The Case of Bizarre Death

and Other Tales

Případ bizarní smrti

a další příběhy

Dvojjazyčné anglicko-české povídky

zpracované podle skutečných událostí

Pro středně pokročilé studenty anglického jazyka

Alena Kuzmová

Předmluva ke čtenářům

Tato kniha povídek je inspirovaná skutečnými životními příběhy a je určena středně pokročilým studentům anglického jazyka. Jistě zaujme čtenáře, kteří si rádi formou četby a doplňujících cvičení udržují svoje získané znalosti nebo je dále prohlubují.

Kromě četby nabízí učebnice řadu aktivit zaměřených na porozumění přečtenému textu a náměty k ústnímu či písemnému projevu. Každá povídka je doplněna podrobným výkladem nejdůležitějších gramatických jevů. Anglicky psané povídky mají český překlad, který můžete využít a pokusit se nezávisle na učebnici překládat příběh z češtiny do angličtiny nebo naopak anglický text přeložit do češtiny a potom porovnat svou verzi s učebnicí. Zvolené aktivity jistě upevní a rozšíří vaše znalosti a především po přečtení a prostudování celé knihy získáte cenný pocit osvěžených vědomostí i zdravého sebevědomí a chuť do dalšího studia anglického jazyka.

Příjemnou zábavu s knihou vám přeje

Alena Kuzmová

The Case of Bizarre Death

“It was a strange case from a legal point of view; really unusual and complicated,” Dr. Don Harper Williams started his speech at the meeting of the Institute of Court Experts. “At the beginning, everything looked like a suicide. The young man left a suicide letter for his parents in which he described his dejection of life, and he jumped down from the roof of their ten-story house. However, the medical examiner pronounced that the cause of death was in fact a gunshot wound to the head, not the fall from the height. It is necessary to point out that the life net for the safety of builders had been placed around the house on the level of the eighth floor before the man jumped down. Therefore, Jack Danvers couldn’t have committed suicide by hurling himself off the building. The whole incident was seen by a witness – a worker doing some repairs on the roof of the opposite building. He confirmed he had seen a man on the opposite roof, who suddenly brought himself to jump down. Only a second after the man had jumped, the worker could hear a shot from somewhere inside of the house across the street.

There is a rule that the death of a person who decides to commit suicide and succeeds in it, although it is actually done differently from the intended way, it is still classified as a suicide. However, Jack Danvers was shot on the way to death, which wouldn’t have come true thanks to the life net. That’s why the medical examiner made the conclusion that it was a murder.

Among the questioned people from the house there was one family from the eighth floor. They confirmed that at the time of the incident, they had heard a noisy row from the flat above, something that had happened many times before. This time, however, the row ended by a shot. It turned out that the people living in the flat on the ninth floor from which the shouting and the shot could be heard were Mr. and Mrs. Danvers, Jack’s parents. The old man confessed to quarreling with his wife. He said he had aimed his gun at her as he had done many times before. However, he didn’t load the gun because he only wanted to frighten her, not kill her. His wife confirmed his statement. But in the last quarrel the old man was so upset that when he pulled the trigger, he missed his wife and the shot hit Jack as he was just falling outside their window on the ninth floor.

Despite the identical statement of the old man and his wife, he was still accused of murdering their son Jack, since the law says that someone going to kill person A but by this attempt actually kills the person B, is guilty of murdering person B. Nevertheless, the old man combatted this accusation very obdurately. He claimed that he had thought the gun wasn’t loaded and hadn’t had any intention to kill his wife. And so the killing of Jack Danvers for some time appeared to be an accident as the gun had probably been loaded by mistake.

The significant turn in the investigation set in just when another important witness came up. It was Jack’s friend who worked with him as a waiter in the same hotel. He said he had seen Jack load the gun a few days before the disaster. He also explained the background of this unhappy incident since Jack had opened his heart to him and had told him about his troubles which had been destroying him for a few months. Both young men attended a gambling club, where a lot of money was involved. Jack hadn’t been lucky for the last few months before the disaster. He lost a large sum of money and his salary and savings weren’t enough to pay for his debts. He tried to ask his mother for a loan as he knew she had a large bank account. However, she refused to help him and even warned that he would have to leave their flat if he didn’t stop gambling.

