1 . City life is cool: but is country life cooler? The answer is yes. As cities grow ever bigger, lots of people would like to leave their city and live in the countryside.

    1     Cities like Liverpool and Glasgow have lost about 30% of their population in 30 years. But Britain’s population is still growing.     2     They are moving to the countryside.

The English countryside has a classic image. People imagine that life in the countryside is slow and calm; that people have more space and most houses have gardens; that there are no traffic jams, no pollution, and no crime.     3    

People in Britain want to live in the countryside. It is causing problems in some rural areas. People live in the countryside and work in the city.     4     Of course they don’t use buses (they are too slow) or trains (they-don’t stop in the countryside); they use cars. Little villages now have traffic problems in the morning, just like big cities! What’s more, although many people live in the countryside, they want to use supermarkets and good fast roads. . . . But they do not want to see the crowds to and from such supermarkets or hear the noise of the roads.     5     There is not enough to do. There are not enough activities or excitements.

2 . By looking at things from a different view, you can gain new understanding about problems But it can be difficult to step outside of your world and see things from someone else’s point of view.    1    

Listen to other people carefully. Imagining yourself in someone else’s experiences while talking one-on-one is a great way to experience a different point of view. When you talk with other people, listen closely. Make sure to listen even if you don’t share their opinions and make eye contact while they are talking.    2    Let them know you are listening.

Respect people’s differences.    3    Whenever you interact with someone else, take a moment to remind yourself that they may not share your worldview and that is okay. For example, you might have a coworker who performs a specific task different from what you do. His approach might be very different, but still effective.

Think about how you would feel in another person’s situation. If you meet someone who has experienced a misfortune, imagine how you would feel if you had a similar experience? Why might you feel that way?    4     These questions lead you to build empathy to others.

    5    For example, if you work at a local homeless shelter and hear about the stories people there share about steeping on the street, then you might begin to feel fortunate for having a roof over your head and a bed to sleep. Tasting different people’s experiences is another great way to gain opinion.

3 . Graffiti is writings, drawings or marks made on walls in public places. In most cases, it is created with paint or spray paint. Sometimes it is just a person’s name or a rude word. Sometimes it is regarded as a public protest. Today, graffiti is often a mixture of writing and pictures, usually signed with a tag, which is a signature unique to an artist or group. Graffiti is now popular all over the world, and even art museums and galleries are collecting the works of street artists. However, there are many controversies over graffiti.     1    , while others see this as a rich form of non-traditional cultural expression.

It is believed that graffiti in its modern form first became popular in the United States in the 1960s. Young adults in cities like New York would use paint in special cans to spray their tag on walls around the city.     2    . Some graffiti murals and paintings were signs marking the territories of city gangs or illegal crime groups.

New Yorkers used to see the graffiti on the walls of poor neighbourhoods and subway trains as something threatening and as an example of urban decay.     3    , the work of vandals seeking to express themselves or even to make a political point. Up to the 1970s, most people hated graffiti, considering it disgusting. It was illegal and punishable by fines.

Later, the image of graffiti and graffiti artists changed a lot and graffiti was no longer only found in the subways and the poor areas of cities.     4    . The popularity of hip-hop music in the late 1980s helped further spread the culture of graffiti, first in the United States and then internationally.

Nowadays, graffiti has the status of “street art” and has become a separate movement expressing the street culture of young people living in big cities.     5     —in advertisements, on clothes, on toys, and even in newspapers and other media. Large international companies now realise the appeal of graffiti in advertising.