It’s paradise!
1 READING
It’s paradise!
A Read about Richie Sowa. Why isn’t Richie’s island an ordinary island?
The Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is the story of life on a desert island in the 18th century. Richie Sowa, from Middlesbrough in the UK, is a 21st century Robinson Crusoe. His home is an island near Cancun in Mexico. But Richie’s island is different because he built it himself – with 250,000 plastic bottles!
The island is covered in sand, plants and trees. There are three beaches, two ponds, a house and a small waterfall. The weather in Cancun is hot and sunny so Richie, who is an artist and a musician, uses solar power. He has got a solar cooker, a shower, a toilet, electric lights, a CD player and even a washing machine.
The island is attached to the shore with a rope. The shore is only seven metres away so Richie can pull his island to the shore with the rope. Sometimes he moves his floating home to different places around the coast.
A lot of tourists visit Richie’s island and, last year, an ecology student stayed there and he studied Richie’s way of life. ‘It’s paradise!’ he said.
B Read the article again and find answers to these questions.
2 PRESENTATION
It’s more interesting than our house
A Listen to George and Marlene and follow the text.
George and Marlene are American tourists from Detroit. They’re visiting Richie Sowa’s house.
Marlene: Wow! Our house isn’t as interesting as this, George! Why don’t we build an island?
George: You’re joking! Our house is more comfortable than this crazy place. It’s bigger too.
Marlene: I agree. Richie’s house is smaller than our house, and it isn’t as comfortable, but it’s a lot more beautiful. And the weather’s nicer here, George.
George: OK, so the weather isn’t as nice in Detroit, but we’ve got three TVs, two cars and there’s a supermarket next door.
Marlene: I don’t mind about that, George. Detroit’s noisy and polluted. It’s quieter here, and the air’s cleaner. It’s paradise!
George: Well, I like Detroit.
Marlene: But George, is our life as exciting as Richie’s?
George: You’re crazy, Marlene. I’m hot. Let’s go back to the coach.
B Listen again. Then read these sentences. Are they about Richie’s house or George and Marlene’s?
3 GRAMMAR
Primernik; as + pridevnik + as
Complete the examples, then complete the first explanation.
Enozložnim pridevnikom dodamo -er ali -r:
cold [latex]\longrightarrow[/latex] colder
tall [latex]\longrightarrow[/latex] taller
nice [latex]\longrightarrow[/latex] nicer
large [latex]\longrightarrow[/latex] larger
TODA
big [latex]\longrightarrow[/latex] bigger
hot [latex]\longrightarrow[/latex] hotter
Pridevniki, ki se končajo na soglasnik + -y:
pretty [latex]\longrightarrow[/latex] prettier
happy [latex]\longrightarrow[/latex] happier
4 PRACTICE
A Look at the conversation in Exercise 2 again. Write the comparative form of these adjectives.
B Make two sentences each time.
C Test a friend Write another example for 4B. Can your partner make two sentences?
African elephants / big / Indian elephants
5 WRITING
A letter from Cancun
Use what you know
Imagine you’re on Richie Sowa’s island. You want to stay there. Write a letter to your family at home. Say why you aren’t coming home.