Page 16 - Prime Time 1-5 Leaflet

e 2
A desert
Reading & Listening
2 What is an island? What is unusual about
the islands of Lake Titicaca?
Listen and read the text to find out.
In my country there are a lot of lakes.
Special places
What is it like having a different view from
your window every day? Well, it’s just like
this for the Uros people of Lake Titicaca in
Peru. There are over forty ‘floating’ islands
here. Every day they are in a different
place on the lake which is 3,812 metres
above sea level.
These floating islands are home to about
300 people. Their surface is very soft and
wet because they make the islands with
totora reeds. There are small villages with
three to ten families on each island.
Uros homes are small reed huts with one
room. There is only one bed for the whole
family. There isn’t any heating and it is
sometimes very cold on the lake.
Life on the islands is very simple. The men
are fishermen on the lake. They have reed
boats with amazing animal faces to go
fishing. The women are at home with the
children. There’s one school for the
children but there isn’t a hospital or
doctors nearby.
These days, the islands are very popular
with tourists. It’s only a 30-minute motor
boat ride from the city of Puno to the
islands. Everyone is welcome to experience
this unique way of life!
F
I
J
C
B
E
forest
mountain
river
island
lake
cliff
sea
beach
waterfall
D
G
32
H
floating islands, place, home to, surface, soft, wet,
totora reeds, reed huts, heating, simple, fishermen,
reed boats, school, hospital, nearby, popular with,
tourists, experience a unique way of life
Check these words
Vocabulary
Geographical features
1 Listen and repeat. Which
of these features are there
in your country?