Book review: Triumph of the City
Read Book review: Triumph of the City and check the IELTS Reading answers. *Triumph of the City*, by Edward Glaeser, is a thrilling and very readable hymn of praise to an invention so vast and so effective that it is generally taken for granted. More than half the global population already live in…
Passage preview
*Triumph of the City*, by Edward Glaeser, is a thrilling and very readable hymn of praise to an invention so vast and so effective that it is generally taken for granted. More than half the global population already live in urban areas and, every month, five million more flood into the cities of the developed and developing worlds. The crowds and poverty of some of these modern cities may horrify us. They shouldn’t, says Glaeser; they are signs of growth, energy and aspiration. Cities are our best and brightest hope.
Vocabulary from this passage
9 words worth learning before you sit the test, each with the sentence it appears in.
- by and large adverb phrase
In most cases or on the whole, though not always.
In the passage:
Q3 says "generally get"; the passage says "becoming richer (which, by and large, they do)".
Synonyms: generally, on the whole
Opposites: rarely
- drive up verb phrase
To make a price, cost or level increase.
In the passage:
The passage says restrictions "drove up the cost of property" in inner cities (Q6); a Writing Task 2 collocation.
Synonyms: push up, raise
Opposites: bring down
- flock to verb phrase
To go somewhere in large numbers because it is attractive.
In the passage:
"The poor flock to cities in the hope of becoming richer" is the evidence for Q3 (paragraph 4).
Synonyms: swarm to, head for
- folly noun
A foolish action or idea, especially one that causes harm.
In the passage:
"It is folly to drive them away" shows the writer's stance and decides Q12 (FALSE).
Synonyms: foolishness, madness
Opposites: wisdom
- hold in check verb phrase
To keep something at a controlled level so that it does not rise.
In the passage:
The writer says cities should build more houses "and thereby hold property prices in check" (paragraph 4).
Synonyms: keep under control, restrain
Opposites: let rise
- incentive noun
Something that encourages a person or organisation to act in a particular way.
In the passage:
Q2 says "reasons for improving them"; the passage says "enormous commercial incentives to make them work" (paragraph 3).
Synonyms: reason, motivation
Opposites: disincentive
- mingle verb
To mix with other people in a social situation.
In the passage:
Q7 says "less personal"; the passage says suburbanites "mingle less, and lose the face-to-face contact".
Synonyms: socialise, mix
Opposites: keep apart
- reinvigorate verb
To give new energy or life to something that had become weak.
In the passage:
Q4 says "help to develop the urban"; the passage says the poor "reinvigorate the economy of the city".
Synonyms: help to develop, revive
Opposites: weaken
- take for granted verb phrase
To accept something as normal without thinking about its value.
In the passage:
The invention of cities is "so vast and so effective that it is generally taken for granted" (paragraph 1); a Writing Task 2 expression.
Synonyms: overlook, undervalue
Opposites: appreciate
Answers with explanations
- 1. disease
The note starts with **dirt**, which matches **dirty** here. The next problem the writer names after the dirt is what the gap needs: **disease**, which "spread rapidly". The sentence follows the same order as the notes.
- 2. political
Look for **commercial**. The note says "commercial and ... reasons for improving them"; the passage says the **incentives** to make cities work were commercial "as well as **political** ones". So the missing reason is **political**.
- 2-3: A
2: Look for **commercial**. The note says "commercial and ... reasons for improving them"; the passage says the **incentives** to make cities work were commercial "as well as **political** ones". So the missing reason is **political**.
3: The note's **generally** becomes **by and large** in brackets. What the poor hope for when they flock to cities is becoming **richer**, and the bracket confirms they usually get it.
- 3. richer
The note's **generally** becomes **by and large** in brackets. What the poor hope for when they flock to cities is becoming **richer**, and the bracket confirms they usually get it.
- 3-4: NO
3: The note's **generally** becomes **by and large** in brackets. What the poor hope for when they flock to cities is becoming **richer**, and the bracket confirms they usually get it.
4: The note's **help to develop** is the passage's **reinvigorate**. Look for what they reinvigorate: the **economy** of the city, which fits "the urban ..." in the note.
- 4. economy
The note's **help to develop** is the passage's **reinvigorate**. Look for what they reinvigorate: the **economy** of the city, which fits "the urban ..." in the note.
- 5. museum
Follow the order of the notes to the paragraph about things going wrong. The note's **centre of Paris** is the passage's **heart of Paris**, and **becoming** is **turning into**. It is turning into a **museum**.
- 6. property
The note's **cheap petrol** comes from **under-taxing petrol**. The next cause is **tight planning restrictions on inner cities**, which **drove up the cost of property**. That gives the **property** prices in the note.
- 7. contact
Look for the disadvantages of the suburbs. **Less personal** matches **mingle less** and **lose the face-to-face**, so the thing they lose is **contact**.
- 8. consumption
The note mentions **heating**, which is the earlier sentence about houses being costlier to heat and cool. The very next sentence gives the word: every aspect of life involves more **consumption**, which matches **increased ... of resources**.
- 9. FALSE
The statement says congestion and poverty show **serious problems**. The passage's **crowds and poverty** "may horrify us", but Glaeser says they **shouldn't**: they are **signs of growth, energy and aspiration**. The writer reports the opposite view, so the answer is FALSE.
- 10. NOT GIVEN
The deciding detail is **discussed the ideas of the Romantic poets**. Thoreau appears in the same paragraph as the poets, and both disliked cities, but the text only says he **retreated to Walden Pond** and convinced Americans that cities were bad. It never says he wrote about the poets' ideas, so it is NOT GIVEN.
- 11. NOT GIVEN
Look for **Napoleon III**. He gave Haussmann **unrestricted power** to rebuild Paris, but the passage never says the **complaints of poor people** influenced him. The text gives his action, not his reason, so it is NOT GIVEN.
- 12. FALSE
The deciding word is **beneficial**. Glaeser calls it **folly** to push the poor out through **unreasonable planning regulations**, because they make property prices soar. Tight rules are presented as harmful, so the statement is FALSE.
- 13. TRUE
Look for **La Défense**. The statement's **bad idea** is the passage's **made a mistake** in building the huge commercial development there, and the next sentence adds that **Far better** to use Montparnasse. Glaeser agrees with the statement, so it is TRUE.