Garpur: my Iceland

Garpur: My Iceland

Hello! My name’s Garpur, and this is a story about me and my country, Iceland. I suppose you’ve heard something about Iceland, but there are still lots of things you can read about this island in these pages like the best places to visit, our wonderful landscape, and the animals you can find here. Do you know what we eat? … what school is like here? … what young guys like me do in their free time? Well, it’s all here in this book, as well as information about my family and friends and … best of all … about my favourite sport, handball. Hope you enjoy it!

In this reader you’ll find:

Tags

Family | Friendship and team spirit | Traditions and nature

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Stage 2 A2

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Elementary A1 Movers Pre-intermediate A2 Fyers/KEY Intermediate B1 Preliminary

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- Cultural boxes - Glossary of difficult words - Comprehension and KEY style activities - Exit test - An audio recording of the story - Authentic photos

S I LVANA SARDI

Readers Real Stage Lives1

Silvana Sardi Garpur: My Iceland

Silvana Sardi

Stage 2 A2

ELT A2

ELT A1

Downloadable

Audio Files

Garpur: My Iceland

by Silvana Sardi ELI Readers Founder and Series Editors Paola Accattoli, Grazia Ancillani, Daniele Garbuglia (Art Director) Real Lives Series Creation Grazia Ancillani Layout Sergio Elisei Production Manager Francesco Capitano Photo credits Hlín Halldórsdóttir, Shutterstock New edition 2021 First edition 2020 © ELI s.r.l.

P.O. Box 6 62019 Recanati (MC) Italy T +39 071750701 F +39 071977851 info@elionline.com www.elionline.com Typeset in 13 / 18 pt Monotype Dante Printed in Italy by Tecnostampa – Pigini Group Printing Division Loreto – Trevi – ERT 270.10 ISBN 978-88-536-3201-4 www.eligradedreaders.com

Contents 14

Before you read

18

Chapter 1 My Homeland

28 Activities 30

Chapter 2 Handball

36 Activities 38

Chapter 3 School Life

48 Activities 50

Chapter 4 Dark Winter Days

56 Activities 58

Chapter 5 Light Summer Nights

68

Activities

70

Test Yourself

71

Syllabus

These icons indicate the parts of the story that are recorded start stop

Before you Read

Grammar for A2 Key 1 Read about Garpur and Iceland. Choose the correct word (A, B or C) to complete the text.

is This story (0) ............................ about a boy (1) ............................

Iceland, called Garpur. He lives in Reykjavik, the capital of Iceland, with (2) ............................ family. Garpur talks about his country and (3) ............................... the beautiful things you can see (4) ............................... you visit Iceland (5) ............................ the wonderful nature and the fantastic animals that (6) ............................ there. You will also learn about (7) ............................ Icelandic people do in (8) ............................ free time and the food they eat.

There’s (9) ............................ of information about Garpur too and the sport he likes best. There’s (10) ............................ much to see and do in this wonderful country that you’ll want to visit it for sure after reading Garpur’s story.

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

14

A tells A to A his A every A if A as A live A where A our A many A very

B is B of B her B all B so B such B lives B who B their B much B so

C says C from C him C each C because C like C is living C what C its C lots C too

Vocabulary 2a Choose a word(s) from the box and write it/them under each picture. These are all things Garpur talks about in Chapter 1. hot spring • lava field • puffin • glacier • volcanic crater waterfall • sheep • mountains • forest

1

■ g _ _ _ _ _ _ 6

■ v _ _ _ _ _ _ _ c_____

2

3

4

5

■ l _ _ _ f _ _ _ _ 7

■ w _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

8

■ s _ _ _ _

9

■ p _ _ _ _ _

■ m _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

■ f _ _ _ _ _

■ h _ _ s _ _ _ _ _

2b Look again at exercise 2a and put a tick in the box next to the things that you can also find in your country. Then complete the table below with the things that are particular about your country.

Nature

Animals

15

Speaking / Writing 3 Discuss these questions with a partner and write your answers.

1 What countries would you like to visit? Why? ................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................

2 Why do you think it’s important to learn about people from other countries? ................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................

3 What differences do you think you’ll find between Garpur’s way of life and yours? ................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................

4 What things do you think will be the same about Garpur’s way of life and yours? ................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................

5 What’s your favourite kind of weather and why? ................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................

6 What kind of food do you think they eat in Iceland? ................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................. ................................................................................................................. .................................................................................................................

16

Listening A2 KEY 2

4 Listen to the start of Chapter 1 and choose the correct answer (A, B, or C).

Garpur says that in Iceland…

A ■ there’s only ice.

B ■ there aren’t many glaciers. ✓ they have hot springs.

C ■ 1 Iceland…

A ■ isn’t part of Europe.

B ■ is just under the Arctic Circle.

C ■ is part of North America.

2 Reykjavik…

A ■ is the capital of Iceland.

B ■ is the smallest city in Iceland.

C ■ is in the northwest of Iceland.

