Our District
Primary 4 · English
Our District
Lesson 2 of 4
45 min
Byiringiro lives in a small village in Nyamasheke. One day he travelled to Kigali with his aunt. “There were so many cars!” he told his friends. “And the buildings were very, very tall!”
Today you will read about a boy who leaves his village for the big city. Then you will compare life in a village and life in a city.
Listen to the whole story (audio, read by Darshan Soni). The audio reads the full story; the text below is shorter. You can also open the Storybooks Rwanda page.
New words: a tout shouts where a bus is going, to find passengers. A hawker walks around selling things. Luggage means bags and boxes for a journey.
The small bus stop in my village was busy with people and full buses. Touts were shouting the names of the places where their buses were going.
“City! City! Going west!” I heard a tout shouting. That was the bus I needed to catch.
The city bus was almost full, but more people were still pushing to get on. Some packed their luggage under the bus. Others put theirs on the racks inside. I squeezed in next to a window.
I looked outside the bus and realised that I was leaving my village, the place where I had grown up. I was going to the big city.
Hawkers pushed their way into the bus to sell their goods to the passengers. A few passengers bought drinks. Others bought small snacks and began to chew. Those who did not have any money, like me, just watched.
Then the bus hooted. It was a sign that we were ready to leave. The tout told the hawkers to get out.
As the bus left the bus stop, I stared out of the window. I wondered if I would ever go back to my village again.
The bus got very hot. I closed my eyes, hoping to sleep. But my mind went back home. Will my mother be safe? Will my rabbits fetch any money? Will my brother remember to water my tree seedlings?
On the way, I learned by heart the name of the place where my uncle lived in the big city. I was still saying it quietly when I fell asleep.
Nine hours later, I woke up. I grabbed my small bag and jumped out of the bus. Now the most important thing was to find my uncle's house.
How did the boy know which bus to take?
He heard a tout shouting, “City! City! Going west!”
Why didn't the boy buy a snack?
Because he did not have any money.
Name two things the boy worried about at home.
His mother's safety, his rabbits and his tree seedlings.
How do you think the boy felt when the bus left? Why?
Possible answer: sad and a little worried, because he was leaving the place where he grew up and did not know if he would come back.
| In a village | In a city |
|---|---|
| quiet, with fresh air | busy and noisy |
| farms, hills, cows and goats | tall buildings, shops and offices |
| a few cars and motos | many cars, buses and traffic lights |
| people know each other | many people who are strangers |
You learned to compare people with -er than. You can compare places in the same way:
I prefer the village because it is quiet and green.
I would like to live in the city because there are many shops.
Both places are important. Farmers in villages grow the food that people in cities eat!
Write four sentences comparing your village or town with a city (or with a village if you live in a city). Use -er than, more … than and fewer … than.
Speak: Have a friendly debate in pairs. One of you says why the village is better; the other says why the city is better. Give at least two reasons each, using because.
Tip
Count it or describe it? To describe, use -er than: busier than, quieter than. To count things, use more … than or fewer … than: more cars than, fewer shops than.
Write your answers in your exercise book, then check.
What does a hawker do?
Answer: A hawker walks around selling things, like drinks and snacks.
Complete: The city is ___ (busy) than the village.
Answer: busier
Complete: There are ___ cars in the city than in the village.
Answer: more
Where did the boy's uncle live?
Answer: In the big city.
Which do you prefer, a village or a city? Give one reason.
Answer: Example: I prefer a village because the air is fresh and I can keep goats.
What you learned today
Sources and credits
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