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GENERAL ENGLISH · GENERAL ISSUES · UPPER-INTERMEDIATE (B2-C1)

A LUCKY
FIND
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1 Warm up

There are many ways to buy things second-hand. Look at the table and answer the questions in pairs
or small groups.

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A LUCKY FIND

1. Which of these do you have in your town or city?

2. Have you ever bought something second-hand in any of these ways? Would you like to?
3. What’s the best second-hand bargain you ever found?
4. Why do you think people like second-hand shopping?
5. Put these ideas in order from most to least important. Can you think of any other reasons?

• to find out more about the past ___

• to have or own unique items ___
• to help the environment by reusing and recycling items ___
• to make money by reselling the items later ___
• to save money ___

2 Reading for the main idea

You are going to read a news story called, "A Lucky Find - a second-hand bargain brings unexpected
riches." What do you think this story is going to be about?

Skim the article quickly and then try to remember the answers to these questions.

1. Who had a lucky find?

2. What did they buy?

3. Where did they buy it?

4. How much did they pay for the item?

5. How much did they sell the item for?

6. How did they find out the item’s true value?

7. Why was this good luck so important for this person?

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A LUCKY FIND

A Lucky Find
A second-hand bargain brings unexpected riches

1. An unemployed American man was browsing at his local thrift store for items to restore and resell when he noticed
a poster featuring a work by Pablo Picasso. He paid $14 for what he saw as a nice commercial print. However,
after inspecting the markings on it, he realised it was worth more: the signed Picasso print eventually sold for
$7,000.

2. "A pretty good return," said Zachary Bodish of Ohio, laughing. "Can’t get that at the bank."

3. The 46-year-old Bodish said that an online search led him to the print’s history as a French exhibition
advertisement. He began to examine some faded red writing on the print, which he originally thought were
random pencil marks.

4. "It wasn’t until I realized ... that those little red marks were right where the signature should be, that I got out a
stronger magnifying glass and determined that ‘Holy cow! It’s really a Picasso!’" Bodish said.

5. Bodish said he met with a representative from Christie’s auction house to authenticate the piece. A Christie’s
representative confirmed that Bodish consulted a specialist, but the auction house said its policy is not to comment
on items that aren’t sold through it. In this case, Bodish decided to sell the print privately.

6. Lisa Florman, an associate history professor at Ohio State University, has written a book on Picasso. She is familiar
with Bodish’s print only through photos but said it’s very unlikely that the signature is forged because its resell
value is relatively low. Criminals are far more likely to try to pass off an entire painting as an authentic Picasso on
the international art market, as happened in Madrid with a copy of the 1964 painting, "Buste de Jeune (Bust of a
Young Man)" which went for £1 million pounds before the crime was discovered.

7. Florman said Picasso designed the print to advertise a 1958 exhibition of his ceramic work in Vallauris, France.
There were 100 prints made for the exhibition and Picasso signed them all. Florman said Bodish’s print may be
one of only a handful that Picasso personally reviewed before they were mass-produced. According to Florman,
Picasso signed so many prints that it’s plausible that the piece would end up somewhere as far away as a thrift
store in the midwestern United States. "It’s kind of a fun story," she said. "There’s nothing about it that seems
fishy."

8. Ed Zettler, a retired English teacher, claims the print sat in his basement for years before he decided to donate it
to the thrift store. Zettler has no hard feelings. "I gave it away. Someone else found it. He fortunately saw more.
It’s his." Zettler said. "That’s the risk you take when you bring something to the thrift store."

9. Bodish says he plans to use the money for day-to-day bills, including utilities, food and even more thrift store
finds. "It’s just been a difficult struggle to make ends meet," he said. "I may have been fated to find it."

Sources: independent.co.uk, theguardian.com

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A LUCKY FIND

3 Reading for details

Match the words in bold to these meanings.

Group 1

1. describing a copy of something that was made illegally so as to deceive people

2. describing an unavoidable event that was perhaps planned by God

3. having a less bright colour than previously

4. likely to be true, believable

5. seeming false or dishonest

6. without an obvious meaning or significance

Group 2

1. an image created on paper with ink so that multiple copies can be made

2. dishonestly pretend that something is another thing

3. give something away so that another person of organization can benefit from
it
4. look at something very closely to get more information

5. make sure that something is real, or what someone claims it to be

6. the profit that you get from a business activity or investment

1. What part of speech are all the items in Group 1?

2. Find this same part of speech for the word authenticate in the text.

3. Group 1 has three items with the same ending. Which one has a different pronunciation pattern?

4 Language in context
Read the sentences from the article and choose the best words to complete the phrases in bold. Say
what each phrase means.

1. Florman said Bodish’s print may be one of only a handful / mouthful / spoonful that Picasso
personally reviewed before they were mass-produced.

2. Zettler has no difficult / hard / hate feelings. "I gave it away. Someone else found it. He fortunately
saw more. It’s his." Zettler said.

