Milan's Cycling Bookseller Intermediate.pdf

Published by Macmillan Education Ltd. © Macmillan Education Limited, 2021.
Home >> Adults >> General English >> News Lessons >> WEEKLY TOPICAL NEWS LESSONS
Warmer
a. Think about the books you have read in the last year. Tick all the different ways that you got them.
• bought in a bookshop
• bought online
• borrowed from a library
• borrowed from someone I know
• bought in a second-hand bookshop
• given as a present
• other …
b. Talk to a partner and discuss your answers.
Key words
a.
Match the words in the box to the definitions below. Then find them in the article to read them in context.
The paragraph numbers are given to help you.
affectionately challenge discount independent knight-errant
ordinarily practically solely solidarity symphony orchestra
unviable venture
1. a man who arrives and helps you (para 1)
2. in a way that shows that you care about someone (para 1)
3. almost (para 3)
4. only (para 5)
5. a large group of classical musicians on different instruments
6. not able to be done (para 6)
7. stand up and fight against something (para 11)
8. a new business or activity (para 12)
9. in normal situations (para 12)
10. a reduction in the price of something (para 14)
11. not belonging to or controlled by a larger company (para 16)
12. the support that people in a group give each other (para 17)
b. Use some of the key words above to complete these sentences.
1. We prefer to work with __________________________ film producers and directors.
2. Customers can get a 15 per cent __________________________ if they pay before July.
3. He goes to the park __________________________ every day with his two dogs.
4. She touched her grandmother’s hand __________________________ and gave her a warm smile.
5. They were __________________________ interested in projects that would make a lot of money.
6. The project is a joint __________________________ between French and German companies.
Milan’s bicycling bookseller takes on the online giants
Level: Intermediate
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(para 6)

Home Adults General English News Lessons WEEKLY TOPICAL NEWS LESSONS
Angela Giuffrida
9 December, 2020
Customers see Luca Ambrogio Santini as a
knight-errant as he cycles around parts of Milan
on his red bike delivering books to people’s
homes. They affectionately call him the “Don
Quixote of booksellers”.
“Quixote went to fight against the windmills,”
Santini said of the main character in the classic
novel by Miguel de Cervantes. “My windmills
are the multinational online sellers.”
One of those sellers is of course Amazon. The
former bookshop owner says: “I practically do
what Amazon do, and often I’m faster.”
Santini has been fighting the online giants since
2015, when he became the first bookseller in
Italy to start home deliveries.
Called LibriSottoCasa (Books on the Doorstep),
Santini puts his books into a small box on
the front of his bike before delivering them
to customers in the southern districts of
Milan. Before the coronavirus pandemic, he
participated in book fairs and other events.
Now he survives solely on home deliveries.
But the pandemic has, for him, had a positive
side: people have spent more time at home and
rediscovered the joy of books.
For 20 years, Santini owned a bookshop in
Milan, opposite the home of the Giuseppe Verdi
Symphony Orchestra, which made the shop
particularly popular for people seeking specialist
music books. But he was forced to close in 2013
after the business became financially unviable.
“It had been a great experience,” said Santini.
“But the online competition made things more
difficult. I tried and tried, and people in the
area also tried to support the shop, but we had
to close.”
Santini discovered he could apply for a licence
to work as a travelling salesperson. And so he
became the first to apply for a licence for the
sale of books.
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“I have always cycled around the city and so
decided to try it out,” he said.
People can order through Santini’s Facebook
page or by sending him a message on
WhatsApp. They can pay online or in cash.
He, and around 2,000 other booksellers
across Italy, recently got together to challenge
Amazon. They set up their own website, called
Bookdealer.
It is the first venture like that in Italy and allows
people to search for books and to find the
nearest bookshop to them. They can also take
virtual tours of shops, before buying online for
home delivery. Customers can also get the
kind of advice they would ordinarily get from an
independent bookseller.
Santini believes it is this personal attention that
sets them apart from the online giants.
“Bookdealer started at the end of August, 2020,
and many people are turning to this option,”
said Santini. “They might not get a discount
like on Amazon but they do get good service,
professionalism and the chance to speak to a
book expert.”
People are using the service and that is
a positive sign, especially after data from
the beginning of 2020 showed that 2,300
bookshops in Italy had closed in the past
five years.
Santini said the pandemic has helped because
people have realized the importance of
independent local businesses.
“Customers are showing solidarity,” he added.
“The situation is still not easy for many but the
personal connection has helped people feel
united with us.”
