Level 1 RICHARD MACANDREW CEFR A1 DAN AND THE STOLEN BIKES DAN AND THE STOLEN BIKES RICHARD MACANDREW helbling.com/english DAN AND THE STOLEN BIKES ISBN 978-3-99089-409-5 Recording in British English Dan and the Stolen Bikes Richard MacAndrew Recording in British English When Sue’s bike is stolen one evening in Oxford, Dan decides to do something. He starts Oxford Bike Finders and soon lots of people are contacting Dan on the internet with information. Then one day, one of Dan’s followers sees a bike being stolen and Dan and Sue decide to follow the thieves. What happens when they find the thieves and can they get Sue’s bike back? HELBLING READERS A great series of graded reading material. Choose from well-loved classics and high-quality original fiction. Level CEFR Cambridge Trinity RED SERIES 1 A1 Towards A2 Key 1, 2 2 A1 / A2 Towards A2 Key 2, 3 3 A2 A2 Key 3, 4 BLUE SERIES 4 A2 / B1 Towards B1 Preliminary 4, 5 5 B1 B1 Preliminary 5, 6 AUDIO ON APP ONLINE ACTIVITIES ON HELBLING READERS HELBLING READERS FICTION
ABOUT YOUR BOOK FOR THE TEACHER Go to HELBLING e-zone for Cyber Homework, downloadable worksheets, answer keys and Reading Matters, the Teacher’s Guide to using Helbling Readers in your class. For a full list of both classic and fiction titles go to helbling.com/english Listen to the story and activities on the HELBLING Media App Talk about the story glossary• When you see the red dot, check the word in the glossary Prepare for Cambridge English Exams: A2 Key Go to ezone.helbling.com to do the activities
Characters 6 Oxford 8 Before Reading 10 1 Where is Sue’s bike? 15 2 Oxford Bike Finders 19 3 Dan and Sue meet Jamie 22 4 Who is BikerGirl? 26 5 Following the bike thieves 31 6 Dan makes a mistake 37 7 What can Emily do? 42 8 Dan has an idea 45 9 You are very very lucky 50 After Reading 57 CONTENTS
INTERACTIVE ONLINE TEACHING AND LEARNING MATERIALS HELBLING DIGITAL STUDENTS test their language skills in a stimulating interactive environment. All activities can be attempted as many times as necessary and full results and feedback are given as soon as the deadline has been reached. Single student access is also available. TEACHERS register free of charge to set up classes and assign individual and class homework sets. Results are provided automatically once the deadline has been reached and detailed reports on performance are available at a click. HELBLING e-zone is an inspiring new state-of-the-art, easy-to-use interactive learning environment. Use the personal access code on the inside front cover of this book to unlock a host of self-correcting activities, including: • reading comprehension; • listening comprehension; • vocabulary; • grammar; • exam preparation.
Dan and the Stolen Bikes Dan and the Stolen Bikes | Cyber Homework 1000s of free online interactive activities now available for HELBLING READERS and your other favourite Helbling Languages publications. ezone.helbling.com ONLINE ACTIVITIES helbling.com/readersblog Love reading and readers and can’t wait to get your class interested? Have a class library and reading programme but not sure how to take it a step further? The Helbling Readers BLOG is the place for you. The Helbling Readers BLOG will provide you with ideas on setting up and running a Book Club and tips on reading lessons every week. • Book Club • Worksheets • Lesson Plans Subscribe to our BLOG and you will never miss out on our updates.
