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 Mr. Egg, the bookseller. They found Mr. Egg with his own knife sticking in him. Beside his body, there was an old diary with the drawing of the stolen pendant. They went to telephone the police. When they went back, the diary wasn’t there. “It’s gone,” John said. Mary was upset. “It didn’t walk away by itself,” she said.
Man: Look at that car! It’s moving by itself.
Woman: My God! You’re right. There’s no one sitting in it, but it’s moving all the same. It’s going by itself. It must be magic. Good Lord! The wall!
Man: You call that magic? If you ask me, the driver didn’t put the handbrake on.
Cathy: I’m going to explain this “itself” form to the listeners.
Tom: Shall I help you?
Cathy: No, thanks. I can do it myself.
Tom: Do you really think you can do it yourself?
Cathy: If I say I can, I can do it myself. I can do it without any help, by myself.
Tom: All right, but I think I have to help the listeners to understand you.
Cathy: They don’t need any help either. They’ll understand it by themselves.
Tom: So, you can do it yourself.
Cathy: Yes, I can do it myself, thank you. I’m sorry, Tom. I know that you can do it yourself, too.
Tom: So, she can do it herself.
Cathy: And he can do it himself.
Tom and Cathy: We can do it ourselves.
Tom: Do, but do what? I forgot what we wanted to do.
Cathy: Explain the “itself” form, of course.
Tom: Whatever for? The listeners are clever enough to understand.
Cathy: So, you see? I was right. They did understand it themselves.
Tom: Oh, no, wait a minute. That “themselves” is different.
Cathy: I know it is. It’s used for emphasis or stress. It stresses that you do something alone, without any help. And the same form has yet another function, too. Listen to this.
Woman: (laughing)
Child: What’s the matter?
Woman: Your nose.
Child: What’s wrong with my nose?
Woman: Here is a mirror, have a look at yourself. Well, can you see yourself?
Child: Yes, I can see myself. Oh, my nose! It’s black all over. I look like a chimney-sweep.
Woman1: And have you any children?
Woman2: Oh, yes, I’ve got a marvellous son. Little Albert is very clever. He can feed himself, he can wash himself and he can dress himself. He can already do everything, all by himself.
Woman1: How old is little Albert?
Woman2: 52.
Child: Look at Billy. He’s feeding himself.
Woman: Isn’t he a clever boy? (spoon clanks) Oh, Billy, look at you now. You’ve made yourself all dirty.
Woman: All right, Billy. Don’t cry.
Man: What happened? Did you hit him?
Woman: Me? No, he fell over and hit himself.
Man: Ouch! My hand.
Woman: What have you done?
Man: I cut myself with a knife.
Tom: (laughing)
Cathy: Don’t laugh. I myself have cut myself with a knife.
Tom: Well done. It’s a good example. But when Mary said, “The book didn’t walk away by itself,” she used the emphatic form. The book couldn’t go away without anyone taking it.
Cathy: But who took it?
Tom: I myself don’t know yet. Perhaps we’ll find out later on. Let’s listen.
Mary: John, you put the diary on the table, didn’t you?
John: Yes, I did. I put it here.
Mary: Then where is it?
John: It’s gone.
Mary: It didn’t walk away by itself.
John: I thought I put it on this table.
Mary: Perhaps you put it on that chair.
John: But it isn’t on that chair either.
Mary: Perhaps it fell off. Perhaps it’s on the floor.
John: Let’s look on the floor. Can you see it?
Mary: I can see a lot of books. There’re books all over the floor – big books and little books.
John: But can you see the diary?
Mary: Not yet. There’s a book over there. It’s a brown book with leather covers.
John: Where?
Mary: Near the door. Can you see it?
John: Oh, yes, I can see it. This one.
Mary: Yeah.
John: But it’s an old cookery book.
Mary: Oh, it isn’t the diary then.
John: No, it’s an old cookery book. Listen: “Take two dozen eggs…”
Mary: John! We’re looking for the diary. It’s important. Where is it?
John: I don’t know.
Mary: Did you leave it downstairs?
John: I didn’t take it downstairs. I put it on that table. Perhaps someone else has taken it.
Mary: Don’t be silly. There’s no one else here.
John: Are you sure?
Mary: John!
John: The book has been taken. I haven’t taken it, you haven’t taken it, so, someone else has taken it. We heard footsteps.
Mary: Someone was walking about.
John: It wasn’t Mr. Egg. Mr. Egg was dead. It was someone else.
