По следам детективов: увлекательные истории для изучения английского языка - Анжелика Ягудена

25) How did he get to Baltimore?

26) What was the cause of his death?

27) Who spread rumors and forged letters after Poe’s death?

28) What are the best Edgar Allan Poe’s stories ever written?

29) Have you ever read any of Edgar Allan Poe’s books? If so, what is your favorite one?

30) Have you ever seen a film based on Edgar Allan Poe’s stories?

Exercise 2. Find the equivalents of the following words and phrases in the text:

найти свое истинное призвание; сворачиваться клубочком; вернуться к родным пенатам; бросить учебу; материальные блага; приемная семья; подлить масла в огонь; по слухам; обеспеченная, но бездетная семья; человек незаурядной судьбы; обстоятельства произошедшего; противостоять ударам судьбы; находить общий язык; оставить значительный след в мировой литературе; в конце своего жизненного пути; уйти из семьи; удача отвернулась от них; упасть духом; возлюбленная в юности; противоположности притягиваются; осложнения гриппа; приземленный человек; планам не суждено было сбыться; наладить отношения; палата без окон

Exercise 3. Give the Russian equivalents of the following words and phrases:

mystery covered in darkness; to leave crucial questions unanswered; purpose of life; to start gambling; to start life afresh; fate will bring them together; to be unemployed; to be born under a lucky star; to follow in one’s footsteps; a touchy subject; false rumors; things go wrong at work; a caged bird; to enjoy one’s company; to cope with the pain of losing; against one’s will; to go to one’s eternal rest; there’s more to come; as it turned out; to become a part of one’s family; to serve in the army; to interfere with one’s relationship; to disapprove of one’s choice

Exercise 4. Match each word with its synonym:

Detective Riddle No. 3

Are you ready to start investigating? If so, test your logic skills. Read the story carefully and collect all the clues that lead to the suspect. Find all the information needed to solve the mystery.

● Collect the evidence, check out alibis, and interrogate each suspect to solve the crime.

● Possible suspects: Jimmy, Hilary, Jane, Sam.

Last summer, Michael, Jimmy, Hilary, and Jane planned to travel out of town for a picnic. A few days ago, Michael turned twenty-two, and his parents gave him a new car as a birthday present. He was really happy. The thing was that Michael finally got a driving license, and they were going to celebrate. They agreed to meet at Michael’s place.

Jane was the first to come. She was secretly in love with Michael and wanted to spend more time with him. She brought some home-made cookies, cheese, and fruit.

Next came Hilary, Jimmy’s girlfriend. While Michael and Jane were packing things, she was listening to music in the next room. Hilary disliked Michael. Honestly, she didn’t approve of Jane’s choice. Jane was her best friend, and Hilary truly believed that Michael was an unsuitable match for her.

In fact, Michael was from a well-to-do family and behaved arrogantly. For example, he often played tricks on others. He could deliberately ignore his friends for several days and then suddenly call on them as if nothing had happened. Michael’s former classmates tried to avoid him. What’s more, a couple of weeks ago suddenly a bad story surfaced. It turned out that Michael borrowed money from Sam, his neighbor and former classmate. Sam was a quiet and modest young man. When he asked for the money back, Michael just laughed at him and said, “Well, dude, what money?” Sam was devastated. He had been bullied by Michael since high school. And after all this time nothing had changed…

Jimmy and Michael had been friends since childhood. They often argued and had different views on life, but Jimmy valued their friendship. So, he was supposed to buy picnic stuff; hence Jimmy was late. He called Hilary on the cell phone and asked her to meet him at the bus stop.

So, when Hilary went out to meet Jimmy, she came across Jane who was putting blankets in the car. Her behavior was very mysterious. She looked confused, but her eyes were shining, and there was a smile on Jane’s face. When Hilary talked to her, everything became clear: Michael just asked her out. A moment later, Jimmy showed up. He put the picnic stuff in the car and said he would be back in ten minutes. Jimmy headed to the corner shop to buy some crisps and juice. On his way back, he decided to stop by and see Sam. He felt ashamed for his friend and wanted to return money that Michael borrowed. What his childhood friend did to Sam was really terrible, and Jimmy planned to fix the situation and pay back his best friend’s debt. He had barely time to knock before the door was opened by Sam. It was rather hot outside, but in the room it was cool. Sam looked puzzled, and his face was flushed and sweaty as if he had been jogging for hours. In his words, his alarm didn’t go off, and he just woke up. When Jimmy was about to give him the money, Sam blushed and said, “No, wait, it’s not your debt. I’ve got a score to settle with him.”

When Jimmy approached the house, he was shocked to find that all four tires of Michael’s car were flat, and the windscreen was broken with a stone. Jimmy immediately called his friend Dupin, who was a private investigator. Dupin entered the crime scene and immediately solved the case. Who was the criminal?

Georges Simenon

(February 13, 1903 – September 4, 1989)

We often imagine that the other people live better, brighter or more interesting than us, but we forget one simple truth: “The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.” The lives of prominent people seem so easy and ideal, but the truth is we never know what goes on behind closed doors. Even the person who seems the happiest can be hurting inside the most. The life of the greatest novelist Georges Simenon is perfect at first sight: successful career, wealth, prosperity, love, and fame. What’s the truth behind his success? What was the driving force behind his writing so many books? Just imagine, he was able to write a novel only in eleven days! What was Simenon’s childhood like? What was the life path of the prolific writer? What family secrets had Georges Simenon been keeping all those years?

His life story began with a lie. Georges Simenon was born in Liège on Friday, February 13, 1903, but his superstitious mother changed her son’s birthdate to February 12. Even today, in many countries of the world, Friday the 13th is considered an unlucky and truly mystical day. However, in terms of astrology, changing the date of birth may greatly influence our future life and personality. Anyway, there’s no scientific evidence for this.

Georges’ father, Désiré Simenon, worked as an accountant for an insurance company and struggled to provide for the family. Georges adored and even idolized his father but had a complicated relationship with his mother, Henriette. She was a grouchy, domineering woman focused on material values and unable to express feelings. As I see it, Simenon’s mother was intolerably snobbish: she wanted to belong to high society and judged people merely by their social position and wealth. Anyway, lack of her love, understanding, care, and warmth damaged Georges profoundly. I’m absolutely sure that the biggest happiness in life is to be loved by parents; the greatest despair is to be rejected by them. Later, Georges Simenon would publish a book called Letter to My Mother. It’s kind of a posthumous heart-to-heart talk with his mother, where he finally openly shares his emotions. Honestly, after reading this book,