Tom: John Blake was trying to find out more about a pendant. The pendant had been stolen from a museum. With his friend, Mary Green, he went to the shop of the bookseller, Mr. Egg. Mr. Egg had promised to meet them in the shop at seven o’clock, but when they knocked at the door, there was no reply. “Push the door,” Mary said. “Perhaps it isn’t locked.”
Man: (pushing the door) I locked the door. I can’t open it.
Woman: It’s open. Stop pushing it. Pull it.
Tom: John and Mary went to Mr. Egg’s place, that is, the house where he lived, where his shop was.
Child1: Do you know, what, Jill? Let’s go around my place. I have some super new model cars at home.
Child2: Oh, you and your model cars!
Tom: At Mr. Egg’s place John and Mary saw a light upstairs, but no one answered the door.
John: (knocking) There’s no reply. Perhaps there’s nobody in.
Mary: Mr. Egg’s in. There’s a light in his window.
John: Then why didn’t he answer the door?
Mary: His rooms are upstairs. Perhaps he didn’t hear you.
John: I knocked hard enough.
Mary: Push the door. Perhaps it isn’t locked.
Policeman: Can I help you, sir?
John: No, thank you.
Mary: John, it’s a policeman behind you.
John: A policeman? Oh, good evening, constable.
Policeman: Good evening, sir. Do you want any help?
John: Oh, well, all right, thank you.
Mary: Yes, everything is all right.
Policeman: Well, that’s all right then, sir. This street’s on my beat.
John: You’re keeping an eye on it then.
Policeman: Yes, sir, I’m keeping an eye on everything. This is Mr. Egg’s place.
Tom: The police constable was keeping an eye on everything, that is, he was watching everything. He kept an eye on Mr. Egg’s place, too, because it was on his beat. It was in the part of the town that he watched, that he was responsible for.
Man: Good evening, constable.
Policeman: Good evening, sir.
Man: Nice to see you here.
Policeman: Thank you, sir. I’m on my beat. Your house is on my beat. You can sleep in peace. I keep an eye on your house.
Woman: (heartbeat-like noise) What a funny noise. What is it?
Man: My heart is beating, that’s all.
Woman: (beat music) What sort of music is this?
Man: Can’t you recognize it? It’s beat.
Tom: The policeman kept an eye on Mr. Egg’s place. It was on his beat. “You’re friends of Mr. Egg, aren’t you?” he asked John and Mary. “We have an appointment with him,” they answered.
Woman1: Hello, Mary. Where are you going?
Woman2: Hello. I have an appointment with the dentist.
Woman1: I must tell you something about the—
Woman2: Sorry, Jill, but I must hurry. My appointment is at five o’clock. I mustn’t be late.
Woman1: Good afternoon.
Woman2: Good afternoon.
Woman1: I’ve got an appointment with Mr. Jones at two o’clock.
Woman2: Oh, yes. Mr. Jones is expecting you. Will you come this way, please?
Tom: Well, John and Mary had an appointment with Mr. Egg at seven o’clock. They met a policeman in front of Mr. Egg’s bookshop.
John: Oh, good evening, constable.
Policeman: Good evening, sir. Do you want any help?
John: Oh, well, all right, thank you.
Mary: Yes, everything is all right.
Policeman: Well, that’s all right then, sir. This street’s on my beat.
John: You’re keeping an eye on it then.
Policeman: Yes, sir, I’m keeping an eye on everything. This is Mr. Egg’s place.
John: I know. I want to see him.
Policeman: You’re friends of Mr. Egg, aren’t you?
John: We have an appointment with him.
Mary: For seven o’clock.
Policeman: Ah, it’s after seven now, sir.
John: He’ll come down in a minute.
Policeman: So you don’t want any help then?
Mary: No, thank you. Good evening, constable.
Policeman: Good evening, Miss.
Tom: The policeman asked, “Do you need any help?”. “No, thank you,” Mary answered. Then the policeman said, “I’ll be back this way in a few minutes, in case you should need any help.”
