1. Predict the story. The words below are part of the story
father warehouse haunted by the incident
two years son turned sour quit
trespassing killed got off scot-free
break-in E.R. touch and go
shot pulled the trigger police officer
haunt somebody if something unpleasant haunts you, it keeps coming to your mind so that you cannot forget it. E.g. The memory of that day still haunts me. For years she was haunted by guilt.
go/ turn sour:
to stop being pleasant or working properly. E.g. Their relationship soon went sour.
get off (with something) | get somebody off (with something): to
receive no or almost no punishment; to help somebody do this. E.g. He
was lucky to get off with a small fine. A good lawyer might be able to
get you off.
scot-free: without receiving the punishment you deserve. E.g. They got off scot-free because of lack of evidence. The perpetrators walked away scot-free
E.R.: emergency room. (British English
A&E:
accident and emergency)
the part of a hospital where people who need urgent treatment are taken.
2. I'm going to show you a snapshot of the policeman,
Patrick Carlucci.
What moment of the story does the picture depict?
What is he doing?
What is he carrying?
Where is he?
What is he about to do?
flashlight (also torch) a small electric lamp that uses batteries and that you can hold in your hand. E.g. He shone a flashlight in the thief’s face.
3. Fill in the gaps with one word:
Coincidence?
Back
in 1959, on a snowy December night, I found myself in New York and deciding that a hot drink wouldn’t
go 1_______, I went into a bar on 6th
Avenue and asked for a hot toddy.
When
he served the whiskey, the barman said “
That’s an Irish Drink, so I guess you’re from Ireland?”
I
agreed I was.
He
said “My name’s Patrick Carlucci, father was Italian and my mother was
Irish, Came from a place called Limerick”.
“That’s
a coincidence”, I said. “I’m from Limerick myself”.
He
looked at me for a moment and then said, “You believe in coincidence, do you?”
“Well,
they do happen, don’t they?”, I replied.
He
said nothing to that, just polished a couple of 2___________.
And
then after a bit he said, “I used to be a policeman, one of New York’s finest. And five years ago I was out in the patrol
car one night when a call came from our dispatcher
telling us to investigate a break-in at a small warehouse near Pier 15”.
“There’s
another coincidence”, I interjected. “My
ship is 3___________ at Pier 15”
He
ignored the interruption.
“When
we got to the warehouse we saw the door was busted
open, so my partner decided to go up the alley at the side to investigate the
side entrance and I went for the front door.
It was dark inside and I couldn’t hear anything, so I pulled out my gun
and stepped in.”
“Bad
move! There’s a flash of light from
inside and a bullet hits me in the ribs and I go down, out cold. When I come 4____________, I’m on a trolley
and these medical guys are wheeling me into the E.R. at Mercy Hospital
. I’ve been shot, and it proves touch and 5__________ whether I
live. A week later when I’m cleared for
visitors my partner comes and tells me I’d killed the guy who shot me. Reflex action, I guess, made me pull the 6________
on my gun as I was falling.”
“My
wife, Carla, wanted me to 7_______ the Force, said she didn’t want to be
getting another phone call, only this time saying I was dead. But I couldn’t do that. I felt I couldn’t be seen to be running
away even though I sweated 8______ every
time I had to go inside a building. I
guess it was what they used to call Shell-Shock. The Docs have got a new name
for it now – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
I never asked for the name of the guy I shot and even though he had tried
to kill me, his death kind of weighed on my conscience.”
“Well,
with one thing and another I wasn’t the easiest guy to live with and Carla and
me started to drift 9______ and I couldn’t seem any more to deal with my two
kids in the easy way I used to. I was
drinking too much and as touchy
as hell.”
“Then
comes Christmas Eve and I’m out alone in the Patrol car because a lot of the
guys at the 83 precinct
are down 10______ the Flu, including my regular partner, Fat Ollie. I’m pulling the 8 to 6 shift and trying to find a toy store that’s open so
I can buy Christmas gifts for my two kids.”
“I’ve
just found one that’s open when I hear
the dispatcher coming over the car radio,
so I grab the first two ready-wrapped gift boxes on the counter throw
the money to the sales clerk and hightail 11_________ back to the car. I check-in with the dispatcher, and what do you 12________, I’m to investigate a
break-in at the selfsame
warehouse where I got shot two years before.”
