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| Section Ten
Section Ten Section Ten Section Ten Section Ten Ex. 14 A STREET IN LONDON We’re in Oxford Circus, halfway along Oxford Street, one of the busiest streets in the West End of London, and that street over there is Regent Street, famous all over the world for its splendid shops. Near one of the street corners you can see the entrance to the subway leading to the Underground Railway, or “Tube” as we call it. On both sides of the street there are shops, banks and restau rants. In the roadway there’s a constant stream of cars, taxis, buses and lorries. In some parts of London there are trolleybus es and trams as well. The noise is deafening, but one soon gets used to it. The pavements are crowded with people, and it’s dan gerous to attempt to cross the road until the traffic is stopped, either by a policeman on point duty or by the red traffic lights. In any case, before crossing the road, take care to look to your right, and when you reach the middle of the road, look to your left. At night, the streets are lit by electricity, or in some districts, by gas. You can see the lampposts and standards on the pave ments, and on the “islands” in the middle of the road. The main streets are flooded with light from the brilliant shopwindows and the illuminated signs and advertisements, so that after dark everything looks as bright as in broad daylight. Ex. 15 THE BULLETPROOF JACKET A man once called on a general, and showed him a jacket which he had invented for soldiers, and which, he said, was bul letproof. “Oh!” said the general. “Put it on!” Then he rang the bell, and said to the servant: “Tell the cap tain to load his gun and come here.” The inventor of the bulletproof jacket disappeared, and the general never saw him again. 455 Section Eleven Section Eleven Section Eleven Section Eleven Section Eleven Ex. 9 W o m a n : Good morning! S a l e s m a n : Good morning, madam. Can I help you? W.: Yes, you can. I’d like to buy a watch, please. S.: Certainly, madam. Is it for yourself? W.: Oh no. It’s for my small daughter. S.: I see. You don’t want a very expensive one, I suppose. W.: No. Fairly cheap, and fairly strong, too. S.: Oh, I understand. Will you have a look at this one, madam? W.: I think that looks too small. I’d rather have a bigger one. S.: What about this, madam? W.: That looks fine. How much is it? S.: Let me see. That’s five pounds ten. W.: Oh dear. I’m afraid that’s too much. S.: Here’s one that’s a little cheaper. W.: How much is that? S.: Four pounds fifteen. W.: Yes, I’ll take that one. S.: Can we send it for you, madam? W.: No, thank you. I’ll take it with me. Four pounds fifteen. S.: Thank you, madam. Good morning. W.: Goodbye. Ex. 12 THE DUMB BEGGAR A beggar made up his mind that he would pretend to be dumb. He arrived at a town where he had begged before. In one of the streets a gentleman who had given him money, and so remembered his face, met him and spoke to him. The beggar did not say a word. “Hello!” cried the gentleman, “how long have you been dumb?” “Ever since I was a baby,” answered the beggar. 456 Section Twelve Section Twelve Section Twelve Section Twelve Section Twelve Ex. 29 AT THE THEATRE “Have you got any seats for tomorrow?” “Matin й e or evening performance?” “Matin й e, please. I want two stalls, if you’ve got them.” “Yes, you can have — er — two in the middle of Row F.” “They’ll do very well, thank you. How much is that?” “They’re thirteen and six (13/6) each — that makes twenty seven shillings.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Stalls, sir? Stalls on the right. Gentlemen’s cloakroom this way; ladies’ cloakroom on the first landing.” “Show your tickets to the attendant inside the theatre; she’ll show you to your seats and let you have a programme.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “May I see your tickets, please? Row F, 12 and 13 ... This way, please. Would you like a programme?” “Yes, please.” “Shall I bring you some drink, sir? The play isn’t over till halfpast five.” “When do you serve tea?” “After the second act; there’s an interval of fifteen minutes.” “Then I think we might as well have some.” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . “Well, what did you think of the play?” “I enjoyed every minute of it. What did you think of it?” “I thought it was splendid. I haven’t laughed so much for a long time.” “Neither have I. It was extremely good.” “Yes, wasn’t it? I thought the acting was excellent.” “So did I. The whole thing was firstrate from beginning to end.” 457 Ex. 31 THE BELLBOY A traveller was standing at the desk in the lobby of a Wash ington hotel. He was in a hurry. He had only ten minutes to pay his bill and reach the station. Suddenly he remembered that he had forgotten something. He called the bellboy and said: “Run up to Room 48 and see whether I left a box on the table. Be quick, I am in a hurry.” The boy ran up the stairs. Five minutes passed, and the gen tleman was walking up and down impatiently. At last the boy came back. “Yes, sir,” he said, “yes, sir, you left it there. It’s on the table.” Section Thirteen Section Thirteen Section Thirteen Section Thirteen Section Thirteen Ex. 9 THE TAILOR AND THE DRESSMAKER This morning I’ve been to my tailor’s to order a new suit: coat, waistcoat and trousers. I should have liked to order a new overcoat as well as my old one is nearly worn out, but just now I can’t afford it. I shall have to wait till next year for that. But I might get a raincoat later on. My tailor always has an excellent stock of materials to choose from, and I think I’ve chosen what’ll be the most suitable for my purpose. I’ve had my measurements taken and I’m going again in a fortnight’s time for the first fitting. After I’ve tried the suit on, the tailor will probably find it necessary to make a few alterations, and he’ll mark the places for pockets, buttons and buttonholes. Then he’ll ask me to re turn later on for a final fitting just to make sure that the suit fits really well. When the suit’s ready, I shall pay for it and get a receipt. My wife has also been buying some new clothes this week. She’s bought herself a readymade suit, that’s to say, a coat and skirt. She’s been trying to find a silk blouse to match, so far without success. But when she went to the milliner’s, she did succeed in getting just the right hat, in the very latest fash ion, or so she says. It would seem that the one she bought three weeks ago is already out of date. 458 Ex. 10 An English tourist found himself in Norway with only enough money in his pocket to pay his passage back. As he knew that it would take him only two days to get to England, he decided that he could easily do without food. So he went on board the steamer and bought a ticket. He closed his ears to the sound of the lunch bell. When din ner time came he refused the invitation to accompany a fellow traveller to the saloon, saying that he didn’t feel well. The next morning he didn’t go to breakfast and at lunch time he again stayed in his cabin. At dinner time he was so hungry that he could not stand it any longer. “I’m going to eat,” he said, “even if they throw me overboard afterwards.” At dinner he ate everything the steward put in front of him and felt ready for the coming row. “Bring me the bill,” he said to the steward. “The bill, sir?” said the man. “Yes,” answered the traveller. “There isn’t any bill,” was the answer, “on the ship meals are included in the passage money.” |