Introduction
In February 1943, the Italians, who had captured the Greek island of Zakynthos two years earlier, threw the island’s bishop, Chrysostom, in an Athens jail. Ten months later he returned home to find the island now in the hands of the Nazis.
IT was in December 1943 that the anxious mayor of Zakynthos, Lukas Karrer, came to ask Bishop Chrysostom’s advice. The Nazi commandant had given him seventy-two hours to compile a list of all the Jews of the island, a distasteful task as Karrer guessed that they would go to the Polish concentration camps.*
Karrer was fingering a list of 275 names, but Chrysostom told him to burn it at once. Instead, the two men went to the commandant, and with a cold ‘Here is the list of Jews you required’, handed over a scrap of paper with two names scribbled on it. One read ‘Karrer’. The other read ‘Chrysostom’.
While the commandant fumed, the bishop hastily made plans for hiding the Jews in the island’s rural villages. By the time a small German force came for them in August 1944, rounding them up was wholly impracticable, and their ordeal ended on October 14th when British Marines liberated the island.
That is to say, German camps in occupied Poland. See also The Girl in the Barn.
Précis
During the Second World War, the Nazis took control of the Greek island of Zakynthos, and demanded a list of Jews for deportation to the concentration camps. The mayor and the bishop of Zakynthos handed in a list, but the only names on it were their own; meanwhile the island’s Jews were hidden among the islanders, and survived the war. (60 / 60 words)
During the Second World War, the Nazis took control of the Greek island of Zakynthos, and demanded a list of Jews for deportation to the concentration camps. The mayor and the bishop of Zakynthos handed in a list, but the only names on it were their own; meanwhile the island’s Jews were hidden among the islanders, and survived the war.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 65 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 55 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, although, besides, despite, if, not, until, whether.
Archive
Word Games
Sevens Based on this passage
Suggest answers to this question. See if you can limit one answer to exactly seven words.
Variations: 1.expand your answer to exactly fourteen words. 2.expand your answer further, to exactly twenty-one words. 3.include one of the following words in your answer: if, but, despite, because, (al)though, unless.
Jigsaws Based on this passage
Express the ideas below in a single sentence, using different words as much as possible. Do not be satisfied with the first answer you think of; think of several, and choose the best.
Spinners Find in Think and Speak
For each group of words, compose a sentence that uses all three. You can use any form of the word: for example, cat → cats, go → went, or quick → quickly, though neigh → neighbour is stretching it a bit.
This exercise uses words found in the accompanying passage.
1 Give. Whole. Would.
2 Hand. Have. Round.
3 Guess. Mayor. Other.
Variations: 1. include direct and indirect speech 2. include one or more of these words: although, because, despite, either/or, if, unless, until, when, whether, which, who 3. use negatives (not, isn’t, neither/nor, never, nobody etc.)
High Tiles Find in Think and Speak
Make words (three letters or more) from the seven letters showing below, using any letter once only. Each letter carries a score. What is the highest-scoring word you can make?
Your Words ()
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