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Word Work 1
Visiting Time
WORD WORK
Language in Context
A. Match the phrasal verbs on the left with its meaning on the right (in the
context in which they are used in the text). They are in the order they appear
in the text.
1. work out a) prevent from moving
2. bring up b) stop
3. chuck out c) raise
4. come up with d) upset, annoy
5. wind somebody up e) appear suddenly
6. hold somebody down f) make unconscious
7. pop up g) throw away
8. tear down h) produce
9. knock somebody out i) demolish
10. pull somebody off j) calculate
B. Write five sentences using the phrasal verbs above with the same meaning
as they have in the text.
C. The following phrasal verbs can be used with different meanings.
Explain and illustrate them by writing some sentences:
1. work out
2. bring up
3. knock out
4. pull off
PHRASAL VERBS
I knew why he was doing it he thought if he could wind me up and suddenly I blew it, he wouldn't
let me anywhere near the murderer.
I had one there and it was holding me down. It just would not happen. I was managing to find
the right answers and this Brian said, I don't get it, every time I get through to you a brick wall
pops up.
Word Work 2
L
ook at these idioms taken from the story:
1- I never told my wife. I try to keep her in the dark. (line 13)
2- When he asked her a second time, I jumped up in the court and done me
nut, I said… (line 110)
3- … and they could eff and blind and walk out of the room feeling OK. (line
148)
4- … and the murderer’s only got to say the wrong thing and I’m up in arms...
(line 196)
5- Do you really think there’s anything else you can do to see me blow my lid?
(line 278)
T
he expressions are explanations for the underlined parts of the idioms above.
a. to become very angry
b. to use swear words
c. to tell people unpleasant or shocking facts about something
d. to be very angry about something and ready to protest strongly about it
e. to know nothing about something
A. Identify each one correctly and
B. Replace them by the idioms; (don’t forget to conjugate the verbs accordingly.)
A. These are some sentences taken from the story. In each of them there is use of
language which is colloquial spoken English, and would be considered incorrect in
‘standard« English. Find them and put them into ‘standard’ English.
1- “There’s things flashing through my brain.” (line 34)
2- “They was all lies” (line 54)
3- “I set it all up, they was brought into a room with two coffee pots …” (line 146)
4- “We sat there and after they’d given me all their who they ares, …” (line 153)
5- “There’s two pressure points in your throat …” (line 217)
B. Why do you think these non-standard forms of language appear in the text?
IDIOMS
COLLOQUIALISMS
I never told my wife. I try to keep her in the dark, like if there's a programme on TV about
murder, I'll tear the page from the Radio Times. We don't discuss it.
We sat there and after they'd given me all their who they ares, I eventually told them who I am.
Word Work 3
There are many examples of language as it is spoken in the story, as shown below.
1- “I wish I could sue’em.” (line 54)
2- “They play them up cos they think they are do-gooders.” (line 151)
3- “Eventually I decided, I wanna meet it direct, John’s murderer.” (line 172)
4- “It ain’t over for me either, like how am I going to find a job when I get out?”
(line 271)
5- “…then he’s gonna wake up in a bit of a sweat now and then,…” (line 297)
Rewrite these sentences / phrases in more formal language.
This is a list of short forms taken from the story. Identify the contractions and
write the full forms.
1. “I’d worked” (line 11) __________________________________
2. “I’d have” (line 12) __________________________________
3. “I’d seen” (line 22) __________________________________
4. “everyone’s looking” (line 32) __________________________________
5. “I’d brought” (line 55) __________________________________
6. “We’d be rich” (line 56) __________________________________
7. “John’s nothing” (line 57) __________________________________
8. “murderer’s likely” (line 58) __________________________________
9. “She’s got asthma” (line 82) __________________________________
10. “who’s eight years old” (line 85) __________________________________
11. “there’s something” (line 119) __________________________________
12. “they’d never know” (line 124) __________________________________
13. “who’d dropped” (line 133) __________________________________
14. “they’d given me” (line 153 __________________________________
SPOKEN / WRITTEN LANGUAGE
SHORT FORMS
Eventually I decided, I wanna meet it direct, John's murderer. Now if I wait until its parole, they'll
give it a different name and I'll probably never see it again
Word Work 4
Vocabulary In Context:
The World of Crime
Choose the correct word to fill in each of the blanks:
Some weeks ago Kim was ___1___ by the police who ___2___ her of being
involved in a robbery at a bank. She had been ___3___ of a petty crime some years
ago, but never anything serious. The police ___4___ her for several hours and
finally ___5___ her with robbery. A few days ago she got a letter saying that she
had to appear in court next Friday when her case would be ___6___.