3 Traditional turf houses…

A ■ had a concrete roof.

B ■ are no longer used by Icelanders.

C ■ had grass walls.

4 Garpur’s house…

A ■ is a traditional turf house.

B ■ is made of concrete.

C ■ has three bathrooms.

5 Garpur spends a lot of time…

A ■ playing the piano.

B ■ playing the classical guitar.

C ■ playing computer games.

6 Garpur also loves…

A ■ dancing rock ‘n’ roll.

B ■ studying technology.

C ■ cooking in his kitchen.

7 In Iceland…

A ■ there’s a lot of space.

B ■ there are more people than sheep.

C ■ there are 800,000 people.

17

Chapter 1

My Homeland 2

So, what do you think of when you hear the word ‘Iceland’?

Ice maybe? Well, you’re almost right, as we have a lot of pure white glaciers, but there are also lava fields, mountains, hot springs, volcanic craters and waterfalls. Welcome to my homeland!

This is Kerið, . a volcanic crater lake

18

Gullfoss waterfall – We have a lot of waterfalls here in Iceland.

Iceland Iceland is part of Europe.

It is an island halfway between North America and Europe, just below the Arctic Circle.

Anyway, my name’s Garpur Gylfason and I come from Reykjavik, the capital and largest city in Iceland, in the southwestern part of the island. I live with my parents, Hlín and Gylfi.

Surname Do you want to know how it works? Well, the surname is formed by the father’s name and the Icelandic word for son or daughter. So, if your father’s name is Ingi, your surname will be Ingason if you’re a boy, or Ingadóttir if you’re a girl.

19

Icelandic Turf Houses In Iceland, traditional houses were built with earth* and a grass roof. Some Icelanders lived in these turf houses until the 1960s. Nowadays, most people live in concrete* houses like me.

My house has a large kitchen and eating area, a big family bathroom and three bedrooms. I spend quite a lot of time in my room, playing my electric guitar or computer games. earth where things like carrots grow 20

concrete something strong you build houses with

Quite hard to sit on a ball and play the guitar at the same time!

Of course, that’s after I’ve finished my homework. (I had to put that last sentence in … you never know who may read this … mum, dad, maybe one of my teachers …). I need to practise … since I play in the school orchestra and we perform once a month. I also love listening to music, especially rock ‘n’ roll and some techno.

When I’m not in my room, you’ll find me in the kitchen.

I love cooking!

Come and visit me in Iceland and I’l l make you one o f my cakes!

21

We certainly have a lot of space here in Iceland, with about 340,000 of us on an island that covers an area of 103,000 km2!

That’s a lot of space to play in, but we share it with about 800,000 sheep! That’s more than two sheep per person! It’s OK, I quite like sheep!

3

Icelandic sheep The Vikings first brought sheep to Iceland in the 9th and 10th century. Most Icelandic sheep are either black, brown or white, or some of these colours together. On the roads in Iceland, there are many signs telling you to be careful of the sheep that are free to go where they want from spring to September. Then the farmers need to go and look for them to bring them home for the winter, when they’re kept inside.

22

There aren’t only sheep. Our most famous bird is the puffin and Reykjavik is the only capital city in the world that has a colony* of puffins.

Atlantic puffin These puffins spend most of their life at sea, but come back to make their nests* in spring and summer. 60% of the world’s Atlantic puffins make their nests in Iceland from April to September every year. There are different types of puffins but the Atlantic puffin is special because it’s the same colour as a penguin* but with a fantastic coloured beak*. Aren’t they cute*?

We also love other animals, most of all, our own Icelandic horses.

Icelandic horse The Norwegians were the first to bring this kind of horse to Iceland 1100 years ago. It’s quite a small horse, but it’s very strong. In Iceland, you can’t bring horses from other countries to our island, and any Icelandic horses that leave the island cannot return. They still use this horse on farms but also for shows, races and riding tours.

colony a group nest where birds put their eggs

penguin

beak a bird’s mouth cute lovely 23

Now, with all these animals around, don’t you think a pet dog is a good idea? Yes? Me too; only problem is mum and dad don’t agree. So, getting a dog is one of my ‘When I’m older I’m going to …’ sentences.

Reykjavik About 100,000 people live in Reykjavik. Actually, if you look at the area around Reykjavik, you’ll see that about 60% of Icelandic people live here. Reykjavik is the world’s northernmost capital and it’s in southwest Iceland, south of Faxaflói Bay. So most people in Iceland live in Reykjavik like me. In Icelandic, Reykjavik means ‘Smoky Bay’. History books say that it got this name from the first Viking settler*, Ingólfur Arnarson from Norway, who decided to make his home here in the 9th century.

He probably gave it this name when he saw the steam* coming from the many hot springs in this area.

At the Viking Museum – Hey Ingólfur!

Got you!

settler a person in a group who moves to live in a new country 24

steam what water becomes at 100°C

Hot springs You can find natural* hot water springs all over Iceland – there are hundreds of them! The best areas to see hot water springs are in west and south Iceland, which both have a lot of geothermal heat*.

