A day in the life of a policeman

Paul Williams is a policeman and he is very happy in his job. He thinks it's useful and interesting. He has been a policeman for ten years and now he's a sergeant, but he often thinks of his first two years in the force and laughs at some of the things that happened to him. 

For the first two years of his career a policeman is "on probation"; in other words, his superior officers watch his progress closely to see whether he's going to be a suitable police officer. After his first nine months in the force, Paul was thinking of giving up. He just couldn't get used to the hours he had to work: early turn from six till two, late turn from two till ten, or, worst of all, night shift from ten till six. But the work was sometimes exciting. The most exciting day of Paul's two years of probation was a hot day in the middle of May. At one forty-five in the afternoon Paul was sitting round a table with his colleagues, waiting for his orders. 

Sergeant Hawkins gave Paul his orders last because the men were dealt with in alphabetical order. "Hawkeye", as the men called him, was a grandfather and treated all the youngpolicemen as boys. 

<PRE>
Sgt. Hawkins I think I'll give you a change, Williams.
Paul Thank you, sergeant.
Sgt. Hawkins As you probably know, there have been a lot
 of petty thefts from houses in Faversham Street
 over the last few months.
Paul That's the street where I was born.
Sgt. Hawkins Is it? Good. Well, you're to keep an eye on the
 street this afternoon and report by phone if
 you see anything suspicious. Understand?
Paul Yes, sergeant.</PRE>
 

Paul was told to wear civilian clothes so that he would not be noticed. He decided to watch from the gardens opposite Faversham Street so that he could walk about without attracting attention. 

At the end of each hour he phoned the police station to report to Sergeant Hawkins. At the end of four hours he had eaten six ice-creams, smoked twenty cigarettes, and walked round the park about fifty times. He was beginning to get very bored. At six o'clock he was relieved by another police officer so that he could go and get something to eat. 

It was nearly half past eight before anything happened. It was beginning to get dark and he could just see three rather suspicious looking men talking near some bushes at the far end of the park. Paul decided to wait and see what happened next. A few minutes later one of the men walked quietly from the bushes towards the road. Still Paul waited. The man looked around, opened the front gate of number 21 Faversham Street and walked round to the back of the house. Paul decided it was time to do something. Using a short cut that he'd known as a boy, he got to the back of the house just in time to see the man trying to climb through the windows. This is it, thought Paul. He saw himself being "congratulated by the chief constable and even being praised by old Hawkeye. He stepped forward.

<PRE>
Paul May I ask what you are doing?
Man Go away, you fool.
Paul I'm a police officer.
Man Good luck to you!
Paul And here is my identification.
Man Look, I'm afraid there's been a mistake.</PRE> 

<PRE>
Paul You were about to break into this house.
Man I can explain.
Paul I'm going to arrest you ...
Man No, listen. Let me explain.
Paul ... and take you to the police station.
Man We're ...
Paul You are not obliged to say anything unless ...
Man ... doing this ...
Paul ... you wish to do so but ...
Man ... because we have to.
Paul ... what you do say will be written down ...
Man We're trying to ...
Paul ... and given in evidence against you.
Man But we're not real burglars!
Paul I'm not satisfied with your explanation.
Man You haven't given me a chance to explain.
Paul You were about to break into this house. I'm going to
 arrest
Man Oh, for goodness' sake! Don't go through all
 that again. I'll come along with you and explain to
 someone at the police station.</PRE>
 

Paul had a feeling that he'd seen the man somewhere before. Perhaps he was a well-known criminal! But at that moment the other two men appeared. When Paul saw that they came to speak to him so willingly, he began to think he had made a mistake. Imagine Paul's surprise when they explained that they were television actors and that the man Paul had arrested was a well-known television director. They were using the house to rehearse a scene for a new TV series. Paul didn't know what to say. 

<PRE>
1st actor Don't worry about it. You were only doing your job.
Paul I really am terribly sorry.
Director Nevermind. We were only rehearsing.
1st actor Hey, what's that man doing over there?
2nd actor He's nothing to do with our series!</PRE>
 

Paul and the others ran towards a man who was trying to open a window in one of the houses. After a brief struggle they overpowered him. Paul telephoned the police station and five minutes later Sergeant Hawkins arrived in a police car. He congratulated Paul warmly on his first arrest. 