Choose the correct word to fill in each of the blanks:
In most prisons ___1___ spend most of the time locked
in their ___2___. Although prison is supposed to
___3___ them, in many cases the prisoners mix only
with other more hardened ___4___. When they are
___5___ some find it hard to ___6___ back into
___7___.
IN COURT
LIFE IN PRISON
arrested charged convicted heard suspected
questioned
society inmates rehabilitate
integrate criminals cells released
Word Work 5
Choose two options from the list of words below to fill in the spaces:
1. Figures show that youngsters are more likely to ___________/___________
than grown-ups
2. In most Western countries carrying a gun is ___________ / ____________
3. In most countries drink driving is a ___________ / ___________
4. According to the police ________ crime / __________, such as murder and
rape has increased.
Match the words with the explanations:
1.Mugging 5. Robbery 9. Terrorism 13. Burglary
2. Kidnapping 6. Hijacking 10. Blackmail
3. Murder 7. Arson 11. Shoplifting
4. Rape 8. Smuggling 12. Embezzlement
a) Using violence to take control of a vehicle, esp. a plane, in order to force it to
travel to a different place.
b) Attacking somebody violently in order to steal their money, especially in a
public place.
c) Deliberately setting fire to something, esp. a building.
d) Taking somebody away illegally and keep them as a prisoner, in order to get
money or something else for returning them.
e) Killing somebody deliberately.
f) Stealing money or goods from a bank, shop, store, etc. esp. using violence.
g) Forcing somebody to have sex with you, esp. using violence.
TYPES OF CRIME
Illegal criminal offence violent commit a crime
serious against the law crime break the law
Word Work 6
h) Taking or sending or bringing goods secretly and illegally into or out of a
country.
i) Demanding money from a person by threatening to tell somebody else a
secret about them.
j) Entering a building illegally and stealing things from it.
k) Stealing goods from a shop/store by deliberately leaving without paying
them.
l) Stealing money that you are responsible for or that belongs to your employer.
m) Using violence in order to achieve political aims or to force a government to
act.
Noun Person Verb Adjective
embezzled
to rob
mugger
kidnapping
raped
arsonist
to smuggle
shoplifting
WORD FORMATION
COMPOSITION
Write a composition entitled: “Crime doesn’t pay”
Word Work 7
Visiting Time
Word Work
Poem and Proverbs
1. Here is a poem written using homophones – words that sound like other words,
but which are spelt differently. Read the poem aloud, and decide which words the
poet really meant to write.
2. How would you relate the following proverbs to the different parts of the short
story?
· If it were not for hope, the heart would break
· It is never too late to mend
· Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery
· Nothing is so certain as the unexpected
· Second thoughts are best
· One touch of nature makes the whole world kin
The Spell Checker
Eye halve a spelling chequer;
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marques four my revue
Miss steaks eye knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a whirred
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write.
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maide,
It nose bee fore two long;
An dye can put the era rite.
Its rare lea ever wrong
Eye have run this poem threw it
I`m shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh;
My chequer tolled me sew.
Author Unknown
Word Work 8
Visiting Time
Word Work
Glossary
The text contains a number of words that you will need to look up in a dictionary.
The meanings given here are correct for the context of the story but may have
different meaning in different contexts.