Tom: Well, John and Mary couldn’t find the diary. There were books all over the floor. They found an old cookery book, a book that tells you how to cook. Both books, the diary and the cookery book, had brown leather covers.
Cathy: Oh, Tom, I’ve got an idea. You could cover all sorts of expressions with that verb.
Tom: You mean “cover”?
Cathy: Yes.
Tom: You’re right. That’s a very good idea.
Woman: What’s the matter, dear? You look very pale.
Child: I don’t feel well. I want to go to bed.
Woman: All right, but wait while I take the cover off. Here you are. Jump in and cover up warmly.
Man: Oh, that’s nice. I’m always saying you’re the best cook in the world.
Woman: Put that cover back immediately. You know how I hate it when you eat from the saucepan.
Man: Oh, it’s pouring. We’d better get under cover quickly.
Woman: We can take cover under that big tree.
Woman: It’s terribly hot. I can’t bear the sun any longer.
Man: Put your hat on. Cover your head, or you’ll get sunstroke.
Woman: (yawning) Let’s see what’s the weather like this morning. Good lord! Come here. Snow! There’s snow everywhere. Everything is covered with snow.
Man: Here we are at last. We’ve covered 200 miles.
Woman: Well, you’ve covered quite a distance.
Man: D’you know what? Let’s spend the holiday together in Cannes.
Woman: (laughing) Oh, no. You know I haven’t got a penny. Me in Cannes?
Man: Don’t worry. I’ll pay for everything. I’ll cover all your expenses.
Cathy: Is that all?
Tom: No, you should read a thick book from cover to cover, then you would find some more good expressions.
Cathy: (laughing) Oh!
Tom: What are you laughing at?
Cathy: I’m laughing to cover my confusion.
Tom: Well, we’d better get back to our story. Let’s listen to John and Mary now.
John: The book has been taken. I haven’t taken it, you haven’t taken it, so, someone else has taken it. We heard footsteps.
Mary: Someone was walking about.
John: It wasn’t Mr. Egg. Mr. Egg was dead. It was someone else.
Mary: D’you think there’s someone else in the house?
John: Don’t be frightened.
Mary: I’m not frightened.
John: I am. (mysterious music)
Mary: Yes, I am, too. I am frightened. I think there’s a murderer in the house.
John: Do you think it’s the person who killed Mr. Egg?
Mary: We heard footsteps. I think that was the murderer. He was looking for the book.
John: Oh. He was waiting upstairs. He was listening to us while we were talking to Mr. Egg.
Mary: He was listening while we were looking at the book.
John: Oh. Perhaps he is waiting outside the door.
Mary: Will he attack us?
John: He killed Mr. Egg.
Mary: We’d better find some weapons.
Tom: John said to Mary, “The book has been taken. I haven’t taken it. You haven’t taken it. So, someone else has taken it.” Mary was frightened. “I think there’s a murderer in the house,” she said. The murderer, the man who killed Mr. Egg. Mary was afraid. “Will he attack us?” she asked. “Will he attack?”, that is, will he try to hit them or stab them or kill them? “We’d better find some weapons,” she added. They looked for some weapons – for some things to fight the murderer with – but there was only a pile of books – a lot of books on top of one another.
Mary: Will he attack us?
John: He killed Mr. Egg.
Mary: We’d better find some weapons.
John: There’s only a pile of old books.
Mary: You can’t hurt him with old books.
John: We can throw them. Some of them are very heavy. We can hit him with them.
Mary: But he has a knife.
John: But has he?
Mary: Mr. Egg was stabbed.
John: Mr. Egg was stabbed with his own knife. But we can’t stay here with Mr. Egg.
Mary: No, we can’t stay here with that body.
John: Let’s go downstairs again.
Mary: But if we meet the murderer—
John: If we meet the murderer – well, let’s take a big book, each.
Mary: All right.
Tom: John and Mary couldn’t find any other weapons but some big and heavy old books. “We can hit the murderer with them,” John said.
Cathy: Oh, the story is getting very exciting. But I must say: I wouldn’t like to be where John and Mary were.
Tom: Oh, you could fight the murderer without any help by yourself, if I know you. But you can make yourself useful here, too.
Cathy: If I exercise my English?
Tom: That’s right. So now,
EXERCISE YOUR ENGLISH.
Exercise 1
Listen to the example:
A: He wasn’t the one who took the book.
