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(written by Alan Townend)
1 . A DAY IN THE LIFE OF
A PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE
A day in the life of... has been specially written for
intermediate students of English as a second language,
and each story contains passages in dialogue which
are suitable for acting out in class.
Words and expressions that may present difficulty are
asterisked in the text and listed in a glossary at the end
of each story. There is a wide range of exercise material
and answers are provided at the end of the book.
The author, Alan Townend, has taught English in
Switzerland and is now Area Principal of Centres for
Adult Education in the London Borough of Barnet.
There was absolutely no doubt that Henry Orpington
liked politics. He talked about politics all the time. All
the members of his family were pleased, therefore, when
Henry was *adopted as the *prospective parliamentary
candidate for the *constituency in which they were
living. One year later the date of the general election
was announced by the Prime Minister. Throughout the
election *campaign Henry's wife and his two teenage
daughters worked night and day for him and he finally
won a seat in the *House of Commons by a very large
majority. Every day of the campaign was a *challenge,
but there was one day in particular that Henry would
never forget. That was the day he thought he was
going to be *blown up by a bomb.
On a Friday morning at the beginning of the campaign,
the phone rang in the Orpingtons' house at six-thirty in
the morning. Henry got out of bed and ran down the
stairs. He wondered who could possibly be ringing at
that early hour in the morning.
Henry
Hello.
Man's voice
Is that Mr. Henry Orpington, the
parliamentary candidate?
Henry
Yes, speaking.
Man's voice
Oh, good morning. I want to warn you about
a bomb....
Henry
A bomb? Where? Hello! We've been cut off.
*Operator! Operator! Operator!
1
Free ESL Book -- Learning English as a Second Language Online with English-test.net
(copyright © 2003, 2004
Free ESL E-book *** Learn English Grammar Online with English-test.net
(written by Alan Townend)
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ....
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE
It was no good. *The line had gone dead. As calmly as he could Henry
went upstairs to tell his wife the alarming news. They decided to get
dressed at once and take the two girls to their aunt's house. Henry
informed the police but asked them to keep the news from *the press.
At half past eight Henry was in conference with his *election agent,
Andrew Higgins, at party *headquarters.
There was very little *reaction to Henry's speech, except from one or
two *hecklers at the back who kept on asking what Henry's party intended
to do about the *rising price of fruit and vegetables. After the speech he
shook hands with some of the women. One of them lifted up a baby
for him to kiss, but the sight of Henry's beard must have frightened it
because it began to *scream its head off.
At eleven o'clock he *paid a brief visit to a *public house on the estate.
Henry couldn't offer to buy anyone a drink because he knew very well
that his opponents would consider that to be *bribery. So he let one of his
supporters buy him a drink instead.
At lunch time he went to his sister's house to see his wife and daughters.
They had spent the morning addressing envelopes for the leaflets he was
sending out. His sister, Vera, thoroughly *disapproved of his*involvement
in politics.
Andrew
If you want my opinion, I suggest you *cancel all your
*engagements for today and wait until the police
*get to the bottom of the matter.
Henry
Certainly not! I'm not going to let myself be scared by some
stupid *crank.
Andrew
What did the man sound like? Did you recognize his voice?
Henry
No, I was half asleep. His voice wasn't familiar but he
sounded quite pleasant. He didn't seem to be *threatening me.
Andrew
That makes *the whole business even more *sinister.
Look here, Henry, one day won't make all that much difference.
I'll tell people that you've lost your voice or something.
Henry
No, I'm going to *carry on as usual. Think of the advantage
it would give my*opponents if I were out of the campaign
even for one day.
Andrew
If you say so. But I'd like to make it clear that *I'm dead
against it.
Vera
Now I hope you can see the danger of *getting mixed up in
politics, Henry. You and the family will probably all be
blown up.
Henry
Don't *exaggerate, Vera. I'm sure it's just a *hoax.
Vera
I only hope you're right. What other meetings have you got
today?
Henry
I shall be calling at houses in Midhampton this afternoon, and
then there's a big meeting tonight in the field behind
Thompson's farm.
