Tom: John Blake went to a museum. He wanted a job there. While he was in the museum, someone stole a pendant. John was accused of stealing it. So, he and his friend, Mary Green, decided to find it and its thief. But how? A reporter advised them to go to Anthony Forset, a collector of old things. On the way, a red sports car nearly killed them. When they got to Anthony Forset’s house, they found a red sports car there, too. A man asked them, “What are you doing here?” The man was holding a gun. There was a gun in his hand. He was holding a gun.
Cathy: A gun? You can shoot with a gun, can’t you?
(noise of a shot)
Man1: Goodness, you frightened me. What was that?
Man2: Nothing. A shot. I wanted to show you my gun.
Man1: There it is. There’s a lion. Shoot! Come on. What are you waiting for? Fire your gun. (noise of a shot) What a shot! Fantastic!
Cathy: And why was Forset holding a gun?
Tom: Well, Forset’s gun… It’s better if you listen. It happened like this.
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. I heard a noise.
John: Are you Mr. Forset?
Man: Yes, I am. I am Anthony Forset.
John: The collector?
Man: Yes, yes, I’m a collector.
Mary: We were looking at your car.
Man: You were looking at my car?
Mary: This is your car, isn’t it?
Man: My car? Yes, of course, it’s my car.
John: It followed us.
Man: It followed you? When did it follow you?
Mary: When we were driving here.
Man: You’re making a mistake. This is my car.
John: Hm. You’re still holding your gun.
Man: I keep a gun because I live alone. Why did you come here?
Cathy: Forset said: “I keep a gun.” What do people keep?
Child: Mummy, buy me a horse.
Woman: A horse, Margaret? What for?
Child: What for? For riding, of course.
Woman: Where do you want to ride it? Among the buses and the cars in the street?
Child: Why not?
Woman: Why not? And where do you want to keep the horse?
Child: We could keep him in the bathroom. He could sleep in the bath.
Woman: Why not? He could sleep in the bath and eat my straw hats. Hm. You’re a silly little girl, Margaret. Only farmers in the country keep horses. They keep horses, sheep, cows and pigs. People in towns can only keep small animals: dogs, cats or parrots.
Child: D’you know what, Mummy? Let’s go and live in the country. Then I can keep a horse.
Woman: Really, Margaret. Whatever next?
Tom: Mr. Forset kept a gun because he lived alone. He lived in a lonely big house in the middle of a mysterious garden. There were large trees and bushes in the garden.
Cathy: Bushes?
Tom: Yes. They are like trees, only not so high. They’re low trees with lots of leaves.
Cathy: Oh, I see. And what happened next?
Tom: Wait a minute. You remember that John told Anthony Forset that his car was following them. But Forset said, “You’re making a mistake.”
Sales assistant: It that all, madam?
Woman: Yes, thank you.
Sales assistant: That would be 2Ł 40, please.
Woman: Oh, goodness. Haven’t you made a mistake? I thought it was much cheaper.
Sales assistant: Oh, I’m sorry, I have made a mistake. It’s only 1Ł 40.
Tom: Well, Anthony Forset said, “You’re making a mistake. This is my car.” Then John started to tell him about the pendant. He hoped that Anthony Forset could help them. Forset asked them to come into the house.
Forset: Come into the house.
John: Thank you. You have lots of bushes in the garden.
Forset: Bushes?
Mary: Oh!
Forset: What?
Mary: I saw someone among your bushes.
Forset: Among these bushes?
Mary: I saw two eyes.
Forset: You saw one of my pets.
John: One of your pets?
Mary: I saw two eyes.
Forset: I keep some unusual pets. You saw my cat.
Mary: That was a cat?
Forset: You saw my cat’s eyes.
John: A cat isn’t an unusual pet.
Forset: My cat is a wild cat.
Mary: Hm. A wild cat is an unusual pet.
Forset: Yes, she’s very wild. She bites. I keep other unusual pets—but I’m an unusual man. Come into the house.
Cathy: What did Mary see among the bushes in Anthony Forset’s garden?
