In Britain, a town of any size can be called a city, if it has a cathedral. So London today includes the two cities of London and Westminster, because both parts have a cathedral. But a small place in North Wales called St Asaph has a population of fewer than 4,000 and yet because it has a cathedral it is also called a city. On the other hand, Birmingham was so large that it was specially made into a city, even though it did not have a cathedral.

       In the USA, “city”is simply a legal term, and it does not depend on the size or importance of the place. Confusingly, however, the US Census, an American government department that conducts official counts of the population, classifies any place with a population of over 2,500 as a city, no matter how far out in the countryside it is.

       The world’s most densely populated city is the area of Japan that includes Tokyo and Yokohama, which has an estimated 29,272,000 inhabitants. But, in the future, it may well be replaced by a city in China or a city in India.

       So, what is a city? It all depends, it seems, on where you live.

Question No.15. Whom is the speaker addressing?

Question No.16. According to the talk, what cities are included in London today?

Question No.17. For what reason was Birmingham specially made into a city?

Question No.18. According to the talk, which country has the most densely populated city in the

World?

Questions 19 to 22 are based on the following conversation.

(Man)       You’re back! And right on schedule too. How was your holiday?

(Woman)   It was all right, I suppose.

(Man)       You don’t sound as though you enjoyed it very much. Where did you go?

(Woman)   I went home. I stayed with my family.

(Man)       Where is your home?

(Woman)  It’s in West Virginia. It’s a quite small village in West Virginia. You know, going home really made me think how different my life would have been if I’d stayed there.

(Man)       Why? What would you have done?

(Woman)   Well, first of all, I probably would have married the boy I went steady with while I was in high school.

(Man)       Would it have been a mistake if you had married him?

(Woman)   It would have been different, that’s all. If I had married him, I probably would have stayed thee in West Virginia for the rest of my life.

(Man)       Would that have been so bad？