Tom: John Blake was accused of stealing a pendant from a museum. He and his friend, Mary Green, wanted to find the pendant and its thief. Anthony Forset, a collector of old things informed them, that the owner of the pendant was a doctor Haverel. He was now dead. John and Mary decided to visit his sister, Emily Haverel. When they got to the house, they found that it was old, broken-down, and dirty. They knocked at the door, but no one answered. They saw an old woman at the window upstairs. She started to shout at them. She called them thieves, and she started to throw bottles at them.
(Fanfare)
Woman1: Look how clever the jugglers are with their hands! They’re throwing seven bottles at the same time. Fantastic!
Woman2: What an idea to juggle with bottles? I use bottles to keep wine and fruit juice in.
Woman1: Well, I must admit, he didn’t break a single bottle.
Woman3: Here comes the clown.
Clown: Hello, Mr. Lane. Throw me a bottle, please.
Mr. Lane: You’ll break it, Jimmy.
Clown: Me? I won’t.
Mr. Lane: All right then. Here goes. Catch!
Clown: You see, Mr. Lane? Throw me another one. And all the rest.
Mr. Lane: Here you are, Jimmy. (noise of bottles breaking)
Clown (weeping): All the bottles are broken.
Mr. Lane: All right, Jimmy, don’t cry. You have to practice before you try again.
Clown: How nice and sympathetic you are, Mr. Lane! You must teach me.
Mr. Lane: But first sweep up the broken glass, please.
(Fanfare)
Tom: Well, the situation at Miss Haverel’s house wasn’t so funny. When Miss Haverel started to throw bottles at John and Mary, they were frightened. “Run Mary, run! Get back, Mary! Get back!” John shouted.
John: She threw another bottle. Get back, Mary, get back! Quick! Over here! Get down!
Mary: Where is she now?
John: In the house. The window’s closed.
Mary: She is eccentric.
John: She’s mad.
Mary: She is old. Old people are sometime eccentric.
John: She’s mad.
Mary: I hope she isn’t mad. We’ve come to see her.
John: We’ve come to see Miss Haverel. But is that Miss Haverel?
Mary: This is her house. It’s the right number.
Old lady: Are you looking for someone, dear?
Mary: We’re looking for Miss Haverel.
Old lady: Miss Haverel, dear?
John: Is that Miss Haverel, up there at the window?
Old lady: Yes, dear. That’s Miss Haverel. That’s the lady you are looking for, if you are looking for Miss Haverel.
Mary: She threw a bottle at us.
John: She threw two bottles.
Old lady: Yes, dear. She throws bottles. She throws bottles at everybody. She keeps people away with her bottles. She never hits anybody, though.
Tom: John wasn’t sure that the woman throwing bottles at them was Miss Haverel. “We’ve come to see Miss Haverel, but is that Miss Haverel?” he asked. Then a woman in the street stopped and spoke to them. “That’s Miss Haverel,” she said. She throws bottles at everybody. She keeps people away with her bottles.
Woman: What’s that noise?
Man: That’s how I keep the birds away. Otherwise, they’ll eat all the fruit in the garden.
Woman: Why did you shoot?
Man: To keep the wolves away. Otherwise, they’ll eat all my sheep.
Tom: Miss Haverel kept people away with her bottles. She threw bottles at everybody, but she never hit anybody. “She’s harmless,” the woman said. She shouts and breaks bottles, but that’s all. She’s harmless, she never hits people with her bottles. Afterwards, she sweeps up the broken glass. “She’s eccentric,” Mary said. “She has funny ways,” the woman replied.
Cathy: Funny ways?
Tom: Yes. Listen.
Woman: Goodness, John. Why are you standing on your head?
Man: Shhh! Don’t disturb me, when I’m playing the violin.
Woman: But why are you playing it standing on your head?
Man: You can’t understand. It gives me inspiration.
Woman: You sure have funny way, don’t you?
Tom: The woman in the street was telling them about Miss Haverel. She said: “She has funny ways, dear. We all have funny ways sometimes.”
John: She’s mad.
Old lady: She’s harmless.
John: She’s harmless, is she?
Old lady: She never hits anybody with her bottles.
Mary: Haven‘t you complained?
Old lady: Complained, dear? No, I haven’t complained.
John: Why not?
Old lady: She sweeps up afterwards. She sweeps up all the broken glass.
Mary: She’s eccentric.
