City problems; Compounds: noun + noun – B1 English Vocabulary Test

1  Tick (✓) or cross (✗) the compound words. Correct the words that are wrong.

1   post box   …✓…   ……………….

2   bus crossing   …✗…   ……bus stop…….

3   pedestrian rank   …… …………………

4   speed limit   …… …………………

5   public transport   …… …………………

6   recycling jam   …… …………………

7   power hour   …… …………………

8   green spaces   …… …………………

2  Complete the sentences with suitable words to make compound nouns.

1   We had a power ……cut…… last night because of the storm.

2   Jane lives in an apartment ………………. in the city with her family.

3   It’s best to avoid the city centre during rush ………………. when there’s peak traffic on the roads.

4   The circular road ………………. with a white line on a red background means No Entry.

5   The taxi ………………. had a crowd of people waiting, but no taxis!

6   There’s always a terrible traffic ………………. on the ring road when my dad drives to work.

3  What would they like to improve about where they live? Complete the words.

1   Jade:   I’d like there to be a better public t…ransport…… system in our city so there aren’t as many cars on the road.

2   Dan:   There’s too much g……………. on the buildings, which should be cleaned up.

3   Amy:   I live in a big city with too much p……………. from factories.

4   Alex:   There are too many people where I live! I don’t like c…………….!

5   Louise:   There should be less r……………. left on the streets. It’s unhygienic!

4  Write sentences about the UK with the words in the box.

1   standard / ……post…… ……box…… / colour / red

      ……The standard post box colour is red. ……

2   ……………… ……………… / motorways / 70 mph

      ………………………………………………..

3   sheep / often / ………………  ……………… / rural areas

      ………………………………………………..

4   Banksy / most famous / ……………… artist

      ………………………………………………..

5   standard / paper ……………… ……………… colour / blue

      ………………………………………………..

6   zebra / pelican / types / ……………… ………………

      ………………………………………………..

5  Complete the text with suitable compounds and words for city problems.

City life: Beijing

I’m Xang, and I live in Beijing in China. It’s one of the largest cities in the world with more than 20 million people, so there are 1……crowds…… on the streets every day. I live in an 2……………… ……………… in the city centre and I love where I live, but there are a few problems like in all big cities.

3……………… has been a problem in Beijing for a long time because of all the cars and industry, but over the last four years it has improved by more than 25%, which is a good sign.

There are also too many cars on the roads, which causes a lot of 4……………… ………………, especially during the busy 5……………… ………………, but the city is following places like London and Singapore by charging drivers to come into the centre, and this should reduce the number of vehicles. In fact, it’s better to travel by 6……………… ……………… anyway as there’s a very good subway system here.

The city is also improving by creating many new parks and other 7……………… ……………… amongst all the urban areas. And it’s even slowly solving the problem of 8……………… by introducing 9……………… ……………… in households for people to sort out their waste. So my city is getting better and better every day!