29 1 Workers in the Kenyan flower industry are willing to produce cheap flowers for the European market as their earnings create a standard of living similar to some industrialised countries. 2 New legislation means the air freight shipments of the Kenyan flower industry will soon be stopped altogether – due to massive amounts of carbon and overtaxing the environment. 3 Reducing flower imports from overseas might be beneficial to the climate, but Kenyan local workers’ livelihoods depend heavily on Western consumers. Read the text below and try to recall the numbers from the video. Then watch it again and complete the sentences. The factory produces about (1) stems a day. It takes about (2) for the flowers to be delivered to European supermarkets. There’s a cargo plane with flowers leaving (3) . The workers earn about (4) dollars a (5) . Along the supply chain, about (6) workers are employed in the Kenyan flower business. 22 Thanks to globalisation, one of the products available to us year-round is fresh cut flowers. Discuss these questions in pairs: 1 What occasion would you get fresh cut flowers for? 2 Would you buy these flowers at a supermarket? Why?/Why not? 3 What countries do the flowers offered in supermarkets usually come from? How much are they? You are going to watch a video about a Kenyan flower producer. After watching, pick the statement that best sums up what the video is about. SPEAKING 20 LISTENING + VIEWING 21 02 What products you buy contribute to development in other parts of the world? Talk in class. The town council of a mid-sized English town is planning to replace a florist’s selling local flowers and decorations with a new branch of Decor is More, an international home decor chain. To get locals’ opinions on this, the town council is arranging a panel discussion with the following participants: a farmer growing local flowers: has just installed solar panels to reduce the farm’s carbon footprint; worried about cheap competition. b representative of Decor is More: trying to promote the company’s upcoming deal with fair trade farmers to source products from oversees, including fresh flowers; downplays company’s lack of concern with carbon footprint. c homemaker: mother/father of three, likes fresh flowers; with a family of five has a restricted budget for making things nice at home. d second year florist’s apprentice: likes to work with local products as they are absolutely fresh; worried about losing the job and not being able to finish apprenticeship. e grammar school student: decorations enthusiast; favours minimalist, arty style that clashes with Decor is More’s more flashy offers. Get together in groups of five. You will be given a role by your teacher. Prepare for the panel discussion by coming up with ideas and arguments for what you want in the mid-sized town. Then have the discussion and try to convince the others by arguing your case. Try to come to a decision on whether Decor is More is a good idea for the town. Talk for 10 to 15 minutes. SPEAKING 23 24 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy ODE3MDE=