Tom: John Blake was trying to find out about a pendant that 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 dead. He had been murdered. Someone locked them in the room with the dead body, then set the house on fire. They couldn’t open the door, so they broke the window, but they couldn’t jump. It was too high. “Jump into a sheet,” a woman in the street suggested. A sheet is a piece of material that we lie on in bed. But there was no sheet to jump into. A woman went to fetch one. Meanwhile, the fire was getting hotter.
Woman: Phew. The fire’s getting hotter. Can’t stand it. Burning my face.
Man: Then move your chair away from the fireplace.
Woman: Brr. I’m cold.
Man: It is cold here, and the fire is getting out.
Woman1: No, you mustn’t eat that piece of cake. You’re getting fatter every day.
Woman2: Never mind, I’ll start dieting tomorrow.
Woman: What a terrible noise! It’s getting louder every minute.
Man: So it is. It’s becoming stronger and stronger.
Woman: It’s dreadful. It’s going more and more horrible. Shut the window.
Cathy: Well, Tom, that means, “get”, “become” and “grow” are similar in meaning. Does it matter which one you use?
Tom: No, you can use whichever you like.
Cathy: Tom, I’m getting more and more impatient to know if John and Mary got out of the burning house. No, I’m becoming more and more impatient. No, I’m growing more and more impatient.
Tom: Then you’ll soon get old. They say those who are curious grow old before their time. But it doesn’t matter. I’ll like you just as much when you are a little old lady with white hair and a dozen cats.
Cathy: Thank you, Tom.
Tom: And now, I’ll satisfy your curiosity. Listen to John and Mary.
John: (he breaks the window with a book) There. Now we can jump down into the street.
Mary: Oh, no. Look down there. We’re too high. We’re too high up.
John: Yes. If we jump, we’ll be killed.
Mary: But if we stay here, we’ll be burned.
John: What can we do?
Mary: We can shout.
John: Nobody will hear us.
Mary: Yes, they will. Look. There’s somebody in the street now.
John: Yes. And there’s somebody else.
Mary: Let’s shout. Help!
John: Help!
Mary: Help!
John: Help!
Woman on the street: Come down.
Man on the street: Yes, come down.
Mary: We can’t come down. The door’s locked.
Woman on the street: Jump down.
Man on the street: Jump.
John: We can’t jump. It’s too high.
Woman on the street: Jump into a sheet.
Mary: There isn’t a sheet.
Woman on the street: I’ll fetch one. Wait there, while I fetch a sheet.
Man on the street: She’s going to fetch a sheet.
Mary: Oh, dear. She’s gone to fetch a sheet. The fire’s getting hotter.
John: The smoke’s coming under the door.
Woman on the street: Climb out.
Man on the street: Yes, climb out.
John: Where can we climb?
Woman on the street: Climb onto the roof.
Man on the street: Onto the roof
John: We can’t climb onto the roof. The roof’s too high.
Woman on the street: Climb down the drainpipe.
Man on the street: Yes, climb down the drainpipe.
Mary: We can’t climb down the drainpipe. Oh, we can’t reach it.
Tom: Someone suggested they jump out of the window, but there was no sheet to jump into. Then someone else said, “Climb out. Climb onto the roof.” That is, on top of the house. But the roof was too high. Then they were told to climb down the drainpipe. A drainpipe is a long tube, in which rainwater runs down from the roof a house to the ground. But Mary said, “We can’t climb down the drainpipe. We can’t reach it.” The situation was getting worse and worse. Smoke was getting into the room. “It’s making my eyes water, and it’s making me cough,” John said.
(toy squeaks)
Child1: It’s mine. Give it to me.
Child2: No, it’s mine.
Child1: Let it go.
Child2: No, it’s mine.
Mother: Philip, why are you making your sister cry? You make her cry every other minute.
Women: It’s fish soup. It’s a Hungarian speciality. Try it.
Man: Oh, it’s hot. It’s making me cough.
Child: Giap! Giap!
Mother: What are you doing with that poor dog?
Child: I’m making him pull my little cart. Giap! Giap!
Cathy: Tom, do you think you can make the listeners understand the use of “make”?