Old lady: She has funny ways, dear. We all have funny ways sometimes.
John: We don’t all throw bottles.
Mary: She called us thieves.
Old lady: Yes, dear. She thinks you are thieves.
Mary: We’re not thieves.
Old lady: She thinks everybody is a thief, dear. She thinks everybody wants to steal her money.
John: We don’t want to steal her money.
Old lady: Of course you don’t, she hasn’t got any money.
John: She had a lot of money once, didn’t she?
Old lady: Oh, yes, dear, she had a lot of money once.
Tom: The woman explained that Miss Haverel thought they were thieves. That was why she threw bottles at them. She thought that they wanted to steal her money. Then the woman said, “She hasn’t got any money. But she had a lot of money once. She had a big house and servants,” that is, people who did all the work in the house for her. People who cooked, cleaned the rooms, did the gardening and drove her car. But later, Miss Haverel’s brother lost all the money. He was a gambler: he played cards and roulette for great sums of money. He gambled all the money away.
Old lady: She had a lot of money once. She had a big house. And servants. She had lovely things. Lovely jewellery, lovely clothes, lovely pictures on the walls. Oh, she had money. Then she lost it.
John: She lost it?
Old lady: Her brother lost it.
Mary: Her brother was a doctor, wasn’t he?
Old lady: Was it, dear? Her brother was a gambler.
Mary: Oh, a gambler?
Old lady: And he lost all the money. So, she sold the big house, and the cars, and the pictures, and the jewellery. She sold everything. Now she thinks everybody wants to steal from her. Poor dear!
John: And Forset told us to come here.
Old lady: Who’s Forset?
John: Forset’s a crook.
Old lady: Oh, I don’t know him.
Mary: He knows Miss Haverel.
John: And Miss Haverel knows about the pendant.
Old lady: The pendant, dear?
Mary: We must talk to her. John, knock on the door again.
John: If I knock on the door, she’ll throw a bottle at me.
Old lady: She never hits anybody, dear.
Mary: Please, John, knock on the door.
Tom: Doctor Haverel gambled the family fortune away. His sister had to sell everything she had. “Forset told us to come here,” said John. But the woman had never heard of Forset. “Who’s Forset,” she asked. “Forset’s a crook,” said John. A crook, that is, a criminal. The woman didn’t know anything about Forset, or about the pendant. But John and Mary wanted to talk to Miss Haverel.
Cathy: Did John knock on the door again?
Tom: Of course he did.
Cathy: Well, I’d’ve been afraid. Did Miss Haverel hit him with a bottle?
Tom: Cathy, you’ve just heard that she never hit anybody with her bottles.
Cathy: Why, wasn’t she clever enough at throwing bottles?
Tom: Oh, Cathy! She was too clever. She didn’t want to hurt anybody. She only wanted to frighten people away. By the way, I want to explain something for the listeners.
Cathy: Won’t it take too long?
Tom: No, we have enough time.
Cathy: Oh, I see. “Too” and “enough”.
Tom: That’s right.
Man: You’re too late. You missed the bus.
Woman: Oh, dear. I never start early enough.
Woman: Go on. He’s waiting for you.
Bride: I won’t. I am not going to marry him.
Woman: What? Are you completely mad? What’s the matter with him?
Bride: He’s not handsome enough. He’s too ugly.
Woman: You must be out of your mind. Didn’t you notice it before?
Tom: Come on, Cathy, let’s
practice this.
“Is he clever enough?”
Cathy: “No, he is too stupid.”
Tom: “Is she early enough?”
Cathy: “No, she’s too late.”
Tom: “Is it warm enough?”
Cathy: “No, it’s too cold.”
Tom: “Are they old enough?”
Cathy: “No, they’re too young.”
So, “too” has a negative meaning and “enough” has a positive meaning. That’s
right?
Tom: Yes. And “too” comes before the adjective, “enough” comes after.
Cathy: Then what about the sentence “We have enough time.”
Tom: The word “time” is a noun, not an adjective. “Enough” comes after the adjective, but before the noun. Try it! “I’m rich enough.”
Cathy: “I have enough money.”
Tom: “We’re free enough.”
Cathy: “We have enough freedom.”
Tom: “You’re early enough.”
Cathy: “You have enough time.”
Tom: “He’s patient enough.”
Cathy: “He has enough patience.” Is that all?
Tom: Yes, that’s all.
Cathy: All’s well that ends well.