Before Reading Look at the picture. What is it? Who are the people? What happens in the story? Talk with a friend. 6
Before Reading 7
This is Oxford! Name three activities people can do here. How can you go from the Police Station to Port Meadow? Tell a friend. The van at Frenchay Road is important in the story. Guess why. 8
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1 Look at these people. You can see Phil, Jamie, Annie, Emily and PC Jennings. Listen to them speaking and then write the correct name by each picture. 2 Work in pairs. Which people do you like? Which people do you not like? c ............................................................. b ............................................................. e ............................................................. a ............................................................. d ............................................................. 10 Before Reading
3 Write the words from the box below in the correct spaces. 4 Work in pairs. Ask and answer these questions. a Do you have a bike? b How often do you use it? c What kind of bike is it? d Where do you usually go on your bike? If you don’t have a bike … e Why don’t you have a bike? f Would you like to have a bike? Why?/Why not? g Why is it good to have a bike? Where can you go with it? a .................................................... b .................................................... lock notice tyre railings garage e .................................................... d .................................................... c .................................................... 11
1 Work in pairs and answer the questions. Most of the story happens in Oxford. 1 Oxford is in the … of England. a north b south c west 2 The population of Oxford is … . a 160,000 b 60,000 c 1.6 million 3 Oxford University has … colleges. a 12 b 44 c 38 4 The following famous people went to Oxford University. Put their names in the right places. a The inventor of the World Wide Web ............................................... b A famous British physicist ............................................... c The writer of The Lord of the Rings ............................................... d The first British female prime minister ............................................... e Mr Bean ............................................... f The daughter of a famous US president ............................................... g Hermione Granger in the Harry Potter films ............................................... 5 Are these sentences true (T) or false (F)? T F a There are two universities in Oxford. b Mini cars come from Oxford. c Oxford University is over 750 years old. d The Bodleian Library has 190 kilometres of bookshelves. e There is a house in Oxford with a shark in its roof. What do you know about Oxford? Margaret Thatcher JRR Tolkien Chelsea Clinton Emma Watson Sir Tim Berners Lee Rowan Atkinson Stephen Hawking 12 Before Reading
2 Match the words a-e with the numbers 1-5. a a postcode 1 to receive a tweet and send it to other people b a follower 2 this makes sure your letter goes to the right address c to post 3 someone who watches what you do on Facebook or Twitter d to retweet 4 to ‘talk’ to someone online e to chat 5 to put something on your Facebook page 3 Complete the sentences below using the correct forms of words from Exercise 2 above. a ‘What are you doing?’ - ‘I ......................... photos of my holiday on Facebook.’ b ‘I’m just writing to Uncle Albert. Do you know what his ......................... is? c ‘It’s amazing. Shakira has more than 100 million Facebook ......................... .‘ d ‘I often ......................... with my friends online; it’s easier than making phonecalls.’ e ‘This tweet is interesting, let’s ......................... it!’ 4 Work in pairs. Look at the pictures below. What do you think is happening in each picture? What is the same in the two pictures? What is different? online activities Before Reading 13