Tom: Of course. It’s very easy, isn’t it? I make the listeners understand grammar. I understand it, but they don’t, so I make them understand it.
Cathy: Let’s try. Let’s make them practice it.
Tom: Wait a minute! There’s some other work to be done first. A few minutes ago, you were full of curiosity about John and Mary. Has it gone?
Cathy: No, of course not.
Tom: Then listen, please.
Mary: We can’t climb down the drainpipe. Oh, we can’t reach it. The smoke’s getting worse. It’s stinging to my eyes.
John: It’s making my eyes water. And it’s making me cough.
Mary: It’s getting into our lungs.
Woman on the street: You! You out there!
John: Yes!
Woman on the street: Here’s the sheet. Jump now.
Man on the street: Yes, jump now.
John: If we jump, we’ll be hurt. We’ll be seriously hurt.
Mary: Then what can we do?
John: We’ll wait for the fire engine. It’ll come soon.
Mary: Yes – but will it come soon enough?
John: Listen! Something’s coming. I can hear a siren. It’s a fire engine. We’re saved.
Cathy: That reminds me – SOS, save our souls. So, John’s and Mary’s souls are saved.
Tom: How right you are, Cathy. The verb “save” is a very interesting one. It has several different meanings. Listen.
(SOS Morse signal)
Man: SOS. A ship must be in danger. It’s sent out an SOS. Save our souls! We must turn and help them. Mate, turn the wheel.
Man: Hey, don’t go on any further, that’s the end of the cliff. You may fall.
Woman: Oh, thank you. You saved me from falling.
Woman1: How’s Jack? Is he getting better?
Woman2: Oh, yes, he is very well now, thank you. It’s a miracle that the doctors could save him.
Man: Here is the king. God save the king.
Man1: Look. That’s football for you. What a shot! Goal! Goal!
Man2: Don’t shout. Can’t you see? The goalkeeper saved the goal.
Man1: It’s very silly of you, Bobby, to spend your money to the last penny every month. You ought to save some money for the future.
Man2: Save money? Don’t joke further. I’m twenty years old.
Mother: Don’t eat all the chocolates, Maggie!
Child: But I want to.
Mother: You can’t. You must save some for Tommy, too.
Man: Oh, God. I’ve got to go over to Fred this evening. (telephone ringing) Who was it, Pat?
Woman: That was Fred. To save you the trouble of going there, he’s coming here.
Cathy: Well, that’s an interesting verb, Tom. But I think we ought to save a few minutes for the end of the story.
John: Listen! Something’s coming. I can hear a siren. It’s a fire engine. We’re saved.
Mary: Oh, it’s not a fire engine, it’s a police car.
John: What? Oh, yes, it is a police car. The policemen are getting out.
Mary: But we don’t want policemen. We want firemen. Perhaps that’s the fire engine.
John: No, it’s an ambulance. Oh, we don’t want an ambulance.
Mary: Don’t we?
John: We want a fire engine.
Woman on the street: Hey, you! Why don’t you jump?
Man on the street: Yes, jump.
Mary: John, the fire has reached this room.
John: The floor’s burning.
Tom: And now, Cathy, we have some minutes saved for you to exercise your English. So now,
EXERCISE YOUR ENGLISH.
Exercise 1
Listen to the example:
A: Wait there while I fetch a sheet.
B: She’s gone to fetch a sheet.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: Wait there while I fetch a sheet.
[Your response]
B: She’s gone to fetch a sheet.
A: Wait there while I phone the police.
[Your response]
B: She’s gone to phone the police.
A: Wait there while I call the fire brigade.
[Your response]
B: She’s gone to call the fire brigade.
A: Wait there while I speak to the detective.
[Your response]
B: She’s gone to speak to the detective.
A: Wait there while I pay the bill.
[Your response]
B: She’s gone to pay the bill.
A: Wait there while I buy the tickets.
[Your response]
B: She’s gone to buy the tickets.
A: Wait there while I get a taxi.
[Your response]
B: She’s gone to get a taxi.
A: Wait there while I find the key.
[Your response]
B: She’s gone to find the key.
Exercise 2
Listen to the example:
A: It is hot.