“Coincidence,
eh?. “
“It
would appear so,” I say.
“”I’m
in two 13__________”, the barman continued, “about whether to figure a way out
of catching the call, but then I think ‘Hey, maybe lightning won't 14__________
twice in the same place. So I drive
round.”
“When
I get there, I see the door is open like before, but this time I’m not rushing
in. I take the time to look it
over. I see there are just two sets of 15___________
in the snow. One leading in and another
leading out. The ones leading out are
deeper, like the guy who made them is carrying something. So I tell the dispatcher what I’m doing, park
the car and follow them.”
“They
lead me to an old brownstone
and when I get there I hear the voices of a woman and a kid shouting at each
other on the first floor. I ring the
bell and a woman answers and looks like she’s gonna faint when she sees the
blue uniform. She lets me in and I find
a boy of about 14 and a girl looks to be about three years old. I say, “Lady, I've got reason to believe your
boy here has done a break-in and I point to a bag in the corner from which a number
of items are falling out on the floor.”
“I
say I’m gonna have to cuff him and take him to the precinct and because he’s a
minor, you’ll have to come too. You’ll have to get someone to take care of the
little girl? Maybe your husband?
“She
gives me a funny look and says “My husband?
He got shot by a cop two years ago whilst robbing a storehouse down the
street”.
“I
tell ya, I nearly passed out. I didn’t
need any more detail to know which
cop shot him. It was me. I look around the apartment and it’s clear
these people know from (know about) hunger.
There’s a battered
old table and a couple of chairs which have seen 16__________ days and that’s
it.”
Something
comes 17________ me, I don’t know what, and like I’m dreaming I say – Lady I’m
gonna cut your kid a 18_________. I’ll
take the goods back to the store and say the perp (perpetrator)
dropped ‘em and I couldn’t catch up
19_______ him. But I tell ya, if he doesn’t keep his nose 20________
in the future I’ll have him in Juvie Hall in the 21_______ of an eye”
“The
woman goes white and she looks like she’s trying to say twenty things at the
one time, so I pick up the bag and I leave.”
“So”,
the barman says, “how about that for coincidence?
I
mutter something into my drink and he goes up the bar to serve another
customer. Then he comes back.
He
says, “you haven’t heard it all. You remember those gifts I grabbed when the dispatcher
called? Yeah, well when I got ‘em home
they only turned out to be EXACTLY
what my kids had been dreamin’ about gettin’ for Christmas. They were so full of joy that even my wife
Carla thawed 22_______ a bit and we had the best Christmas day together for
years..”
“Well,
anyway, I got to thinking maybe Carla was right, so I quit the Force and bought
this bar and I ain't 23_______ it one bit.”
“So,
what’ya think? All coincidence, yeah?
Before
I could think of an answer he went on.
“Me,
I don’t think so. I did something good
for that kid and his mother and it was Christmas and me, I think if you do
someone good at Christmas you get something good back in return.Though maybe
not the way you expect ”.
“Wadda
ya think?”
What could I say? Someone called from the other end of the bar
and he made
to move away.
I
swallowed the last of my drink and made
to leave and as I left, I called out to him the only thing I felt I could
say,
“Merry
Christmas”.
-James Wallace-
KEY
1. amiss
not
come/go amiss
(British
English) to be useful or pleasant in a particular situation. E.g. A little luck
wouldn't go amiss right now!
toddy: a drink made with strong alcohol, sugar, hot water and sometimes spices.
2. glasses
polish: make
something smooth and shiny by rubbing it
dispatcher: a person whose job is to send emergency vehicles to where they are needed. E.g. an Emergency Medical Dispatcher
3. docked
bust
1. bust something to break something. E.g. I bust my camera. The lights are busted. Come out, or I'll bust the door down!
2. bust somebody/something (for something) (of the police) to suddenly enter a place and search it or arrest somebody. E.g. He's been busted for drugs. He was busted for drunk driving. The cops busted the place frequently.
4. to/ round/ around
come around/round/ to: to become conscious again. E.g. Your
mother hasn't yet come round from the anaesthetic.
5. go
touch and
go: used to say that the result
of a situation is uncertain and that there is a possibility that something bad
or unpleasant will happen. E.g. She's fine now, but it was touch-and-go for a while (=
there was a possibility that she might die). It was touch-and-go whether they'd
allow him into the country or not.