Jack borrowed a large sum of money from a man in the hotel bar but he wasn’t able to pay it back on the arranged day. The man sent his group of “hard boys” so that they would teach him a lesson. One night they attacked him in a dark street. He came home half dead and quite depressed. Jack’s mother still didn’t change her attitude, though. He thought her to be ruthless and started to hate her.

Since Jack felt quite helpless, he determined to take desperate action. He knew that his father often pointed a gun at his mother during their fights to frighten her. Jack decided to load the gun and to arrange everything so that his father could shoot his mother during their next row. As the day for paying his debt got closer, Jack still didn’t have the money and his parents didn’t have any row, so he couldn’t find any other solution except for committing suicide.

Nevertheless, the circumstances wouldn’t have allowed him to commit it. However, by loading the gun for shooting his mother, Jack ensured his own death. In the end, the medical examiner concluded the case as a suicide.”

Případ bizarní smrti

„Z právního hlediska to byl podivný případ; opravdu neobvyklý a komplikovaný,“ začal svoji řeč Dr. Don Harper Williams na zasedání Institutu soudních znalců. „Na začátku všechno vypadalo jako sebevražda. Ten mladý muž zanechal dopis na rozloučenou svým rodičům, ve kterém popsal svou sklíčenost životem, a skočil ze střechy jejich desetipatrového domu. Avšak soudní lékař konstatoval, že příčinou smrti byla ve skutečnosti střelná rána do hlavy, nikoli pád z výšky. Je nutno poznamenat, že na úrovni osmého patra byla na domě instalována záchranná síť pro stavaře předtím, než muž skočil dolů. Proto by byl Jack Danvers nemohl spáchat sebevraždu skokem dolů. Celou tuto událost viděl jeden svědek – dělník, který právě dělal nějaké opravy na střeše protější budovy. Potvrdil, že viděl muže na protější střeše, který se náhle odhodlal a skočil dolů. Teprve za vteřinu poté, co muž skočil, dělník uslyšel výstřel odněkud zevnitř protilehlého domu.

Je pravidlem, že smrt osoby, která se rozhodne spáchat sebevraždu a podaří se jí to, i když způsobem, který původně nezamýšlela, se přesto klasifikuje jako sebevražda. Avšak Jack Danvers byl postřelen na cestě ke smrti, která by se byla neuskutečnila díky záchranné síti. Proto soudní lékař učinil závěr, že to je vražda.

Mezi vyslýchanými lidmi z  domu byla jedna rodina z osmého patra. Její členové potvrdili, že v době nešťastné události slyšeli hlasitou hádku z bytu nad nimi, což se stalo již mnohokrát předtím. Avšak tentokrát skončila hádka výstřelem. Ukázalo se, že lidé bydlící v  bytě v devátém patře, ze kterého byl slyšet křik a výstřel, jsou pan a paní Danversovi, Jackovi rodiče. Starý muž přiznal hádku se svou manželkou. Řekl, že zacílil svou zbraň na ni, jak už to udělal mnohokrát předtím. Avšak nenabil tu zbraň, protože ji chtěl jenom postrašit, ne ji zabít. Jeho žena tuto výpověď potvrdila. Ale při této poslední hádce byl starý muž tak rozčilen, že když stiskl kohoutek, minul svou ženu a výstřel zasáhl Jacka, který právě padal dolů kolem jejich okna v devátém poschodí.

