The Reading / Listening - World Cities - Level 5

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has named Vienna as the world's most liveable city for the third year running. The EIU released its annual Global Liveability Index earlier this week. This ranks 173 cities worldwide on factors that affect quality of life. These include culture, environment, healthcare, infrastructure, and stability. Vienna got "perfect" scores in all but one of the categories. It failed to get maximum points for culture, "owing to a lack of major sporting events". Vienna's residents are blessed with great architecture and a rich musical legacy.

The EIU said the average global liveability score rose "fractionally over the past year". However, it said "risks to stability remain". Tensions around the world could see numbers in the Index fall. The EIU said: "Since we conducted our survey, there have been more instances of civil unrest…around the world…that are unlikely to ease in the near future." The CNBC website said: "The stability category recorded the biggest decline out of all five categories this year, held back by geopolitical conflict, civil unrest, as well as the ongoing housing crisis and crime."

Try the same news story at these levels:

    World Cities - Level 4 or  World Cities - Level 6

Sources
  • https://www.eiu.com/n/vienna-secures-its-position-as-the-worlds-most-liveable-city-for-third-consecutive-year/
  • https://www.cnbc.com/2024/06/28/10-most-livable-cities-in-the-world-vienna-copenhagen-top-list-eiu.html
  • https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2024/06/26/the-20-best-cities-to-live-in-the-world-ranked-in-a-2024-report/


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. for the third year
  2. This ranks
  3. factors that affect quality
  4. perfect scores in all but
  5. It failed to get maximum points
  6. owing to a lack of major
  7. residents are blessed
  8. a rich musical
  1. one of the categories
  2. with great architecture
  3. 173 cities worldwide
  4. legacy
  5. of life
  6. running
  7. for culture
  8. sporting events

Paragraph 2

  1. rose
  2. risks to stability
  3. Since we conducted
  4. unlikely to ease
  5. all five
  6. held back by
  7. civil
  8. the ongoing housing
  1. unrest
  2. in the near future
  3. categories this year
  4. crisis
  5. fractionally
  6. our survey
  7. geopolitical conflict
  8. remain

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) has named Vienna as the world's most liveable city for the (1) ___________________. The EIU released its annual Global Liveability Index earlier this week. This ranks 173 cities worldwide on (2) ___________________ quality of life. These include culture, environment, healthcare, infrastructure, and stability. Vienna got "perfect" scores in (3) ___________________ of the categories. It failed (4) ___________________ points for culture, "owing to a lack of (5) ___________________". Vienna's residents are blessed with great architecture and a (6) ___________________.

The EIU said (7) ___________________ liveability score rose "fractionally over the past year". However, it said "(8) ___________________ remain". Tensions around the world could see numbers in the Index fall. The EIU said: "Since we conducted our survey, there have been (9) ___________________ civil unrest…around the world…that are (10) ___________________ in the near future." The CNBC website said: "The stability category recorded the biggest decline out of all five categories this year, held back (11) ___________________, civil unrest, as well as the ongoing housing (12) ___________________."

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

TheEconomistIntelligenceUnit(EIU)hasnamedViennaastheworld'sm
ostliveablecityforthethirdyearrunning.TheEIUreleaseditsannualGlo
balLiveabilityIndexearlierthisweek.Thisranks173citiesworldwideonf
actorsthataffectqualityoflife.Theseincludeculture,environment,heal
thcare,infrastructure,andstability.Viennagot"perfect"scoresinallbut
oneofthecategories.Itfailedtogetmaximumpointsforculture,"owingt
oalackofmajorsportingevents".Vienna'sresidentsareblessedwithgre
atarchitectureandarichmusicallegacy.TheEIUsaidtheaveragegloball
iveabilityscorerose"fractionallyoverthepastyear".However,itsaid"ri
skstostabilityremain".Tensionsaroundtheworldcouldseenumbersint
heIndexfall.TheEIUsaid:"Sinceweconductedoursurvey,therehaveb
eenmoreinstancesofcivilunrest…aroundtheworld…thatareunlikelyto
easeinthenearfuture."TheCNBCwebsitesaid:"Thestabilitycategoryr
ecordedthebiggestdeclineoutofallfivecategoriesthisyear,heldbackb
ygeopoliticalconflict,civilunrest,aswellastheongoinghousingcrisisan
dcrime."

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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