lesson1-a-day-in-the-life-of-a-parliamentary-candidate lesson1 a day in the life of a parliamentary candidate pdf

A day in the life of a parliamentary candidate

by Alan Townend

A day in the life of a parliamentary candidate

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!

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.

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.

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A day in the life of a parliamentary candidate

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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.

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 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.

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!

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 largely a farming community and the

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A day in the life of a parliamentary candidate

by Alan Townend

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.

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, I'll 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.

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."

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.

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!

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A day in the life of a parliamentary candidate

by Alan Townend

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.

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!

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A day in the life of a parliamentary candidate

by Alan Townend

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

future

prospective

constituency

district represented by one M.P.

The people in this district are

called "constituents"

challenge

campaign

a test of one's ability

planned course of action;

here refers to the time (about

three weeks) just before an

election

blow up

kill in an explosion

House of Commons

one of the two Houses of

Parliament (the other is the House

of Lords)

the line had gone dead

operator

the connection had been broken

the telephonist at the telephone

exchange

headquarters

the press

main office

the newspapers, newspaper

reporters

engagements

election agent

appointments

the person who manages the

campaign for a parliamentary

candidate

threaten

try to frighten

opponents

those who are against you (here

refers to members of the other

political parties)

exaggerate

hoax

say that something is more

important etc. than it really is

(pronounced like jokes) joke

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A day in the life of a parliamentary candidate

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get to the bottom of the

matter

find out the truth about it

someone with strange ideas

crank

housing estate

an area with houses of the same

type and usually built by the

same builder

the whole business

the situation

plainclothes policemen

policemen wearing civilian

(ordinary) clothes

sinister

strange and frightening

hecklers

people who interrupt a speaker

(

usually political)

carry on

continue

public house

a place where wine, beer and

spirits can be bought and drunk

I'm dead against it

keep a close watch on

mingled

I'm completely against it

watch carefully

mixed

inconspicuously

reaction

so as not to be noticed

showing of feelings for or against

increasing

rising

scream its head off

paid a brief visit to

bribery

scream very loudly

visited for a short time

money or goods given to someone

to win his support

disapproved of

involvement in

getting mixed up in

pile

did not approve of

mixing in

becoming involved in

heap, number of

large pile of hay

mainly

haystack

largely

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A day in the life of a parliamentary candidate

by Alan Townend

community

issue

district and its people

question or problem for discussion

subsidies

help in the form of money

from die government

appreciate

carry

here means understand

here means travel, i.e. be heard

in London

good-natured

tractor

friendly

vehicle used on a farm for pulling

things

half a dozen

roared

six (twelve to a dozen)

made a loud noise; here came in

with a loud noise imported bought

from another country

go to waste

assured him

starving

be wasted

made him certain

very hungry

bothered

taken the trouble

I was cut off

my telephone connection with you

was broken

What on earth...?

misunderstanding

a strong way of saying "What...?"

mistake due to something not

being understood

salad

dish of fresh vegetables

overhear

hear something without the

speaker knowing

win the crowd over to his side win the support of the crowd

bombardment

in the military sense, with heavy

guns; here with tomatoes

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A day in the life of a parliamentary candidate

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Questions and exercises

A. Comprehension questions

1

2

3

4

.

Which constituency was Henry Orpington adopted for?

What sort of majority did he get?

Who is Andrew Higgins?

Does Andrew want Henry to continue with his engagements

after the bomb threat?

5

6

.

Why did Henry's audience at the housing estate consist mainly

of women and children?

Why did the baby scream its head off when Henry tried to kiss

it?

7

8

9

1

.

What had Henry's wife and daughters been doing all morning?

What was the most important election issue for the farmers?

Why couldn't the farmers sell their tomatoes at a profit?

0. 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

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

.

The Prime Minister announced the date of the general election.

He thought a bomb was going to blow him up.

They've cut us off.

They kept the news from the press.

I'm not going to let some stupid crank scare me.

Henry's beard must have frightened the baby.

Two of the tomatoes hit him in the face.

If they hadn't cut us off.

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A day in the life of a parliamentary candidate

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C. Use the following words to complete the sentences below:

bribery

scream

crank

hoax

starving

cut off

teenage

cancel

1

2

3

4

5

6

.

I have two small sons and three _____ daughters.

The operator has________ us_________.

I'm going to _________all my engagements.

He has very strange ideas. I think he's a__________.

When the baby saw Henry's beard, it began to________.

If Henry bought someone a drink it would be

considered________.

7

8

.

Henry thought that the telephone call about the bomb was just

a______.

I haven't eaten all day. I'm________.

D. The following sentences come from the conversation between

Andrew and Henry. Change them into indirect (reported) speech.

Start like this:

1

.

Andrew suggested that Henry cancel all his arrangements for

that day.

Now you do it.

1

2

.

Andrew: I suggest you cancel all your engagements for today.

Henry: I'm not going to let myself be scared by some stupid

crank.

3

4

.

Andrew: What did the man sound like? Did you recognize his

voice?

Henry: No, I was half asleep. He didn't seem to be threatening

me.

5

6

.

Andrew: That makes the whole business even more sinister.

Andrew: Henry, one day won't make all that much difference.

I'll tell people you've lost your voice.

7

8

.

Henry: I'm going to carry on as usual.

Andrew: I'd like to make it clear that I'm dead against it.

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A day in the life of a parliamentary candidate

by Alan Townend

Keys to exercises

A.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

.

The one in which he was living.

A large majority.

Henry Orpington's election agent.

No, he wants him to cancel them.

Because most of the men were out at work.

Because it was frightened by Henry's beard.

They had been addressing the envelopes for the leaflets Henry

was sending out.

8

9

1

.

The subsidies that the new government would be paying.

Because the imported ones were too cheap.

0. He overheard some of the other farmers planning to break up

Henry's meeting.

B.

1

.

The date of the general election was announced by the Prime

Minister.

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

.

He thought he was going to be blown up by a bomb.

We've been cut off.

The news was kept from the press.

I'm not going to let myself be scared by some stupid crank.

The baby must have been frightened by Henry's beard.

He was hit in the face by two of the tomatoes.

If we hadn't been cut off....

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A day in the life of a parliamentary candidate

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C.

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

.

teenage

cut us off

cancel

crank

scream

bribery

hoax

starving

D.

1

2

3

4

5

6

.

Andrew suggested that Henry cancel all his engagements for

that day.

Henry said that he wasn't going to let himself be scared by

some stupid crank.

Andrew asked Henry what the man sounded like and if he

recognized his voice.

Henry said that he didn't because he was half asleep, but the

man didn't seem to be threatening him.

Andrew said that that made the whole business even more

sinister.

Andrew told Henry that one day wouldn't make all that much

difference and that he would tell people that Henry had lost his

voice.

7

8

.

Henry said that he was going to carry on as usual.

Andrew said he would like to make it clear that he was dead

against it.

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