Man sells British countryside air to China

 

Man sells British countryside air to China

Watch: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=39qSsJaqkws

An English entrepreneur has started a booming business from selling bottled, British countryside air to Chinese consumers. Leo De Watts, 27, struck upon the idea of selling air to China after seeing news footage of pollution and smog in Chinese cities. He guessed there was a market for cleaner air. FFFDe Watts launched his company last year in the somewhat imaginatively named industry of "air farming". His team "harvests" air in bottles from various locations across Britain and ships it to China. Even though the air is cheap to collect, De Watts puts a hefty price on his products. Chinese lovers of British air have to pay around $115 for a 580 ml bottle of the fresh stuff.

De Watts was born in the British countryside and said he appreciates the quality of the air in rural Britain. He now lives in Hong Kong where he sells his fresh air at local street markets. A lot of his merchandise is sold in Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai, where pollution can be particularly bad. He said his Chinese customers can be quite fussy about exactly what kind of air they buy. He explained in a promotional video that: "Quite often, a lot of our orders are bespoke. We have clients who request very particular circumstances for their air. Sometimes we'll be at the top of a mountain, and other times at the bottom of a valley." He added: "There's really a market for this. We've just started."

What are some of the wackiest businesses? Complete this table. https://fitsmallbusiness.com/crazy-business-ideas-for-entrepreneurs/

	The kind of business	How it is original	Why it would work
Empty cola cans
Sunlight
Old sofas
English
Relaxation
Grass

5. COUNTRYSIDE: Rank these with your partner. Put the best at the top. Change partners often and share your rankings.

• mountains   • valleys   • fields   • riverbanks

• desert   • glaciers   • beach   • forests

6. CONSUMERS: Spend one minute writing down all of the different words you associate with the word "consumers". Share your words with your partner(s) and talk about them. Together, put the words into different categories.

BEFORE READING / LISTENING

1. TRUE / FALSE: Read the headline. Guess if  a-h  below are true (T) or false (F).

a.	The businessman selling the air is from England.	T / F
b.	The man got the idea after seeing pollution in China on the news.	T / F
c.	The industry the man is in is called 'air harvesting'.	T / F
d.	The air costs $115 for a litre bottle.	T / F
e.	The man was born in the middle of the city of London.	T / F
f.	The man now lives in Beijing.	T / F
g.	Some Chinese customers ask for mountain air.	T / F
h.	The man said there was a market for selling countryside air.	T / F

2. SYNONYM MATCH: Match the following synonyms from the article.

1.	entrepreneur	a.	values
2.	struck upon	b.	places
3.	locations	c.	environment
4.	hefty	d.	produce
5.	lovers	e.	business person
6.	appreciates	f.	order made
7.	merchandise	g.	large
8.	fussy	h.	aficionados
9.	bespoke	i.	picky
10.	circumstances	j.	thought of

3. PHRASE MATCH:  (Sometimes more than one choice is possible.)

1.	started a booming	a.	bad
2.	struck	b.	footage
3.	news	c.	quality of the air
4.	from various locations	d.	promotional video
5.	De Watts puts a hefty	e.	business
6.	he appreciates the	f.	price on his products
7.	rural	g.	of a valley
8.	pollution can be particularly	h.	upon the idea
9.	He explained in a	i.	Britain
10.	the bottom	j.	across Britain

COMPREHENSION QUESTIONS

1.	How old is the entrepreneur?
2.	What did the man see that made him decide to start his business?
3.	When did the man start his company?
4.	What is the name of the industry the man is in?
5.	How much air can you buy for $115?
6.	Where in Britain was the entrepreneur born?
7.	Where does the entrepreneur live now?
8.	Who can be fussy about the kind of air they buy?
9.	What does the man sometimes have to go to the top of to get air?
10.	What does the man sometimes have to go to the bottom of to get air?

ROLE PLAY

Role  A – Mountains You think mountains are the best place to be in the countryside. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their places aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): beaches, deserts or forests.

Role  B – Beaches You think beaches are the best place to be in the countryside. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their places aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): mountains, deserts or forests.

Role  C – Deserts You think deserts are the best place to be in the countryside. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their places aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why): beaches, mountains or forests.

Role  D – Forests You think forests are the best place to be in the countryside. Tell the others three reasons why. Tell them why their places aren't so good. Also, tell the others which is the worst of these (and why):  beaches, deserts or mountains.

AIR DISCUSSION

A QUESTIONS 

4)	What is the air quality like where you live?
5)	How can we stop doing things that make the air quality worse?
6)	What do you think of buying bottled air?
7)	What other ways can you think of to make money from air?
8)	Should there be a tax on people and companies who create pollution?
9)	What do you think of the 'air farming' industry?
10)	How do you think people 'harvest' air?

B QUESTIONS 

12)	How useful do you think bottled air is?
13)	Do you ever worry about air quality?
14)	How do you think it is possible to be fussy about air?
15)	How different is mountain air from valley air?
16)	What do you think an air salesperson might say to sell air?
17)	What will air quality be like in 100 years from now?
18)	What kind of air would you order, and why?
19)	How big do you think the air farming industry will become?
20)	What questions would you like to ask the entrepreneur?

SPELLING

Paragraph 1
1.	An English nrueeerpetrn
2.	Chinese emcornssu
3.	seeing news efoogat of pollution
4.	His team atsvesrh air
5.	from vurioas locations across Britain
6.	De Watts puts a theyf price on his products
Paragraph 2
7.	he arstepeacpi the quality of the air
8.	A lot of his eaimsechrnd is sold
9.	He explained in a oiormpnlaot video
10.	a lot of our orders are sbkpoee
11.	very particular stcmsircanceu
12.	the bottom of a ellayv