ELT

B1

Stage 3 B1
Maureen Simpson
Stage 3 B1

Maureen Simpson
Destination Karminia
Young Professor Peng is looking for people keen on
archaeology to help her in the search for the lost city of
Karminia. Are you ready to follow her and her friends
in this exciting adventure?
At the top of Ben Nevis, in the Scottish Highlands, an

Destination Karminia
ancient city is hidden away. It can only be discovered in

Stage 1
daylight. Three youngsters who really love archaeology
are going to discover the mysterious Karminia.
In this reader you’ll find:
- Focus on Scotland and Ancient Civilisations in Britain

Readers
- Glossary of difficult words
- Comprehension and grammar activities including
B1 Preliminary style exercises and 21st century skills
activities
- Final test
Tags
Adventure | Nature | Friendship

Teen
Downloadable Look at the inside front cover flap
Audio to find out how to download
Files your free Audio files.

STAGE 1 600 headwords Elementary A1 Movers

STAGE 1 800 headwords Pre-intermediate A2 Flyers/Key
Maureen Simpson
T e e n E L ITeen

STAGE 3 1000 headwords Intermediate B1 Preliminary

Original

www.eligradedreaders.com The pleasure of Reading

R e a d e Readers

Eli Readers is a beautifully illustrated

series of timeless classic and original
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stories for learners of English. Downloadable

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 Destination
Book briefKarminia

1 An adventure story about discovering the

ancient city of Karminia.

2 The story is set in the Scottish Highlands

and follows the adventures of Sonia, a
professor of archaeology, and her three
assistants, Jasmine, Stella and Simon, who
are all archaeology enthusiasts.

3 The three students decide to help Sonia

find Karminia, but they don’t realise how
hard this trip is going to be.
Spazio

4 There is also danger ahead as the greedy didascalia

businessperson, Philip Cummins, wants

Karminia for himself so he can make
money out of it.

5 Main themes include adventure and

teamwork.

1
www.eligradedreaders.com
In this reader:

21st To encourage students to

Century connect the story to the
Skills world they live in.

Preliminary B1 level activities.

Story A brief summary

Notes of the text.

Glossary Explanation
of difficult words.

Picture A brief explanation

Caption of the picture.

Audio These icons indicate start

the parts of the story
that are recorded. stop

To encourage students to develop

Think their critical thinking skills.

The FSC® certification For this series of

guarantees that the paper ELI graded readers,
used in these publications we have planted
comes from certified 5000 new trees.
forests, promoting
responsible forestry
management worldwide.
Maureen Simpson

Destination
Karminia
Retold and with activities by
Silvana Sardi

Illustrated by
Simone Pontieri

Teen Readers
Contents

6 Main Characters
8 Before you read
10 Chapter 1 An Unexpected Email
18 Activities
20 Chapter 2 The Expedition Begins
28 Activities
30 Chapter 3 Looking for Clues
38 Activities
40 Chapter 4 An Incredible Discovery
48 Activities
50 Chapter 5 The Final Struggle
56 Activities
58 Focus on... Scotland
60 Focus on... Ancient Civilisations
in Britain
62 Test Yourself
63 Syllabus
 Main Characters

Jasmine
She finds out
Sonia Peng about Karminia
A young archaeology
online.
professor at the
University of York.

Philip Cummins
A greedy
businessperson who
wants Karminia.

6
 Stella
Simon and
Jasmine’s friend.
She has a scooter.
Simon
He doesn’t like
many subjects at
school and would
Jim and Tony love to study
Two men who archaeology.
work for Philip
Cummins.

