The Loan / The Burglar

1) “That’s not so hard, George, ” said his father. “Write to him and say you need the $1000 at once.”

2)Among my best friends are Joe and his wife Alice, who live in a nice little house near Manchester.

3) “You mean the $500, ” George interrupted.

4)The friend proved to be untrustworthy, and as George thought he would lose the $500, he asked his father for advice.

5)The donor neglected to send his name, and all day the couple’s question was, “Wonder who it is? ”

6) “No, I don’t! Say a thousand pounds and he will write back he only owes you $500.”

7)There was a note from the burglar propped up on the pillow in the bedroom saying, “Now you know.”

8)When, as a newly married couple, they had just returned from their honeymoon, they got a pleasant surprise in the post one morning - two tickets for the best show in town.

9)George Smith had lent a friend $500 but he had nothing in writing confirming the loan.

10)They enjoyed the show; when they reached home they found that their house had been broken into and that all their wedding presents had been taken.

11) “Then you’ll have it in writing.”

b)Read the story sentence by sentence and find logical mistakes.

John Adams is an amateur detective who spends all his time trying to solve crimes. Yesterday at about nine o’clock in the afternoon he saw his brother Joe walk up to a red car, get into it and ride off at a steady trot. Three days later at exactly the same time he thought he saw the same thing. He couldn’t be absolutely sure as it was already getting dark and the woman was holding an umbrella over her face to protect her from the fog. Later that day when Adams had observed several other suspicious people he walked to the next village and handed his report to the head waiter at New Scotland Yard.

Unit 13. “Take the Witness! ” (by Robert Charles Benchley)

I 1.Below are some extracts from court cases. In all but one of them a silly question is asked. Which one?

a) “And the youngest son, the 20-year-old, how old is he? ”

b) “Doctor, before you performed the autopsy, did you check for a pulse? ”

“No.”

“Did you check for blood pressure? ”

“No.”

“Did you check for breathing? ”

“No.”

“How can you be so sure, doctor? ”

“Because his brain was sitting on my desk in a jar.”

“But could the patient have still been alive, nevertheless? ”

“It is possible that he could have been alive and practising law somewhere.”

c) “Was it you or your younger brother who was killed in the war? ”

d) “You say the stairs went down to the basement? ”

“Yes.”

“Did they also go up? ”

e) “What were you doing at the time of the murder? ’

“I was watching the football on TV.”

“Were you alone? ”

“Yes, I was.”

“Who won the match? ”

“Manchester United.”

f) “Now, doctor, isn’t it true that when a person dies in his sleep, he doesn’t know about it until the next morning? ”

g) “Were you present when your picture was taken? ”

2.Which one did you find the most amusing?

3.The words and phrases in the box are all connected to the theme of law. Put the words under one of the headings below.