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1 WHERE IS SUE’S BIKE? ‘What a great film!’ says Dan. Dan Parks and Sue Barrington are leaving the Odeon cinema in Oxford. ‘I love Eddie Redmayne,’ says Sue. ‘Yes, he’s a good actor,’ replies Dan. He looks at his watch. ‘Five o’clock already,’ he says. ‘Time to get home.’ ‘Yes,’ says Sue. ‘It’s beginning to get dark.’ Dan and Sue live in the village of Steeple Compton, a few kilometres outside Oxford. They walk up the street and look for their bikes. There are a lot of bikes in Oxford. The city is flat• and a lot of people cycle. ‘There’s my bike,’ says Dan. He looks for Sue’s, but he can’t see it. ‘Where’s my bike?’ asks Sue. ‘It’s not here.’ Then they see her bike lock• on the ground• – in two bits. ‘Oh no!’ says Sue. ‘Bike thieves•!’ Dan looks up and down the road. He sees a police van• fifty metres away on the other side of the street. ‘Wait here,’ he says to Sue, and runs across the street. She watches him. He talks through the window of the police van and points back at her. Then a policeman and a policewoman get out of the van and come across the road with Dan. 15 GLOSSARY • flat: level; with no hills • ground: (here) road; street • lock: something that stops people taking or moving a bike • thieves: people who steal (take things that aren’t theirs) • van:
‘Hello,’ says the policewoman to Sue. ‘I’m PC Jennings. And this is PC Harrison. Your friend tells me your bike is missing•.’ ‘Yes,’ says Sue. Her eyes are red. She is trying not to cry. PC Jennings takes out her notebook. ‘OK,’ she says. ‘First of all, what’s your name?’ ‘Sue Barrington,’ says Sue. Actually Sue’s real name is Su Fei. She is half-Chinese: her mother is from Hong Kong, and her father is English. But she always tells people her name is Sue. Jennings looks at Dan. ‘And you?’ ‘I’m Dan Parks,’ says Dan. ‘And where do you live?’ asks Jennings. ‘Steeple Compton,’ say Dan and Sue together. ‘OK,’ says Jennings. ‘Now tell me about the bike.’ ‘Well, it’s blue,’ begins Sue. ‘It’s a road bike. And it’s only a year old.’ Jennings writes everything in her notebook. ‘Is your postcode• on the bike?’ asks Jennings. The teenagers look at each other. Sue looks puzzled•. ‘Er, no,’ says Sue. ‘And no electronic tag•?’ asks Jennings. ‘No,’ replies Sue. Harrison looks at Dan and Sue. ‘And is this your bike lock?’ asks PC Harrison. He takes the two bits of lock and looks at them. ‘Yes,’ says Sue. She looks sad and Dan puts his arm round her. GLOSSARY GLOSSARY 16 • electronic tag: thing used to find out where something is • missing: not here any longer • postcode: letters and numbers which help people find an address • puzzled: not able to understand something
‘Well,’ says PC Harrison. ‘I’m sorry to tell you this but it’s not a very good lock. It’s maybe OK in a place like Steeple Compton. I don’t think there are many bike thieves there. But in a city like Oxford you need a strong• lock.’ Jennings puts her notebook away. ‘You know, thieves steal• over a thousand bikes every year in Oxford,’ she says. ‘They change the colour of the bikes. Then they take them to another city and sell them. Most people never see their bikes again.’ ‘Oh no!’ says Sue. ‘But I love my bike.’ ‘Well, I’m sorry,’ says PC Harrison. ‘Next time – remember: buy a good strong lock, put your postcode on the bike and maybe buy an electronic tag.’ Bike thieves What three things can stop bike thieves? Underline them in the text. Do you agree? 17 • steal: take without asking • strong: (here) difficult to break
PC Harrison looks at his watch and then at PC Jennings. ‘This young lady wants to go home,’ he says to PC Jennings. ‘It’s almost dark and she hasn’t got her bike now.’ ‘Yes,’ says PC Jennings. She smiles at Sue. ‘Come on!’ she says. ‘We can take you home in the police van.’ ‘Oh! Thank you so much,’ says Sue. She almost smiles back. PC Jennings looks at Dan. ‘You can come too,’ she says. ‘You can put your bike in the back.’ ‘Thanks,’ says Dan. They put Dan’s bike in the back of the police van. Dan and Sue get into the back seats, the police officers in the front, and they drive to Steeple Compton. ‘Poor Sue,’ thinks Dan. ‘She really loves that bike. The police are OK, but they can’t do much. Maybe I can find it for her. Maybe I can try and do something about the bike thieves in Oxford.’ Dan What does Dan want to do? 18
2 OXFORD BIKE FINDERS The next afternoon Dan and Sue come home from school together on the bus. They don’t talk. Sue is still sad about her bike. The bus stops in front of Dan’s house and they both get off. Sue always walks home from here. She looks at Dan. ‘See you tomorrow, Dan,’ she says. She usually smiles• when she says goodbye. Today she doesn’t. Dan feels sorry for her. ‘Come in,’ says Dan. ‘I want to show you something.’ ‘Thanks,’ says Sue, ‘but I’ve got lots of homework.’ ‘Please,’ says Dan. ‘Come in. Just for a minute.’ He puts a hand on Sue’s arm. ‘I really want you to see something.’ ‘Oh, all right,’ says Sue. ‘But just for a minute.’ They go into Dan’s house. Dan’s dog, Dylan, comes running to the front door. He barks• happily at Dan and Sue. ‘Hello, Dylan!’ say Dan and Sue together. Dylan runs around and wags• his tail•. Dan smiles at Dylan. ‘Come on,’ he says to Sue. He starts to go upstairs. ‘It’s on my computer.’ ‘Stay, Dylan,’ says Dan. Dylan sits at the bottom of the stairs. Dan and Sue go up to Dan’s room. 19 GLOSSARY • barks: makes a noise dogs make • tail: • smiles: looks happy • wags: moves from side to side