7
Before you read

Vocabulary
1 What would you take with you on an expedition?
Match the words in the box with the correct definition.
backpack map compass sleeping bag torch tent

compass
Something you use to find the right direction: _________
1 A tool that allows you to see in the dark: _________
2 You use it to carry all the things you need: _________
3 You sleep inside it at night to keep warm: _________
4 A portable “home” used for camping: _________
5 A drawing of an area that shows you where you are: _________

21st
Pair Work Century
Skills
2 Here are some animals that you can find in the wild.
Unscramble their names, then discuss with your partner which
one you’d be most afraid of meeting and why.
bta bat
_____________________
1 tlebee _____________________
2 atn _____________________
3 rbbait _____________________
4 brea _____________________
5 lfwo _____________________
6 skena _____________________
7 sdpier _____________________
8 rrelsqui _____________________
9 gfro _____________________
10 ilasn _____________________

8
Reading B1 Preliminary
3 Choose the best answer, A, B, C or D to complete the text
about the story.
Destination Karminia _______ is a story about a young professor called
Sonia Peng (1) _______ wants (2) _______ the lost city of Karminia.
It is said to be situated at the (3) _______ of Ben Nevis, the
highest mountain (4) _______ Scotland. She needs help and asks
three students to (5) _______ her on the expedition. The students are
all (6) _______ keen and can’t wait to start this exciting adventure.

A speaks B says C makes D is

1 A who B whose C she D which
2 A find B to find C finding D found
3 A back B bottom C top D side
4 A to B on C at D in
5 A meet B keep C join D carry
6 A a lot B very C much D many

Writing
4 Complete the sentences with the correct adjective.
bumpy tired sleepy dirty excited hungry

excited
I am so _____________ about going on the safari!
1 Our car was extremely _____________ after we had driven
through the muddy field.
2 The road is very _____________ because it’s full of holes.
3 She felt really _____________ because she’d woken up very
early.
4 After visiting five countries in ten days, we were really _______ .
5 I’m so _____________ . I could eat a massive pizza!

9
 Chapter 1

An Unexpected Email

2 It’s a grey, rainy day in York. Simon is at home

with his friend, Jasmine, who’s searching online.
Simon is looking worriedly out of the window,
waiting for their friend, Stella, to arrive.

Simon and ‘She isn’t here yet and we have to work on a

Jasmine are
waiting for research project for school. This time I have to
their friend, get a very good mark! It’s really important that I
Stella, to
keep up my average1,’ says Simon.
arrive to work
on a research ‘But you don’t have an average to keep up!’
project for Jasmine disagrees2.
school. Simon
isn’t doing ‘It’s not my fault: not all my subjects are
too well at interesting! My favourite subject is archaeology3
school. He’d
like to study
and I’d like to study it at school. I can ask the head4
archaeology. to organise afternoon classes in archaeology.’

1
average the result you get when you add all the marks up and
divide by the number of subjects
2
disagree have a different opinion from someone
3
archaeology the study of human history through buildings and
objects found under the ground in ancient sites
4
head the person in charge of a school

10
 Destination Karminia

Finally the doorbell rings. Simon gets up and

goes to open the door. It’s Stella. She’s covered
in mud1 and dripping wet2 from head to toe. She
looks pleased with herself.
‘Exactly twenty-eight minutes! Not bad for a Stella is late
because she
beginner!’ She shows them her her greasy3, filthy4 had to change
hands. the tyre on
her scooter.
‘I got a a puncture5 in my scooter tyre6 near But Jasmine
Clifton’s Tower. It took me twenty-eight minutes is more
to change it. Don’t you think I’m brilliant?’ asks interested in
the email she
Stella. gets about
‘Well … maybe with a bit of practice you could Karminia.

do better, couldn’t you, Jasmine?’ replies Simon.

‘Not now,’ says Jasmine, busy looking at to her
computer screen. ‘I’ve just received a very strange
email. Listen to this: WANTED: archaeology
enthusiasts online. Are you ready to leave
immediately? Destination: Karminia. If you want
to find out more, go to www.karminia.co.uk.’