Woman: Ronny, I’ll put this raincoat in your suitcase.
Man: My raincoat? What for?
Woman: In case the weather changes for the worse. And you must take these pullovers, in case it gets cold.
Man: All right, but why are you packing all that medicine? It’ll fill a chemist’s shop.
Woman: In case you’re ill.
Man: In case I’m ill? Why don’t you pack our family doctor, too, then?
Tom: The policeman said goodbye to John and Mary in front of Mr. Egg’s bookshop. Then he went along the street, pushing the doors of the shops, to see if they were safely locked. Soon he was out of sight.
Man: Where is he? Can you see him?
Woman: No, I can’t see him any longer. He’s out of sight.
Man: Hello. Hello. Here I’m at last.
Woman: Where have you been? Why are you running?
Man: I’ve—I’ve—
Woman: What’s the matter? You’re completely out of breath.
Woman1: Dear, what have you put on?
Woman2: A midi skirt. What’s wrong with it?
Woman1: Don’t you know it’s out of fashion?
Man: Good afternoon.
Driver: Good afternoon.
Man: Could you take me to Southampton?
Driver: Southampton? No, sorry, I can’t. It’s out of my way.
(guitar music with a lot of false notes)
Woman: Stop it, stop it, it’s horrible.
Man: What’s the matter?
Woman: Can’t you hear? The guitar is out of tune.
Tom: The policeman went along the street. He pushed the doors of the shops, to see if they were safely locked. Soon he was out of sight.
Mary: He didn’t push this door.
John: I’m glad, because this door isn’t locked. Look, I can push it open.
Mary: D’you think we should go in?
John: Is the policeman looking at us?
Mary: No, he’s out of sight.
John: Then let’s go in.
Mary: (mysterious music) Oh, it’s dark in here.
John: There’s nobody here.
Mary: But there’s somebody upstairs. We saw the light.
John: Let’s call.
Mary: Mr. Egg! Mr. Egg!
John: Mr. Egg! Mr. Egg! It’s John Blake.
Mary: There’s no reply. D’you think we should go upstairs?
John: Mr. Egg’s private rooms are upstairs.
Mary: Then d’you think we should wait for somebody?
John: There’s nobody coming. Mr. Egg!
(somebody moaning upstairs)
Tom: It was dark in the shop. John said, “There’s nobody here.” “There’s somebody upstairs, we saw the light,” Mary replied. They called, but no one answered.
Cathy: Perhaps the rooms upstairs were out of use.
Tom: I don’t think so. But you’ll find out later on, if you first exercise your English.
Cathy: Tom, that remark was out of place.
Tom: You are unjust. I’m asking you to exercise your English out of kindness.
Cathy: Oh, really? Out of spite, you mean.
Tom: No, no, kindly. So now,
EXERCISE YOUR ENGLISH.
Exercise 1
Listen to the example:
A: Let’s go in.
B: Do you think we should go in?
Listen, speak, listen.
A: Let’s go in.
[Your response]
B: Do you think we should go in?
A: Let’s go upstairs.
[Your response]
B: Do you think we should go upstairs?
A: Let’s call the constable.
[Your response]
B: Do you think we should call the constable?
A: Let’s wait for someone to come.
[Your response]
B: Do you think we should wait for someone to come?
Exercise 2
Listen to the example:
A: Do you need my help?
B: No, I don’t.
A: In case you should need my help, let me know.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: Do you need my help?
B: No, I don’t.
[Your response]
A: In case you should need my help, let me know.
A: Does he want some money?
B: No, he doesn’t.
[Your response]
A: In case he should need some money, let me know.
A: Have they signed the agreement?
B: No, they haven’t.
[Your response]
A: In case they should sign it, let me know.
A: Will you meet Peter?
B: No, I won’t
[Your response]
A: In case you should meet him, let me know.
A: Does she need an interpreter?
B: No, she doesn’t.
[Your response]
A: In case she should need one, let me know.
A: Do you need my car?
B: No, I don’t.
[Your response]
A: In case you should need it, let me know.