Like Follow Share Send a message Dan Home Dan puts his school bag on the chair and turns on his laptop. He takes it over to the bed and sits down. ‘Come and look at this,’ he says to Sue. She sits on the bed next to him and looks at the computer. There’s a Facebook page on the screen•. ‘What’s this?’ asks Sue. ‘Read it,’ says Dan. So Sue starts to read. • screen: front part of computer Oxford Bike Finders – Bike thieves in Oxford! Every year over 1,000 bikes go missing in Oxford. Most people never see their bikes again. The thieves change the colour of the bike and then sell it, often in a different city. How to look after your bike What can you do about this? How can you stop these thieves? How can you look after your bike? Here are some things you can do: • Buy a good strong lock. • Write your postcode on your bike. Write it where the thieves can’t see it. Use a special pen. • Put an electronic tag on your bicycle. Then you can send a message to your bike, and your bike will tell you where it is! Oxford Bike Finders @OxfordBikeFinders GLOSSARY 20
• follow: look at someone on social media, e.g. on Facebook • ideas: thoughts; things you think of • post: message on a website WHERE IS THIS BIKE? TELL US IF YOU SEE IT. MY BIKE IS MISSING – WHAT CAN I DO? Tell us AND tell the police! ‘Wow!’ says Sue. ‘This is great!’ She goes to the next post•. ‘Those are some ideas•,’ says Dan. ‘That post isn’t finished yet.’ Sue looks at another post. There is a picture of a bike on the second one. ‘Hey,’ says Sue. ‘That’s my bike.’ ‘Well, yes and no,’ says Dan. ‘It looks like your bike. Actually, it’s a picture from the internet.’ She looks at Dan and smiles for the first time that day. ‘This is a really great idea!’ she says. ‘Thank you,’ says Dan. ‘I’m trying to help. People can like our page and follow• us and we can find out more about bike thieves in Oxford. So maybe we can find your bike.’ ‘Maybe,’ says Sue. She looked sad again. ‘But the police don’t think so. And my mum and dad don’t think so.’ ‘Never say never,’ says Dan. ‘And look – I’ve got four likes already.’ 21
3 DAN AND SUE MEET JAMIE Next Saturday morning, there is a ring at Dan’s front door. He opens it. Sue is standing there with a bicycle. He points at the bike. ‘That’s not yours,’ says Dan. ‘No,’ replies Sue. ‘It’s my mum’s. Do you want to come into Oxford? There’s a new exhibition• at the Ashmolean Museum about the artist William Blake. My art teacher says it’s really good.’ ‘OK,’ says Dan. ‘Give me two minutes. My bike is near the back door.’ Dan brings his bike out. He looks at Sue’s mum’s bike. ‘Isn’t that too big for you?’ he asks. ‘No, it’s fine,’ answers Sue. ‘And look – nobody can steal it. My mum’s got a new lock.’ She laughs and shows Dan a strong new lock. ‘And look here,’ says Sue, and points. Dan looks. There is a notice•: ‘This bike has an electronic tag.’ ‘Hey, that’s great,’ says Dan. ‘But is it a good idea to tell the thieves about the tag?’ ‘Yes,’ says Sue. ‘Dad says thieves don’t like bikes with electronic tags. And they don’t like bikes with these notices. The notices are difficult to take off. And they can’t sell a bike with a notice like this on it.’ GLOSSARY 22 • exhibition: lots of art together • notice: writing that gives information in a place everyone can see • paintings: pictures made with paint • railings: metal bars that divide two areas
‘Oh! I see,’ says Dan. ‘That’s a great idea. Maybe you can write something about it for my Facebook page.’ ‘Sure,’ says Sue. She gets on her bike. ‘Come on,’ she says. ‘Let’s go.’ Dan and Sue cycle into Oxford. They lock their bikes to some railings• in a street near the museum. Then they walk to the museum. Dan and Sue spend two hours there. They look at the paintings• by William Blake. Then they look round some other rooms in the museum. 23
