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Rare Copy of Harry Potter

Book Sells for Over $13,000
March 01, 2024
7 Advanced Culture & Entertainment

Exercise 1
Vocabulary
Repeat each word, definition, and example sentence after your tutor.

auction /ˈɔːkʃən/
Noun a public sale where things are sold to the person who offers to pay the
most

The auction will include a number of props from the

original Star Wars trilogy.

proofreader /ˈpruːfriːdər/ a person who reads and corrects pieces of text

Noun
I work as a proofreader for a publishing company.

edition /ɪˈdɪʃən/ a particular version of a book, album, etc.

Noun
A first edition copy of "A Christmas Carol" is worth a
fortune among book collectors.

wizard /ˈwɪzərd/ (in stories) a man who has magical powers

Noun
In the book, Bilbo goes on an adventure with thirteen
dwarves and a wizard named Gandalf.

bid /bɪd/ an offer to buy something for a certain price

Noun
I'm trying to sell our old couch online, but I haven't had
any bids yet.

phenomenon /fəˈnɑːmɪnən/ a remarkable or impressive person or thing

Noun
Within a few years of releasing their first album, The
Who had become a global phenomenon.

Exercise 2
Article
Read the article aloud on your own or repeat each paragraph after your tutor.

Rare Copy of Harry Potter Book Sells for Over $13,000

A rare early copy of the first Harry Potter novel that was bought for a few cents in a second-
hand bookshop almost 30 years ago has sold at auction for $13,900.

The book is unusual because it is a proof — a review copy of a book which is made before
publishing so that editors, proofreaders and the author can check it and suggest final
changes. Proof copies are not made to be sold.

This one is a proof copy of the first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone and it
contains some mistakes that were corrected before the book was published. Inside the book,
for example, the author JK Rowling's name is written as JA Rowling.

British auctioneers Hanson's said that the book, which has "uncorrected proof copy" written
on the cover, was bought in 1997 from a bookshop in south London with two other books for
a total of about 50 cents.

The seller, who was not named, said that when she didn't have much money, looking round
second-hand bookshops was a treat she gave herself, and that finding the book was "a
massive piece of well-timed luck."

She picked up the book about the famous boy wizard as a "throw-in" with other titles and
didn't read it or pay much attention to it for years — until she read online about the high
prices some other Potter copies achieved, Hanson's said.

The book was sold to a private UK buyer on February 21 for a winning bid of around $13,900,
and a total of over $18,200 including the payment that the auctioneers receive.

Jim Spencer, head of books at the auction house, said, "This book so deserved to do well. This
proof copy is where the Harry Potter phenomenon began. This is the very first appearance in
print of the first Potter novel."

Exercise 3
Discussion
Have a discussion based on the following questions.

1. What are your thoughts on the copy of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone
selling for nearly $14,000?

2. Are you a fan of Harry Potter? Do you prefer the movies or the books?

3. If you could own a first-edition copy of any book, what would it be?

4. Do you ever shop at second-hand bookshops? Do you often find good deals?

5. What was the last book you bought? What was it about?

Exercise 4
Further Discussion
Have a discussion based on the following questions.

1. What's the best book you've read recently?

2. Are there any books you've read more than once?

3. What were your favorite books growing up?

4. How many books would you say you read on average per year?

5. If you don't like to read, you haven't found the right book. — JK Rowling. What
are your thoughts on this quote?

Parts of this lesson are based on:

An article by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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6 Intermediate 5 Intermediate

7 Advanced Language & Education Culture & Entertainment Language & Education

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