Better not to get too close!

There are no Vikings left now, but our Icelandic language is very like the way they spoke. I suppose it’s quite difficult to learn but, of course, it’s not a problem for me.

Reykjavik is a nice place to live and a favourite with tourists.

It’s home to the National and Saga museums, where you can learn all about Iceland’s Viking history. I’ve been with my family lots of times and I really love it. Then there’s the Hallgrimskirkja church. This is Reykjavik’s most famous building, a bit like the Eiffel Tower for Paris, and you can see the top of it from almost everywhere in the city. It looks like lava when it gets cold and becomes hard … fantastic!

Of course I’ve been there too – everyone has in Reykjavik! natural not man-made

geothermal heat hot temperatures inside the earth 25

There’s a fantastic, gargantuan pipe organ inside and many famous musicians have played it.

I’ve become a giant*! Look, my finger is on the top of the Hallgrimskirkja church!

The Harpa Concert Hall is also in Reykjavik. It’s made of glass and really modern. This is where the National Opera and Orchestra play.

Think what this sounds like!

giant a very big person usually found in stories for children 26

The Perlan Nature Museum is another really fantastic building that stands on the Öskjuhlíð Hill in the heart of Reykjavik.

This hill is 61 metres high and is covered with more than 176,000 trees. This is a great place to go for fantastic views of the city, the sea and the hills near here.

Dad and I at the top of the Perlan Museum - look how far you can see!

Here I am outside the Harpa Concert Hall - nice eh?

The forest around the Perlan is a nice park to go to when you want to get away from the city centre. I often go there with my three best friends, Eiður, Benjamín and Arnþór when the weather’s nice. We take our bikes and ride up to the forest, then sit and have a picnic. I’d love to go now, but it’s late and I need to go to handball practice. Have you ever heard of this sport? It’s my favourite! I’ll tell you about it later… I need to change into my stuff* for handball and then run to catch the bus, because the place where I practise is on the other side of town. Actually, I have to take two buses to get there. See you later! stuff things 27

After-reading Activities

Stop & Check 1 Choose A, B or C to make true sentences about Chapter 5. excited about playing in front of the Danish Garpur is ..................... coach.

A sad B excited C angry 1 Garpur usually goes on holiday with his…

A parents.

B class.

C friends.

2 The National Day of Iceland is on…

A 15th June.

B 16th June.

C 17th June.

3 In the parade there are people carrying…

A sheep.

B flags.

C bells.

4 The Danish coach asked them…

A if they liked B if they could C why they Denmark. speak Danish. liked handball.

5 During the match, the Danish coach…

A took a lot B spoke to C stopped the of notes. Garpur’s coach. match.

6 Garpur’s dad told Garpur that it was important to…

A score.

B help his C speak Danish teammates. to the coach.

Writing 2 In Chapter 5, Garpur talks about what he does in the summer months. Write him an email. In your email you should: – tell him what summer is like in your country – invite him to come and visit you next summer – tell him what you could do together

68

(25 words or more)

Speaking 3a Discuss the following questions with a partner.

– Do you think Garpur was right not to tell the Danish coach about his father?

– Why do you think the Danish coach chose Garpur and Eiður and not their other friend?

– Would you like to play in an international tournament?

Why/why not?

3b What is different about your country from Iceland?

Discuss with a partner and complete the table below.

Garpur and Iceland

Your Country ................................

Seasons

Food

School

Free time

Special days

Nature 69

Test Yourself How much can you remember about Garpur and Iceland?

Choose A, B or C to complete the sentences.

Reykjavik is…

A the capital B in the north C the smallest of Iceland. of Iceland. city in Iceland.

1 In Iceland, brothers and sisters…

A don’t live in the B can’t go to the C have different same house. same school. surnames.

2 Garpur likes making…

A jam.

B pasta.

C cakes.

3 In Iceland, there are…

A lots of B more sheep C colonies of penguins. than people. puffins in every city.

4 At the National and Saga Museums, you can learn about Icelandic…

A Viking history.

B Roman history. C Greek history.

5 Garpur got his passion for handball from his…

A uncle.

B father.

C grandfather.

6 The rules of modern handball were first made at…

A the end of the B the end of the C the start of 19th century. 20th century. the 21st century.

7 In the international handball team, there will be players from…

A England.

B Holland.

C Finland.

8 In Iceland, the recycling bin for bottles is…

A green.

B red.

C blue.

9 In Iceland, there are ................................ santas.

A thirteen B fourteen C fifteen 10 The Icelandic flag is…

A red, black B red, white C red, green and white and blue and blue

70

Syllabus Topics Family Friends Daily Routine Traditions Verbs Positive and negative imperative forms Present simple and present continuous Past simple and past continuous Present perfect simple Future with going to and will Can, have to, need, must, would like Common phrasal verbs Passive forms – present and past simple Adjectives Comparative and superlative forms

71

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