Navzdory shodné výpovědi starého muže a jeho manželky, muž byl přesto obviněn z vraždy jejich syna Jacka, neboť podle zákona kdo má v úmyslu zabít osobu A, ale při tomto pokusu ve skutečnosti zabije osobu B, je vinen vraždou osoby B. Nicméně starý muž čelil tomuto obvinění velmi neoblomně. Tvrdil, že si myslel, že zbraň není nabitá a že neměl žádný úmysl zabít svou ženu. A tak zabití Jacka Danverse nějaký čas vypadalo jako nehoda, neboť zbraň byla pravděpodobně nabita nedopatřením.

Významný obrat ve vyšetřování nastal, teprve když se objevil další důležitý svědek. Byl to Jackův přítel, který s ním pracoval jako číšník ve stejném hotelu. Řekl, že viděl Jacka nabíjet tu zbraň několik dnů před neštěstím. On také vysvětlil pozadí této nešťastné události, neboť Jack se mu svěřil a řekl mu o svých starostech, které ho už několik měsíců ničily. Oba mladí muži navštěvovali hráčský klub, kde se točily velké peníze. Jack měl smůlu několik posledních měsíců před neštěstím. Prohrál velkou sumu peněz a jeho plat a úspory nestačily, aby zaplatil své dluhy. Snažil se požádat svou matku o půjčku, protože věděl, že má slušnou sumu na účtě v bance. Avšak ona odmítla mu pomoci a dokonce ho varovala, že bude muset odejít z jejich bytu, jestliže nepřestane s hraním.

Jack si vypůjčil velkou sumu peněz od jednoho muže v hotelovém baru, ale nebyl schopen ji vrátit ve stanovený den. Tento muž poslal svou partu „tvrdých chlapů“, aby mu dali lekci. Jednou v noci ho přepadli v temné ulici. Vrátil se domů napůl mrtvý a byl úplně na dně. Avšak Jackova matka přesto nezměnila svůj postoj. On ji považoval za nelítostnou a začal ji nenávidět.

Protože byl Jack úplně bezradný, odhodlal se udělat zoufalý čin. Věděl, že jeho otec často míří svou zbraní na matku během jejich hádek, aby ji postrašil. Jack se rozhodl nabít tuto zbraň a zařídit všechno tak, aby otec mohl matku při příští hádce zastřelit. Protože se termín k zaplacení dluhu přibližoval, Jack stále neměl ty peníze a jeho rodiče neměli žádnou hádku, nemohl už najít žádné jiné řešení než sebevraždu.

Nicméně okolnosti by byly nedovolily, aby ji spáchal. Avšak tím, že nabil zbraň k zastřelení své matky, Jack zajistil svou vlastní smrt. Nakonec soudní lékař uzavřel tento případ jako sebevraždu.“

Activities:

1.1 Read the story and complete the sentences with a word or a phrase:

1. At the beginning the case looked like ………………………….

2. The cause of death was in fact …………………………………

3. The witness was a worker doing some repairs on………………

4. He could hear a shot from ……………………………………..

5. The medical examiner made the conclusion that ………………

6. A family from the eighth floor confirmed that at the time of the incident they had heard …...…………………………………..

7. The row ended by ……………………………………………

8. The people living on the ninth floor were ……………………

9. Mr. Danvers confessed to quarreling with ……………………

10. He said he hadn’t …………………… the gun.

11. The old man was still accused of ………………………………

12. Mr. Danvers claimed he hadn’t had any intention ……………..

13. Jack worked as ………………………………………………… Jack’s friend from work saw Jack …………………………a few days before the disaster.

14. Both men attended ……………………………………………

15. Jack..…………….. a large sum of money.

16. He wanted his mother …………………………………………

17. She warned Jack he would have to ……………………….. if he didn’t stop gambling.

18. Jack borrowed a lot of money from ……………………………

19. The man from the bar’s “hard boys” gave Jack………………… in the street.

20. Jack decided to load the gun so that his father ………………… during their next row.

21. In the end Jack couldn’t find any other solution ………………

22. The circumstances wouldn’t have allowed him to ……………. the suicide.

23. Jack ensured his own death by ………………………………..

24. This case was concluded as ……………………………………

1.2 Choose the best answer A,B,C or D:

1. The cause of death of the young man was

A a fall from the tenth floor.

