Level 1 L Elementary

The Greek island where time is running out Level 1 l Elementary

1 Warmer Have you ever been to Greece? What do you know about Greece? What are the advantages and disadvantages of living on a small island?

2 Key words Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text. The paragraph numbers will help you.

ATM round trip tax break remote reservation

1. If a place is ______, it is far away from other islands, towns or people. (para 1)

2. An ______is a machine that you use to take money out of your bank account. (para 1)

3. A ______is a journey to a place and back again. (para 2)

4. A ______is a booking you have in a hotel or other accommodation. (para 3)

5. A ______is a reduction in the tax someone has to pay. (para 3)

unreliable mainland ferry emigrate explore

6. If you ______, you leave a country to go and live in another country. (para 4)

7. The ______is the large mass of land that forms the main part of a country but does not include any islands. (para 5)

8. An ______service is one that does not work without problems. (para 6)

9. A ______is a boat that makes regular journeys between two or more places carrying people and vehicles. (para 6)

10. If you ______a place, you travel around to learn about it. (para 6)

3 Choose the answer

Read the text and choose the correct answer to complete the statements.

1. There are three / no ATMs on Agios Efstratios. 2. Tourist numbers have gone down / up by 80% in 2015. 3. Around 200 / 2,000 people live in the village on Agios Efstratios. 4. The tourist season started as the best in 20 / 30 years. 5. There are just over / under 3,000 tourist beds on Lemnos. 6. Agios Efstratios won’t have to pay the tax increase until 2016 / 2017.

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© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2015 NEWS LESSONS / The Greek island where time is running out / Elementary FROM WEBSITE •PHOTOCOPIABLECAN BE DOWNLOADED The Greek island where time is running out Level 1 l Elementary On the Aegean island that runs on 6 Things are also difficult for the island of Lemnos, cash, time is running out the closest large neighbour of Agios Efstratios. People saw the islands as remote for years Emma Graham-Harrison partly because the only way to get there was by 18 July, 2015 slow and unreliable ferries. In 2015, they finally 1 The Greek island of Agios Efstratios is very had new, efficient ferries and this brought many remote. It has been forgotten by the banks, new visitors to explore these islands. But, then, the government and most of the modern world. the bank controls began. “It started as the best It doesn’t have a single ATM or credit-card season in 30 years and, in one week, it became machine. Before the economic crisis in Greece, the worst,” said Atzamis Konstantinos, a travel the people of this peaceful island in the northern agent in Lemnos. Aegean lived quite well. The few rooms to rent 7 Lemnos has wild beaches, where you can swim were fully booked every summer with people and sunbathe almost alone, a small nightlife enjoying its empty beaches, clear seas and scene and many cultural sites. It is the eighth fresh seafood. largest island in Greece so it will have to pay 2 But the island still uses only cash so the closure the tax increases in autumn 2015. But Lemnos of the Greek banks has had a serious effect. is far less wealthy than many smaller islands. It Local people have to make nine-hour round has just over 3,000 beds for visitors – Rhodes, trips to the nearest big island to get cash. Greek for example, has tens of thousands of beds. visitors say they don’t have enough cash to “We have been suffering economically in recent come. “Tourist numbers have reduced by 80% years and now we will suffer more,” said Lemnos this year,” said Mayor Maria Kakali, in an office Mayor, Dimitris Marinakis. in the village where she grew up. The village has 8 If taxes go up, more young people will leave, about 200 people. “Even people born here and warns Mayor Kakali. Because it is one of the living in Athens, who have their own places on smallest islands, Agios Efstratios will not have to the island, aren’t coming.” pay the tax increase until 2017. And Kakali hopes 3 Kakali has asked the government and a major the situation in Greece will change before then. Greek bank to install an ATM and this should But, if not, she plans to travel to Athens to arrive soon. But tourism is the main business remind the distant government what the tax rise on the island and she feels the ATM may come would cost. too late for this season. “We have almost no 9 “The government doesn’t pay much attention to reservations in August, when usually we are full.” the islands of the north Aegean,” she said, “so But there is an even bigger crisis ahead – the I would take all the kids from our school to the government has said it will end a tax break gates of parliament, to tell them: ‘There is still life for islands. in these islands’.”

4 The tax break was created to help people © Guardian News and Media 2015 on islands survive when lots of people were First published in The Observer, 18/07/15 emigrating. Islands that are popular with tourists, such as Mykonos, fear that losing the tax break will make things very hard for them. But, for Agios Efstratios, it is a much bigger problem. “If we have to pay a tax of 23%, we will all die on the island,” says Kakali. 5 Food and fuel are already more expensive than on mainland Greece. Even in summer, the island has only three shops, two restaurants and not one official hotel. “This is an expensive island. Everything, even milk or bread, takes a long time to reach us and so is very expensive,” said Provatas Costas, a 58-year-old fisherman. •

4 Comprehension check Match the beginnings and endings to make statements about the text.

1. People on Agios Efstratios have to … a. … the closest large island to Agios Efstratios. 2. Greek visitors can’t … b. … the main way people earn money on Agios Efstratios. 3. Tourism is … c. … travel to another island to get cash. 4. Food and fuel are … d. … more young people will leave the islands. 5. Lemnos is … e. … more expensive on Agios Efstratios than on mainland Greece. 6. If taxes go up, … f. … get enough cash to visit Agios Efstratios.

5 Chunks

Rearrange the words to make phrases from the text.

1. we reservations almost have no 2. much it problem a bigger is 3. more mainland than on Greece expensive 4. and slow ferries unreliable 5. the Greece largest eighth in island 6. kids school all the from our

6 Opposites Match the adjectives in the left-hand column with their opposites from the text in the right-hand column.

1. full a. expensive 2. minor b. remote 3. noisy c. empty 4. cheap d. wealthy 5. poor e. peaceful 6. near f. major

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7 Word-building Complete the table using words from the text.

verb noun 1. close 2. visit ((person) 3. reserve 4. fish (person) 5. emigration 6. increase

8 Discussion • Is this a good time to visit Greece? Why? Why not?

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2 Key words 6 Opposites

1. remote 1. c 2. ATM 2. f 3. round trip 3. e 4. reservation 4. a 5. tax break 5. d 6. emigrate 6. b 7. mainland 8. unreliable 9. ferry 7 Word-building 10. explore 1. closure 2. visitor 3 Choose the answer 3. reservation 4. fisherman 1. no 5. emigrate 2. down 6. increase 3. 200 4. 30 5. over 6. 2017

4 Comprehension check

1. c 2. f 3. b 4. e 5. a 6. d

5 Chunks

1. we have almost no reservations 2. it is a much bigger problem 3. more expensive than on mainland Greece 4. slow and unreliable ferries 5. the eighth largest island in Greece 6. all the kids from our school

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