Lingohack

Intermediate level

3 January 2018

Episode 180103 / 03 Jan 2018

The story…

Bookshop holiday

Learn language related to…

Retail

Need-to-know language

stacking – placing one thing on top of another

stock – total number of goods available for sale in a shop

displays – collections of objects arranged to be easily seen

promotions – activities or incentives to encourage people to buy more of something

running – (here) organising and managing a business

Answer this…

How many bookshops are there in Wigtown?

Watch the video online:   http://bbc.in/1SZnnVz

Transcript

Between the hills and the sea in southwest Scotland is a small town where they like their books a lot. Wigtown is Scotland's National Book Town and among the many bookshops here, one is available to rent for a week at a time.

It's run by enthusiasts who want to be surrounded by books or trying their hand at selling some too. Alison Drury is a police community support officer from Bicester. But not this week; instead she is stacking bookshelves and shifting stock.

Reporter:
"You are paying for the privilege of running a bookshop for a week. What do your friends make of it?"

Alison Drury, Guest Bookseller:
"A bit of a mixture. I think some of them think I am a bit eccentric and think that it's a very strange thing to do. By the same token, I've got some friends who think it is extremely exciting and very excited for me and actually a bit envious."

The temporary bookstore boss has free rein. Displays can change; so too can the promotions. This shop, which once came close to closure, turned around by those who have a dream of running a bookshop and want the chance to test it out.

And if those who've come on their bookshop holiday are looking for ideas, with Wigtown boasting 14 bookshops, there is plenty here to inspire. So successful has this Scottish one been, it's booked up for the next two years.

Did you get it?
How many bookshops are there in Wigtown?

Wigtown has 14 bookshops.

Did you know?

In 2010, Google counted up the total number of books that had ever been published.
The total was a staggering 129,864,880.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/learningenglish/amharic/features/lingohack/ep-180103
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