Tom: John Blake went to a museum. He wanted to get a job there. While he was in the museum, he was accused of stealing a pendant. Later the police let him go. John and his friend, Mary Green, decided to find the pendant and its thief. But how? A newspaper reporter advised them to go to Anthony Forset, a collector of old things. They took his advice, and drove to Anthony Forset’s house. All the way, a red sports car followed them, then suddenly it passed them, turned back, and drove straight at them. (tyres screeching) They were terribly frightened when they saw the car coming at them.
Woman: Brrr. It’s cold.
Man: You are afraid of water?
Woman: I’m not afraid of water.
Man: Then let’s give it a try.
Woman: Oh, no! Please!
Man: Well, I can’t wait. You just said you are not afraid of water.
Woman: But I can’t swim. Of course I’m frightened. I’m frightened because I can’t swim. Help! Help!
Cathy: You said that Mary and John were also terribly frightened. But why?
Tom: Why? Wouldn’t you be frightened if a car drove straight at you?
Cathy: I must admit I would. And what did they do?
Tom: Well, John didn’t want to go on. He didn’t want to go to Anthony Forset. “Let’s go home,” he said. He wanted to turn back. “It’s late. It’s getting dark and cold,” he told Mary. But Mary put her foot down.
Cathy: As women usually do.
Tom: Well, I think it’s better if we listen to the story.
John: It’s coming straight at us!
Mary: John!
John: It’s coming into us!
Mary: Look, John! It’s coming at us!
(tyres screeching)
(mysterious music)
John: Are you all right?
Mary: Am I? Yes. Yes, I’m all right. Are you?
John: Yes.
Mary: He… he drove his car at us.
John: Yes. Straight at us.
Mary: But why? Why did he do that?
John: Because we annoyed him.
Mary: We annoyed him? You mean he annoyed us.
John: We annoyed him first. He was following us. Then we stopped.
Mary: Yes, yes. We stopped and he passed us.
John: So, he was annoyed.
Mary: Because he passed us.
John: That’s right. Because we were hiding. So, he drove his car at us. Oh… Were you frightened?
Mary: Were you frightened?
John: Yes, I was. I was frightened. Let’s go home.
Mary: Go home?
John: It’s late.
Mary: Yes, I know it’s late.
John: And it’s getting dark.
Mary: I know it’s getting dark, but—
John: And cold.
Mary: Yes, I know it’s getting cold, too. You were frightened, weren’t you?
John: Yes. Let’s go home. It’s late, it’s dark, it’s cold, and we’re both frightened. Let’s go home now.
Mary: No, we’ll have to go on.
John: Go on?
Mary: Yes, we’re going on.
(theme music)
Tom: They came to Anthony Forset’s house. It was very old and it was lonely. There were no other houses near it. It was lonely. There was a mysterious garden around it.
Mary: There’s the house.
John: Yes, there it is. Anthony Forset’s house. It’s an old house.
Mary: It is an old house. It’s lonely, too. It’s old and it’s lonely.
John: Come on.
Mary: Come on?
John: Let’s walk to it. We can leave the car here.
Mary: All right. Let’s walk to it. I’m not afraid of any old house. Come on!
John: Oh! I’m coming.
John: Look! Look there.
Mary: At that car?
John: Yes. It’s a sports car.
Mary: A red sports car. John! It’s—
(mysterious music)
Man: What are you doing here?
John: Oh! Good evening.
Man: What are you doing?
Mary: We… we were looking at this car.
Tom: They were looking at the sports car when a man spoke to them. “What are you doing here?” he asked. Who was this man? Was he the driver of the sports car? Or was he Anthony Forset? Or perhaps both?
Cathy: Don’t be so mysterious. Tell me: who was this man?
Tom: You’ll have to wait and see. But first, you have to
EXERCISE YOUR ENGLISH.
Exercise 1
Our first exercise, listeners, will be very easy. Listen to the example:
A: We annoyed him.
B: He annoyed us first.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: We annoyed him.
[Your response]
B: He annoyed us first.
A: He frightened them.
[Your response]
B: They frightened him first.
A: We surprised them.
[Your response]
B: They surprised us first.
A: He frightened us.
[Your response]
B: We frightened him first.
A: He hurt you.
[Your response]
B: I hurt him first.
A: They accused her.
[Your response]
B: She accused them first.
A: She followed him.
[Your response]
B: He followed her first.
A: They recognised her.
[Your response]
B: She recognised them first.
Exercise 2
Listen to the example:
A: We annoyed him.
B: You mean he was annoyed?
Listen, speak, listen.
A: We annoyed him.
[Your response]
B: You mean he was annoyed?
A: We surprised her.
[Your response]
B: You mean she was surprised?
A: We hurt them.
[Your response]
B: You mean they were hurt?
A: They frightened me.
[Your response]
B: You mean you were frightened?
A: Somebody followed her.
[Your response]
B: You mean she was followed?
A: They worried me.
[Your response]
B: You mean you were worried?
A: He overheard us.
[Your response]
B: You mean we were overheard?
A: The police caught them.
[Your response]
B: You mean they were caught?
Exercise 3
Listen to the example:
A: I’m annoyed.
B: I’m annoyed, too.
