書蟲1級《彩票大贏家》1. 搶包的歹徒

1. The bag-snatcher

One Saturday afternoon in a small town, Emma Carter came out of a shoe shop with some new shoes. They were cheap shoes, but Emma was very pleased with them. She was seventy-three years old and did not have much money. She began to walk home. 'A nice cup of tea,' she thought, 'and then I can go for a walk in my new shoes.'

It was a quiet town and there was nobody in the street. Suddenly, Emma heard something behind her. She did not have time to look, because just then somebody ran up behind her, hit her on the head, and snatched her bag out of her hands. Emma fell down on her back. Then she looked up, and saw a tall young man with long, dirty brown hair. He stood and looked down at her for a second; then he ran away with Emma's bag under his arm.

He ran away with Emma's bag under his arm.

Help! Help!' Emma cried.

But nobody came, and after two or three minutes Emma slowly got up and went to the nearest house. The people there were very kind. They gave Emma a cup of tea, and soon an ambulance came and took her to hospital.

At the hospital a doctor looked at Emma's head and back. 'You're going to be OK,' he said. 'Just take it easy for a day or two. Can your husband help you at home?'

My husband died eight years ago,' said Emma. 'There's only me at home.'

Well,' the doctor said, 'we don't want you to feel ill and fall downstairs at home. So I think you must stay in hospital for tonight, and perhaps tomorrow night, too.' Later, a policeman came to the hospital and Emma told him about the bag-snatcher.

Emma made a picture of the young man's face.

Did anybody see this young man?' he asked.

I don't know,' said Emma. 'But there was nobody in the street when I called for help.'

Oh dear,' the policeman said. 'What was in your bag?'

A little money – and a lottery ticket,' said Emma. 'I buy a ticket every Saturday. Then on Saturday evening I watch the lottery on television. I always have the same numbers –5, 12, 23, 24, 38, 41. All those numbers are important to me. I was born on 5th December, 1923. I lived at number 24 Sandwich Road for 38 years...'

Yes, yes,' said the policeman. 'I understand.' He wrote everything down in a little black book. 'Did you see the man's face?' he asked.

Yes,' said Emma. 'I did. I fell on my back, and he looked down at me for a second. So I saw his face.'

The policeman opened a small bag. In it there were a lot of pictures of eyes and ears, hair and mouths. 'I need a picture of the man's face. Can you help me?' he said.

Yes,' said Emma. 'He was tall and he had long, dirty brown hair. He wore blue trousers and a white shirt with a picture of a footballer. He had brown eyes...' Carefully she took the small pictures and made a big picture of the young man's face. She checked the picture carefully.

What colour were his shoes?' asked the policeman.

Shoes! Suddenly Emma remembered her new shoes. Where were they? She told the policeman about her shoes, but then she began to cry and could not stop.

A nurse came up to Emma's bed. 'Please go now,' she said to the policeman. 'Mrs Carter needs to sleep.'