have unique cultural and historical tourist attractions, and places of interest that can draw visitors from all over the world. So by promoting these attractions and offering a range of tourism-related services, like tours and accommodation, these places can stimulate economic growth and job creation.

M: Why do people go to other cities?

R: Well, for a variety of reasons, tourism, work, education, or just visit friends and family. They might also be seeking new experiences, cultural exchanges or just to escape from their daily routines. They'll likely have different ways of doing things there. Even if it's just a minor change. Lots of places in a city like Glasgow, for example, have really run-down and boarded-up residential areas. So it's no wonder people want to get away from it all.

M: Why do people sometimes go to other cities or other countries to travel?

R: I think the list is endless really. To experience new cultures, try new foods, learn about history and art or simply just to relax and unwind. It can broaden your perspective and give new insights into the world, especially if places have a, well, relatively more lively culture. And they don't have that sort of mundane urban sprawl with endless office and apartment blocks. That must be pretty soul-destroying.

M: Do you think tourists may come across bad things in other cities?

R: Yeah, experiencing things like crime and scams or other unexpected situations is definitely a possibility. However, by taking the appropriate precautions like researching the destination beforehand and taking advice from locals or trusted sources, they can minimize the risk of encountering them.

M: Do most people like planned travelling?

R: I suppose some might like spontaneous travel, but most probably prefer it to be planned out to ensure they can make the most of their trip and have a, well, relatively stress-free experience. Planning can also help ensure travellers can see and do everything they want within a limited timeframe. Which is, well, which is useful if you're going on something like a weekend break.

M: Why is noise pollution worse in cities with lots of tourists than in other cities?

R: Well, there are more people. So sound will probably or the level of noise will increase in proportion to the number of people that there are.

M: And how does this happen?

R: How does the noise happen?

M: Yes. How does the noise happen?

R: Oh, yeah, there're... Well, tourists more often than in comparison to the people who are from a place will wander around in big groups. So if you have big groups of people, then they tend to make more noise. And there'll be tour groups. So the tour group leader has to give presentations and things and projecting their voice will also increase the noise. And if you have more people just wandering around in general, then the sound of their walking will also contribute to that.

M: Do you think this will get worse or better in the future, the noise levels?

R: Well, the population is increasing, so I imagine there will be more tourists and therefore the noise level will increase. Whether that's a bad thing or not depends entirely on whether you think having lots of noise is a problem.

M: Do you think that noise pollution is a real problem in cities these days? Or are there any other more significant problems?

R: Well, it will depend, I think past a certain threshold of decibels noise actually starts to damage your eardrums. But I don't think it ever gets high enough just from people wandering around. I think it's like when you use industrial equipment. So the bigger problem, if we're talking about tourism and cities, still will be connected to damage caused to the environment by people dropping trash for example, or inadvertently destroying historical artefacts. That's probably a much bigger problem than the noise. I think, you know, it's irritating, but it's not quite the same as having the environment destroyed.

M: Do you think that people will travel more to different cities in the future?

R: Well, it's like I said for whether there'll be more tourists. So generally, the level of economic development globally is increasing. So people should have access to more money and that will probably encourage more travel because people are fascinated by each other and each other's cultures, I can't see a scenario in which it doesn't increase.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your answers!