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GENERAL ENGLISH · GENERAL ISSUES · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

CRAZY
IDEA
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1 Key words

Match each underlined word with its correct definition:

1. The man approached me with an interesting offer.

2. They are using a football stadium to accommodate refugees.
3. In some countries, there is a lot of oppression. It’s dangerous to criticize the leaders.
4. There was nobody in the village. It was completely deserted.
5. Is it feasible to work two jobs and study at the same time?
6. The teachers always encourage the students to be creative.

a. contact someone for the first time about a proposal or request

b. empty of people
c. persuade (someone) to do or continue to do something by giving support and advice
d. possible and practical
e. provide space for someone to live
f. unfair treatment of people by a government or group in a position of power

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2 Predict the answers

You are going to read an article about an Egyptian billionaire who has a unique solution for Europe’s
refugee crisis. Predict the correct answers below and read the text to check them.

1. What is his idea?

a. buy 100 airplanes to fly refugees to Europe

b. buy two islands to accommodate them
c. create jobs for them in Egypt

2. How much does he want to spend on his plan?

a. up to $50 million b. up to $200 million c. up to $1 billion

3. How did he propose his idea?

a. on television b. at a conference c. on Twitter

4. Does he believe that his plan will work?

a. yes b. no

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Egyptian billionaire offers to buy Greek islands for refugees

Naguib Sawiris admitted his idea seemed "crazy" but he insisted it was possible.

1.
An Egyptian billionaire has approached the owners of two Greek islands with an offer to buy their land as a space
to accommodate desperate refugees who are escaping from conflicts and oppression.
2.
Naguib Sawiris posted a tweet to propose the "crazy idea" of buying an island as a temporary home for refugees.
When reporters asked him whether his plan could work, he told them: "Of course it’s feasible."
3.
"You have lots of islands which are deserted and could accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees," he said.
4.
The 61-year-old, who is worth an estimated $2.9 billion, later named the proposed space "Aylan Island", in memory
of 3-year-old Aylan Kurdi, whose lifeless body was found on the shore of a Turkish island after he tried to cross
to Greece with his family.
5.
Mr Sawiris told Newsweek that he is willing to spend up to $200 million on buying land, and has received around
10,000 emails from supporters. Many of them have offered to help him carry out his plan.
6.
In the interview, he said to his critics: "If you have a better idea, you are welcome. The rule in my corporate world
is: if anybody criticizes my solution and does not have a better solution, I tell them to shut up."
7.
The businessman has revealed on Twitter that his plan is becoming a reality, and he has encouraged people to
help.
8.
A statement by his firm’s communication office said that he had identified two privately owned Greek islands that
would be suitable for the project.
9.
"We have contacted their owners and expressed our interest to negotiate with them if they can obtain the approval
of the government of Greece to host the maximum number of refugees allowable according to Greek laws."
10.
Mr Sawiris’ idea has also interested the United Nation’s High Commissioner for Refugees, whose staff will meet
with the businessman to discuss how they can co-operate, the statement said.
11.
"If they [the Greek government] don’t give me administrative support, then the idea will die. I hope the politicians
start to think this is a serious guy and that this is not such a bad idea," Mr Sawiris told Newsweek.

Adapted from The Independent 15 September 2015, by Kashmira Gander

3 Checking understanding

Put T (True) or F (False) next to the following statements.

1. Mr Sawiris wants to make the islands a permanent home for refugees.

2. Mr Sawiris is not accepting outside help.
3. Not everybody agrees with his idea.
4. According to Mr Sawiris, there hasn’t been any progress so far.
5. The United Nations is ready to work with him.
6. His plan depends on the actions of the Greek government.
7. He has already convinced Greek politicians that he is a serious guy.

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4 Talking point

Do you think the Egyptian’s plan will work? Why/why not?

5 Find the words

Find a word or phrase in the text which means...

1. ‘said that it was true’ (verb -ed, subtitle)

2. ‘continued to say’ (verb -ed, subtitle)
3. dead (adjective, P4)
4. stop talking (phrasal verb, P6)
5. ‘made known’ (verb -ed, P7)
6. something that someone says or writes officially to express an opinion or fact (noun, P8)
7. official agreement or permission (noun, P9)

6 Collocations

Match the verbs on the left to the words on the right to form phrases from the text:

1. propose a. an idea

2. carry out b. an interest

3. express c. a plan

4. obtain d. approval

5. post e. a tweet

Now complete the sentences below using the phrases above in the correct form.

1. Many celebrities to communicate with their fans online.

2. The government has decided to its to deal with the refugee crisis.
3. The politician a crazy to fix the country’s economy. Nobody believed
it could work.
4. Did you manage to from the local government to start your business?
5. Yesterday we to buy the house, but today it seems that someone else
has offered a higher price.

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7 Grammar - Reported speech

Find examples in the table for the rules for forming reported speech.

Reported speech Direct speech

Reported speech reports what somebody Direct speech repeats the exact
said without repeating the exact words: words that somebody said:
Naguib Sawiris admitted his idea seemed "The idea seems crazy."
crazy. "He is willing to spend up to $200
Mr Sawiris told Newsweek that he is willing million on buying land."
to spend up to $200 million on buying land. "Can your plan work?"
Reporters asked him whether his plan
"He has identified two privately
could work.
owned Greek islands that will be
A statement by his firm’s communication
suitable for the project."
office said that he had identified two
privately owned Greek islands that would
be suitable for the project.

