8.1. AVOID BEING TRICKED

 

8.1.1 Listening

Listen to the recording and answer the questions. Think of the possible continuation of the story.

 

8.1.2 Introduction

Discuss the following questions:

     

1. When you meet someone for the first time, what do you notice most:

their clothes? voice? facial expression?

2. What do these things tell you about the person?

3. What can help you understand if you can trust this person?

 

8.1.3 Vocabulary

Work in pairs. One of you read text A, and the other read text B. Find out what happened and why. Then exchange information.

 

A        B

Last week, Mrs Alice Woolf, aged 65, was tricked into handing over all her savings to a smooth-talking doorstep salesman who said he was selling burglar alarm systems. ‘I was completely taken in,’ she said. ‘I know it was foolish to let him talk me into giving him all my savings, but he seemed such a nice man. He came across as completely honest. But I won’t make the same mistake again. Once bitten, twice shy.’ When asked if she thought the man would be caught, she replied, ‘I don’t think he’ll get away with it. I’m sure the police will catch him sooner or later.’ The police are looking for a well-dressed young man who has been passing himself off as a doorstep salesman. Last week, he tricked an elderly lady into giving him all her money as a deposit for a burglar alarm system. A police spokesman said, ‘Unfortunately, it’s quite easy for dishonest people to make a living doing this kind of thing. I suppose we all tend to go by appearances, and very often it’s not easy to see through a clean-shaven, well-spoken young man in a good suit, and with a pleasant manner. Appearances can be deceptive, and not everyone is a good judge of character. My advice to people is not to hand over any money until they have checked people’s references and made sure they belong to a reputable organization. Meanwhile we’ll do our best to catch the man who took Mrs Woolf’s savings.’

 

8.1.4 Definition

Match the multi-word verbs with their definitions.

 

1. to hand something over 2. to take someone in 3. to talk someone into doing something 4. to come across as something  5. to get away with something  6. to pass someone / something off as someone /something 7. to go by something  8. to see through someone /  something

a. to persuade someone to do something b. to deceive or trick someone c. to pretend that someone/something is someone/something else d. to give something to someone so that they control or own it e. to give the impression of having a particular characteristic f. to judge according to something  g. to see the true nature of someone / something despite a deceptively pleasant appearance h. to escape being punished or criticized for something

 

8.1.5 Drills

Listen to the sentences. Use the prompts you hear to make sentences with the same meaning.

 

8.1.6 Practice

A

Complete the sentences, using multi-word verbs from this unit.

 

1. My sister is a very good judge of character. She can _____ people immediately if they try to deceive or trick her.

2. He escaped from the country by ______ as a tourist.

3.  I lent him some money because he seemed an honest person, but after that I never saw him again. I soon realized I _______.

4. Don’t _______ his appearance. He may look nice but he’s completely untrustworthy.

5. When I first met him he ______ as a very indecisive person who didn’t know his own mind.

6. The salesman _______ buying a new washing machine, although my old one was fine.

7. The robber told him to _______ the keys to the safe.

8. The robbers laughed when the bank manager said: ‘You won’t _______ this. The police will catch you one day’.

 

Correction

B

One of the sentences below is correct. All the others have one mistake in them. Change the sentences so that they were all correct.

 

1. No, you can’t have the money. I refuse to hand over.

2. She came across to be a very decisive person.

3. They got away several serious crimes.

4. He passed off himself as a policeman.

5. You should have seen him through immediately.

6. I was never taken in by his lies.

7. He talked me into sign the cheque.

8. I never go with first impressions.

 

8.1.7 Interaction

A

Work in pairs. Take turns asking and answering the questions below. Use the multi-word verbs in brackets.

 

1. Why can it be dangerous to base your judgement of people on first impressions?  (go by)

2. How should a person look and behave in order people trust him/her? (come across as)

3. What do you think is the best way to avoid being tricked or deceived by people? (take someone in)

4.  Has someone ever persuaded you to do something that you regretted later? If so, what was it? (talk someone into)

5. Imagine you could pretend to be someone else for a whole day. Who would you choose to be? Why? (pass yourself off as)

 

Idiom

B

Work with a partner. Discuss the meaning of the following sayings:

 

1. Once bitten, twice shy.

2. Forewarned, forearmed.

3. Honesty is the best policy.

        

How would you express the same idea in Russian/Belarusian?

Do you agree with these expressions? Why?

 

8.1.8 Into

How multi-word verbs work The particle into can be used with some verbs to give the idea of persuading or forcing someone to do something. Using the verbs in brackets, rewrite the following sentences so that they have similar meaning. Make any necessary changes to the structure of the sentences.

 

Example:	His boss made him resign. (force into)
	- His boss forced him into resigning.

 

1. She persuaded me to buy a new coat. (talk into)

2. The robbers made the bank manager think they were genuine customers. (trick into)

3. The Mafia frightened him so much that he remained silent. (frighten into)        

4. She had to sell her house in order to pay off her debts. (force into)

5. The government was made to feel so ashamed that it took action. (shame into)

 

What is the opposite of to talk someone into doing something?                                                            

 

8.1.9 Word Use

A

Choose the most suitable word or phrase.