Then they have a drink downstairs in the café. Sue looks at her watch. ‘Time to go home now,’ she says. ‘Yes,’ says Dan, and looks at his watch. ‘It’s nearly one o’clock.’ Dan and Sue leave the museum and walk back to their bikes. The bikes are still there but there is a boy standing near them with a sad look on his face and a broken bike lock in his hand. ‘Is everything OK?’ asks Dan. The boy looks at Dan. ‘No,’ he says after a moment. ‘Look at this. My bike lock is broken and my bike’s not here.’ ‘Oh, poor you!’ says Sue. ‘Bike thieves! I know how you feel.’ ‘Do you know where the police station is?’ asks the boy. ‘Yes,’ says Dan. ‘Go down this road. It’s on the left-hand side• after the shops. It’s a good idea to tell the police, but they can’t do much.’ ‘What do you mean?’ asks the boy. ‘Well, the police don’t often get stolen• bikes back,’ replies Sue. ‘Oh no!’ says the boy. Dan takes some paper and a pen from his jacket. He writes something on the paper and gives it to the boy. ‘The police can’t do much,’ he says. ‘But have a look at my Facebook page. It’s called Oxford Bike Finders.’ Dan points to the paper. ‘That’s where you can find me.’ He puts the pen back in his jacket. ‘Nice to meet you,’ he says, ‘my name’s Dan and this is Sue. I’m helping Sue find her bike at the moment.’ GLOSSARY 24 • left-hand side: on the left • stolen: taken
‘I’m Jamie,’ says the boy. ‘Do you really think you can find my bike?’ ‘I don’t know,’ says Dan. ‘But I can try. Send me a photo. Or tell me the make• and the colour, and I can post that on the page. You can also chat• to me there. ‘OK,’ says Jamie. ‘Thanks.’ Dan looks at his watch. ‘Sorry… we can’t stay any longer,’ he says. ‘We’re already a bit late.’ ‘That’s OK,’ says Jamie. ‘Well, thanks again for this.’ He holds up the piece of paper. ‘You’re welcome,’ says Dan. ‘Bye.’ ‘Bye,’ says Jamie. ‘Bye,’ says Sue and they cycle away. Jamie How can Jamie contact Dan? Do you contact friends in this way? How do you contact your friends? I call them on my phone. I send them text messages. I chat to them on social media. I go to their home. online activities While Reading Chapters 1-3 25 • chat: talk • make: (here) name or type; brand
4 WHO IS BIKERGIRL? On Sunday morning there is another ring at the doorbell. Dan runs downstairs and opens the front door. It’s Sue. ‘Hi,’ she says. ‘I have an idea for your Facebook page.’ ‘Great! Thank you,’ says Dan. ‘Come in. I’m chatting to Jamie on Facebook now.’ ‘OK,’ says Sue. She comes in. Dylan sees her and wags his tail. They go upstairs to Dan’s room. Dylan sits at the bottom of the stairs and watches them. Dan gets a chair for Sue and they sit and look at his computer. Sue reads the conversation with Jamie. Sue looks carefully at the page. ‘Wow! You’ve got 25 followers• already. Fantastic,’ she says. • followers: people who look with interest at other people’s social media. Jamie: Hello, Dan. Jamie: OK. I like your Facebook page. Jamie: Great! I’ve got a photo of my bike. Dan: Send it to me and I’ll post it on the page. That way people can look out for it. Just a minute – there’s someone at the door. Dan: Hi, Jamie. How are you? Dan: Thanks. I’m hoping to put more information on it soon. GLOSSARY 26
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‘Yes,’ says Dan. ‘It’s great. There’s a girl from your class at school too. Emily.’ Dan shows Sue Emily’s profile picture•. ‘Yes, I know Emily,’ says Sue. ‘I like her. But she can be a bit strange sometimes – not always happy. I try and make her smile or laugh if I can.’ Dan smiles at Sue, then starts chatting again to Jamie. Dan closes the chat window and starts to post the photo of Jamie’s bike, but then Sue sees something else on the page. ‘Look!’ she says. ‘Someone wants to chat with you – someone called BikerGirl.’ • shakes: moves from side to side to say no • profile picture:(here) picture of someone on their Facebook page Emily How does Emily feel? Tick (4). She is always happy. She is always sad. She is sometimes sad. Dan: I’m back. Dan: Great. Dan: I know. Your photo’s here. Dan: Bye. Jamie: You know, you’re right. The police can’t do much about stolen bikes. Jamie: Welcome back. I’m sending you the photo now. Jamie: OK. My dad’s calling me. Speak to you soon. GLOSSARY 28
Dan opens the chat window. Dan looks at Sue. Sue shakes• her head. Dan looks at Sue again. Again she shakes her head. BikerGirl: Hello. BikerGirl: Yes, but where? BikerGirl: Why not? BikerGirl: My name’s Joanna. I’m 16. And I live in Oxford. BikerGirl: I like your page. BikerGirl: What’s it for? BikerGirl: How? BikerGirl: Yes. BikerGirl: Where do you live? Dan: I want to help people look after their bikes. And maybe try and find stolen ones. Dan: I’m not sure yet. I’m posting pictures of them so people can look out for them. Have you got a bike? Dan: Hello. Dan: Near Oxford. Dan: I’m not telling you. Dan: I don’t know who you are. I don’t know anything about you. Dan: Well, I don’t know that for sure. Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s not. Dan: Thanks. Dan: What make is it? 29