1
mud
2
dripping wet very wet with water falling on the floor
3
greasy oily from the scooter
4
filthy very dirty
5
puncture a hole in a tyre
6
tyre black part of a wheel

11
 Maureen Simpson

Sonia Peng, a After a quick search online, Jasmine finds the

professor of
archaeology,
site mentioned in the email.
is looking for ‘Here we are! This is in the email. It belongs
assistants to
to Sonia Peng, an archaeology professor at the
find Karminia,
an ancient University of York. She’s very young to be a
city that university lecturer,’ says Jasmine ‘It says here
disappeared
centuries that Professor Peng has found an ancient map in
ago. The a library. It contains very important information
three friends
are really
needed to find Karminia, the red-roofed1 city…
interested Karminia and its wonderful paintings and statues
and Jasmine disappeared several centuries ago because of an
suggests
visiting Sonia. earthquake2. Professor Peng is urgently looking
for assistants who are interested in archaeology.
Destination: Karminia!’ says Jasmine.
‘Reply immediately then! It sounds really
interesting!’ exclaims3 Simon.
‘Look, here’s her address. I’ll reply and then…
why don’t we go and see her?’ suggests Jasmine.

>
Jasmine, at
the computer,
and Simon
1
and Stella are
red-roofed with red roofs looking at the
2
earthquake a sudden dramatic movement of the earth’s surface Destination
3
exclaim shout excitedly
Karminia site.
12
Destination Karminia

13
 Maureen Simpson

The others think it’s a great idea and go to the

address given on the site straight away.
‘Here it is: 14 Low Ousegate!’ says Simon ‘Let’s
hope she’s in.’
‘Well, here’s the doorbell,’ says Stella.
Ding dong!

The professor ‘Hello, we’re looking for Professor …’ says Simon

is really
friendly and as a woman appears on the doorstep.
Simon and his ‘Hello, I’m Professor Peng. I bet1 you’re
friends are
Jasmine, Simon and Stella,’ she says smiling and
really keen on
becoming her introducing herself to the group, ‘I’ve just read
assistants in your email! Come on in!’
the search for
Karminia. ‘We replied immediately because it just
seemed too good to be true!’ says Simon.
‘I’m sure I’ve found the right place to begin my
search and finally uncover Karminia! I have all
the information and now all I have to do is find
some keen assistants.’
‘Well, that’s what we’re here for!’ replies Simon.

1
I bet I’m sure
14
 Destination Karminia

‘You certainly are enthusiastic1, aren’t you?

Why don’t we have some tea? Then I can give you
all the details,’ adds Sonia.

Meanwhile, the message Sonia sent out to attract Philip

Cummins,
interested archaeology enthusiasts, also got to a greedy
Philip Cummins’ computer. Cummins, a greedy2 businessperson,
also reads
businessperson with no interest in archaeology, Sonia’s email.
is extremely keen on making money, at all costs! He’s only
‘Look here, this seems interesting! A wonderful interested
in finding
archaeological find… these things always interest Karminia so
people and where there are a lovt of people, he can make
money out of it.
there’s always a way of making a lot of money!
Ha ha!’ chuckles3 Philip, ‘I want to meet Professor
Peng.’

Meanwhile, at Sonia’s, our friends forget to drink

their tea because they’re so interested in the
history of Karminia.
‘And that’s it!’ says Sonia. ‘I’ve told you all there
is to know about Karminia. Now all you have to
do is decide whether you want to help find the
ruins!’

1
enthusiastic (n. enthusiast, enthusiasm) very keen on
2
greedy when you want more than you need
3
chuckle laugh quietly to yourself
15
 Maureen Simpson

‘Wow!’ exclaims Stella, who’s speechless1 after

listening to the story.
Simon, Stella ‘When do we leave?’ asks Simon, carried away2
and Jasmine
decide to help with enthusiasm.
Sonia find ‘It’s a very interesting project, but are you sure
the ruins of
Karminia.
we can help you?’ asks Jasmine.
They’re on ‘Yes, you could be a great help to me. But what
holiday for
about school?’ asks Sonia.
a week so
there’s no ‘We’re on holiday for a week, starting
problem with tomorrow’, answers Simon.
school and
Sonia thinks ‘That’s settled3 then. A week is more than
they can enough to carry out our search. I think five days
manage to do
will be enough!’ says Sonia, ‘We’ll head for4 our
everything in
five days. destination tomorrow.’