B: Then someone else must have taken it.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: He wasn’t the one who took the book.
[Your response]
B: Then someone else must have taken it.
A: He wasn’t the one who opened your letter.
[Your response]
B: Then someone else must have opened it.
A: He wasn’t the one who borrowed your cookery book.
[Your response]
B: Then someone else must have borrowed it.
A: He wasn’t the one who murdered Mr. Egg.
[Your response]
B: Then someone else must have murdered him.
Exercise 2
Listen to the example:
A: Shall I finish that letter for you?
B: I think I’d better finish it myself.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: Shall I finish that letter for you?
[Your response]
B: I think I’d better finish it myself.
A: Shall I find the diary for them?
[Your response]
B: I think they’d better find it themselves.
A: Shall I answer this question for him?
[Your response]
B: I think he’d better answer it himself.
A: Shall we cook the dinner for her?
[Your response]
B: I think she’d better cook it herself.
Exercise 3
Listen to the example:
A: They were looking at the diary.
B: what
A: What were they looking for?
Listen, speak, listen.
A: They were looking at the diary.
B: what
[Your response]
A: What were they looking for?
A: He left his glasses downstairs.
B: what
[Your response]
A: What did he leave downstairs?
A: They heard footsteps.
B: who
[Your response]
A: Who heard footsteps?
A: There’s a pile of old books on the floor.
B: what
[Your response]
A: What is there on the floor?
A: They’ll find the pendant by the end of the story.
B: when
[Your response]
A: When will they find the pendant?
Tom: And now, will you listen to the story again? John and Mary phoned the police and went back to Mr. Egg’s room, but they couldn’t find the diary with the drawing of the pendant.
Mary: John, you put the diary on the table, didn’t you?
John: Yes, I did. I put it here.
Mary: Then where is it?
John: It’s gone.
Mary: It didn’t walk away by itself.
John: I thought I put it on this table.
Mary: Perhaps you put it on that chair.
John: But it isn’t on that chair either.
Mary: Perhaps it fell off. Perhaps it’s on the floor.
John: Let’s look on the floor. Can you see it?
Mary: I can see a lot of books. There’re books all over the floor – big books and little books.
John: But can you see the diary?
Mary: Not yet. There’s a book over there. It’s a brown book with leather covers.
John: Where?
Mary: Near the door. Can you see it?
John: Oh, yes, I can see it. This one.
Mary: Yeah.
John: But it’s an old cookery book.
Mary: Oh, it isn’t the diary then.
John: No, it’s an old cookery book. Listen: “Take two dozen eggs…”
Mary: John! We’re looking for the diary. It’s important. Where is it?
John: I don’t know.
Mary: Did you leave it downstairs?
John: I didn’t take it downstairs. I put it on that table. Perhaps someone else has taken it.
Mary: Don’t be silly. There’s no one else here.
John: Are you sure?
Mary: John!
John: The book has been taken. I haven’t taken it, you haven’t taken it, so, someone else has taken it. We heard footsteps.
Mary: Someone was walking about.
John: It wasn’t Mr. Egg. Mr. Egg was dead. It was someone else.
Mary: D’you think there’s someone else in the house?
John: Don’t be frightened.
Mary: I’m not frightened.
John: I am. (mysterious music)
Mary: Yes, I am, too. I am frightened. I think there’s a murderer in the house.
John: Do you think it’s the person who killed Mr. Egg?
Mary: We heard footsteps. I think that was the murderer. He was looking for the book.
John: Oh. He was waiting upstairs. He was listening to us while we were talking to Mr. Egg.
Mary: He was listening while we were looking at the book.
John: Oh. Perhaps he is waiting outside the door.
Mary: Will he attack us?
John: He killed Mr. Egg.
Mary: We’d better find some weapons.
John: There’s only a pile of old books.
Mary: You can’t hurt him with old books.
John: We can throw them. Some of them are very heavy. We can hit him with them.
Mary: But he has a knife.
John: But has he?
Mary: Mr. Egg was stabbed.
John: Mr. Egg was stabbed with his own knife. But we can’t stay here with Mr. Egg.
Mary: No, we can’t stay here with that body.
John: Let’s go downstairs again.
Mary: But if we meet the murderer—
John: If we meet the murderer – well, let’s take a big book, each.
Mary: All right.
John: I can’t open the door.
Mary: Oh, ridiculous.
John: I can’t. It’s locked. Somebody has locked the door.
(theme music)