Suddenly BikerGirl leaves the chat. ‘Some people!’ says Dan. ‘Maybe she is a 16-year-old girl. And maybe she lives in Oxford.’ ‘Or maybe she’s a 45-year-old man AND a bike thief. And he is trying to find out more about you and your idea,’ says Sue. She smiles. ‘What do people say?’ asks Dan, and then answers his own question. ‘On the internet nobody knows I’m really a dog.’ Sue and Dan laugh, but Dan is thinking. ‘Maybe Sue’s right. Maybe BikerGirl is a bike thief. And maybe he or she is trying to find out about me.’ ‘Be careful,’ he tells himself. On the internet Dan says: ‘on the internet nobody knows i’m really a dog’. What does he mean? Explain it to a friend using your own words. Do you think he is right? 30
5 FOLLOWING THE BIKE THIEVES A couple of weeks later Dan and Sue cycle into Oxford again. On the way they chat about Dan’s Facebook posts. ‘Emily thinks the posts are cool,’ says Sue. ‘How many followers have you got now?’ ‘Over a hundred,’ replies Dan. ‘Wow!’ says Sue. ‘That’s great!’ They take the cycle path• into Oxford. ‘How many photos of stolen bikes are there?’ asks Sue. ‘Your bike and three others,’ replies Dan. ‘OK. And what about BikerGirl?’ asks Sue. ‘Do you know any more about her?’ ‘No,’ says Dan. ‘Nothing. I think maybe you’re right.’ ‘You mean BikerGirl is actually a bike thief?’ says Sue. ‘Maybe,’ says Dan. ‘I’m not sure.’ ‘Emily thinks BikerGirl is a thief,’ says Sue. ‘But then Emily thinks the world is a bad place. She thinks people aren’t very nice, and bad things are waiting to happen. She is a bit strange like that.’ Dan smiles. ‘She wants to know how you can find stolen bikes with a Facebook page,’ says Sue. ‘Tell her – I don’t know,’ Dan says laughing. ‘Yet•’ Dan and Sue arrive in Oxford and lock their bikes to some railings. They go to a bookshop. Sue wants to buy the new book by her favourite detective writer. 31 GLOSSARY • cycle path: road for bikes only • yet: (here) at the moment; now
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In the bookshop Dan’s phone makes a noise. He’s got message on Facebook. It’s from Jamie. Quickly Dan texts back. Dan finds his Twitter page. His Facebook friends also follow him on Twitter. He tweets to all his followers. ____________________________________________ Dan White van with writing and horse on side. Bike thieves. Now on Parks Road. @OxfordBikeFinders ____________________________________________ Sue is at the cash desk paying for her book. She sees Dan looking at his phone, sending a message. ‘What is he doing?’ she asks herself. She thanks the shop assistant and walks over to Dan. ‘Look,’ says Dan, and shows her the texts and the tweet. ‘The bike thieves – we know where they are.’ There’s a new tweet. It’s from a girl called Erin. ___________________________________________ @OxfordBikeFinders They’re stopping in Parks Road. They’re stealing another bike. Van number is KV06EUU. ___________________________________________ Jamie: I’m watching a man and a woman. They’re stealing a bike and putting it in the back of a van. Jamie: Broad Street. Van is leaving. Turning left into Parks Road. Can’t see the number. It’s white – writing and picture of horse on the side. Dan: Where are you? 33
Dan retweets it and a moment later there is another tweet from Erin. ____________________________________________ @OxfordBikeFinders They’re going further up Parks Road. I can’t see them anymore. ____________________________________________ Dan retweets Erin’s second message. Then he sends: ____________________________________________ Eyes open, everyone. I want to know where they go. @OxfordBikeFinders ____________________________________________ Everything goes quiet for a few minutes. ‘Come on,’ says Dan to Sue. ‘Back to our bikes. I hope someone sees them again. I want to catch them.’ Another tweet comes in. It’s from someone called Mike. ____________________________________________ @OxfordBikeFinders I’m on Walton St. They’re stealing a bike from outside the cinema. ____________________________________________ A minute later. ____________________________________________ @OxfordBikeFinders They’re turning right towards Woodstock Road. ____________________________________________ Dan retweets both messages. Then he sends: ____________________________________________ Is anyone on Woodstock Road? @OxfordBikeFinders ____________________________________________ A minute later he gets a reply. It’s from Nicola. ____________________________________________ @OxfordBikeFinders I live on Woodstock Road. I’m going out to watch the street. ____________________________________________ 34