>
Sonia shows
the three
Think friends a map
What kind and all the
of projects information
1
do you do speechless when you’re so suprised or excited that you can’t she has about
with your
think of anything to say Karminia.
2
carried away very excited They can’t
classmates at 3
that’s settled that’s decided
school? 4 wait to start
head for go to
the search.
16
Destination Karminia

17
After-reading Activities • Chapter 1

21st
Speaking Century
Skills
1 In Chapter 1, we find out some things about Simon, Jasmine
and Stella. Discuss these questions with your partner.
1 Do you do your homework with your friends, like them?
2 Do you get good marks at school or are you a bit like Simon?
3 Simon would like to study archaeology.
Which subject would you like to learn
about?
4 Stella has a scooter. What about you?
How do you get to school?
5 Jasmine looks for Sonia’s website
online. What do you go online for?
6 What do you do when you have
a week’s holiday from school?

Grammar
2 Complete the sentences with the correct phrasal verbs.
keep up look for find out carry out head for
look for the lost
The three friends are going on an expedition to ______
city of Karminia.
1 I must ______ my average!
2 To ______ more about Karminia, you can visit the website.
3 The three friends and Professor Peng are going to ______ their
destination the following day.
4 Professor Peng thinks they’ll only need a week to ______ their
search.

18
 Writing B1 Preliminary
3 Read Professor Peng’s email and the notes that Jasmine has
made. Imagine you’re Jasmine and use all your notes to write
your answer to the email
Introduce
myself and yes, - no
say why love Archaeology Enthusiasts. school for a
archaeology. WANTED: archaeology enthusiasts online. week.
Are you ready to leave immediately?
When leave? Destination: Karminia.
If you want to find out more, go to www.karminia.co.uk
Hope to hear from lots of you soon!
Great site
because ….
Professor Sonia Peng

Write about 100 words.

Before-reading Activity

Reading and Listening

4a Tick (3) the things you think will happen in Chapter 2.
1 They’ll have an argument. ■
2 One of them will have an accident. ■
3 They’ll leave early in the morning. ■
4 They’ll lose their backpacks. ■
5 They’ll become famous. ■
6 Philip Cummins will steal the map. ■

3 4b Now listen to the beginning of Chapter 2 and check

your answers.

19
After-reading Activities • Chapter 5

Reading
1 Answer the following questions about Chapter 5.
Who phones the newspaper?
Philip Cummins
______________________________________________
1 Who gets angry about what Jasmine says?
______________________________________________
2 Who’s good at karate?
______________________________________________
3 Who wants to make money out of Karminia?
______________________________________________
4 Who finally gives in?
______________________________________________
5 Who arrives by helicopter?
______________________________________________
6 Who is caught by the police?
______________________________________________

Reading B1 Preliminary
2 Complete the text about Chapter 5 with one word in each
space.
with
Philip Cummins and his men start fighting ________ Sonia, Jasmine
and Stella, but then Simon comes to the (1) ________ with a gun.
All three men are scared and (2) ________ the girls go. Then Simon
(3) ________ the men get back into their helicopter and fly away.
The girls are really surprised that Simon had a gun, but then they find
(4) ________ that it was only a torch. While they’re celebrating the
fact that (5) ________ their troubles are over, a journalist arrives in
a helicopter because he wants to write an (6) ________ about their
incredible discovery of the archaeological site.

56
Writing
3 Imagine what Ian Print wrote in his newspaper article.
Complete the article using your own words. Write about
100 words.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS DISCOVER LOST CITY

___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________
___________________________________________________

21st
Speaking Century
Skills
4 At the end of the story, Sonia and her assistants manage to
find the ancient site of Karminia. Answer these questions with
a partner. Search online for ideas.
1 Which famous archaeological sites are there in your country?
2 Who used to live on these sites and what period
are they from?
3 Which famous archaeological site do you know
of in the world?
4 When was it discovered?
5 What can we learn from archaeology?
6 Would you like to study this subject at school?
Why / Why not?