B: Yes, and it’s getting hotter every day.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: It is hot.
[Your response]
B: Yes, and it’s getting hotter every day.
A: It is cold.
[Your response]
B: Yes, and it’s getting colder every day.
A: She is fat.
[Your response]
B: Yes, and she’s getting fatter every day.
A: He is slim.
[Your response]
B: Yes, and he’s getting slimmer every day.
A: He is old.
[Your response]
B: Yes, and he’s getting older every day.
A: She is young.
[Your response]
B: Yes, and she’s getting younger every day.
A: They are good.
[Your response]
B: Yes, and they’re getting better every day.
A: He is bad.
[Your response]
B: Yes, and he’s getting worse every day.
Exercise 3
Listen to the example:
A: Why are you crying?
B: he
C: He always makes me cry.
Listen, speak, listen.
A: Why are you crying?
B: he
[Your response]
C: He always makes me cry.
A: Why are you sad?
B: war films
[Your response]
C: War films always make me sad.
A: Why are you coughing?
B: smoke
[Your response]
C: Smoke always makes me cough.
A: Why are you pale?
B: late nights
[Your response]
C: Late nights always make me pale.
A: Why are you running away?
B: the dogs
[Your response]
C: The dogs always make me run away.
Tom: And now, here is our story once again. John has smashed the window.
John: (he breaks the window with a book) There. Now we can jump down into the street.
Mary: Oh, no. Look down there. We’re too high. We’re too high up.
John: Yes. If we jump, we’ll be killed.
Mary: But if we stay here, we’ll be burned.
John: What can we do?
Mary: We can shout.
John: Nobody will hear us.
Mary: Yes, they will. Look. There’s somebody in the street now.
John: Yes. And there’s somebody else.
Mary: Let’s shout. Help!
John: Help!
Mary: Help!
John: Help!
Woman on the street: Come down.
Man on the street: Yes, come down.
Mary: We can’t come down. The door’s locked.
Woman on the street: Jump down.
Man on the street: Jump.
John: We can’t jump. It’s too high.
Woman on the street: Jump into a sheet.
Mary: There isn’t a sheet.
Woman on the street: I’ll fetch one. Wait there, while I fetch a sheet.
Man on the street: She’s going to fetch a sheet.
Mary: Oh, dear. She’s gone to fetch a sheet. The fire’s getting hotter.
John: The smoke’s coming under the door.
Woman on the street: Climb out.
Man on the street: Yes, climb out.
John: Where can we climb?
Woman on the street: Climb onto the roof.
Man on the street: Onto the roof.
John: We can’t climb onto the roof. The roof’s too high.
Woman on the street: Climb down the drainpipe.
Man on the street: Yes, climb down the drainpipe.
Mary: We can’t climb down the drainpipe. Oh, we can’t reach it. Smoke’s getting worse. It’s stinging to my eyes.
John: It’s making my eyes water. And it’s making me cough.
Mary: It’s getting into our lungs.
Woman on the street: You! You out there!
John: Yes!
Woman on the street: Here’s the sheet. Jump now.
Man on the street: Yes, jump now.
John: If we jump, we’ll be hurt. (he coughs) We’ll be seriously hurt.
Mary: Then what can we do?
John: We’ll wait for the fire engine. It’ll come soon.
Mary: Yes – but will it come soon enough?
John: Listen! Something’s coming. I can hear a siren. It’s a fire engine. We’re saved.
Mary: Oh, it’s not a fire engine, it’s a police car.
John: What? Oh, yes, it is a police car. The policemen are getting out.
Mary: But we don’t want policemen. We want firemen. Perhaps that’s the fire engine.
John: No, it’s an ambulance. Oh, we don’t want an ambulance.
Mary: Don’t we?
John: We want a fire engine.
Woman on the street: Hey, jump! Why don’t you jump?
Man on the street: Yes, jump.
Mary: John, the fire has reached this room.
John: The floor’s burning.
Mary: If the fire engine doesn’t come soon, it will be too late.
(theme music)
Announcer: Will the fire engine get there in time? Will John and Mary get out safely? Listen to the next episode of “The Missing Jewel”.