Dan and Sue get to their bikes and unlock them. ‘Where are we going?’ asks Sue. ‘Woodstock Road, I think,’ says Dan. ‘Let’s go!’ 35
Another tweet from Nicola. _____________________________________________ @OxfordBikeFinders Nothing yet, but cars are moving very slowly. _____________________________________________ And then. _____________________________________________ @OxfordBikeFinders Can see them – turning into Polstead Road. _____________________________________________ Again Dan retweets everything. ‘Polstead Road,’ he says to Sue. Dan and Sue often cycle in Oxford, and they know the back streets well. The back streets are not busy like the main roads. They cycle up Woodstock Road and turn left into Polstead Road. There’s no van. Dan and Sue stop. ‘They’re not here,’ says Dan. He tweets. _____________________________________________ They’re not in Polstead Road. Can anyone see them? @OxfordBikeFinders _____________________________________________ Dan and Sue wait. They look at each other. No one tweets. A car goes past. Then another. Then his phone makes a noise. It’s a tweet from BikeBoyPhil. _____________________________________________ @OxfordBikeFinders Van in Frenchay Road. _____________________________________________ Sue & I on our way. @OxfordBikeFinders _____________________________________________ 36
6 DAN MAKES A MISTAKE Dan and Sue cycle to Frenchay Road. They go slowly down the road, hoping to see the van. Halfway down the street Dan sees it in a garage•. The back doors of the van are open but there are no bikes inside it. ‘That’s it,’ says Dan. ‘KV06EUU, and there’s a horse on the side of the van.’ ‘But there aren’t any bikes,’ says Sue. ‘It’s a big garage,’ says Dan. ‘And only one door is open. We can’t see behind the other door.’ ‘Maybe my bike’s in there,’ says Sue. ‘Let’s call the police.’ ‘Just a minute,’ says Dan. He takes out his phone, looks for the house number then tweets.____________________________________________ Van at 104A Frenchay Road. Thanks, everyone. @OxfordBikeFinders ____________________________________________ ‘I want to make sure the bikes are there first,’ says Dan. ‘What do you mean?’ says Sue. ‘We can’t go in there.’ ‘Come on,’ says Dan. ‘One minute.’ They lock their bikes to some railings on the other side of the road. Sue is not happy. She wants to call the police first, but she also wants to see if her bike is in the garage. 37 GLOSSARY • garage: small building used to keep cars in
Dan and Sue look both ways, up and down the road. It is the middle of the morning and there is no one in the street. They cross the road and walk towards the garage. The van stands there empty. They stop outside the garage doors. They look at each other. ‘You go first,’ says Sue. Dan looks around the garage door. There are at least 20 bikes inside the garage. ‘Wh...’ Dan starts to say something but a large hand goes over his mouth and an arm goes round his body. Someone carries him into the garage. He tries to get away but the person is very strong. As he fights to get away• he sees a woman holding Sue and carrying her too. The woman has a hand over Sue’s mouth, her other arm is around her. • wrists: parts of the body between the arm and the hand • get away: escape • sticky tape: material with glue GLOSSARY 38
He hears a voice in his ear, the man’s voice. ‘Don’t make a sound. OK? Don’t speak. Don’t shout. You don’t want anything to happen to the girl, do you?’ Dan stops fighting and moves his head from side to side. ‘Remember,’ says the voice. ‘Think about the girl.’ The hand comes away from Dan’s mouth. The man pulls Dan’s arms behind his back. Dan feels sticky tape• go round his wrists•, tying them together. Then the man puts a piece of sticky tape over his mouth. Dan sees the man for the first time. He is big – tall and strong, with black hair. He is dressed all in black – black jeans, black T-shirt, black jacket. The woman holding Sue is not so tall. She has short blonde hair and is wearing a grey T-shirt and blue jeans. 39
