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Text 1: Urban and Rural Life
The Industrial Revolution came to Britain much earlier than to almost every other
country around the world. 1750 is regarded as the date when the momentum had
reached such a level that the countryside was emptying and the cities rapidly
expanding and booming, as agriculture began to take second place to the manufacture
of goods for the new industries of mass export and international finance.
Growing crops and tending animals for food for local workers and soldiers had
become considerably less profitable than using industrial machinery for the mass
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production of tradable goods and the processing of raw materials. Simultaneously, to
feed the growing city populations, a wide variety of agricultural machinery was being
introduced into farming to dramatically improve the effectiveness of crops and
livestock, and the productivity of farm workers. But this was all not so much an
Industrial Revolution as a large-scale Social Revolution.
If it were possible to go back in time to the mid-eighteenth century and snapshot
the villages and small market towns around Britain, then you would have a record of
the rural life that is today’s nostalgic idyll for so many British people. The highlydesirable image as shown in so many paintings and pictures from that time, is of cute
thatched cottages, quaint village greens with their duckponds and country flower
gardens bursting with blooms. This has become the social aspiration of the wealthy of
today.
As society has developed and the pace of life increased, into what many call the
“rat race”, there has been an equivalent increase in the desire of British people to work
in an urban environment but live in rural surroundings. The poorest cannot afford to
have such homes and frequently live in “Inner City” areas – this description now
carrying with it an image of deprivation, crime, drugs and prostitution to most Britons.
Even up-market areas near the centre of London, such as the Barbican or the
Docklands developments are surrounded by decidedly down-market Inner City areas
where almost nobody lives by choice.
Suburban life on the edges of cities is the most frequent, being a compromise
between the strain of travelling great distances to and from work and the escape from
the dreaded City Centre. If you were to ask an average Briton where they live, they will
probably reply with the name of a city or town. But if you then probe to get them to
specify where in relation to that conurbation, you should expect them to say “Oh, I
actually live in a suburb of Manchester called Northenden” or “I don’t live in London
itself but in an area of Watford called Rickmansworth” to give specific typical
examples.
Visitors to England who arrive in London at Heathrow Airport for example, find
that if they travel out of London, the further away they get, the bigger the residential
houses, the more frequent the golf courses and parks, until they see villages with
thatched cottages with expensive cars parked outside and even farms with fields full of
sheep, cows and the horses owned by, often, the daughters of the rich people owning
the cottages.
Rural life in Britain today is for one of three categories of people. The rich, who
have achieved the ultimate goal of a picturesque thatched cottage in a pretty village but
have paid far more for that property than for a much larger suburban house and have the
daily expenses of commuting to work. The artisan class, which today means writers,
telecommuters, artists or specialist craftsmen who manage to avoid the necessity of
having to travel daily to a town or city. And of course those who still work on the land
and the support services for them, being teachers, local government staff, police, social
and medical workers.
In fact, the choice of career for very many people today in Britain may often be
guided more by the desire to live away from urban environments than a pure vocational
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choice, since not everyone can be rich enough or have the creative skills to be able to
live in their dream cottage in the country.
Whatever you do for a living, if you’re out of the large towns or cities then you can
breathe cleaner air, avoid most of the dirt and litter that invariably clogs large
conurbations and enjoy more greenery and less concrete. Enjoyment spills out into
people’s hobbies. The further away from a big city, the more opportunity there is to
afford to have a large garden with its biodiversity and to spend time attempting to
recreate the Hanging Gardens of Babylon. Or the closer it is possible to live near a
golf course, in order to play golf more regularly. Others like to visit one of the many
National Parks and just walk.
In some ways, environmental pollution has decreased over the past couple of
centuries as legislation has forbidden the burning of coal for heating, so that the
incidence of smog around cities has decreased. Similarly, the addition of tetraethyl lead
to petrol has been phased out so that the air quality has increased and the level of toxic
deposits on plants has significantly decreased. But car fumes are thought to be
responsible for one in ten deaths from lung cancer, and noise pollution from being in a
busy urban environment affects the body in many complex ways in terms of stress and
pressure of life. As we live in a city-centre area and are seduced by the fast-food burger
joint ‘just around the comer’ too often, we get fat and increase the likelihood of heart or
liver disease. This is a nasty form of internal self-pollution coming more and more to
people’s notice and increasingly visible in the ‘healthy choice’ options on fast-food
menus.
But most of all, living away from big cities implies cleanliness, which is jealously
guarded by those who live in a relatively rural location and one of the more surprising
road signs found all over Britain is shown right. Failing to clean up after your dog is an
offence for which you can be arrested and fined in court, to a maximum of 1000 GBP
(very roughly 10 000 UAH).
So not only the countryside itself has to be cleaned up to minimize pollution from
industrial waste and discharge, but also the streets and parks of villages and small
towns all over Britain are usually pristine. It can be expensive to leave your pet’s waste
on the pavements and parks of British towns.

Summary:
Urban and Rural Life

The article examines the origins of the Industrial Revolution in Britain, which began around 1750 and resulted in significant social changes. As industries expanded, individuals migrated from rural areas to urban centers, diminishing the importance of agriculture.
Moreover, the author asserts that many British individuals today aspire to live in the countryside, surrounded by picturesque villages and natural landscapes, as it provides a harmonious balance between urban employment and a more tranquil lifestyle, while urban living still presents challenges, including noise, stress, and pollution. 
Besides this, the author considers that today, the British have been still aspiring to work in urban areas while living in the countryside or suburbs. 
In conclusion, despite advancements in reducing environmental pollution, urban living continues to pose challenges, making rural and suburban cleanliness and tranquility highly valued.