<PRE>
Sgt. Hawkins We'll make a policeman of you
 yet, Williams.
Paul Thank you, sergeant.
Sgt. Hawkins By the way, have you got a TV set?
Paul Yes, sergeant. Why?
Sgt. Hawkins Well, if you switch on at 8.30 tomorrow
 you can watch the weekly detective serial.
Paul Why, sergeant?
Sgt. Hawkins Oh, I just thought you might like to see
 these friends of yours again.
Paul You recognized them?
Sgt. Hawkins They don't call me Hawkeye for nothing,
 you know! But don't worry. I can keep a secret.
 I'll see that you get all the credit.</PRE>

A day in the life of a policeman (2)

<PRE>
force short for police force
closely with great attention
give up stop doing something, admit
 defeat. Here means leaving the
 police force</PRE> 

<PRE>
early turn early duty or shift
deal with attend to
alphabetical order i.e. A first, B second, etc.
"Hawkeye" friendly name (nickname)
 given to someone who notices
 everything. We often say that such
 a person has "eyes like a hawk."
petty thefts small things stolen
over during
civilian clothes ordinary clothes, not his
 policeman's uniform
without attracting attention without being noticed
get bored lose interest (because
 nothing is happening)
bushes small trees
relieved replaced (by another
 policeman)
congratulated praised
a short cut a way that shortens the
 distance
evidence proof
identification document proving you are
 who you say you are
rehearse practise
break into enter (a house) by force
 without permission
be about to be on the point of
for goodness' sake! exclamation of annoyance or
 surprise
never mind don't worry
struggle fight
overpower restrain by force, make
 someone submit by physical force
warmly enthusiastically
switch on turn on (the TV)
serial programme in several
 episodes
credit thanks, praise

We'll make a policeman of you yet
We think you will eventually become a good policeman

They don't call me Hawkeye for nothing
This is one of the reasons why people call me Hawkeye</PRE>

New words and expressions 4.

<PRE>
A. Comprehension questions

 1. How long has Paul Williams been a policeman?
 2. Why did Paul think of giving up after nine months?
 3. Why was Paul the last one to receive his orders?
 4. How does Paul know Faversham Street?
 5. Why did Paul wear civilian clothes?
 6. What explanation did the man give for breaking into the
 house?</PRE> 

<PRE>
 7. What was he, in fact?
 8. What were the three men doing?
 9. What was the real burglar doing?
10. Did Sergeant Hawkins arrive on foot?

B. Use since, for and ago to complete the following sentences:

1. Paul has been a policeman _____ ten years.
2. He has been a policeman ______ 1962.
3. He joined the police force ten years _____.
4. He has been waiting for his orders _____ three o'clock.
5. He went to the park two hours _____.
6. He has been there _____ five o'clock.
7. He has been there _______ two hours.
8. He lived in Faversham Street twenty years _____.

C. Change the following sentences into the passive:

Example:
 The men robbed the house.
 The house was robbed by the men.

1. The chief constable was congratulating him.
2. He dealt with the men in alphabetical order.
3. The sergeant told Paul to wear civilian clothes.
4. They won't notice you.
5. Another police officer relieved him.
6. I'll write down what you say.
7. The four men overpowered the burglar.
8. They call me "Hawkeye."

D. Change the verb into the continuous (-ing) form:

1. Paul thought of giving up.
2. Paul sat round a table with his colleagues.
3. I've eaten an ice-cream.
4. It began to get dark.
5. The men walked quietly towards the road.
6. They tried to open one of the windows.
7. The burglars broke into a house.
8. Paul does his job well.</PRE>

Questions and exercises 14.

<PRE>
A. 1. For ten years.
 2. Because he couldn't get used to the hours he had to work.
 3. Because they were given in alphabetical order.
 4. Because he was born there.
 5. So that he would not be noticed.
 6. He said that he and his friends were practising a burglary.</PRE> 

<PRE>
 7. A television actor.
 8. They were rehearsing a scene for a new TV series.
 9. He was trying to open a window in one of the houses.
 10. No, he arrived in a police car.

B. l. for
 2. since
 3. ago
 4. since
 5. ago
 6. since
 7. for
 8. ago

C. 1. He was being congratulated by the chief constable.
 2. The men were dealt with in alphabetical order.
 3. Paul was told by the sergeant to wear civilian
 clothes.
 4. You won't be noticed.
 5. He was relieved by another police officer.
 6. What you say will be written down.
 7. The burglar was overpowered by the four men.
 8. I'm called "Hawkeye".

D. 1. Paul was thinking of giving up.
 2. Paul was sitting round a table with his colleagues.
 3. I've been eating an ice-cream.
 4. It was beginning to get dark.
 5. The men were walking quietly towards the road.
 6. They were trying to open one of the windows.
 7. The burglars were breaking into a house.
 8. Paul is doing his job well.</PRE>

Vocabulary words and expressions

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Questions and exercises

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