UNIT 5: URBANISATION - Exercise 1

Circle the correct option to indicate the correct option that best fits each of the following numbered blanks from 18 to 22
OUR URBAN HISTORY
The first cities appeared around ten thousand years ago in areas with good farmland near rivers such as in Mesopotamia and Egypt. This is because when people started to grow crops, ___(1)___ instead of moving around to find food. The rivers also allowed them to trade with other communities.
People became attracted to cities because they offered trade, education and work opportunities, but urbanisation is a new thing. Until 250 years ago, 90% of people lived in rural areas. ___(2)___, but other cities have grown. For example, Cairo in Egypt today has a population of 22 million people.
The main reason behind the rapid urbanisation we see today was the Industrial Revolution of the mid-1800s, which started in England and then spread to Europe and America. People started moving from the countryside to the cites to work in the factories, ___(3)___. London went from a population of one million in 1800 to over six million in ten years. Advances in infrastructure, transit, education and entertainment keep ___(4)___. More than half of the world's population lives in urban areas today and experts predict that it will increase to two-thirds by 2050.
The first megacities with populations of more than 10 million people were New York City and Tokyo in the 1950s. There are 33 megacities around the world today. Tokyo is still the biggest with 37.3 million residents, but there are lots of cities with populations of more than 20 million such as Delhi, Shanghai, Dhaka, Sao Paulo and Mexico City. Experts predict ___(5)___.
(Adapted from Bright)