`d dropped out tinham marginalizado a sociedade
a bleeding little poor type of character um desgraçado de um infeliz
a brick wall pops up cria-se uma barreira
aggro desgostos; aflições
blew it revelasse as minhas intenções
blinked pestanejei
breath sucking in and out respiração a inspirar e a expirar
brought up educaram
chafe against each other estalarem uns contra os outros
chicken wire vedação
chipped partiu
chucked out of court expulso do tribunal
cocky demasiado confiante; pretencioso
collapsed desmaiou
crawled through rastejou lá para dentro
do its windpipe asfixiá-lo
effs and blind praguejar
enclosure recinto
fags cigarros
feebly débilmente
flit about movem-se suave e rápidamente em
redor
fluttering bater de forma acelerada e incerta
governor`s office gabinete do director
grin sorriso
handy útil; conveniente
hang on espera lá
he does a shrug encolhe os ombros
he fiddles with the hem of his shirt mexe continuamente na baínha da
camisa
hurdle problema
I wish I could sue´em quem me dera podê-los processar
if he could wind me up se me conseguisse provocar
in a sweat em estado de grande ansiedade e medo
it shifts ajeita-se
knock it out pô-lo inconsciente
lift off me a sair de cima de min
lion`s den caverna do leão
Word Work 9
minor charges pequenos crimes
narrow shouldered de ombros estreitos
on the slant inclinado
pacing up and down andando de um lado para o outro
parole liberdade condicional
pretty smart muito limpo e bem arranjado
previous convictions condenações anteriores
probation officers funcionários encarregues de prestar
assistência aos que se encontram em
liberdade condicional
punching the bed dando murros na cama
riding pillion assento traseiro de mota
screws guardas prisionais
scrubbed shirt camisa imaculada; muito branca
smirking a sorrir de forma tola e pretenciosa
soaring em tom altissonante
solicitor advogado
sound mind juízo perfeito
stabbed esfaqueou
staggered cambaleou
stick by the rules cumpre as leis / regras
tear it off elimino-a; ultrapasso-a
the wake velório
therapy whatnot terapia qualquer coisa
thud ruído surdo
to block it all off bloquear tudo
to pull you off de te deter
trial julgamento
was holding me down estava a impedir-me
we could venture off podiamo-nos aventurar
we didn’t get bothered não nos preocupámos
wheedling a convencer com palavras meigas
wiping esfregar
worked out planeado
wounded feriu
Word Work 10
Visiting Time
Word Work
Glossary
The text contains a number of words that you will need to look up in a dictionary.
The meanings given here are correct for the context of the story but may have
different meaning in different contexts.
1 foot - ±30 cms
a bit of a sweat - nervous
aggro – violent
blew it – ruined it
blinked – closed and opened my eyes
quickly
blow my lid – become very angry
brain damage – cause harm to one’s brain
breath sucking – taking air
brought up – educated
chafe - rub
chicken wire – type of light wire net used
especially for making fences to keep
chickens
chipped – broke
chucked out – forced to leave
cocky – too confident
den – the home of some wild animals
done me nut – became very angry
eff and blind – use very rude words; swear
fags – cigarettes
feebly – extremely weak
flit about – move around
fluttering – feeling nervous
foot – unit used for measuring length
glossy green – shiny green
governor – person in charge of a prison
governor –person in charge of a prison
grin – big smile
guardian angel – angel who looks after you
handy – useful
hang on – wait
he fiddles with the hem of his shirt –he
keeps touching the edge of his shirt because
he’s nervous
headed – went
holding me down – stopping me from
moving
hurdle – another problem
knock it out – put it unconscious
liar – someone who doesn’t tell the truth
lift off me – leave me; abandon me
likely – probably
look after – be in charge of
maintenance – work done to keep the hospital
in good condition
mate – friend
parole – permission given to someone to leave
prison, on condition that they promise to
behave well
pops up – appears
probation officers – people who give help and
advice to ex-prisoners and also check their
behaviour
pull you off – stop you
restorative justice – positive justice
riding pillion – sitting behind the driver on a
motorbike
roughly – approximately
screws – prison officers
scrubbed shirt – cleaned shirt
shifts - moves
shrug – movement of your shoulders upwards
and then downwards to show that you do not
know something or do not care about
something
slant – at an angle that is not 90 degrees
smirking – smiling unpleasantly
solicitor – lawyer
staggered – walked with difficulty, almost
falling over
stick by the rules – do what is right
sue – make a legal claim
swung – moved from side to side
tear it down – destroy
they play them up – they behave in a very
friendly or polite way
thud – a low sound
venture off – go somewhere dangerous
wake – meeting of friends before or after a
funeral
whatnot – other similar things
wheedling – trying to convince that he’s sorry
wind me up – confuse me; trick me
windpipe – tube in your body that carries air
into your lungs from your nose or mouth
worked out – planned
wounded – hurt

LAST UPDATED                      25/06/2006