Tom: Well, Forset said it’s one of his pets. I can see you don’t know what a pet is.
Cathy: No, I don’t, I am afraid.
Tom: Well, a pet is an animal that people keep at home and are very fond of.
Woman: Oh, Lulu, my pet, my darling.
Man: Miro, good dog.
Tom: Pets are usually cats, dogs or certain kinds of birds and fish.
Cathy: I see. These are usual pets. And, are there any unusual pets? I mean, one that people don’t usually keep?
Tom: Of course. Lions, monkeys, tigers are unusual pets. In general, people who keep unusual pets are very unusual themselves, too. Like Anthony Forset. He also kept very unusual pets.
Cathy: Did he?
Tom: Yes. You heard. He kept a wild cat. And a snake.
Cathy: Oh, a snake? Snakes are very dangerous.
Tom: Yes, they can be. They’re very quick, and people can die if a snake bites them. It’s a funny idea to keep a snake. (laughing)
Cathy: How can you laugh at it? I don’t think it so ridiculous. It’s rather frightening. And what did Mary do when she saw two eyes in the bushes?
Tom: Nothing. John and Mary went into the house with Anthony Forset. Mary saw a saucer on the floor. A saucer is a small plate that we put under a cup, you know. Forset said he was feeding one of his pets. He was feeding it, that is, he was giving it something to eat.
Mary: Oh, there’s a saucer.
Forset: I was feeding one of my pets.
Mary: Were you feeding your cat?
Forset: No, I was feeding my snake.
John: Oh, heh-heh. Your snake?
Forset: Don’t be frightened. He isn’t here now.
Mary: So, you live here all alone?
Forset: I live with my pets.
John: But there are no other people here.
Forset: I said I live alone.
Mary: Aren’t you lonely?
Forset: Lonely? No, I’m not lonely.
Mary: But there are no other people here.
John: Are you sure there are no other people here?
Forset: Of course, I’m sure. Why did you ask?
John: Because I heard footsteps.
Forset: Footsteps? Ridiculous.
Tom: So Forset said he lived alone. But John was not sure. He heard footsteps. Then a door banged.
Cathy: Whose footsteps did he hear? And who banged the door?
Tom: Well, you’ll hear about it later. But now,
EXERCISE YOUR ENGLISH.
Exercise 1
In this exercise, listeners, you’re asked to form questions, like this:
A: John heard footsteps in the house.
B: who
C: Who heard footsteps in the house?
Well, let’s start. Listen, speak, listen.
A: John heard footsteps in the house.
B: who
[Your response]
C: Who heard footsteps in the house?
B: what
[Your response]
C: What did John hear in the house?
B: where
[Your response]
C: Where did John hear the footsteps?
A: There was a red sports car in front of Forset’s house.
B: what
[Your response]
C: What was there in front of Forset’s house?
B: what kind of
[Your response]
C: What kind of car was there in front of Forset’s house?
B: where
[Your response]
C: Where was there a red sports car?
A: Forset kept a gun because he lived alone.
B: who
[Your response]
C: Who kept a gun?
B: what
[Your response]
C: What did Forset keep?
B: why
[Your response]
C: Why did Forset keep a gun?
Exercise 2
Listen to the example:
A: This is your car, isn’t it?
B: Yes, of course it’s mine.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: This is your car, isn’t it?
[Your response]
B: Yes, of course it’s mine.
A: This is Forset’s house, isn’t it?
[Your response]
B: Yes, of course it’s his.
A: This is her room, isn’t it?
[Your response]
B: Yes, of course it’s hers.
A: This is their garden, isn’t it?
[Your response]
B: Yes, of course it’s theirs.
A: These are Forset’s pets, aren’t they?
[Your response]
B: Yes, of course they’re his.
A: This is your plate, isn’t it?
[Your response]
B: Yes, of course it’s mine.
A: This is our table, isn’t it?
[Your response]
B: Yes, of course it’s ours.
A: This is my glass, isn’t it?
[Your response]
B: Yes, of course it’s yours.
