Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. renovations
    • ex. My office building is really old and needs a lot of renovations.
  2. a perk
    • ex. Free coffee is one of the perks of working at a café.
  3. property taxes
    • ex. My parents pay a lot of property taxes because they own several buildings.
  4. fix up
    • ex. My brother plans to fix up my dad’s old motorcycle.
  5. a grove
    • ex. There are a lot of orange groves in Florida.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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Troina, a historic village in Sicily, Italy, is auctioning off houses for €1 (about ¥128). The town is also giving buyers up to €25,000 (about ¥3.2 million) to help pay for renovations. Troina is auctioning off 30 houses at first, but it plans to sell 100 more homes in the future.

In addition to the low price tag and money for renovations, Troina is offering new homeowners another perk: no property taxes for up to three years. However, buyers must begin renovations within two years. The village explained that most of the €1 homes are in need of major repairs and upgrades. Troina is also offering homes that have already been fixed up, but they cost at least €10,000. Buyers of these homes can receive up to €8,000 from the village.

Troina is located at the edge of Nebrodi Park, Sicily’s largest national park. There are also lakes, orange and olive groves, and an active volcano nearby. The village is considered to be one of the most beautiful towns in Italy.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

€1 Houses in Troina

  • Do you think buying a €1 house in Troina is a good idea? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you agree that there should be a deadline for the renovations (ex. within 2 years, within 5 years)? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Do you think your country should offer the same (ex. 100-yen houses, money to renovate old houses)? Why or why not? Discuss.

Living Abroad

  • Do you think the cheap houses in Troina will encourage many people to move to Italy? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of living abroad? Why? Discuss.
  • Imagine that you can live in any country you want for one year. What country will you choose? Why? Discuss.