ACADEMIC LISTENING TEST PRACTICE
COUNTRIES - ICELAND
COUNTRIES - ICELAND
For Students Preparing for Academic Tests / IELTS and TOEFL
Listen as you read the script.
Playing Time: 2 minutes 47 seconds
Today class, as part of our European countries lecture series, let’s take a quick look at the basics of the second largest island in Europe, namely, Iceland. We’ll start by taking a brief look at Iceland’s history and economy, its population, and its climate and geography.
History and Economy
First of all, the very first people to live in Iceland arrived there from Northern Europe just 1,200 years ago. For hundreds of years, Iceland was a part of Norway, and then Denmark, until 1918 when it became an independent country. At one time it was one of the poorest countries in the world – however, during the twentieth century it grew to become one of the richest and most modern countries in the world. This is thanks in part to the fishing industry, and the thriving tourism industry (which accounts for about 33% of its GDP). From 2007 to 2010, Iceland experienced a major financial crisis stemming from the failure of its banking system. It has, however, recovered from this setback, and, in the 2019 World Happiness Report, Iceland came in at number 4 as the happiest country in the world.
Population
Iceland has a very small population, only about 320,000. New York City, in comparison, boasts a population of about 20 million. Most of its citizens speak a language called Icelandic, but many people can also speak English quite well. Reykjavik, the capital city, is home to about two-thirds of the population of Iceland, while about 19,000 people in the country are foreigners – workers from other countries.
Climate and Geography
The climate there is very cold. The July high temperature is only around ten degrees Celsius, and in winter the high temperature is about three or four degrees below zero. Not surprisingly, Iceland is well-known for its ice, specifically its many beautiful , large mountains of ice and snow that you can see in both summer and winter. In addition, there are nine large active volcanoes located all over the island. Not long ago, in May 2011, one of these volcanoes erupted (in the southeast part of the island) with enough fire, smoke, and ash, to stop air travel in many European countries for several weeks. Air travel industries affected by this event included those located in Ireland, Scotland, Spain, and even far-away Italy.
History and Economy
First of all, the very first people to live in Iceland arrived there from Northern Europe just 1,200 years ago. For hundreds of years, Iceland was a part of Norway, and then Denmark, until 1918 when it became an independent country. At one time it was one of the poorest countries in the world – however, during the twentieth century it grew to become one of the richest and most modern countries in the world. This is thanks in part to the fishing industry, and the thriving tourism industry (which accounts for about 33% of its GDP). From 2007 to 2010, Iceland experienced a major financial crisis stemming from the failure of its banking system. It has, however, recovered from this setback, and, in the 2019 World Happiness Report, Iceland came in at number 4 as the happiest country in the world.
Population
Iceland has a very small population, only about 320,000. New York City, in comparison, boasts a population of about 20 million. Most of its citizens speak a language called Icelandic, but many people can also speak English quite well. Reykjavik, the capital city, is home to about two-thirds of the population of Iceland, while about 19,000 people in the country are foreigners – workers from other countries.
Climate and Geography
The climate there is very cold. The July high temperature is only around ten degrees Celsius, and in winter the high temperature is about three or four degrees below zero. Not surprisingly, Iceland is well-known for its ice, specifically its many beautiful , large mountains of ice and snow that you can see in both summer and winter. In addition, there are nine large active volcanoes located all over the island. Not long ago, in May 2011, one of these volcanoes erupted (in the southeast part of the island) with enough fire, smoke, and ash, to stop air travel in many European countries for several weeks. Air travel industries affected by this event included those located in Ireland, Scotland, Spain, and even far-away Italy.
Note: For more cool ESL resources about Iceland, visit my All Things Topics site.
