B2 Upper-Intermediate reading practice

Along the Seine, the bouquinistes' green boxes line up like a garland of souvenirs.

That morning, as the city was barely waking, Antoine was leafing through a yellowed anthology when a customer insisted on a "reasonable" price.

He smiled: "A book isn't bric-a-brac, madam — it's a conversation you pick back up." She left without buying anything, but an amused passerby paid for the item without haggling, as if to support a tradition that not even the cold can quite discourage.

Along the Seine, the bouquinistes' green boxes line up like a garland of souvenirs. That morning, as the city was barely waking, Antoine was leafing through a yellowed anthology when a customer insisted on a "reasonable" price. He smiled: "A book isn't bric-a-brac, madam — it's a conversation you pick back up." She left without buying anything, but an amused passerby paid for the item without haggling, as if to support a tradition that not even the cold can quite discourage.

Under the century-old olive trees of the Cours Saleya, the stalls line up at dawn like a palette of colors.

That Sunday, as the city was slowly waking, Élodie listened to a vendor explain why flowering zucchini were worth more than they looked.

A tourist photographed every crate without buying anything; she offered a polite smile: "A market isn't a backdrop, sir — it's a conversation between the soil and your plate." He shrugged, but a student also paid for a bunch of basil, murmuring that people too easily underestimate the rituals that structure a week.

Élodie shook her hand: sometimes a few euros are enough to support a tradition that even tourism cannot quite flatten.

Under the century-old olive trees of the Cours Saleya, the stalls line up at dawn like a palette of colors. That Sunday, as the city was slowly waking, Élodie listened to a vendor explain why flowering zucchini were worth more than they looked. A tourist photographed every crate without buying anything; she offered a polite smile: "A market isn't a backdrop, sir — it's a conversation between the soil and your plate." He shrugged, but a student also paid for a bunch of basil, murmuring that people too easily underestimate the rituals that structure a week. Élodie shook her hand: sometimes a few euros are enough to support a tradition that even tourism cannot quite flatten.