#20. Big city or countryside,which is better for children to grow up in?
Having grown up in the country myself, I can say without a doubt that I want my own children to grow up in the city. Life in the city is incomparably better for children than life in the country. The city has better schools, health care, jobs, and more exposure to the outside world.
The two most important things in any child's life are health and education. In the country, if children get sick, there are no good hospitals to take them to. Families are often so poor that they can't afford to send all of their children to school, and the schools are usually of low quality anyway. In the cities, on the other hand, health care facilities and schools are of excellent quality.
Children from cities also have a much higher chance of getting into excellent universities. City universities have large numbers of spaces reserved for local residents while they have relatively fewer spaces for students from the countryside. If I want my child to have a good chance of getting into a good university, I would raise them in a city.
City salaries are significantly higher than salaries in the country. Jobs in the city are also much easier, on average, than jobs in the country. A worker in the country might spend 14 hours a day laboring outdoors in the fields and make much less money per month than the city worker who typically works only eight hours a day. I want my child to grow up and get a good, high-paying job. A better place to find those is in a city.
Finally, I want my children to grow up into a world that is larger than just their immediate surroundings. In a city they will have a chance to meet people from all over the country and all over the world. They will have chances to absorb history and culture from the cities parks, theatres, and museums. Only in the city will they have the chance to be truly global citizens.
20. 大城市和农村：哪里更适宜孩子成长?
因为我自己是在农村长大的，所以我毫无疑问地希望我的孩子能在城市长大。对孩子来说，城市里的生活要比农村里的生活好得多。城市里有更好的学校、医疗保健和工作，也能更多地接触到外面的世界。
任何孩子生活中最重要的两件事就是健康和教育。在农村，如果孩子病了，没有好医院可以带他们去。家里常常是穷得连送所有的孩子上学都负担不起，而且学校也通常是质量很低。相反，在城市里医疗设施和学校的质量都很高。
城市里的孩子上好大学的机会也要多得多。城市里的大学为本地居民留了很多名额，而给农村来的学生的名额却相当少。如果我想让我的孩子有更多的机会上更好的大学，那我会在城市里将他们养大。
城市里的工资明显比农村里的高。平均来说，城市里的工作也要比农村的工作容易得多。而农村里的劳动者可能会每天在户外农田里劳动14小时，且每月挣的远不如城市里典型的每天工作8小时的工人。我想让我的孩子长大后找到一份很好的高薪工作，而更容易找到这种工作的地方是城市。
最后，我希望我的孩子长大后不只是生活在他们身边的小圈子里。在城市里他们有机会见到来自全国和全世界的人。他们有机会在城市的公园、剧场和博物馆中吸取历史和文化营养。只有在城市中他们才有可能成为真正的世界公民。
- incomparably ［inˈka:mpərəbli］ adv. 无比地
- exposure ［iksˈpəuʒə］ n. 暴露，揭露，暴光
- facility ［fəˈsiliti］ n. 设备，工具
- significantly ［sigˈnifikəntli］ adv. 值得注意地
- immediate ［iˈmi:diit］ adj. 紧靠的
- surroundings ［səˈraundiŋz］ n. 环境
- absorb ［əbˈsɔ:b］ vt. 吸收，吸引