B2 – Upper Intermediate
The extravagant 3-day wedding party of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and journalist Lauren Sanchez in Venice had just come its conclusion.
While what was dubbed as “the wedding of the year” was thought to bring glitz and glamour and the much-needed high-quality tourism to the delicate city on the water, some citizens feel that billionaires come to Venice and turn the city into their “amusement park”.
So, as the wedding festivities took place, Venetians took to the streets to protest against issues such as over-tourism, climate change, and capitalism.
Read the article about Jeff Bezos’ lavish wedding in Venice and what the Venetians make of it.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c5ylk5nznkyo
Vocabulary Questions:
- What does “a drop in the lagoon [ originally ocean ]” mean? “As for the 30 million euros the wedding might net the city in other ways – activists call that “a drop in the lagoon” for one of the richest men on earth.” Use this idiom in a sentence. Give 2 synonyms/similar expressions.
- What does “what to make of someone/something” mean? “Spotted heading into Harry’s Bar for lunch on Saturday, Bezos blew kisses towards the cameras when a local journalist asked what he made of the protests.” Use this expression in a sentence. Give 2 synonyms/similar expressions.
- What does “to bring something to a halt” mean? “It seems, however, that talk of this wedding bringing the city to a halt was overblown.” Use this phrase in a sentence. Give 2 synonyms/similar expressions.
Discussion Questions:
- What are your thoughts on the Venetians protesting Bezos’ wedding?
- What do you think about rich people choosing a specific city to hold big events such as their weddings? What impact do you think it has on the city?
- How would you feel about your city being chosen as a venue for a very important event? What could this event bring to your town?
- Share your insights on this, “The fears of Venice becoming a tourist playground, forcing locals out of town, are no exaggeration.”
- According to one resident of Venice, “I think there should be more people like Bezos here. Right now, we get trash tourism and Venice doesn’t deserve that.” What do you think about her statement?
2 replies on “Venice Divided Over Bezos Wedding”
What are your thoughts on the Venetians protesting Bezos’ wedding?
I think that everyone is free for celebrate their events wherever they want, but you have to know that more people will not agree with that. I think that in this case, a wedding is an important event and you can feel free to celebrate it wherever you want.
What do you think about rich people choosing a specific city to hold big events such as their weddings? What impact do you think it has on the city?
I think that if the event was about other stuff, it could be more controversial. But in weddings or other similar events, is more unerstanding. There are a lot of couples that celebrate theis weddings in Ibiza, Fiyi and sites like this. I think that the real problem is the people who visit the place for found the famous people.
How would you feel about your city being chosen as a venue for a very important event? What could this event bring to your town?
I think it could be profit for my city. In fact, the revenue and security would increase a lot and it would be a very important event for my city and would be attractive for next events.
Share your insights on this, “The fears of Venice becoming a tourist playground, forcing locals out of town, are no exaggeration.”
I think that people is very manipulable and it’s easy to think that people will visit your city because of this event. But Venice is already an important tourism destination and probably the tourism there will not increase.
According to one resident of Venice, “I think there should be more people like Bezos here. Right now, we get trash tourism and Venice doesn’t deserve that.” What do you think about her statement?
Maybe he is right, probably this event increase the tourism quality and also the revenue, security and buildings in the city.
Nice work sharing your thoughts on this topic.
Take a look at how this sentence can be improved a bit:
Keep going with your writing practice to see more and more progress.