Unit 9 · Workbook

9B. Super cities — Workbook

Extra practice for home study · with answer keys

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A student's desk with an atlas open to world cities and word-building sticky notes

How to use this workbook

  • Try each exercise on paper first — don't peek!
  • Tap Show answer on a single item, or use the big button above to reveal everything.
  • Re-do anything you got wrong the next day.

1. Vocabulary — megacity words (word building)

Choose the word that fits best.

  1. Rents are so high nobody can afford them — the city is completely ___.

  2. The bus network was in ruins; it needed a full ___.

  3. The air is barely ___ in the summer months.

  4. Everyone talked about the ___ of moving so many people so fast.

  5. The government has done nothing — the whole project feels totally ___.

  6. The metro is so old and unreliable — it desperately needs to be ___.

2. Vocabulary — gap-fill (uncountable nouns)

Complete each sentence with ONE noun from the box (no changes).

Word bank — drag or tap, then tap a gap
  1. The  drop  is unbearable in the summer — you can taste it.
  2. Can you give me some  drop  about which neighbourhood is safest?
  3. The  drop  from Tokyo this morning is really shocking.
  4.  drop  in the city centre is completely unaffordable.
  5. There was so much  drop  on the motorway that we missed our flight.
  6. I couldn't find any useful  drop  about visas online.

3. Grammar — IS or ARE?

Choose the correct verb.

  1. The news from Delhi ___ terrible.

  2. The police ___ investigating.

  3. People ___ leaving the city for the suburbs.

  4. My jeans ___ in the wash.

  5. The furniture ___ brand new.

  6. Her research ___ groundbreaking.

  7. The traffic on the ring road ___ moving very slowly.

  8. The staff ___ complaining about the shift changes.

4. Grammar — spot & fix the mistake

Each sentence has ONE mistake. Rewrite it correctly.

  1. I need an advice about the visa.

  2. The furnitures in the flat are old.

  3. People is friendly here.

  4. The news are terrible today.

  5. I have two homeworks tonight.

  6. The police is on their way.

  7. Where is my jeans?

  8. She gave me some informations.

5. Word building — form the noun / adjective / verb

Complete the table by writing the correct form.

  1. afford → adjective (opposite): 'The rent is ___.'

  2. urban → noun (process): 'Rapid ___ is changing India.'

  3. pollute → noun: 'Air ___ is a huge problem.'

  4. modern → verb: 'They plan to ___ the bus network.'

  5. walk → noun (quality): 'The city has excellent ___.'

  6. manage → adjective (opposite): 'The traffic is completely ___.'

  7. develop → noun: 'The area needs urgent re___.'

  8. rate → verb + prefix 'under-': 'The neighbourhood is really ___.'

6. Reading — true / false / not given

Read the short text and mark each statement T, F or NG.

In 2015 the city of Medellín, in Colombia, was still recovering from decades of extreme violence and had one of the highest inequality rates in Latin America. Ten years later, it is regularly cited as one of the world's most innovative urban regeneration stories. The change did not happen by accident. The city built libraries in the poorest neighbourhoods, opened public escalators up steep hillsides so that residents could reach the metro, and reorganised the whole bus network to serve the outer districts first. Air pollution fell. Homicide rates fell. Tourism doubled. Not everything is fixed — accommodation in the central districts has become unaffordable for many locals, and homelessness has risen slightly. But the mayor at the time argued that the goal was never a perfect city; it was a city that could keep improving.

  1. Medellín used to have very high inequality.T  /  F  /  NG
  2. Public escalators were built for tourists.T  /  F  /  NG
  3. The bus network was redesigned to focus on outer districts.T  /  F  /  NG
  4. Tourism in Medellín has doubled in the last ten years.T  /  F  /  NG
  5. The changes have solved every problem in the city.T  /  F  /  NG
  6. The current mayor's name is mentioned in the text.T  /  F  /  NG

7. Writing — a megacity report (120–150 words)

Write a short report on a megacity you know or have researched. Include: (1) size and basic facts, (2) TWO problems (use uncountable nouns), (3) TWO pluses, (4) one recommendation for the future. Use at least THREE prefix/suffix words.

Check your writing

  • 120–150 words
  • Correct verbs after uncountable nouns (traffic IS, news IS)
  • 3+ prefix/suffix words (unaffordable, regeneration, liveability…)
  • Structured: facts → problems → pluses → recommendation
  • At least ONE plural-only noun (people ARE / amenities ARE)

8. Listening — 'life in a megacity'

Read the transcript (audio coming soon — two clearly different voices). Answer the questions.

🎧 Long-time resident (Voice A) giving honest tips to a new arrival (Voice B) · audio coming soon — read the transcript below
📄 Full script

A: Right, so — welcome. First honest tip? Everything you rent in the first six months will feel too small. Everything.

B: My flat is 22 square metres.

A: Exactly. And the second shock is the sheer amount of new information — the signs, the forms, the characters everywhere. Give yourself three weeks before you judge anything.

B: What about getting around? People warned me about the traffic.

A: In the centre? There basically isn't any. Nobody drives. The metro is astonishingly punctual — trains almost never late, the platforms are spotless, and it runs until midnight. You'll use it every day.

B: And the pollution?

A: Better than it was ten years ago, but still bad in July and August. Get a mask, don't run outdoors at rush hour, and open your windows early in the morning.

B: A friend told me not to sign a long lease straight away.

A: Your friend is right. Rent something small for six months, walk EVERYWHERE at the weekends — I mean really walk, hours at a time — and only THEN decide which neighbourhood you want to spend the next five years in. Every district here is a different city.

B: And overall? Honestly?

A: Honestly? It's the best place I've ever lived. Once you find your neighbourhood, you never want to leave.

  1. What are the TWO biggest 'shocks' the new arrival is warned about?
  2. How does the resident describe public transport?
  3. What does the resident say about traffic in the centre?
  4. Why does the resident recommend renting a small place first?
  5. What is the resident's final one-sentence piece of advice?
  6. What is the resident's overall verdict on the city?

9. 🔥 Challenge — sentence transformation

Rewrite the second sentence using 2–5 words including the KEYWORD.

  1. 1. 'The government isn't managing the transport well.' → The transport network is being ___. (KEYWORD: MIS)

  2. 2. 'You can't afford to rent here.' → Rents here are completely ___. (KEYWORD: UN)

  3. 3. 'Many people move from villages to cities.' → We're seeing rapid ___. (KEYWORD: URBAN)

  4. 4. 'The neighbourhood was rebuilt from scratch.' → The area was fully ___. (KEYWORD: RE)

  5. 5. 'The city has done more than people think.' → The city is really ___. (KEYWORD: UNDER)

  6. 6. 'The bus system is very old.' → The buses need to be ___. (KEYWORD: -ISE)

10. 🔥 Challenge — where's the stress?

Underline the stressed syllable in your notebook. Then reveal the answer.

  1. photograph → photographer

  2. pollute → pollution

  3. urban → urbanisation

  4. stupid → stupidity

  5. afford → unaffordable

  6. modern → modernise

11. Self-check

Tick what you can now do confidently.

  • I use singular verbs after uncountable nouns (traffic IS, news IS, information IS).
  • I use plural verbs after PEOPLE, POLICE, CLOTHES, JEANS, STAFF, AMENITIES.
  • I never say 'an advice / an information / a furniture' — I use 'a piece of…'.
  • I build new words with over-, under-, un-, mis-, re-, dis-.
  • I know that -ion / -ity / -ic pull the stress ONE syllable back.
  • I can describe a megacity with 6+ B2 words (urbanisation, walkability, regeneration, liveability, unaffordable, mismanaged).