6. trigger
7. quit
8. blood
9. apart
drift apart:
to become less friendly or close
to somebody. E.g. As children we were very close, but as we grew up we just drifted apart.
touchy (about something) (of a person) easily upset or offended.
irascible: /ɪˈræsəbl/ becoming angry very easily. Irritable. E.g. to be tired and irascible/ irritable
precinct: /ˈpriːsɪŋkt/ a part of a city that has its own police station; the police station in this area. E.g. Detective Hennessy of the 44th precinct. The murder occurred just a block from the precinct.
10. with
be/go down with something to have or catch an illness
11. it
hightail it (informal, especially
North American English) to
leave somewhere very quickly. E.g. They ran out of the gates and hightailed it up the
road.
12. know
What do you know: used to express surprise
selfsame: exactly the same. E.g.‘he was standing in the selfsame spot you're filling now
13. minds
14. strike
15. footprints
brownstone: a house built of, or with a front made of, a type of reddish-brown stone, which is also called brownstone. E.g. New York brownstones
battered: old, used a lot, and not in very good condition. E.g. a battered old car.
16. better
have seen/known better
days (humorous) to be in poor condition.
E.g. Our car has seen better
days!
17. over
come over: suddenly feel sth
18. break
cut so a break: give so a break
perpetrator: (also perp) a person who commits a crime or does something that is wrong or evil. E.g. the perpetrators of the crime. We will do everything in our power to bring the perpetrators to justice.
19. with
catch up
(with sb) to reach somebody who is
ahead by going faster. E.g. Go on ahead. I'll catch up with you. I'll catch you up.
20. clean
keep your nose clean (informal) to avoid doing anything wrong or illegal.
E.g. Since leaving prison, he's
managed to keep his nose clean.
21. blink
in the blink of an eye very quickly; in a short time
mutter: to speak or say something in a quiet voice that is difficult to hear, especially because you are annoyed about something. E.g. ‘How dare she,’ he muttered under his breath.
murmur: to say something in a soft quiet voice that is difficult to hear or understand. E.g. She murmured her agreement. He murmured something in his sleep. She was murmuring in his ear.
22 out
thaw out became more friendly
23 regretted
make to do something: If you make to do something, you are just going to do it when something interrupts you. E.g.I made to leave but she called me back
Coincidence?
Back
in 1959, on a snowy December night, I found myself in New York and deciding that a hot drink wouldn’t
go amiss, I went into a bar on 6th
Avenue and asked for a hot toddy.
When
he served the whiskey, the barman said “
That’s an Irish Drink, so I guess you’re from Ireland?”
I
agreed I was.
He
said “My name’s Patrick Carlucci, father was Italian and my mother was
Irish, Came from a place called Limerick”.
“That’s
a coincidence”, I said. “I’m from Limerick myself”.
He
looked at me for a moment and then said, “You believe in coincidence, do you?”
“Well,
they do happen, don’t they?”, I replied.
He
said nothing to that, just polished a couple of glasses.
And
then after a bit he said, “I used to be a policeman, one of New York’s finest. And five years ago I was out in the patrol
car one night when a call came from our dispatcher
telling us to investigate a break-in at a small warehouse near Pier 15”.
“There’s
another coincidence”, I interjected. “My
ship is docked at Pier 15”
He
ignored the interruption.
“When
we got to the warehouse we saw the door was busted
open, so my partner decided to go up the alley at the side to investigate the
side entrance and I went for the front door.
It was dark inside and I couldn’t hear anything, so I pulled out my gun
and stepped in.”
“Bad
move! There’s a flash of light from
inside and a bullet hits me in the ribs and I go down, out cold (unconscious). When I come to, I’m on a trolley and these
medical guys are wheeling me into the E.R. at Mercy Hospital
. I’ve been shot, and it proves touch and go whether I
live. A week later when I’m cleared for
visitors my partner comes and tells me I’d killed the guy who shot me. Reflex action, I guess, made me pull the
trigger on my gun as I was falling.”
“My
wife, Carla, wanted me to quit the Force, said she didn’t want to be getting
another phone call, only this time saying I was dead. But I couldn’t do that. I felt I couldn’t be seen to be running
away even though I sweated blood every
time I had to go inside a building. I
guess it was what they used to call Shell-Shock. The Docs have got a new name
for it now – Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.
