What do you think is the difference between living in the cities and living in the suburbs? Why?

曾几何时，“城里人”是农村人对遥不可及的城市居民的普遍称谓，城市发展差异让这三个字成为众多农村人挣脱农耕生涯的动力。城市差异是一个既古老又现实的问题，而且随着今年来的社会发展，这一问题已引发一系列社会问题。回答可以从分析城市和郊区居住环境的利与弊入手。

Candidate 1: Perhaps you are accustomed the city's noisy,busy life. But I'm loyal to the village's quietness,compactness and warmth. Urban and rural areas are two completely different worlds. The biggest difference between them is the expressions on people's faces.

With the development of cities, much of the land has been replaced by rows of buildings, which cut off the contact between people and nature. Life simply repeats again and again in cities. People live every day wearing a mask(面具). There are no expressions on the faces of people. You can find that a city is a world of tension and apathy(缺乏感情或兴趣，冷漠).

But villages are just in contrast. The world is full of green trees and grass. The river is clear. The air is clean. And people there are kind-hearted, warm and simple. Although their living conditions are not as good as those of cities, they work and rest with the sunrise(日出) and sunset(日落). So life in the villages is pleasant. These are always smiles on people's faces.

So I'm willing to stay in the embrace of the village, enjoying each of the smiling faces, and keeping far away from the city's noises.

Candidate 2: Rural areas in Sichuan did develop these years. More and more peasants become suburban residents,leaving their farmland to contractors(承包人) and earn some money from it. Consequently, many small towns have been established. But for me, and for many Sichuan inhabitants, living in cities is a preferable choice because we like bustling(匆忙的，熙熙攘攘的) life. In a crowd, in jokes and in laughs we'll forget loneliness.

Furthermore, living in cities is more convenient. There are basic facilities like stadiums, theaters, parks and traffic system, although sometimes traffic jams are inevitable. For some cities like Beijing, Shanghai, with their rapid development they become too crowded and the cost for living is too high. But I think cities in Sichuan like Chengdu and Mianyang are just comfortable and appropriate for living. It's true that in subsurbs we have beautiful scenery, fresh air and honest and frank residents. We can go fishing and hiking whenever we want. But the transportation is not convenient, especially for mountainous areas in Sichuan.

以上两位应答者持有不同的观点。Candidate 1显然更倾慕于乡村宁静的生活，提出“城市生活最大的不同在于人们脸上的表情”，观点新颖独到；Candidate 2则更喜欢城市便捷而热闹的生活，列举出四川这个具体地域加以分析，具体生动。

Candidate 3: In my opinion, the biggest difference between cities and suburbs is the envrionment.Firstly, the natural envrionment is different between cities and subsurbs. As everyone knows that the population of cities is larger, so cars are centralized and they discharged tail gas all the time. People also exhale carbon dioxide(二氧化碳). What's more, nights in the city are noisy, which is bad for people's health.

On the contrary(相反的，对比的), the population of subsurbs is decentralized(分散) and its economy is less developed. So there aren't too many cars and the gas pollution is less serious. There are also can decorate the environment. In brief, the suburbs has better natural envrionment.

Secondly, the human envrionment is also different. The economy of the city is developed, so its education is very good and people can learn more knowledge. Some parents let their children learn many skills, for example, playing the piano, dancing and so on. Many people get used to having a short trip on Sundays. People's lives are becoming more and more colorful. But people in the surburbs are busy making money for a better life. Maybe they will work on Sundays. Because they are lack of money, they have no enough money to invite a teacher for their kids like people in the cities do. In a word, the city has a better human environment than the suburbs.

Thirdly, the material life level is different. Doubtlessly, thanks to its economy, people in the city have a very good material life. People's level of consumption and medical treatment is higher. On the contrary, the people in the suburb live a little harder. In short, people in the city have a better material life than in the suburbs.

At least, I want to say that compared with the cities, the surburbs still have a long way to go, but the cities should try to reduce pollution. If we do these, our society will get more and more harmonious(和谐的，协调的).

Candidate 4: For most people cities are more attractive than suburbs. In the cities you will be provided with more job opportunities and you can also enjoy more convenience. What's more, the lives there are not filled with work actually. There are many entertainment activities, which are good ways to free you from the hard work and study. In addition, with the advanced traffic and flourishing(繁荣的) markets, you almost can buy whatever you want—the matter is that you have to possess(占有) enough money.

But recently in Europe some inhabitants have moved out from the cities and settled in the subsurbs. In their opinion, traffic jam and some other problems disturbed their lives, while the basic construction in the suburbs has made great progress and also can meet people's different needs. In fact, because the influence(影响) from industry on the suburbs is relatively small, the envrionment in the suburbs is still quite good. Trees, animals, flowers and so on are living with people in harmony. Moreover, in the subsurbs you can breathe fresh air and appreciate(赏识，鉴赏) the change of mountains in the four seasons. In one word, your life will be full of more natural things.

三位应答者都采取了中庸的立场，各有可取之处。Candidate 3指出了城市与乡镇之间在自然环境、社会环境以及在经济上的不同，观点明晰理据充足；Candidate 4权衡利弊，分析综合而全面；Candidate 5列举了一些国外居民重返乡村居住的例子。