9.6. Scanning practice

9.6.1.Read the questions. Be sure you've got them well in mind.

1. What did the daughter's friend phone to say?

2. Where did Mr Barker have to go with the money?

3. Where did he put the money?

4. What was his daughter's explanation?

9.6.2.Start scanning the text. Don't fail to note your time.

Kidnap!

Mr and Mrs Barker were having a quiet day at home. Their 17-year-old daughter was away in Scotland staying with a friend. At 12 noon, Mr and Mrs Barker got a phone call from the friend where their daughter was supposed to be staying, saying that she had disappeared. They were just about to call the police when the phone rang again. A hoarse voice informed Mr Barker that his daughter had been kidnapped and that unless he paid a ransom of $ 1000 he would never see his daughter alive again. When Mr Barker inquired who the caller was, the voice answered that it was someone he knew well. The voice then gave him instructions about where and when to hand over the money. He was warned not to tell the police or to attempt to have the phone call traced. Mr Barker went to the bank and immediately withdrew the money out of his bank account and left on the next train to Brighton. When he arrived, he entered the Grand Hotel at five to six and carefully placed the briefcase beside a sofa as arranged. At six o'clock precisely, a woman in a scarf and raincoat approached, took the briefcase and walked quickly away.

At 10 p.m. the same evening, to his great relief, his daughter returned home. She could hardly refrain from laughing. Imagine his surprise when she handed him his briefcase containing the $ 1000. It turned out that she and her friend had decided to play a practical joke. It was she who had put on a hoarse voice to phone her father and it was she who had collected the briefcase in Brighton. The joke had succeeded but, strangely enough, Mr And Mrs Barker did not appreciate it as much as their daughter did. (300 words)

9.6.3.Answer the questions in 9.6.1. (Books closed.)

9.7. Listening practice

9.7.1. Look at the following questions. You'll have to answer them after listening to the text.

1. What is one of them going to do after leaving this place?

2. What are the plans of the other man?

3. What is he going to do at the cafe of his mother-in-law?

4. Why is he going to rob a bank next week?

9.7.2.Listen to the dialogues.

9.7.3.Answer the questions in 9.7.1.

9.7.4.Look through the list of words. They will help you to understand the text.

trunk — багажник embassy — посольство stupid — глупый lend — давать взаймы smart — умный

youth hostel — молодежное общежитие bargain — хорошая сделка

9.7.5.Listen to the dialogue. Be ready to give the contents of it in Russian.

9.7.6.Tell the contents of the dialogue in Russian as close to the text as possible.

9.8. Time for fun

9.8.1.Read the following jokes. Try to retell them.

New evidence

— Why do you want a new trial?

— On the grounds of newly discovered evidence, your honour.

— What's the nature of it?

— I found out that my client had 400 dollars that I didn't know he had.

Revenge is sweet (proverb)

JUDGE: It seems to me that I have seen you before.

PRISONER: You. have your honour. I taught your daughter singing.

JUDGE: I sentence you to five years of hard labour.