14、Large modern cities are too big to control. They impose their own living conditions on the people who live in them. City-dwellers（居住在城市的人）have to adopt an unnatural way of life. They lose touch with the land and the rhythm of nature so that they are hardly conscious of the seasons.
A few flowers in a public park may remind people that it is spring or summer and a few leaves on the roadside may remind them that it is autumn. Beyond that, what is going on in nature seems totally unrelated to them. All the simple, good things of life, such as sunshine and fresh air are far away. Tall buildings blot out（把…遮住） the sun, and waste gases from cars pollute the air. Even the distinction between day and night is lost. In the night, it is almost as bright and noisy as it is in the day and people are busy with what they hope to deal with.
The funny thing about it all is that city-dwellers pay dearly for living in the city. The prices for houses are so high that it is often impossible for ordinary people to buy a house of their own. High rents must be paid for small flats which even country hens would dislike to live in. Moreover, the cost of living is very high. Everything you buy is likely to be more expensive than it would be in the country.