Number One For What?
reading
What things do you think your country is better at than other countries?
B Say which of these statements you think are true and then read the first part of the
article and check your ideas:
The United States eats the most meat, has the most guns per capita and has the
most airports, roads, railways, billionaires and volcanoes.
Petrol in Venezuela costs $0.01 a litre.
Venezuela has produced six Miss World winners. The UK and the US come second
with five each.
More people (as a percentage of total population) smoke marijuana in the US than
in any other country.
Iceland consumes the most electricity per capita.
Costa Rica is the most cheerful country on Earth.
More people visit Spain than any other country on Earth.
India is the cheapest country in the world.
Japan is the hardest-working country in the world.
Telegraph
What each country is
number one for
We examine what various
countries around the world
are number one for.
United States - Eating meat,
owning guns and making
billions
The US tops countless tables.
It eats the most meat (120kg
per person, per year, putting it
clear of Kuwait, Australia, the
Bahamas and Luxembourg),
February 2017
owns the most guns (112.6
for every 100 residents;
Serbia comes next with 75.6),
and has the most airports
(13,513), flight departures
(9,553,214 in 2014), roads
(6,586,610km),
railways
(224,792km),
billionaires
(540), and volcanoes (173).
Venezuela - Cheap petrol and
Miss World winners
Thanks to a policy of heavy
subsidisation, petrol costs
just $0.01 a litre in Venezuela,
according to the fuel analyst
website globalpetrolprices.
com. That’s just one per cent
of the global average, $0.97.
The country has produced
six Miss World winners,
putting it ahead of the UK (5),
India (5) and the US (3).
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Iceland - Smoking weed and
electricity consumption
An estimated 18.3 per cent of
Iceland’s population smokes
marijuana, according to the
United Nations Office on
Drugs and Crime, putting it
ahead of the US (16.2 per
cent) and Nigeria (14.3 per
cent).
Iceland also consumes the
most electricity per capita,
pipping Norway and Bahrain.
Number One For What?
Costa Rica - Happiness
Costa Rica is the most cheerful
country on Earth according
to the annual Happy Planet
Index. Released last summer,
it ranks 140 destinations
according to “what matters
most - sustainable wellbeing
for all”. Costa Rica took the
top spot for the second year
running - ahead of Mexico
and Colombia.
France - Michelin stars and
tourism
More people visit France
(84.5 million in 2015) than
any other country on Earth
(the US comes next, followed
by Spain, China and Italy).
Why? It’s got everything,
including mountains for
skiing and hiking, beaches to
lie on, chateaux and cultured
cities to explore, and more
Michelin-starred restaurants
than any other nation.
India - Cheap living
India is the cheapest country
in the world according to a
Numbeo survey of around 50
items, including a wide variety
of accommodation, food and
reading
drink from both supermarkets
and restaurants, clothing, taxi
fares, leisure activities, utility,
internet and mobile phone
bills.
Mexico - Hard work
The hardest working country
of all is Mexico, according to
the OECD. The average citizen
of the Central American
country works 2,246 hours
a year, or 43.2 hours a week
- more than any other. In
second place is Costa Rica;
South Korea, Greece and
Chile complete the top five.
Furthermore,
Mexico
observes fewer bank holidays
(just seven) than any other
nation.
b Which of the facts do you find the most surprising? How does your country rate on
each of the facts? For example, how many hours a week does the average person
work in your country?
B Discuss these questions and then read the second part of the article and check your
ideas:
1 Suriname is the country with the highest percentage of forest area. What percentage
of the country is covered in trees?
2 Which country has the tallest people and what are the average heights of men and
women there?
3 Which country has the shortest people?
4 Which country belches out more CO2 per capita and at the same time is the place
where a natural disaster is least likely to strike?
5 Which country, popular with honeymooners, has the highest divorce rate?
Suriname - Trees
The country with the highest
percentage of forest area,
according to World Bank,
is Suriname, 95 per cent of
which is covered in trees.
2/4
The top five is completed
by Micronesia, Seychelles,
American Samoa (the most
obese place on Earth) and
Palau.
Number One For What?
The Netherlands - Height
A typical Dutchman is 1.838m
tall, while its ladies average
1.699m, making it the
tallest nation on the planet.
Montenegro, Denmark and
Norway come next. The
shortest? Indonesia.
It is followed by Curacao and
Latvia (the planet’s most
polluted country, however, is
Pakistan).
It is also the country on
Earth where a natural disaster
is least likely to strike. The
most dangerous? Vanuatu,
followed by Tonga and the
Qatar - CO2 emissions and Philippines.
safety
Qatar belches out more CO2 The Maldives - Divorce
per capita than anywhere Ironically, given that it’s so
else (35.73 tonnes annually). popular with honeymooners,
reading
the Maldives has a divorce
rate of 10.97, earning it
recognition in the Guinness
Book of Records. The UN even
estimates that the average
Maldivian woman, by the
age of 30, has been divorced
three times.
b What do you think is behind the Maldives’ high divorce rate? Discuss other countries
and say what you think they are number one at. For example England.
V
Choose the best definition for the highlighted words in these extracts from the article:
1 The US tops countless tables.
a) very many
b) a few
c) some
2 Thanks to a policy of heavy subsidisation, petrol costs just $0.01 a litre in Venezuela…
a) small in amount
b) great in amount
c) moderate in amount
3 Iceland also consumes the most electricity per capita, pipping Norway and Bahrain.
a) uses
b) buys
c) produces
4 It’s got everything, including mountains for skiing and hiking…
a) jogging
b) running
c) walking
5 ...taxi fares, leisure activities, utility, internet and mobile phone bills.
a) important services (such as water, electricity, or gas)
b) insurance
c) tax
6 The UN even estimates that the average Maldivian woman, by the age of 30, has been
divorced three times.
a) unluckiest
b) typical
c) native
V
Write sentences of your own with the words above.
e.g. There are countless ski resorts in the Alps.
3/4
Number One For What?
E
reading
Look at this extract from the article:
Telegraph
February 2017
Furthermore, Mexico observes fewer bank holidays (just seven) than any other nation.
=
V
Furthermore is a linking word. Which box would you put it in below?
expressing contrast
summarising
giving examples
generalising
highlighting
reformulating
ordering
stating the obvious
adding information
expressing alternatives
describing results
comparing
Now write these words and expressions in the correct boxes.
as a rule
on the whole
for instance
however
in conclusion
in particular
in brief
for example
namely
generally
particularly
V
especially
in other words
rather
to put it more simply
firstly
similarly
secondly
obviously
clearly
naturally
finally
also
moreover
in addition
alternatively
on the other hand
another possibility is
so
therefore
as a result
equally
likewise
Write sentences of your own with the linking words you would like to learn.
4/4
Number One For What?
Teacher’s notes 1
V
reading
week of 06.03.17
low-intermediate+ (A2+)
student pages 4
Choose the best definition for the highlighted words in these extracts from the article:
1 a)
2 b)
3 a)
4 c)
5 a)
6 b)
V
Now write these words and expressions in the correct boxes.
expressing contrast
summarising
giving examples
but
although
however
overall
in conclusion
in brief
for example
for instance
namely
generalising
highlighting
reformulating
generally
on the whole
as a rule
in particular
particularly
especially
in other words
rather
to put it more simply
ordering
stating the obvious
adding information
firstly
secondly
finally
obviously
clearly
naturally
furthermore
moreover
in addition
expressing alternatives
describing results
comparing
alternatively
on the other hand
another possibility is
so
therefore
as a result
equally
likewise
similarly
also