3. Bodish says he plans to use the money for day-to-day bills, including utilities, food and even more
thrift store finds. "It’s just been a difficult struggle to make ends go / meet / work," he said.

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A LUCKY FIND

5 Speaking
You are going to plan a story about a lucky find. You can use dice to help you decide some of the
details and use your imagination to provide the rest. You can use real dice or find virtual dice on the
Internet using your phone. Circle the information you are going to include.

What did you buy? 1) a work of art / 2) a book or document /

3) an item of clothing or trainers / 4) a
piece of glass or china / 5) jewellery / 6)
any of these or your own idea

Where did you buy it? 1) at an auction / 2) at a junk or antique

shop / 3) at a charity shop or thrift store /
4) at a flea market / 5) at a boot fair or
garage sale / 6) any of these or your own
idea

Who are you? 1) a student / 2) you are unemployed / 3) a

dealer / 4) an expert / 5) you are a novice –
so this is your first time in this type of shop
/ 6) any of these or your own idea

Where did you find the item? 1) it was in the shop window, at the front
of the display or in the auction catalogue /
2) in an old box with lots of other things /
3) on the floor at the back of the shop,
display or catalogue / 4) the staff or
dealers were just unpacking it to put it on
display / 5) someone else was asking about
it or looking at it / 6) any of these or your
own idea

How did you find out its value? 1) on the Internet / 2) you asked an expert
/ 3) you took it to a museum or shop / 4) a
friend or family member told you / 5) you
already knew / 6) any of these or your own
idea

How much did it cost and how much did You decide!
you sell it for?

Think through the story in your head, inventing any other details that you need to. Plan to use at least
three items from the vocabulary and language in context exercises.
Work in A/B pairs. Interview each other, using the questions in the table and any other questions
that you need to. Get ready to say how your two stories are the same and different.

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A LUCKY FIND

6 Writing: an article

You are going to turn your story into a written article. First read the sentences about articles and
decide if they are true or false.

1. Articles are successful if they are interesting to the reader.

2. Articles need to have a title.

3. Articles only express the writer’s views.

4. Articles are always formal in style.

5. Articles, like stories, often quote direct speech.

Decide whether these phrases are more likely to be about the Introduction (I) or the Conclusion (C)
of an article.

1. Asks the reader a question.

2. Briefly provides the main information points of the story.

3. Makes sure the reader has something to think about later.

4. Describes an unusual scene or situation.

5. Expresses your own personal opinion.

6. Relates the story to a more general situation or trend.

Write an article about your lucky find. Double space your writing so the teacher can make corrections
easily.

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A LUCKY FIND

7 Optional extension

Read about more lucky finds and match the items with the correct information. Two items are extra.

A) a 1959 Jaeger-LeCoultre Deep Sea Alarm watch

B) a sweater
C) a painting created by an unknown artist in the early 1600s
D) a small landscape by early 19th-century English artist John Constable
E) a copy of the American Declaration of Independence commissioned by President John Quincy Adams
F) a ring with a 26-carat diamond cut in the 1800s
G) a necklace designed by the famous sculptor Alexander Calder
H) a blue and white porcelain teapot

When a student bought a second-hand sofa-bed at a flea market in Berlin for $215, she used it only
for seating at first. However, when she eventually pulled out the fold-away bed, she found this item
1
which eventually sold for $27,630.

Zach Norris found this item in a box at a thrift store in Phoenix, Arizona. As an expert, Norris knew
that only 900 of these had ever been made, and he eagerly bought it for only $5.99. He went on to
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sell it for $35,000.

A married couple in North Carolina had a side hustle restoring and selling vintage items online. They
found this bargain at a local thrift store, paying only 58 cents. However, it was too damaged to resell,
so they kept it for themselves. While watching a documentary about a legendary football coach, Vince
Lombardi, they spotted the identical item. They were delighted to find his name on it and managed to
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sell it for $43,020.

Robin Darvell bought a box of junk at an auction in the UK for the equivalent of $46. Inside he found
this item, which he didn’t like much. Nonetheless, he kept it in a drawer at home for 10 years, before
giving it to his son, who investigated the faded signature and learned that it was worth over $390,000!
4

This item turned up at a thrift shop in Nashville, Tennessee. Buyer Michael Sparks was attracted by
its quality and paid only $2.48 for it, assuming it was a copy. Research revealed that it was one of
200 official copies made in 1820 (and only the 36th ever identified). The resale value was $477,650.
5

Great bargains are also to be had online. An anonymous buyer picked this item up for $20 in an online
auction. Although it was broken, it later sold for $806,000 because it was one of the first examples
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produced in America, nearly 250 years ago.

Answer these questions.

1. Which item has the most surprising story for you?

2. Have you ever bought something and made a surprise discovery?
3. What do you think side hustle means, in the third text?

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