Learn five things about Greece that will help you make the most out of your travels
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| Maria: Hello everyone! In today's lesson, we will build your basic knowledge of Greece by quizzing you on five areas of Greek knowledge - geography, pop culture, travel, economics, and myth busting! |
| Iro: Ooh, sounds exciting! |
| Maria: Yeah! I thought of these questions all by myself! |
| Iro: By "by yourself," you mean with my help, right? |
| Maria: Okay, so, first we will test your geography knowledge! |
| Iro: As we all know, Greece is not too big of a country, but it has many islands spread all over the place. |
| Maria: So the first question is, how many prefectures does Greece have? |
| Iro: A) 13, B) 51, or C) 234 |
| Maria: This one is the warm-up question, so just think logically! |
| Iro: The answer is B) 51! Greece consists of thirteen peripheries subdivided into a total of fifty-one prefectures. The climate of Greece can be categorized into three types…the Mediterranean, the alpine, and the temperate. This is mainly due to the fact that eighty percent of Greece is mountains. There's some trivia for you! |
| Maria: Thank you. Okay, question number two is on pop culture! Woo! |
| Iro: Not too many Greek people are internationally famous, but we do have a few icons that you all should know! I'm going to name three people…one is a famous actress, one is a politician, and one is a sports star. Match the name with the profession. |
| A) ’Angelos Charistéas, B) Eiríni Papá, and C) Kóstas Karamanlís |
| Maria: Oh! Oh! I know! I know! |
| Iro : Okay, Maria, shoot! |
| Maria: Well, A) Ángelos Charistéas became a national hero and a public face after the 2004 World Cup where he scored the decisive goal that led to Greece's victory! |
| Iro: That's right! |
| Maria: B) is Eiríni Papa! She's one of Greece's most famous and loved actresses! |
| Iro: Correct! With a career spanning over fifty years, she has been in several internationally known films such as "Z," "Zorba the Greek," and the more recent "Captain Corelli's Mandolin." |
| Maria: Yeah, she's really loved by the Greeks, huh. Hmm…the one left over is Kóstas Karamanlís! |
| Iro: Yep! He was our previous prime minister. He served for two terms and is known for a number of serious scandals involving his closest ministers and members of his party that surfaced during his term, damaging his public image severely. |
| Maria: Politicians, ahhh... |
| Iro: Okay, moving on to number three. It's a travel question! Rank in correct order the most popular travel destinations in Greece. A) Santorini, B) Crete, and C) Athens |
| Maria: Hmm…tough one! They are all really popular! I would guess Santorini, as one of the bigger and most beautiful islands, would be number one! |
| Iro: (IroBuzzer sound) Iro Unfortunately, that's the wrong answer! Try again. |
| Maria: Okay, so then it has to be Athens? |
| Iro: Yes! Athens is one of the most popular tourist areas. Even though the Greek islands are very popular destinations, tourists mainly want to see the history Athens has to offer. |
| Maria: I see… Okay, so number two is Santorini, right? |
| Iro: It sure is! This island also has a long history and is classified as one of the most beautiful islands in the world! |
| Maria: Wow! So Crete is number three then? |
| Iro: Actually, Crete is number six on the list! |
| Maria: What? A trick question!? |
| Iro: Hmm, not really. Number three is Mykonos, four is Corfu, and five is Rhodes. All are islands. And as Crete is the biggest island, I thought it was worth mentioning. |
| Maria: Okay, next question please! I'll get this one right! |
| Iro: Moving on to economics then! |
| Maria: You're just teasing me. You know economics isn't my strong point. |
| Iro: Haha, well even you should be able to answer this question! |
| Maria: Hit me! |
| Iro: Since Greece joined the European Union system in 2001, it has been using the euro. However, what was the previous currency called? A) the drachma, B) the euro, or C) the franc? |
| Maria: I know this one! Yay! It's the drachma! |
| Iro: Correct! |
| Maria: I used to love the drachma, they were really nice and had really nice Greek heritage on them! |
| THE FOLLOWING UNDERLINED SENTECES WERE NOT PRESENT IN THE AUDIO, IS THAT CORRECT? |
| Iro: So, I've saved the hardest for last! It's a question about myths and debunking them! |
| Maria: Ooh, like people who think Alexander the Great was tall, dark haired, and brown eyed when in fact he was short, blond, and blue eyed, like Disney's Hercules! |
| Iro: Yeah, because of that, most people think Greeks are dark. Okay, this one is a simple true/false question. Traditional Greek foods, and thus Greek people on average, tend to be very unhealthy – true or false? |
| Maria: Many people think that Greek food is really unhealthy because so many people are overweight in Greece. |
| Iro: Ah, true, but the answer is false. In fact, Greek food, also known as the Mediterranean diet, is one of the healthiest in the world! |
| Maria: Yeah, you eat so many veggies and fish! |
| Iro: Yeah, Greece rates third on the list of countries that eat the most vegetables. |
| Maria: So what's up with all the obesity then? |
| Iro: Well, like a rising problem in many countries today, even Greek food has been invaded by junk foods! Young people eat more and more unhealthy food, and due to the low income of many families, they take their children to fast food places to eat. |
| Maria: Alas, what has become of the world! |
| Iro: Fortunately, there are still more traditional places to eat than junk food places, so hopefully people will keep up their healthy diets. |
| Maria: Yeah, I wouldn't trade traditional Greek food for anything! |
| Iro: Me neither! |
| Maria: Well, that was a nice little quiz. I wonder how our listeners did. |
| Iro: I'm sure we have many educated ones who know a thing or two about Greek society already. |
| Maria: Yes. And on that note, let's wrap up today's lesson here! |
| Iro: See you next time! |
| Maria: "Antío!" |
| Iro: Geia sas! |
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