Passage Three “Avoid the rush-hour" must be the slogan of large cities the world over. Wherever you look, it's people, people, people. The trains which leave or arrive every few minutes are packed: an endless procession of human sardine tins. The streets are so crowded, and there is hardly room to move on the pavements. It takes ages for a bus to get to you because the traffic on the roads has virtually come to a standstill. Large modern cities are too big to control. They impose their own living conditions on the people who inhabit them. City-dwellers are obliged by their environment to adopt a wholly unnatural way of life. They lose touch with the land and rhythm of nature. It is possible to live such an air-conditioned existence in a large city that you are barely conscious of the seasons. A few flowers in a public park may remind you that it is spring or summer. A few leaves clinging to the pavement may remind you that it is autumn. Beyond that, what is going on in nature seems totally irrelevant. All the simple, good things of life like sunshine and fresh air seem to be separated from us. Tall buildings block the sun. Traffic fumes pollute the atmosphere. Even the distinction between day and night is lost. The flow of traffic goes on and on and the noise never stops. In addition to all this, city-dwellers live under constant threat. The crime rate in most cities is very high. Houses are armed with alarming system. Cities breed crime and violence and are full of places you would be afraid to visit at night. If you think about it, only a madman would choose to live in a large modem city.