B a gunshot wound to the heart.

C a gunshot wound to the head.

D a stab wound to the chest.

2. Jack Danvers couldn’t have committed suicide because

A there was a life net on the eighth floor.

B someone came and prevented him from it.

C he wasn’t brave enough to do it.

D he didn’t want to hurt his parents.

3. Mr. Danvers couldn’t have loaded his gun because

A he had forgotten about it.

B he hadn’t had any intention to kill his wife.

C he had forgotten to buy cartridges.

D he had lost his cartridges.

4. The important witness who helped to clarify the case was

A Jack’s cousin.

B The worker who saw Jack falling down from the roof of the opposite house.

C Jack’s friend from work.

D The neighbour living on the eighth floor.

5. Jack lost a large sum of money because he

A had been betting on his favourite horse for a few months.

B had made a bet with his colleague in the hotel bar.

C had lost a few card games with his boss.

D had lost many games of chance in a gambling club.

6. Jack borrowed a large sum of money from

A his mother.

B his friend from work.

C a strange man in the hotel bar.

D his boss.

7. Jack decided to commit suicide because

A he hadn’t gotten money to repay his loan.

B his girlfriend had left him.

C he had learnt he was seriously ill.

D his parents wanted him to leave their flat.

8. The case was concluded as

A an accident.

B a murder.

C a suicide.

D a mischance.

Grammar:

We often use a verb in the Past Perfect alongside another verb in the Past Simple or Past Continuous to show that one past event happened before another.

Často užíváme sloveso v předminulém čase současně s dalším slovesem v minulém čase prostém či průběhovém, abychom vyjádřili, že jeden děj se odehrál před dalším dějem v minulosti.

Look at these examples:

He also explained the background of this unhappy incident since Jack had opened his heart to him and had told him about his troubles which had been destroying him for a few months.

Jack hadn’t been lucky for the last few months before the disaster.

Grammar:

According to the rules of sequence of tenses, present perfect and past simple change in past perfect, future will changes in would and present simple changes in past simple.

Podle pravidel o časové souslednosti se mění předpřítomný čas a minulý čas prostý na  předminulý čas, budoucnost will se mění na would a přítomný čas prostý se mění na minulý čas prostý.

Look at these examples:

He confirmed he had seen a man on the opposite roof.

He said he had aimed his gun at her as he had done many times before.

She warned him that he would have to leave their flat if he didn’t stop gambling.

He knew that his father often pointed a gun at his mother during their fights to frighten her.

1.3 Use only one sentence to rephrase these two sentences:

Example: I bought an interesting book on the way home. After coming home, I started to read it.

After coming home, I started to read an interesting book I had bought on the way home.

1. I studied dolphins’ communication with each other very carefully. Then I started to write a book about it.

2. Mrs. Danvers said, “I’m sure my husband didn’t have any intention to kill me.”

3. Jack told me, “I will have to borrow a large sum of money.”

4. We played tennis yesterday. Half an hour after we began playing, it started to rain.

5. I asked Karen to go to the cinema with me to see a new Czech film. Karen saw the film last week.

6. Somebody broke into the office during the night. We arrived at work in the morning.

7. I saw the girl at Rob’s party last Saturday. I met her again and I recognized her at once.

8. Sue had dinner with Jack in a restaurant. She wasn’t hungry when she came home.

9. Tom left my flat at half past six. I came home at a quarter to seven.

10. Jane asked me, “How long have you been going out with Peter?”

Grammar:

Past conditional: I would have done

I could have come = I would have been able to come

Minulý kondicionál: byl bych udělal

byl bych mohl přijít, mohl jsem přijít

We use could have done for things which were possible but did not happen.

Could have done užíváme pro děj, který se mohl uskutečnit, ale neuskutečnil se.

Look at these examples:

However, Jack Danvers was shot on the way to death, which wouldn’t have come true thanks to the life net.

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