C: They’re both annoyed.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: I’m annoyed.
B: I’m annoyed, too.
[Your response]
C: They’re both annoyed.
A: I’m surprised.
B: I’m surprised, too.
[Your response]
C: They’re both surprised.
A: I’m worried.
B: I’m worried, too.
[Your response]
C: They’re both worried.
A: I’m frightened.
B: I’m frightened, too.
[Your response]
C: They’re both frightened.
A: I’m excited.
B: I’m excited, too.
[Your response]
C: They’re both excited.
A: I’m hurt.
B: I’m hurt, too.
[Your response]
C: They’re both hurt.
A: I’m late.
B: I’m late, too.
[Your response]
C: They’re both late.
A: I’m cold.
B: I’m cold, too.
[Your response]
C: They’re both cold.
Exercise 4
Listen to the example:
A: It’s an old house.
B: Yes, it’s pretty old.
You use the word “pretty” in the meaning “rather”, “quite”, “very”. Listen, speak, listen.
A: It’s an old house.
[Your response]
B: Yes, it’s pretty old.
A: It’s a good play.
[Your response]
B: Yes, it’s pretty good.
A: It’s an expensive hobby.
[Your response]
B: Yes, it’s pretty expensive.
A: It’s a long book
[Your response]
B: Yes, it’s pretty long.
A: It’s a dull exercise.
[Your response]
B: Yes, it’s pretty dull.
Exercise 5
Listen to the example:
A: Are we going on?
B: We’ll have to go on.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: Are we going on?
[Your response]
B: We’ll have to go on.
A: Are they leaving?
[Your response]
B: They’ll have to leave.
A: Are we taking a taxi?
[Your response]
B: We’ll have to take a taxi.
A: Are we going to the doctor?
[Your response]
B: We’ll have to go to the doctor.
A: Are you selling your car?
[Your response]
B: I’ll have to sell my car.
A: Are we inviting them?
[Your response]
B: We’ll have to invite them.
A: Are they coming soon?
[Your response]
B: They’ll have to come soon.
Exercise 6
Join the two sentences. Listen to the example:
A: They were frightened. They wanted to go home.
B: They were so frightened that they wanted to go home.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: They were frightened. They wanted to go home.
[Your response]
B: They were so frightened that they wanted to go home.
A: It was late. They couldn’t take a bus.
[Your response]
B: It was so late they couldn’t take a bus.
A: He was angry. We became frightened.
[Your response]
B: He was so angry that we became frightened.
A: She was surprised. She couldn’t say a word.
[Your response]
B: She was so surprised that she couldn’t say a word.
A: It was dark. We lost our way.
[Your response]
B: It was so dark that we lost our way.
A: She was lonely. She felt like crying.
[Your response]
B: She was so lonely that she felt like crying.
A: He drove fast. He almost ran into us.
[Your response]
B: He drove so fast that he almost ran into us.
A: They were tired. They couldn’t do the exercises.
[Your response]
B: They were so tired that they couldn’t do the exercises.
Tom: I expect you really aren’t tired after all that, so let’s get back to our story.
Tom: John and Mary were driving to Anthony Forset’s house. Suddenly, a red sports car drove straight at them. They were almost killed.
John: It’s coming straight at us!
Mary: John!
John: It’s coming into us!
Mary: Look, John! It’s coming at us!
(tyres screeching)
(mysterious music)
John: Are you all right?
Mary: Am I? Yes. Yes, I’m all right. Are you?
John: Yes.
Mary: He… he drove his car at us.
John: Yes. Straight at us.
Mary: But why? Why did he do that?
John: Because we annoyed him.
Mary: We annoyed him? You mean he annoyed us.
John: We annoyed him first. He was following us. Then we stopped.
Mary: Yes, yes. We stopped and he passed us.
John: So, he was annoyed.
Mary: Because he passed us.
John: That’s right. Because we were hiding. So, he drove his car at us. Oh… Were you frightened?
Mary: Were you frightened?
John: Yes, I was. I was frightened. Let’s go home.
Mary: Go home?
John: It’s late.
Mary: Yes, I know it’s late.
John: And it’s getting dark.
Mary: I know it’s getting dark, but
John: And cold.
Mary: Yes, I know it’s getting cold, too. You were frightened, weren’t you?
John: Yes. Let’s go home. It’s late, it’s dark, it’s cold, and we’re both frightened. Let’s go home now.
Mary: No, we’ll have to go on.
John: Go on?
Mary: Yes, we’re going on.
(theme music)
Mary: There’s the house.
John: Yes, there it is. Anthony Forset’s house. It’s an old house.
Mary: It is an old house. It’s lonely, too. It’s old and it’s lonely.
John: Come on.
Mary: Come on?
John: Let’s walk to it. We can leave the car here.
Mary: All right. Let’s walk to it. I’m not afraid of any old house. Come on!
John: Oh! I’m coming.
John: Look! Look there.
Mary: At that car?
John: Yes. It’s a sports car.
Mary: A red sports car. John! It’s—
(mysterious music)
Man: What are you doing here?
John: Oh! Good evening.
Man: What are you doing?
Mary: We… we were looking at this car.
Man: Why?
John: But you’re holding a gun!
Man: So I am. I’m holding a gun.
(theme music)