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NEWS LESSONS / Christmas is coming / Intermediate •PHOTO

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E© Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006

Christmas is coming - all the way from China

Level 2 l Intermediate

1 Key words

Fill the gaps using the key words from the text.

cargo goods cracker capital maidendecorations exploitation wrapping paper implications

1 A is a decorated paper tube that makes a noise when you pull it apart. It contains a small

toy, a paper hat and a joke inside. It’s used traditionally at Christmas in the UK.

2 In countries which celebrate Christmas, people often put up in their house.

3 is special paper used for wrapping presents.

4 are objects produced for sale.

5 is money or property that you use to start a business or invest.

6 is unfair treatment of someone in order to get benefit for yourself.

7 are possible effects or results

8 are things that are sent by ship, airplane or truck.

9 A voyage or flight is one that is done for the first time.

2 Find the information

Look in the text and find this information as quickly as possible.

1 What is the Emma Maersk 3?2 Where is it from?3 Where is it going?4 What is on the Emma Maersk 3?5 Are people happy about this?

Christmas is coming - all the way from China by John Vidal

Christmas is coming this year on board the biggest ship afloat, on its maiden voyage from China. To the relief of children, parents and shopkeepers everywhere - but to the despair of European manufacturers - mountains of crackers, toys and games as well as decorations, wrapping paper, food and every imaginable gift are on the way to Felixstowe, Suffolk, aboard the Emma Maersk 3.

If anything should happen to this 400m-long, 61 metre-high boat, that is as wide as a motorway and is powered by the largest diesel engine ever built, then Christmas might have to be cancelled. The 3,000 containers of goods that it will drop off in Britain on its way to mainland Europe contain the largest amount of Christmas goods ever delivered - a floating world of British desires and necessities. Crackers, poker tables, bingo sets, drum kits, electronic toys and pre-school building blocks will be delivered in astonishing quantities: 1,886,000 Christmas decorations are loaded in one container, 40,000 rechargeable batteries and 22,280kg of Vietnam tea in another. In another are 12,800 MP3 players.


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There are potato mashers and spoons to cook with, leather sofas to recline on, new spectacles to watch new televisions by, and pyjamas to go to bed in. Pets will be especially happy; 138,000 tins of catfood are on their way, as are mountains of dogfood. But the ship and its cargo was the subject of an intense row over the increasing number of imports from China. Caroline Lucas, Green Member of European Parliament (MEP) for southeast England, said it was a “microcosm of globalisation gone mad”. “All these goods could have been made in Europe,” said Ms Lucas “Whole sectors of global trade are now being dominated by China. The real cost of the goods that the Emma Maersk is bringing in should include the environment, the markets destroyed in developing countries and the millions of jobs lost.” Britain exported more than GBP 2.8bn of goods to China last year but imported nearly GBP 16bn, a 30-fold increase on 1980. The UK is Europe’s third-biggest trading partner with China but in global terms represents less than 2% of China’s trade.

The Emma Maersk is carrying about 11,000 containers and is by far the largest container ship ever built. Yentian port, from which it set off last month, now exports nearly three times that many containers every day.

Last year Ms Lucas led an EU study into trade with China and found its implications terrifying. “These are the goods that Europe used to make. We are faced with a country that has an almost absolute advantage in an increasing number of sectors. This a triumph for multinational capital, not for Chinese workers who, as well as suffering from some of the worst labour exploitation on record, are also losing jobs at a phenomenal rate,” she said.

The Emma Maersk, the first of a fleet of seven equally large container ships, will soon be on its way back to China taking back the waste of Christmas. One of Britain’s biggest exports to China is now waste plastic - which is turned back into soft toys and decorations.

GBP: Great Britain Poundsbn: billion

© Guardian News & Media Ltd 2006

3 Comprehension check

Choose the correct answer.

1 The Emma Maersk contains 3,000 containers for . a) China b) Britain c) Europe

2 The UK represents of China’s trade with the world. a) the majority b) a small part c) the third-largest part

3 According to Christine Lucas, the Emma Maersk a) harms the environment b) creates jobs c) creates markets in developing countries




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4 Yentian port exports containers every day. a) around 11,000 b) around 33,000 c) 2.8 bn

5 The goods on board the Emma Maersk 3 . a) used to be made in Europe b) are made in Europe c) are made in Britain

6 When the Emma Maersk 3 returns to China it will contain . a) decorations b) soft toys c) waste plastic from Britain

4 Vocabulary Lexical sets

Put the words and phrases in the box into one of the different categories:

SEA TRAVEL vocabulary: on board,

TRADE vocabulary: trade,

CHRISTMAS vocabulary: toys,

5 Vocabulary Word information

Complete the table.



on board ship trade maiden voyage

manufacturers capital labour decorations

wrapping paper abroad globalisation boat

floating goods cargo port

imports sectors markets fleet

trading partners crackers exports toys afloat

Verb Adjectivefloat

recharge

develop

terrify

imagine


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6 Vocabulary Collocations

Make collocations with the words in A and the words in B. Check your answers in the text.

A

1 intense

2 building

3 trading

4 phenomenal

5 rechargeable

6 developing

7 global

7 Discussion

Do you think people consume too much at Christmas? Is it wrong to import so many goods from China?



B

trade

countries

rate

row

batteries

blocks

partner


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KEY

1 Key words1 cracker 2 decorations 3 Wwrapping paper 4 Goods5 Capital 6 Exploitation 7 Implications 8 cargo 9 maiden

2 Find the information1 A boat 2 China 3 Britain and Europe4 Christmas gifts, decorations and other goods5 Not everyone – some think it’s bad for the environment and the economy

3 Comprehension check1 b2 c3 a4 b5 a6 c

4 Vocabulary: Lexical setsSEA TRAVEL vocabulary:

on boardshipmaiden voyageaboardboatfloatingcargoportfleetafloat

TRADE vocabulary:manufacturersgoodsglobalisationimportssectorsmarketstrading partnerstradeexportscapitallabour

CHRISTMAS vocabulary:

crackerstoysgamesdecorationswrapping paper

5 Vocabulary: Word formationVERB ADJECTIVE

float floatingrecharge rechargeabledevelop developingterrify terrifyingimagine imaginable

6 Vocabulary: Collocations1 intense row 2 building blocks 3 trading partner 4 phenomenal rate5 rechargeable batteries 6 developing countries 7 global trade



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