57
Focus on...

Scotland

Scotland, land of castles. In the picture, Inverness Castle.

Scotland is situated to the north Scotland has over 790 islands,

of England and is surrounded with only 97 of them inhabited.
by the North Sea to the east, The islands are divided into
the Atlantic Ocean to the north four main groups: the Shetland
and west, and the Irish Sea to Isles, the Orkneys, the Inner and
the south-west. The population Outer Hebrides. Some of these
of Scotland is about 5.5 million islands can be reached from the
with most people living on the mainland by bridge, while others
Scottish mainland. In addition, only by boat.
58
 An independent
Scotland
Scotland is part of Great Britain,
together with England and Wales.
However, before 1707, Scotland was
an independent kingdom before it
united with England to form a political
union known as the United Kingdom
of Great Britain. In 1997, the Scottish
Parliament was reintroduced which
has the power to decide matters where
Scotland is concerned, but has limited
Edinburgh is Scotland’s capital city. powers in other areas. However,
the head of state remains the British
monarch, Queen Elizabeth II.

Scottish icons
Scotland is a country full of
traditions and myths which are
known all over the world - from
its traditional drink, whisky, to its
traditional dish, haggis (a sheep’s
stomach filled with meat), its
national symbol, the thistle, to its
traditional musical instrument,
the bagpipes, its traditional
dress, the kilt, made of tartan
fabric, to the mystery of the
Loch Ness Monster. Festive Pipe Parade.

Scotland is also proud of a large number of famous Scots

such as Alexander Graham Bell (the inventor of the
telephone), Sir Alexander Fleming (who discovered
penicillin), Sir William Wallace (who fought for
Scottish freedom), Sir J.M Barrie (the author of
Peter Pan), Robert Burns (Scotland’s most famous
The haggis is the poet), John Logie Baird (who developed the first
national dish of Scotland. TV station in the world) and Sean Connery (a famous actor).

59
Focus
Focus on...
on...

Ancient Civilisations
in Britain
Although Karminia is purely a fictional place, Britain is full of the
remains of various ancient civilisations which have invaded and settled
in Britain throughout history. Here are just a few examples of relics
left behind by different populations and cultures.

Stonehenge
This is probably one of the why this monument was built,
most famous sites in the it’s believed to be a temple
world. It’s situated in Wiltshire constructed to worship pagan
and it’s thought that it was gods. Unfortunately, over the
built around 3000 BC. It’s years, people have destroyed or
composed of a number of taken away many of the original
standing stones arranged in a stones.
circle. Although nobody knows

60
 Hadrian’s Wall
Hadrian’s Wall is 73,5 miles
(177 kilometres) long and
was built across northern
England by the Romans in
about 122 AD. It’s considered
to be the most important
monument built by the Romans
in Britain. The Roman Emperor
Hadrian ordered the wall to
be built in order to stop the
invasion of England by various
tribes in Scotland. It was also
Uffington built as a symbol of Roman
White horse power.

Passing through the county of

Oxfordshire, you can’t help but
notice a gigantic white chalk figure
painted on the hill above the town of
Uffington. It’s thought to represent a
horse but its origins are unclear.
People believe it’s a tribal symbol and
could represent a Celtic God, while
others believe that it represents the
dragon killed by Saint George, the
patron saint of England.

York and the Vikings

A thousand years ago, York was an important city in the Viking
world. It was known as Jorvik and visitors to York today can
visit the famous Jorvik museum where relics from the Viking
civilisation can be seen. The Vikings chose York as it’s situated
on a wide river, so it was suitable for their longships. The first
Viking invasion took place in 866 AD and continued until 1066,
the year of the Norman invasion. The Vikings brought trade
and prosperity to York, and as many of them married local
people, their influence can still be seen in the city today.