Rules for forming reported speech

1) The tense of the verb in direct speech often changes in reported speech.
am/is – was are – were simple present – simple past will – would can – could present
perfect (have/has + past participle) – past perfect (had + past participle)
simple past – simple past or past perfect
However, if the reported situation is still true, it is not necessary to change the tense.

Peter said that he was at home. (Maybe he is still at home now. Maybe he isn’t.)
Peter said he is at home. (He is still at home now.)

2) We can leave out the word that.

Peter said that he was at home. Peter said he was at home.

3) When reporting yes/no questions, we use whether or if instead of that.

He asked whether I was at home. He asked if I was at home.

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8 Practice 1

Read and complete the dialogue about Naguib Sawiris, putting the direct speech statements below
into the correct tense.

"Do you have a better idea?" "He has found two suitable islands."
"He is worth $2.9 billion" "It’s a crazy idea."
"I will negotiate with the island owners." "I won’t spend more than $200 million"
"My plan is very feasible." "I want to buy two Greek islands."

Martin: Have you heard about the Egyptian billionaire who wants to solve Europe’s migrant crisis?
Daniella: Yes, I have. He said he wanted to buy two Greek islands . (1)
Martin: What for?
Daniella: To accommodate hundreds of thousands of refugees.
Martin: Is he serious?
Daniella: Well, he admitted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (2)
Martin: Crazy indeed. But at least he’s doing something. Does he think it will work?
Daniella: Yes, he insisted . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (3)
Martin: So, who is going to sell him an island?
Daniella: Well, he’s looking at privately-owned islands. He said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (4)
Martin: It must be very expensive to buy an island.
Daniella: Yes, it is. But I think he can afford it. He told reporters that . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (5)
Martin: And how much is he worth?
Daniella: The newspapers said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (6)
Martin: Okay, so he can definitely afford it! But I imagine he has some critics.
Daniella: Yes, he does. But when they criticized his plan in an interview, he asked them
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (7)
Martin: Hmmm. Is he looking at any particular islands?
Daniella: Yes, a representative from his company said that . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (8)
Martin: So he’s really serious about this. Well, I hope his plan works. Good luck to him.

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9 Practice 2

Now complete the reported statements and questions below. More than one correct answer may be
possible.

1. "The government is going to propose a new plan."

The minister said the government was going to propose a new plan.
2. "You don’t have much time left to finish your tasks"
The manager told us . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . finish our tasks.
3. "I’ve never met you before."
The man insisted that . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . before.
4. "Are you coming to my birthday party?"
Julie asked me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . her birthday party.
5. "I wasn’t ready for the question."
The politician admitted that she . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for the question.
6. "You will have to quit smoking if you want to improve your health."
The doctor told me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . if I want to improve my health.
7. "Can you work as a member of a team?"
The interviewer asked her . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . as a member of a team.
8. "Have you seen my smartphone anywhere?"
Mark asked me . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . his smartphone anywhere.

10 Further discussion

Discuss any of the questions below:

1. What is your opinion about the refugee crisis?

2. What do you think are good solutions for the refugee crisis in Europe?
3. Is the crisis affecting your country? How?
4. How do people in your country treat refugees?
5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of mass immigration?

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TEACHER MATERIALS · INTERMEDIATE (B1-B2)

CRAZY IDEA

Key

1. Key words

1. a 2. e 3. f 4. b 5. d 6. c

2. Predict the answers

As a warm-up, check students understand the word ‘refugee’. Ask them why somebody might become a refugee
(e.g. because of war, famine, oppression, etc.)
1. b 2. b 3. c 4. a

3. Checking understanding

1. F 2. F 3. T 4. F 5. T 6. T 7. F

4. Talking point

Encourage a discussion.

5. Find the words

1. admitted 2. insisted 3. lifeless 4. shut up 5. revealed 6. statement 7. approval

6. Collocations

1. a 2. c 3. b 4. d 5. e

1. post tweets
2. carry out (its) plan
3. proposed (a crazy) idea
4. obtain approval
5. expressed an interest

7. Grammar - Reported speech

Draw students’ attention to the table and the rules below. Elicit examples from the table for each rule, for example:
Rule 1: "The idea SEEMS crazy." – Naguib Sawiris admitted his idea SEEMED crazy. (tense change)
"He is willing to spend up to $200million on buying land." – Mr Sawiris told Newsweek that he is willing to spend
up to $200million on buying land. (no tense change)
Rule 2: Naguib Sawiris admitted his idea seemed crazy. (‘that’ omitted)
Rule 3: Reporters asked him whether his plan could work. (‘whether’ used when reporting yes/no questions)
Point out that we use regular sentence word order in reported questions.

8. Practice 1

Students can work individually and check in pairs. Go through the answers. Have two model students read the
dialogue.

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CRAZY IDEA

2. it was a crazy idea

3. his plan was very feasible
4. he would negotiate with the island owners
5. he wouldn’t spend more than $200 million
6. he is/was worth $2.9 billion
7. if/whether they had a better idea
8. he had found two suitable islands

9. Practice 2

Students can work individually and check in pairs. This time they are free to change the tense from direct speech
or leave it unchanged.
2. (that) we didn’t/don’t have much time to
3. he’d (he had) never met me
4. if/whether I was/am coming to
5. wasn’t ready/hadn’t been ready
6. (that) I would/will have to quit smoking
7. if/whether she could/can work
8. if/whether I’d seen

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