Greece was in trouble because it took on too much debt.
But other countries have agreed to help Greece by lending the country more than 130-billion euros. Euros (€) are the units of money used in 17 countries in Europe including Greece, France and Germany.
The countries that have agreed to bail Greece out of its money problems are demanding something in return. They are insisting that the government of Greece spend less.
For example, Greece must pay its workers less. It must also reduce the amount of money paid to workers once they retire.
These cuts to spending that will affect the people of Greece are called “austerity measures.”
If the plan goes ahead, the austerity measures will also reduce, or cut, the amount of money spent on health care and education. This will have an effect on hospitals and schools in Greece.
Spending on the military to defend the country will also be cut, along with special payments to families that have at least three children.
Many Greeks are not happy about the planned spending cuts which will add up to more than three billion euros. Thousands have been protesting by marching in the streets of several cities in Greece.
Some of the protests in Greece have been peaceful, but others have been violent and included fighting with police and burning buildings.
This is the second time Greece has been bailed out of money problems in the past two years. Some countries who lent Greece money have agreed that they only have to pay back some of it.
Still, other countries in Europe want Greece to work hard to pay back the money it has borrowed. They worry that if Greece doesn’t get the situation under control, the euro currency will no longer be popular and Greece’s problems will spread to other nations.
CURRICULUM CONNECTIONS
By Jonathan Tilly
Writing/Discussion Prompt
The European Union had many rules that Greece had to accept before they could receive any money. For example, the EU insisted that a team of inspectors stay permanently in Greece to inspect the country’s spending. Some people, including many Greeks, believe that these measures are meant to embarrass Greece and take away their ability to rule themselves (sovereignty). Is the EU just being cautious? Is the EU trying to send a message to Greece? If so, what is it? Or are Greeks being too sensitive?
Reading Prompt: Demonstrating Understanding
Summarize today’s article by writing three sentences that include the most important facts. Compare your summary with a classmate. How many of the facts were the same? How many were different?
Junior
Demonstrate understanding of a variety of texts by summarizing important
ideas and citing supporting details (OME, Reading: 1.4).
Intermediate
Demonstrate understanding of increasingly complex texts by summarizing
important ideas and citing a variety of details that support the main idea (OME, Reading: 1.4).
Grammar Feature: Preposition
A preposition is a word that tells a connection between two things in a sentence. The types of connections that prepositions tell are location, time, direction, and relationship. For example, in the sentence below, the word “to” is a preposition because it tells who will receive the money being paid.
“It must also reduce the amount of money paid to workers once they retire.”
Below are a list of prepositions. Write four sentences. In the first sentence, use a preposition to tell location. In the second, use a preposition to tell time. In the third, use a preposition to tell direction. In the fourth, use a preposition to tell relationship.
Aboard, about, above, across, after, against, along, amid, among, anti, around, as, at, before, behind, below, beneath, beside, besides, between, beyond, but, by, concerning, considering, despite, down, during, except, excepting, excluding, following, for, from, in, inside, into, like, minus, near, of, off, on, onto, opposite, outside, over, past, per, plus, regarding, round, save, since, than, through, to, toward, towards, under, underneath, unlike, until, up, upon, versus, via, with, within, without.
