China Today China s Biggest Cities China is a country in Asia. It has the largest population 1 of any country in the world. Over one billion people live in China! The map above shows that the capital city of China is Beijing. This is where the Chinese government is located. Beijing is a huge city. More than 20 million people live in Beijing s metropolitan area. 2 However, Beijing is not the biggest city in China. Shanghai is. Shanghai s metropolitan area has almost 23 million people. The city is a center of Chinese industry. It is China s largest port, and one of the busiest ports in the world, with thousands of ships entering each month. Can you find Shanghai on the map? Location is one reason the city is so big. Shanghai sits on the Yangtze River delta. A delta is the place where a river meets the ocean. In ancient times, many people chose to live near a delta. That is because the river provided fresh water for crops. And having both a river and an ocean 1 population the people living in a place 2 metropolitan area a big city and the area around it 1
made it easy for people to travel and transport 3 goods. Around the world, many cities arose on deltas. Shanghai is one of them. People decide where to live based on many things. They may want to live near their family. They might want to live near their new job. Perhaps they will choose a place based on the surroundings. Some people like to live in urban 4 places. Others prefer suburban 5 or rural 6 settings. What would you look for if you were choosing a new place to live? 3 transport move something from one place to another 4 urban of or in a city 5 suburban near a city 6 rural of or in the country 2
Name: Date: 1. What is a delta? a. A place where the river meets the ocean. b. A change in something important. c. A large city with a port. d. A traditional way of planning cities in China. 2. Today when people are looking for a place to live, they most likely: a. Just move without thinking about the new place at all. b. Look at a map to find a city near water and move there. c. Move to the first place they find. d. Think about things that are important to them before they move. 3. Look at Beijing and Shanghai on the map. Why do you think people most likely first chose to live in these cities long ago? a. Because they are both large. b. Because they are near Mongolia. c. Because they are near water. d. Because they are urban. 4. A port is a place best known for having lots of a. farms. b. ships. c. people. d. animals. 5. The passage China s Biggest Cities is mostly about a. how tall people are in China. b. big cities in China throughout history. c. big cities in China and why people live there. d. the biggest cities in the world. 3
6. What are some reasons why people would live near a delta in ancient times? 7. What are two ways Beijing and Shanghai are alike? What are two ways they are different? 8. The question below is an incomplete sentence. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence. Beijing is the capital of China Shanghai has more people. a. because b. even though c. so d. currently 4
9. Read the following sentence. People often move to a city because there are quality jobs available. Answer the questions below based on the information provided in the sentence you just read. One of the questions has already been answered for you. 1. Who are the subjects of the sentence? people 2. What do people do? 3. Why? 10. Vocabulary Word: transport: move from place to place. Use the vocabulary word in a sentence: 5
Passage Reading Level: Lexile 560 Teacher Guide and Answers Featured Text Structure: Descriptive the writer explains, defines or illustrates a concept or topic Passage Summary: China s capital, Beijing, has over 20 million people living in and around it. China s biggest city, Shanghai, has over 23 million people living in and around it. Shanghai has become large because it is located where a river meets an ocean, which makes it easy for people to travel there and transport goods. 1. What is a delta? a. A place where the river meets the ocean. b. A change in something important. c. A large city with a port. d. A traditional way of planning cities in China. 2. Today when people are looking for a place to live, they most likely: a. Just move without thinking about the new place at all. b. Look at a map to find a city near water and move there. c. Move to the first place they find. d. Think about things that are important to them before they move. 3. Look at Beijing and Shanghai on the map. Why do you think people most likely first chose to live in these cities long ago? a. Because they are both large. b. Because they are near Mongolia. c. Because they are near water. d. Because they are urban. 4. A port is a place best known for having lots of a. farms. b. ships. c. people. d. animals. 5. The passage China s Biggest Cities is mostly about a. how tall people are in China. b. big cities in China throughout history. 6
c. big cities in China and why people live there. d. the biggest cities in the world. 6. What are some reasons why people would live near a delta in ancient times? Suggested answer: In ancient times, many people chose to live near a delta because the river provided fresh water for crops, and having both a river and an ocean made it easy for people to travel and transport goods. 7. What are two ways Beijing and Shanghai are alike? What are two ways they are different? Suggested answer: Answers will vary. Alike: both cities are in China, both are big cities, both are near water. Different: Shanghai is larger, Beijing is the capital, Shanghai is southeast of Beijing. 8. The question below is an incomplete sentence. Choose the answer that best completes the sentence. Beijing is the capital of China Shanghai has more people. a. because b. even though c. so d. currently 9. Read the following sentence. People often move to a city because there are quality jobs available. Answer the questions below based on the information provided in the sentence you just read. One of the questions has already been answered for you. 1. Who are the subjects of the sentence? people 2. What do people do? move to a city 3. Why? because there are quality jobs available 10. Vocabulary Word: transport: move from place to place. Use the vocabulary word in a sentence: answers may vary. 7