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Men lost at sea for 29 days say it was a nice break   (11th October, 2021)

Many of us spend hours dreaming of getting away from it all – of getting far from the madding crowd. Two men from the Solomon Islands inadvertently did just that and spent 29 days escaping the rat race. They got lost at sea for over four weeks. Livae Nanjikana and Junior Qoloni set off from Mono Island on September the 3rd in a small motorboat to travel 200km to New Georgia Island. It was a trip they had embarked on several times before. Soon after they set out, they were hit by a storm which played havoc with their navigation system. They lost their ability to detect their location or find their bearings at sea. The storm blew them off course and they ended up off the coast of Papua New Guinea.
             The two men were upbeat about their unplanned adventure. Rather than be distressed about their once-precarious plight, they enjoyed the potentially life-threatening escapade at sea. Mr Nanjikana said: "We didn't know where we were but did not expect to be in another country." They survived by eating oranges they had bought for their journey and coconuts they scooped out of the sea. A Papua New Guinean fisherman spotted their boat and authorities rescued them. Nanjikana said: "I look forward to going back home, but I guess it was a nice break from everything." However, due to COVID-19 restrictions, they will not be able to travel from Papua New Guinea to the Solomon Islands for a little while yet.

 

 

 

GETTING AWAY: What are the pros and cons of getting away to these places? Complete this table with your partner(s). Change partners often and share what you wrote.

	Pros	Cons
A small island
A dessert oasis
A jungle hideaway
A safari lodge
A mountaintop cabin
A city hotel

CROWD: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "crowd". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them

 

 

A NICE BREAK: Rank these with your partner. Put the best things to do for a nice break at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

·         Go to the beach

·         Go to museums

·         Go hiking

·         Stay at home

·         Go cycling

·         Do voluntary work

·         Go fishing

·         Go to a health spa

Vocabulary

    Paragraph 1

1.	getting away	a.	A way of life in which people are caught up in a daily struggle for money and getting ahead.
2.	inadvertently	b.	Going somewhere for a short holiday.
3.	rat race	c.	Began a course of action or journey.
4.	embarked	d.	Great confusion or disorder.
5.	havoc	e.	Accidentally.
6.	detect	f.	The position of something, or the direction of movement, relative to a fixed point.
7.	bearings	g.	Discover or identify the presence or existence of.

    Paragraph 2

8.	upbeat	h.	Not securely held or in position; dangerously likely to fall or collapse.
9.	precarious	i.	Picked up something from the sea.
10.	plight	j.	Cheerful; optimistic.
11.	escapade	k.	A dangerous, difficult, or otherwise unfortunate situation.
12.	scooped	l.	Saved someone from a dangerous or difficult situation.
13.	rescued	m.	An act involving excitement, daring, or adventure.
14.	restriction	n.	A limiting condition or measure.

 

Before reading / listening

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if 1-8 below are true (T) or false (F).

1. Two men spent many hours dreaming of leaving the Solomon Islands.     T / F
2. The men were lost at sea on their yacht.     T / F
3. The two men were on their first trip at sea.     T / F
4. A storm blew the two men's boat off course.     T / F
5. The two men seemed positive about their unplanned adventure.     T / F
6. The men ate coconuts they bought for the trip and oranges from the sea.  T / F
7. An Australian fisherman rescued the two men.     T / F
8. The two men's return home will be delayed because of COVID-19.     T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1. getting away
2. inadvertently
3. embarked
4. havoc
5. bearings
6. upbeat
7. escapade
8. scooped
9. spotted
10. restrictions

1. chaos
2. took
3. curbs
4. sense of direction
5. accidentally
6. saw
7. undertaken
8. positive
9. escaping
10. adventure

3. PHRASE MATCH: (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1. Many of us spend hours dreaming
2. escaping the rat
3. a trip they had embarked
4. find their
5. The storm blew them
6. The two men were
7. They survived
8. coconuts they scooped
9. authorities
10. due to COVID-19

1. on several times before
2. rescued them
3. off course
4. upbeat
5. out of the sea
6. bearings at sea
7. restrictions
8. of getting away
9. by eating oranges
10. race

k.      Multiple choice quiz

l.        1) What does the article say we dream of getting far from?
a) home
b) each other
c) the madding crowd
d) danger
2) When did the two men set off on their journey?
a) September 3
b) at 3am
c) on a Wednesday morning
d) after they bought their boat
3) How many times had the men made the journey before?
a) several times
b) zero
c) one
d) many
4) What did a storm do to the men's navigation system?
a) confused it
b) played havoc with it
c) destroyed it
d) assisted it
5) Where did the two men end up?
a) off the coast of Australia
b) off the coast of the Philippines
c) off the coast of Tajiti
d) off the coast of Papua New Guinea

m.    6) How did the men feel about their unplanned adventure?
a) excited
b) upbeat
c) relieved
d) sad
7) What did the two men scoop out from the sea?
a) coconuts
b) driftwood
c) fish
d) seaweed
8) Who spotted the two men?
a) an oil tanker
b) the coast guard
c) a fisherman
d) people on a beach
9) Where did one of the men say he looked forward to going?
a) PNG
b) on vacation
c) back to sea
d) home
10) What is stopping the men from returning home immediately?
a) COVID-19 restrictions
b) money
c) visa problems
d) bad weather

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