Exercise 3
Listen to the example:
A: They can see a man among the bushes.
B: There’s a man among the bushes.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: They can see a man among the bushes.
[Your response]
B: There’s a man among the bushes.
A: They can see a mouse in the kitchen.
[Your response]
B: There’s a mouse in the kitchen.
A: They can see a detective in the pub.
[Your response]
B: There’s a detective in the pub.
A: They can see a letter on the table.
[Your response]
B: There’s a letter on the table.
A: They can see a microphone among the flowers.
[Your response]
B: There’s a microphone among the flowers.
A: They can see a stopwatch in her hand.
[Your response]
B: There’s a stopwatch in her hand.
A: They can see a gun in his pocket.
[Your response]
B: There’s a gun in his pocket.
Exercise 4
Listen to the example:
A: That was one of my horses.
B: Do you keep horses, too?
Listen, speak, listen.
A: That was one of my horses.
[Your response]
B: Do you keep horses, too?
A: That was one of my sheep.
[Your response]
B: Do you keep sheep, too?
A: That was one of my cows.
[Your response]
B: Do you keep cows, too?
A: That was one of my pigs.
[Your response]
B: Do you keep pigs, too?
A: That was one of my lions.
[Your response]
B: Do you keep lions, too?
Announcer: No, he doesn’t keep lions on his farm. It’s Forset who keeps unusual pets in his house. Wild cats, snakes, and goodness knows what else. But let’s go back to him, if you’re not afraid of the dangerous, mysterious things he has around him.
Forset: What are you doing here?
John: Oh! Good evening.
Forset: What are you doing?
Mary: We… we were looking at this car.
Forset: Why?
John: But you’re holding a gun!
Forset: So I am. I’m holding a gun. I heard a noise.
John: Are you Mr. Forset?
Forset: Yes, I am. I am Anthony Forset.
John: The collector?
Forset: Yes, yes, I’m a collector.
Mary: We were looking at your car.
Forset: You were looking at my car?
Mary: This is your car, isn’t it?
Forset: My car? Yes, of course, it’s my car.
John: It followed us.
Forset: It followed you? When did it follow you?
Mary: When we were driving here.
Forset: You’re making a mistake. This is my car.
John: Hm. You’re still holding your gun.
Forset: I keep a gun because I live alone. Why did you come here?
Announcer: And so, John told Anthony Forset about the pendant, and why they had come to see him.
Forset: Come into the house.
John: Thank you. You have lots of bushes in the garden.
Forset: Bushes?
Mary: Oh!
Forset: What?
Mary: I saw someone among your bushes.
Forset: Among these bushes?
Mary: I saw two eyes.
Forset: You saw one of my pets.
John: One of your pets?
Mary: I saw two eyes.
Forset: I keep some unusual pets. You saw my cat.
Mary: That was a cat?
Forset: You saw my cat’s eyes.
John: A cat isn’t an unusual pet.
Forset: My cat is a wild cat.
Mary: Hm. A wild cat is an unusual pet.
Forset: Yes, she’s very wild. She bites. I keep other unusual pets, but I’m an unusual man. Come into the house.
Mary: Oh, there’s a saucer.
Forset: I was feeding one of my pets.
Mary: Were you feeding your cat?
Forset: No, I was feeding my snake.
John: Oh, heh-heh. Your snake?
Forset: Don’t be frightened. He isn’t here now.
Mary: So, you live here all alone?
Forset: I live with my pets.
John: But there are no other people here.
Forset: I said I live alone.
Mary: Aren’t you lonely?
Forset: Lonely? No, I’m not lonely.
Mary: But there are no other people here.
John: Are you sure there are no other people here?
Forset: Of course, I’m sure. Why did you ask?
John: Because I heard footsteps.
Forset: Footsteps? Ridiculous.
John: I’m sure I heard footsteps.
Forset: Then you’re wrong.
John: Am I?
Forset: Yes, you’re wrong. You heard no footsteps. There are no other people in this house.
(noise of a banging door)
John: Then what was that?
(theme music)