номер 3, страница 96 - гдз по английскому языку 11 класс (spotlight) учебник Афанасьева, Дули

Geography: Across the Curriculum 5

Exercise 3, Page 96

Geo Fact File: Urbanization in the Developing World – Shantytowns

Narrator: What exactly is a shantytown?

Expert: A shantytown, or slum, is an overcrowded community of rough huts or poor-quality houses which have little or no access to basic services like clean water and electricity.

Expert: Shantytowns are usually located on the outskirts of cities, or on dangerous or worthless land that no one else wants.

Expert: Since shantytowns are illegal, governments don't have to provide the people who live in them with medical care, education, or other basic services and rights.

Narrator: Why do they develop?

Expert: Every day, approximately 180,000 people around the world move from the countryside into cities. Some move to escape poverty or conflict. Others are simply attracted by the prospect of a better life.

Expert: Unfortunately, in many parts of the developing world, governments have not made plans to cope with the vast numbers of people arriving in their cities each year. In particular, they have failed to provide decent and affordable housing. As a result, many end up living in terrible conditions—shantytowns.

Narrator: What is life like in a shantytown?

Expert: Unemployment and poverty levels are high in shantytowns. Malnutrition and child labor are common. Since shantytowns are overcrowded and usually without rubbish collections, clean water, or sanitation facilities—in the Kibera slum in Nairobi, for example, 40,000 people share just ten toilets—they are polluted, filthy environments where disease spreads quickly.

Expert: Also, the high level of poverty often leads to organized crime and violence. However, these communities are full of life and residents have a strong community spirit.

Narrator: Is anything being done?

Expert: International agencies are working with governments of developing countries and also residents themselves to improve the situation. For example, charities sometimes offer residents loans so they can set up businesses and earn a decent living.

Expert: In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the authorities have now officially accepted their country's shantytowns as permanent and are providing them with electricity, water, and other amenities.

Expert: But slum dwellers aren't just waiting for others to solve their problems. In Thailand, slum communities have worked together to resolve arguments over land and in some cases have gained legal ownership.