Tom: Who told you that it’s ended? Now you must
EXERCISE YOUR ENGLISH.
Exercise 1
Listen to the example:
A: I think she is eccentric.
B: I hope she isn’t too eccentric.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: I think she is eccentric.
[Your response]
B: I hope she isn’t too eccentric.
A: I think he is dangerous.
[Your response]
B: I hope he isn’t too dangerous.
A: I think she is clever.
[Your response]
B: I hope she isn’t too clever.
A: I think they’re wealthy.
[Your response]
B: I hope they aren’t too wealthy.
A: I think he’s angry.
[Your response]
B: I hope he isn’t too angry.
Exercise 2
Listen to the example:
A: She threw bottles at us.
B: She throws bottles at everybody.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: She threw bottles at us.
[Your response]
B: She throws bottles at everybody.
A: He was afraid of me.
[Your response]
B: He is afraid of everybody.
A: She shouted at me.
[Your response]
B: She shouts at everybody.
A He sent letters to me.
[Your response]
B: He sends letters to everybody.
Exercise 3
Listen to the example:
A: She hit me.
B: That’s surprising! She never hits anybody.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: She hit me.
[Your response]
B: That’s surprising! She never hits anybody.
A: They invited me.
[Your response]
B: That’s surprising! They never invite anybody.
A: She spoke to me.
[Your response]
B: That’s surprising! She never speaks to anybody.
A: He helped me.
[Your response]
B: That’s surprising! He never helps anybody.
Tom: And here is our story once again. John and Mary went to see Miss Haverel. They were outside her house, when she started to throw bottles at them.
John: She threw another bottle. Get back, Mary, get back! Quick! Over here! Get down!
Mary: Where is she now?
John: In the house. The window’s closed.
Mary: She is eccentric.
John: She’s mad.
Mary: She is old. Old people are sometime eccentric.
John: She’s mad.
Mary: I hope she isn’t mad. We’ve come to see her.
John: We’ve come to see Miss Haverel. But is that Miss Haverel?
Mary: This is her house. It’s the right number.
Old lady: Are you looking for someone, dear?
Mary: We’re looking for Miss Haverel.
Old lady: Miss Haverel, dear?
John: Is that Miss Haverel, up there at the window?
Old lady: Yes, dear. That’s Miss Haverel. That’s the lady you are looking for, if you are looking for Miss Haverel.
Mary: She threw a bottle at us.
John: She threw two bottles.
Old lady: Yes, dear. She throws bottles. She throws bottles at everybody. She keeps people away with her bottles. She never hits anybody, though.
John: She’s mad.
Old lady: She’s harmless.
John: She’s harmless, is she?
Old lady: She never hits anybody with her bottles.
Mary: Haven‘t you complained?
Old lady: Complained, dear? No, I haven’t complained.
John: Why not?
Old lady: She sweeps up afterwards. She sweeps up all the broken glass.
Mary: She’s eccentric.
Old lady: She has funny ways, dear. We all have funny ways sometimes.
John: We don’t all throw bottles.
Mary: She called us thieves.
Old lady: Yes, dear. She thinks you are thieves.
Mary: We’re not thieves.
Old lady: She thinks everybody is a thief, dear. She thinks everybody wants to steal her money.
John: We don’t want to steal her money.
Old lady: Of course you don’t, she hasn’t got any money.
John: She had a lot of money once, didn’t she?
Old lady: Oh, yes, dear, she had a lot of money once. She had a big house. And servants. She had lovely things. Lovely jewellery, lovely clothes, lovely pictures on the walls. Oh, she had money. Then she lost it.
John: She lost it?
Old lady: Her brother lost it.
Mary: Her brother was a doctor, wasn’t he?
Old lady: Was it, dear? Her brother was a gambler.
Mary: Oh, a gambler?
Old lady: And he lost all the money. So, she sold the big house, and the cars, and the pictures, and the jewellery. She sold everything. Now she thinks everybody wants to steal from her. Poor dear!
John: And Forset told us to come here.
Old lady: Who’s Forset?
John: Forset’s a crook.
Old lady: Oh, I don’t know him.
Mary: He knows Miss Haverel.
John: And Miss Haverel knows about the pendant.
Old lady: The pendant, dear?
Mary: We must talk to her. John, knock on the door again.
John: If I knock on the door, she’ll throw a bottle at me.
Old lady: She never hits anybody, dear.
Mary: Please, John, knock on the door.