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 decorations exploitation 1 A capital maiden wrapping paper implications

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. Its used traditionally at Christmas in the UK. 2 In countries which celebrate Christmas, people often put 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 A is special paper used for wrapping presents. are objects produced for sale. is money or property that you use to start a business or invest. is unfair treatment of someone in order to get benefit for yourself. are possible effects or results are things that are sent by ship, airplane or truck. voyage or flight is one that is done for the first time. up in their house.

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.
Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006 NEWS LESSONS / Christmas is coming / Intermediate
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Christmas is coming - all the way from China

Level 2 l Intermediate
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 Europes third-biggest trading partner with China but in global terms represents less than 2% of Chinas 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 Britains biggest exports to China is now waste plastic - which is turned back into soft toys and decorations. GBP: Great Britain Pounds bn: 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 a) the majority b) a small part c) the third-largest part .

of Chinas trade with the world.

3 According to Christine Lucas, the Emma Maersk a) harms the environment b) creates jobs c) creates markets in developing countries
Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006 NEWS LESSONS / Christmas is coming / Intermediate
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Christmas is coming - all the way from China

Level 2 l Intermediate
4 Yentian port exports a) around 11,000 b) around 33,000 c) 2.8 bn containers every day.

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:

on board manufacturers wrapping paper floating imports trading partners

ship capital abroad goods sectors crackers exports

trade labour globalisation cargo markets toys

maiden voyage decorations boat port fleet afloat

SEA TRAVEL vocabulary: on board, TRADE vocabulary: trade, CHRISTMAS vocabulary: toys,

5 Vocabulary Word information

Complete the table.

Verb
float recharge develop terrify imagine

Adjective

NEWS LESSONS / Christmas is coming / Intermediate

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Christmas is coming - all the way from China

Level 2 l Intermediate
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 B trade countries rate row batteries blocks partner

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

Macmillan Publishers Ltd 2006 NEWS LESSONS / Christmas is coming / Intermediate

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Christmas is coming - all the way from China

Level 2 l Intermediate KEY
1 Key words
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 cracker decorations Wwrapping paper Goods Capital Exploitation Implications cargo maiden TRADE vocabulary: manufacturers goods globalisation imports sectors markets trading partners trade exports capital labour CHRISTMAS vocabulary: crackers toys games decorations wrapping paper

2 Find the information

1 2 3 4 5 A boat China Britain and Europe Christmas gifts, decorations and other goods Not everyone some think its bad for the environment and the economy

3 Comprehension check
1 2 3 4 5 6 b c a b a c

5 Vocabulary: Word formation

VERB float recharge develop terrify imagine ADJECTIVE floating rechargeable developing terrifying imaginable

4 Vocabulary: Lexical sets

SEA TRAVEL vocabulary: on board ship maiden voyage aboard boat floating cargo port fleet afloat

6 Vocabulary: Collocations
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 intense row building blocks trading partner phenomenal rate rechargeable batteries developing countries global trade

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