I never asked for the name of the guy I shot and even though he had tried
to kill me, his death kind of weighed on my conscience.”
“Well,
with one thing and another I wasn’t the easiest guy to live with and Carla and
me started to drift apart and I couldn’t seem any more to deal with my two kids
in the easy way I used to. I was
drinking too much and as touchy
as hell.”
“Then
comes Christmas Eve and I’m out alone in the Patrol car because a lot of the
guys at the 83 precinct
are down with the Flu, including my regular partner, Fat Ollie. I’m pulling the 8 to 6 shift and trying to find a toy store that’s open so
I can buy Christmas gifts for my two kids.”
“I’ve
just found one that’s open when I hear
the dispatcher coming over the car radio,
so I grab the first two ready-wrapped gift boxes on the counter throw
the money to the sales clerk and hightail
it back to the car. I check-in with
the dispatcher, and what do you know
(used to express surprise), I’m to investigate a break-in at the selfsame
warehouse where I got shot two years before.”
“Coincidence,
eh?. “
“It
would appear so,” I say.
“”I’m
in two minds”, the barman continued, “about whether to figure a way out of
catching the call, but then I think ‘Hey, maybe lightning won't strike twice in
the same place. So I drive round.”
“When
I get there, I see the door is open like before, but this time I’m not rushing
in. I take the time to look it
over. I see there are just two sets of
footprints in the snow. One leading in
and another leading out. The ones leading
out are deeper, like the guy who made them is carrying something. So I tell the dispatcher what I’m doing, park
the car and follow the footprints.”
“They
lead me to an old brownstone
and when I get there I hear the voices of a woman and a kid shouting at each
other on the first floor. I ring the
bell and a woman answers and looks like she’s gonna faint when she sees the
blue uniform. She lets me in and I find
a boy of about 14 and a girl looks to be about three years old. I say, “Lady, I've got reason to believe your
boy here has done a break-in and I point to a bag in the corner from which a number
of items are falling out on the floor.”
“I
say I’m gonna have to cuff him and take him to the precinct and because he’s a
minor, you’ll have to come too. You’ll have to get someone to take care of the
little girl? Maybe your husband?
“She
gives me a funny look and says “My husband?
He got shot by a cop two years ago whilst robbing a storehouse down the
street”.
“I
tell ya, I nearly passed out. I didn’t
need any more detail to know which
cop shot him. It was me. I look around the apartment and it’s clear
these people know from (know about) hunger.
There’s a battered
old table and a couple of chairs which have seen better days and that’s it.”
Something
comes over me (I suddenly feel something), I
don’t know what, and like I’m dreaming I say – Lady I’m gonna cut your kid a break. I’ll take the goods back to the store and say
the perp (perpetrator)
dropped ‘em and I couldn’t catch up with him.
But I tell ya, if he doesn’t keep his nose clean in the future I’ll have
him in Juvie Hall quicker than the blink of an eye”
“The
woman goes white and she looks like she’s trying to say twenty things at the
one time, so I pick up the bag and I leave.”
“So”,
the barman says, “how about that for coincidence?
I
mutter something into my drink and he goes up the bar to serve another
customer. Then he comes back.
He
says, “you haven’t heard it all. You remember those gifts I grabbed when the dispatcher
called? Yeah, well when I got ‘em home
they only turned out to be EXACTLY
what my kids had been dreamin’ about gettin’ for Christmas. They were so full of joy that even my wife
Carla thawed out (became more friendly) a bit and we had the best Christmas day
together for years..”
“Well,
anyway, I got to thinking maybe Carla was right, so I quit the Force and bought
this bar and I ain't regretted it one bit.”
“So,
what’ya think? All coincidence, yeah?
Before
I could think of an answer he went on.
“Me,
I don’t think so. I did something good
for that kid and his mother and it was Christmas and me, I think if you do
someone good at Christmas you get something good back in return.
Though
maybe not the way you expect ?”.
“Wadda
ya think?”
What could I say? Someone called from the other end of the bar
and he made
to move away.
I
swallowed the last of my drink and made
to leave and as I left, I called out to him the only thing I felt I could
say,
“Merry
Christmas”.
-James Wallace-
