‘What is this if not magic?

’ The Italian man living as a hobbit

Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate

1
  Warmer

a. Match the famous books with their authors. All have sold at least 50 million copies.

1. The Hobbit a. Umberto Eco

2. Don Quixote b. J K Rowling

3. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone c. J R R Tolkien

4. The Little Prince d. Dan Brown

5. The Name of the Rose e. Miguel de Cervantes

6. The Da Vinci Code f. Antoine de Saint-Exupéry

2
  Key Words

a. Fill the gaps in the sentences using these key words from the text.

crater    fan     magical    transform    version

1. A is a form of something that is different from other forms or

from the original.

2. A is someone who likes something such as a sport, films or

music very much.

3. A is the round hole at the top of a volcano.

4. If you something, you make it completely different.

5. A place is very attractive and enjoyable.

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 ‘What is this if not magic?’ The Italian man living as a hobbit
Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate

affection    emergency     fantasy    goal    shape

6. A is an exciting experience that you imagine is happening

to you.

7. If you something, you change the way it develops.

8. A is an aim or purpose.

9. An is a dangerous situation.

10. is a feeling of liking and caring about someone

or something.

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 ‘What is this if not magic?’ The Italian man living as a hobbit
Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate
Lorenzo Tondo  8 “Today we have pollution and the climate
6 September, 2021 emergency. We wanted to show that we must
save and protect our land. That’s why we went
1 Nicolas Gentile, a 37-year-old Italian, wanted there to throw the ring.
to live like a hobbit (an imaginary person in the 9 “We met a lot of people during that walk. And
fantasy novels of JRR Tolkien). First, he bought the affection they showed us was incredible.
a piece of land near the town of Chieti and he The people on the street opened the doors to
and his wife started building their own version their houses for us, gave us food, invited us
of J R R Tolkien’s Middle-earth. into their houses and let us have a shower.
2 Then, on 27 August, with a group of friends That is magic!”
and Lord of the Rings fans, he walked more © Guardian News and Media 2021
than 200 kilometres from Chieti to Naples, First published in The Guardian, 06/09/2021
crossing mountains and rivers, to throw the
“One Ring”, an important part of The Lord of
the Rings story, into the crater of the Mount
Vesuvius volcano.
3 “Some time ago, I realized that Lord of the
Rings books and films were no longer enough,”
Gentile said. “I was still reading about the lives
of other people. I decided that I wanted to live
the life of a hobbit.”
4 He has already built his first house on the
land he bought, where he lives with his family
in hobbit clothes. He wants to transform this
land into a hobbit village, where visitors will be
able to live in a magical world.
5 “I realized that my friends, my relatives and
the local farmers have always lived as hobbits.
They work like hobbits, doing jobs that are in
contact with nature. They celebrate like hobbits,
by organizing festivals and dances and even
dress up as hobbits.”
6 ‘‘I realized that I have always lived in
Middle-earth” said Gentile. “The only thing
missing was to build a village. I wanted people
to enter my fantasy. I am living my dream, my
adventure. By buying that piece of land, I have
removed it from a reality that I don’t like and am
shaping it the way I want.”
7 Like a true hobbit, Gentile loves nature and his
goal is to take care of it. He says his journey to
Vesuvius was not just a long walk – he wanted
to send a message.
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 ‘What is this if not magic?’ The Italian man living as a hobbit
Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate

3
  Comprehension

a. Answer these questions about the text.

1. Where is Nicolas Gentile from?

2. What does he want to do?

3. How far is it from Chieti to Naples?

4. What did he throw into the crater?

5. What does he want to build on the land he bought?

6. How do the local farmers celebrate?

7. What does Gentile love?

8. What did he want to do with his journey to Vesuvius?

9. Why, according to Gentile, did he go to Vesuvius to throw the ring?

10. What did the people Gentile and his friends met during the walk show them?

4
  Key language
a. Complete the phrases from the text using these verbs.

buy    take     live    do    protect    meet

1. your dream

2. the land

3. a lot of people

4. a piece of land

5. a job

6. care of nature
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 ‘What is this if not magic?’ The Italian man living as a hobbit
Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate

5
  Discussion

a. Answer this question.

• Would you like to live in Nicolas Gentile’s hobbit village? Why? Why not?

6
  In your own words

a. Open an internet search engine. Find this information about Lord of the Rings.

1. Who wrote the book?

2. Where was the author from?

3. When was the first book published?

4. Who is Sauron?

5. How many copies of Lord of the Rings have people bought?

6. When did Fellowship of the Ring come out?

7. Where did they film the Lord of the Rings movies?

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