© Guardian News and Media 2020
First published in The Guardian, 09/12/2020
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‘I’m often faster’: Milan’s bicycling bookseller takes on the online giants
Level: Intermediate
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Comprehension check
Choose the best answer according to the text.
1. Don Quixote is …
a. a former bookshop owner.
b. the main character in a classic novel.
c. an Italian website that sells books.
2. Luca Santini …
a. used to run a bookshop in northern Italy.
b. is the author of a classic novel about windmills.
c. plays in a symphony orchestra.
3. LibriSottoCasa is the name of …
a. the opera house opposite the bookshop.
b. a new book-delivery service.
c. on online group of independent booksellers.
4. The bookshop in the article was forced to close …
a. because of the pandemic.
b. when the owner became too ill to run it.
c. when it no longer made enough money.
5. Santini’s new service became popular when people realized that …
a. they had more time at home to read and that they liked it.
b. online booksellers are killing shopping centres.
c. they could not buy specialist music books from Amazon.
6. Santini delivers books …
a. at night because he doesn’t have a licence to sell.
b. in a small white van.
c. to customers in the southern parts of Milan by bike.
Using key language
a.
Complete the phrasal verbs and phrases from the text using the words in the box. Find the phrases in the
text to check your answers.
apart on out to up
1. take fight or compete against someone
2. try do something to see whether you like it
3. set start something such as a business
4. set someone make someone or something different and special
5. turn decide to use a different option or offer
Level: Intermediate
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b. Use the phrasal verbs and phrases to complete these sentences.
1. I plan to my new running shoes this weekend.
2. Joanne her software company in 2015.
3. Their large ears them from other dogs.
4. These days, more people are organic products.
5. This evening, Manchester United will Barcelona.
Discussion
• There’s a new book that you really want to read. What will you do? Explain your decision.
• buy the hardcover version immediately
• wait for it to come out as a paperback
• download it as an ebook and read it on an electronic device
• listen to it as an audiobook
• other …
• What do you do with books when you have finished reading them?
• What is more important for you, a discount or good service? Say why.
In your own words
a. What book(s) are you reading now? What have you read recently?
b. Write a short review of a book you have read recently. Write 200 to 300 words.
Level: Intermediate
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Level: Intermediate – Teacher’s Notes
10. discount
11. independent
12. solidarity
b. Before reading the article carefully, students
use some of the key words to fill the gaps in the
sentences to ensure that they understand and know
how the words are used in other contexts.
Key:
1. independent
2. discount
3. practically
4. affectionately
5. solely
6. venture
3. Comprehension check
Students work with a partner and choose the best option
(a, b or c) to answer each question correctly according to
the information in the article.
Key:
1. b
2. a
3. b
4. c
5. a
6. c
4. Using key language
a. Students write the words from the box onto the
correct lines to make prepositional and phrasal verbs
from the article that match the meanings given next
to each one. Then they should find and underline
them in the article and read them again in context.
Key:
1. on
2. out
3. up
4. apart
5. to
1. Warmer
a. To introduce the topic of books and how people get
them, first ask students to think about the books they
have read over the past year and tick all the different
ways they got them. If they got them in a way not
listed, ask them to write that next to other. For
example, maybe they got them from a market.
b. They share their answers with a partner and provide
a little bit more information. Ask for class feedback
before moving onto task 2.
2. Key words
a. Students read the words in the box and match them
to the definitions below. Tell them to scan the article
and underline the words as they find them. This will
help them check their answers as well as see how
the words are used in context.
Key:
1. knight-errant
2. affectionately
3. practically
4. solely
5. symphony orchestra
6. unviable
7. challenge
8. venture
9. ordinarily
Article summary: A former bookshop owner
keeps his business alive, and fights online
booksellers, by providing a personalized
delivery service to his customers.
Time: 90 minutes
Skills: Reading, Speaking, Writing
Language focus: Vocabulary
Materials needed: One copy of the
worksheet per student
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Level: Intermediate – Teacher’s Notes
b. Students use the phrases to complete the five
example sentences.
Key:
1. try out
2. set up
3. set … apart
4. turning to
5. take on
5. Discussion
Students discuss the questions that are directly related to
the topic of the article.
6. In your own words
a. Students first share with each other what book
or books they are reading now and/or have read
recently.
b. Ask them to write a short review of a book they have
read, preferably one that awakened interest in other
students when they mentioned it. They then share
their reviews with the rest of the class. They can be
corrected beforehand, where necessary.
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