Vera
There you are, then. No doubt one of those stupid farmers has
got a *pile of bombs hidden in a *haystack..
Henry
Oh, Vera, really!
Henry Orpington's first engagement that day was an, open-air meeting
on a large *housing estate at ten o'clock
.
As most of the men were out
at work, his audience consisted mainly of women and young children.
Andrew Higgins *kept a close watch on the platform from which
Henry was making his speech, while several *plainclothes policemen
*mingled*inconspicuously with the crowd.
There was a large crowd in the field when Henry arrived at eight o'clock
for what was perhaps the biggest meeting of the whole campaign. His
constituency was
2
3
Free ESL Book -- Learning English as a Second Language Online with English-test.net
(copyright © 2003, 2004
Free ESL E-book *** Learn English Grammar Online with English-test.net
(written by Alan Townend)
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ....
*largely a farming *community and the most important local *issue
concerned the *subsidies that the new government would be paying
to the farmers. After a hard day's work, hundreds of farmers and farm
labourers had come to the field to hear what Henry had to say.
The crowd started to cheer and Henry managed to finish his speech
without further interruptions. In the meantime the police had made
a thorough search of Henry's house and *assured him that there
were no hidden bombs. He went back to his sister's house to collect
his family.
Henry
Ladies and gentlemen, I *appreciate the anxiety you must
all feel about this question of subsidies. I too have been
a farmer and I know the difficulties you are experiencing,
and so ...
Heckler
... and so you've decided to become an M.P. and get rich!
Henry
No, my friend. I want to give the farmers a voice in the
House of Commons.
Heckler
I don't believe a word of it!
Henry
You've got a strong voice, 111 admit. But London's two
hundred miles away and I don't think your voice will
*carry that far. That's why I want to speak on your behalf.
Vera
I've got some supper ready. I'm sure you must be *starving.
Henry
You shouldn't have *bothered. We can all go back home now.
The police have searched the house thoroughly and they
found nothing at all.
Vera
Well, at least stay and eat the nice *salad I've made.
Henry
All right, Vera. Just so long as there are no tomatoes in it!
After supper, Henry and his family went home. Later that
evening the phone rang.
Henry
Hello.
Man's voice
Oh, Mr. Orpington. I've been trying to reach you all
day. This is Paul Harris. I called you this morning.
Henry
You did indeed! I think you owe me an explanation.
Harris
Yes, I do. When I phoned you this morning *I was cut
off. It was a bad line or something.
Henry
Well, what about the bomb?
Harris
The bomb? *What on earth do you mean?
Henry
That's what I'd like to know. You said, "I want to warn
you about a bomb."
Harris
Oh, dear! I'm afraid there's been a
*misunderstanding. I didn't have time to finish
my sentence. You see, I'm a farmer and I*overheard
some of the other farmers planning to break up your
meeting.
The crowd remained *good-natured for the first part of his speech
and Henry was feeling pleased with himself. And then, suddenly,
*half a dozen *tractors *roared onto the field.
"Do you like tomatoes?" shouted one of the tractor drivers. Henry
hesitated for a moment and then replied: "Yes, I like them very much."
"Well, we can't sell them at a profit," said the tractor driver, "because
the *imported ones are too cheap. So rather than let them *go to
waste, you can have them!"
It was then that Henry noticed that the tractors were loaded with
boxes of tomatoes, which the farmers started to throw at him.
Unfortunately for Henry, two of them hit him full in the face. He
realized that he had to say something quickly to *win the crowd
over to his side. "Thank you for your generous gift, but I really
prefer them in sandwiches. And now let's get on with the meeting."
4
5
Free ESL Book -- Learning English as a Second Language Online with English-test.net
(copyright © 2003, 2004
Free ESL E-book *** Learn English Grammar Online with English-test.net
(written by Alan Townend)
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ....
Henry
I still fail to see what all this has got to do with a bomb.