Exercise 3
Listen to the example:
A: He said he hadn’t seen the light upstairs.
B: But there was a light upstairs, wasn’t there?
Listen, speak, listen.
A: He said he hadn’t seen the light upstairs.
[Your response]
B: But there was a light upstairs, wasn’t there?
A: He said he hadn’t heard the knock at the door.
[Your response]
B: But there was a knock at the door, wasn’t there?
A: He said he hadn’t noticed the policeman behind him.
[Your response]
B: But there was a policeman behind him, wasn’t there?
A: He said he hadn’t seen the pendant in the glass case.
[Your response]
B: But there was a pendant in the glass case, wasn’t there?
A: He said he hadn’t heard the noise from upstairs.
[Your response]
B: But there was a noise from upstairs, wasn’t there?
Exercise 4
Listen to the example:
A: Why didn’t they open the door?
B: There was probably no one there to open it.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: Why didn’t they open the door?
[Your response]
B: There was probably no one there to open it.
A: Why didn’t they help him?
[Your response]
B: There was probably no one there to help him.
A: Why didn’t they stop the thieves?
[Your response]
B: There was probably no one there to stop them.
A: Why didn’t they call for the police?
[Your response]
B: There was probably no one there to call for them.
A: Why didn’t they answer the phone?
[Your response]
B: There was probably no one there to answer it.
A: Why didn’t they call the ambulance?
[Your response]
B: There was probably no one there to call it.
A: Why didn’t they open the door?
[Your response]
B: There was probably no one there to open it.
Tom: And now, let’s go back to our story once again. John and Mary arrived at Mr. Egg’s bookshop.
Mary: The street looks empty.
John: There’s nobody about.
Mary: There’s a light upstairs.
John: That’s Mr. Egg’s room.
Mary: Let’s knock.
John: (knocking) There’s no reply. Perhaps there’s nobody in.
Mary: Mr. Egg’s in. There’s a light in his window.
John: Then why didn’t he answer the door?
Mary: His rooms are upstairs. Perhaps he didn’t hear you.
John: I knocked hard enough.
Mary: Push the door. Perhaps it isn’t locked.
(footsteps)
Policeman: Can I help you, sir?
John: No, thank you.
Mary: John, it’s a policeman behind you.
John: A policeman? Oh, good evening, constable.
Policeman: Good evening, sir. Do you want any help?
John: Oh, well, all right, thank you.
Mary: Yes, everything is all right.
Policeman: Well, that’s all right then, sir. This street’s on my beat.
John: You’re keeping an eye on it then.
Policeman: Yes, sir, I’m keeping an eye on everything. This is Mr. Egg’s place.
John: I know. I want to see him.
Policeman: You’re friends of Mr. Egg, sir, aren’t you?
John: We have an appointment with him.
Mary: For seven o’clock.
Policeman: Ah, it’s after seven now, sir.
John: He’ll come down in a minute.
Policeman: So, you don’t want any help then?
Mary: No, thank you. Good evening, constable.
Policeman: Good evening, Miss. I’ll be back this way in a few minutes in case you should need any help.
(footsteps)
Mary: He didn’t push this door.
John: I’m glad, because this door isn’t locked. Look, I can push it open.
Mary: D’you think we should go in?
John: Is the policeman looking at us?
Mary: No, he’s out of sight.
John: Then let’s go in.
(mysterious music)
Mary: Oh, it’s dark in here.
John: There’s nobody here.
Mary: But there’s somebody upstairs. We saw the light.
John: Let’s call.
Mary: Mr. Egg! Mr. Egg!
John: Mr. Egg! Mr. Egg! It’s John Blake.
Mary: There’s no reply. D’you think we should go upstairs?
John: Mr. Egg’s private rooms are upstairs.
Mary: Then d’you think we should wait for somebody?
John: There’s nobody coming. Mr. Egg!
(somebody moaning upstairs) Boo…
Mary: Was that him?
John: Come on. Let’s see.
Mary: Upstairs?
John: Hurry!
(theme music)