61
Test Yourself
1 Read the summary of the story and correct the mistakes.
There are ten in total.
It’s a sunny day and Simon and Jasmine are reading the newspaper. They
see an advert looking for archaeology enthusiasts who are interested in
finding a lost city in the desert. They contact the archaeologist, Professor
Peng, who is organising the expedition and arrange their trip together.
Philip Cummins, a greedy teacher, listens to their plans and decides to
follow them, in order to claim the lost city for himself. They set off and
head for Mount Everest, in the Scottish highlands. During their journey
they look for clues and find pieces of glass that will help them discover
where the lost city is. After a tiring few weeks, they find all the pieces
and are able to find the entrance to Karminia. Inside, they find a room
full of jewels. Suddenly, the greedy teacher and his two assistants arrive
in order to claim Karminia for themselves. A struggle follows and finally
Cummins and his men give in when Simon tricks them into thinking
he has a knife. A journalist arrives by ski lift and interviews the four
archaeologists. He writes the best story of his life and the four friends tell
the world about the lost city of Karminia.
rainy
1 ______________________ 6 ______________________
2 ______________________ 7 ______________________
3 ______________________ 8 ______________________
4 ______________________ 9 ______________________
5 ______________________ 10 ______________________

2 Read the definitions and write the correct words.

a hole in a tyre: a____________________________________
puncture
1 very, very old: _____________________________________
2 when the earth moves and opens: _______________________
3 the remains of an old city: _____________________________
4 when the sun rises: __________________________________
5 to follow somebody: _________________________________
6 a very dark red colour: _______________________________
7 a big chair where a king or queen sits. ____________________

62
Syllabus

Topics
Adventure
Ancient civilisations
Friendship
Nature
Technology

Tenses
Present simple Present continuous
Past simple Past continuous
Present perfect simple Past perfect simple

Verb forms
Future forms with present continuous, going to and will
Passive forms: present and past simple
Verbs + base form / infinitive / gerund
Phrasal verbs

Modals
Can could
Would shall might
Must have to need
Used to

Conditional sentences
Type 0, 1 and 2

Adjectives
Comparative and superlative forms

Adverbs
Regular and irregular forms

63
 Teen Readers

Stage 1
Maureen Simpson, In Search of a Missing Friend
Charles Dickens, Oliver Twist
Geoffrey Chaucer, The Canterbury Tales
Janet Borsbey & Ruth Swan, The Boat Race Mystery
Lucy Maud Montgomery, Anne of Green Gables
Mark Twain, A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Angela Tomkinson, Great Friends!
Edith Nesbit, The Railway Children
Eleanor H. Porter, Pollyanna
Anna Sewell, Black Beauty
Kenneth Grahame, The Wind in the Willows

Stage 2
Elizabeth Ferretti, Dear Diary…
Angela Tomkinson, Loving London
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Mary Flagan, The Egyptian Souvenir
Maria Luisa Banfi, A Faraway World
Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden
Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island
Elizabeth Ferretti, Adventure at Haydon Point
William Shakespeare, The Tempest
Angela Tomkinson, Enjoy New York
Frances Hodgson Burnett, Little Lord Fauntleroy
Michael Lacey Freeman, Egghead
Michael Lacey Freeman, Dot to Dot
Silvana Sardi, The Boy with the Red Balloon
Silvana Sardi, Scotland is Magic!
Silvana Sardi, Garpur: My Iceland
Silvana Sardi, Follow your Dreams
Gabriele Rebagliati, Naoko: My Japan

Stage 3
Anna Claudia Ramos, Expedition Brazil
Charles Dickens, David Copperfield
Mary Flagan, Val’s Diary
Maureen Simpson, Destination Karminia
Anonymous, Robin Hood
Jack London, The Call of the Wild
Louisa May Alcott, Little Women
Gordon Gamlin, Allan: My Vancouver