 

1. Sally didn’t realize that she had broken / countered / denied the law.

2. The police have banned / cancelled / refused parking in the street.

3. I must remember to get a/an agreement / licence / permission for my television.

4. The president admitted that there had been a breakdown of law and crime / government / order.

5. Carlos was arrested because he had entered the country falsely / illegally / wrongly.

6. Talking to other students is against the law / orders / rules of the examination.

7. The two men were arrested before they could commit / make / perform any more crimes.

8. I had to take the company to court / justice / law to get the money they owed me.

9. Smoking is compulsory / prohibited / refused near the petrol tanks.

 

Activate

B

Choose the right proposition.

 

1. Harry was told that fishing in the lake was against / by / over the law.

2. Catherine led a secret life for / in / of crime before she was caught.

3. I regret to tell you that you are for / in / under arrest.

4. I only attacked the young man from / in / with self-defence.

5. David was often at / in / with trouble with the police when he was young.

6. The robbers’ car was hidden below / by / from sight behind the bank.

7. The kidnappers have been caught, and the child is no longer at / in / on danger.

8. Tony was caught by a policeman who was off / out / away from duty and cycling to work.

9. The thieves took the wrong painting by / in / under mistake.

10. The suspicious manager left the safe unlocked from / on / with purpose.

11. The robbers met to plan the bank raid from / in / with secret.

 

Check Yourself

C

Complete each part sentence a to j with one of the endings 1 to 10. Use each ending once only.

 

1. I decided to buy a burglar alarm after someone broke …
2. After Alan was stopped outside the supermarket he ended …
3. As it was Sheila’s first offence she was let …
4. After climbing over the prison wall, Peter managed to get …
5. The old couple who live opposite were taken …
6. At the end of the trial Hilary was found …
7. My neighbours admitted denting my car but got away …
8. The bank at the end of the street was held …
9. Nobody saw Jack cheating and he got away with …
10. The hijackers took fifteen people …

 

1. … in by a salesman who cheated them out of their money.
2. … away by stealing a car parked nearby.
3. … up at the police station, charged with shoplifting.
4. … it, although everyone suspected what had happened.
5. … into my house and stole my stereo.
6. … off with only a warning.
7. … with paying only £50 damages.
8. … hostage and demanded £1,000,000 from the authorities.
9. … guilty and sentenced to six months in prison.
10. … up by two masked men last week.

 

8.1.10 Story making

The story below is in note form and in the wrong order. Decide on the correct order and tell the story. You can add one or two sentences of your own to give the story a surprising ending.

 

A: The next evening after work / theatre in London / marvelous time

B: Returned from work that evening / very surprised to find / car parked outside house again

C: Extremely upset and worried / phoned police / report / happened

D: Every morning / together by train / to work in London / car outside house

E: On driver’s seat / note, bottle of champagne, two theatre tickets

F: Got home later that evening / car still outside house / felt very relieved

G: One morning / front door / car disappeared

H: Delighted / immediately phoned the police / not to worry about car

I: Tracy and Kevin / rich young couple / proud of wonderful house in the country / beautiful new car

J: Note / ‘Sorry I borrow car / I’m a doctor / emergency / thank you / gift’

 

8.1.11 Translation

Read the extracts below and say what the stories can be about. Use words and phrases from this unit.

 

1. Jack Nance and Associates was a quiet firm that advertised itself as security specialists but was in fact nothing more than a couple of private investigators. Jack Nance was an ex-con with an impressive record who’d managed to avoid trouble for 10 years. His associate, Cal Sisson, was also a convicted felon. Together they scratched out a nice living doing dirty work for rich people. They were known as two very nasty and efficient men who would achieve amazing results…

… Nance is pretty smooth and cool under pressure. His partner, Cal Sisson, is a loose cannon. Afraid of his shadow. ‘Listen to me, Cal. Accomplice to breaking and entering carries 7 years. You have 3 prior convictions, so you’ll be charged as a habitual offender. You’re looking at 30 years, no parole.’

2. James gazed moodily at the cloudless sky and brooded. He and Anne had read every book they could lay their hands on that even hinted at stolen money or successful duplicity, but they had found nothing they could plagiarize.

3. Incredibly, the Valerie Ann Keene who had recently worked at the Red Door was absent from credit-agency files, utterly without a credit history. That was possible only if she had never purchased anything on time payments, had never possessed a credit card of any kind, had never opened a checking or savings account, and had never been the subject of a background check by an employer or landlord.

To be 29 years old without acquiring a credit history in modern America, she would have to have been a Gypsy or a jobless vagrant most of her life, at least since she’d been a teenager. Manifestly she had not been any such thing.

The raid on her bungalow meant one kind of police agency or another was after her. So, she must be a wanted felon with a criminal record.

 

8.1.12 Speaking

Use the multi-word verbs and expressions to make up a story which ends with the following words: ‘It was only then he realized that he had been completely taken in.’

 

8.1.13 Writing

Plan and write a leaflet giving people advice on how to deal with doorstep salesmen. Warn them of the dangers and give at least five ‘Golden Rules’ to follow. Remember to use the multi-word verbs you have learnt in this unit.