Harris
Well, if we hadn't been cut off I was going to warn you
about a *bombardment of tomatoes!
threaten
try to frighten
the whole business
the situation
sinister
strange and frightening
carry on
continue
opponents
those who are against you (here refers to members of the
other political parties)
I'm dead against it
I'm completely against it
housing estate
an area with houses of the same type and usually built
by the same builder
keep a close watch on
watch carefully
plainclothes policemen
policemen wearing civilian(ordinary)
clothes
mingled
mixed
inconspicuously
so as not to be noticed
reaction
showing of feelings for or against
hecklers
people who interrupt a speaker (usually political)
rising
increasing
scream its head off
scream very loudly
paid a brief visit to
visited for a short time
public house
a place where wine, beer and spirits can be bought and
drunk
bribery
money or goods given to someone to win his support
disapproved of
did not approve of
involvement in
mixing in
getting mixed up in
becoming involved in
exaggerate
say that something is more important etc. than it really is
hoax
(pronounced like jokes) joke . :
pile
heap, number of .
haystack
large pile of hay
largely
mainly
community
district and its people
issue
question or problem for discussion
subsidies
help in the form of money from die government
NEW WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS
parliamentary candidate
man or woman standing for election
to parliament as an M.P. (Member of Parliament)
adopted
here means
chosen
prospective
future
constituency
district represented by one M.P. The people in this
district are called "constituents"
campaign
planned course of action; here refers to the time (about
three weeks) just before an election
House of Commons
one of the two Houses of Parliament (the
other is the House of Lords)
challenge
a test of one's ability
blow up
kill in an explosion
operator
the telephonist at the telephone exchange
the line had gone dead
the connection had been broken
the press
the newspapers, newspaper reporters
election agent
the person who manages the campaign for a
parliamentary candidate
headquarters
main office
cancel
call off, do not attend
engagements
appointments
get to the bottom of the matter
find out the truth about it
crank
someone with strange ideas
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Free ESL Book -- Learning English as a Second Language Online with English-test.net
(copyright © 2003, 2004
Free ESL E-book *** Learn English Grammar Online with English-test.net
(written by Alan Townend)
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF A PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF ....
appreciate
here means understand
carry
here means travel, i.e. be heard in London
good-natured
friendly
half a dozen
six (twelve to a dozen)
tractor
vehicle used on a farm for pulling things
roared
made a loud noise; here came in with a loud noise imported
bought from another country
go to waste
be wasted
win the crowd over to his side
win the support of the crowd
assured him
made him certain
starving
very hungry
bothered
taken the trouble
salad
dish of fresh vegetables
I was cut off
my telephone connection with you was broken
What on earth.. .?
a strong way of saying "What. ..?"
misunderstanding
mistake due to something not being understood
overhear
hear something without the speaker knowing
bombardment
in the military sense, with heavy guns; here with
tomatoes
5. Why did Henry's audience at the housing estate consist mainly
of women and children?
6. Why did the baby scream its head off when Henry tried to kiss it?
7. What had Henry's wife and daughters been doing all morning?
8. What was the most important election issue for the farmers?
9. Why couldn't the farmers sell their tomatoes at a profit?
10. How did Paul Harris know about the bombardment of tomatoes?
B.
Change the following sentences into the passive:
Example:
The constituency adopted Henry as the candidate.
Henry was adopted as the candidate for the constituency.
1. The Prime Minister announced the date of the general
election.
2. He thought a bomb was going to blow him up.
3. They've cut us off.
4. They kept the news from the press.
5. I'm not going to let some stupid crank scare me.
6. Henry's beard must have frightened the baby.
7. Two of the tomatoes hit him in the face.
8. If they hadn't cut us off.
QUESTIONS AND EXERCISES
A
. Comprehension questions
C.
Use the following words to complete the sentences below:
1. Which constituency was Henry Orpington adopted for?
2. What sort of majority did he get?
3. Who is Andrew Higgins?
4. Does Andrew want Henry to continue with his engagements
after the bomb threat?
bribery hoax
scream starving
crank cut off
cancel teenage
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Free ESL Book -- Learning English as a Second Language Online with English-test.net
(copyright © 2003, 2004
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