The man in black turns to the woman. ‘OK, Annie,’ he says. ‘Mouth first.’ Annie takes her hand away from Sue’s mouth. The man in black puts some tape over her mouth, and uses more tape to tie her hands behind her back. ‘Well done, Annie … BikerGirl,’ says the man in black. He smiles at her. Sue looks at Dan. ‘Annie is BikerGirl. Maybe he’s BikeBoyPhil,’ thinks Dan. ‘These are the bike thieves. But why do they want us here?’ ‘What next, Phil?’ asks Annie. ‘See what’s in their pockets•,’ says Phil. Annie looks in Sue’s pockets, Phil in Dan’s. Dan’s phone. Sue’s phone. Some money. An envelope•. Phil looks at the envelope, reads the address. ‘Dan Parks,’ he says, ‘and your address. Steeple Compton. Nice.’ He puts the envelope in his pocket. He puts the other things in the front of the van. ‘Now I know where you live, Danny Boy,’ he says with a laugh. ‘That’s good.’ ‘What now, Phil? asks Annie. ‘Now we teach them a lesson,’ says Phil darkly. ‘Put them in the back of the van.’ Phil and Annie push Dan and Sue into the back of the van and close the doors. It is dark inside. The van starts to move. ‘Where are they taking us?’ thinks Dan. ‘What does Phil want to do with us?’ online activities While Reading Chapters 4-6 GLOSSARY 40 • envelope: flat paper container for letters • pockets: small bags in clothes
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7 WHAT CAN EMILY DO? Sue’s friend Emily also lives in Steeple Compton. She is sitting at her computer playing a game when Dan starts tweeting about the bike thieves. She continues playing the game but reads Dan’s tweets as they come in on her phone. ‘So this is how Dan catches the bike thieves,’ she thinks. ‘That’s really clever.’ Then she sees that Dan and Sue start cycling after the thieves. She’s not sure that’s a good idea. ‘What if the thieves see them?’ thinks Emily. Then she sees the tweet from BikeBoyPhil. ‘BikeBoyPhil,’ thinks Emily. ‘That name – it’s like BikerGirl. Maybe BikerGirl and BikeBoyPhil are both the same person. Or maybe they work together. I don’t like this at all. Maybe they’re the thieves.’ Emily stops playing her game. She stands up and walks around a bit. She doesn’t know what to do. Then she sees Dan’s tweet. ____________________________________________ Van at 104A Frenchay Road. Thanks, everyone. @OxfordBikeFinders ____________________________________________ Emily has a bad feeling about this. ‘It’s really not a good idea for them to get too close to the thieves,’ she says to herself. She walks up and down her bedroom. She looks at her phone on her desk. She looks at it, finds Sue’s number and sends a text message. Ring me NOW! 42
She walks up and down. She looks at the clock next to her bed. ‘Five minutes,’ she thinks. ‘Then I call the police.’ She walks up and down again. She opens the door and goes down to the kitchen. She has a drink of water. She goes up to her bedroom again. ‘Two more minutes,’ she thinks. She looks at her phone. ‘No’ she says to herself. ‘I can’t wait any longer.’ She picks up her phone and dials 999. A woman answers. ‘Police, please,’ says Emily. The woman puts her through• to the police. A policewoman asks Emily for her name, address and phone number. Emily tells her. 999 What number do you call in your country to speak to the emergency services? 43 GLOSSARY • puts her through: connects her; passes her call
Then she says: ‘My friends need help.’ Quickly she tells the policewoman about the bike thieves, the website, about Dan and Sue in Oxford and about the twitter conversation. ‘These people are the bike thieves,’ says Emily. ‘I’m sure of it. And I’m sure they’ve got my friends. I think they are at the address in Frenchay Road or in their van.’ She gives the policewoman the number of the van. ‘OK,’ says the policewoman. ‘I can send a car to Frenchay Road. And I can tell all our cars to look out for the van.’ ‘Oh! Thank you,’ says Emily. ‘Please be quick. I hope it’s not too late!’ 44
8 DAN HAS AN IDEA Inside the van it is still dark, but Dan and Sue can now see a little. They are on a busy road. They can hear a lot of other cars and lorries. Dan shows Sue that he wants her to lie down. He moves over to her and turns around because his hands are tied behind him. Little by little he takes the sticky tape off Sue’s mouth. Then he lies down and she does the same thing to him. ‘Hands next,’ he says. This takes some time. The van moves from side to side and it’s difficult. All the time Dan is thinking. ‘What do these people want?’ he asks himself. ‘Phil wants to “teach us a lesson” – but what? How? And how can we get out of here?’ Lesson What lesson do you think Phil wants to teach Dan and Sue? How do you think Dan and Sue feel? Tell a friend. 45
It takes Dan ten minutes to take the tape off Sue’s wrists. It takes her only two minutes to get the tape off his wrists, because her hands are now free. ‘What can we do?’ asks Sue. ‘If the van stops,’ says Dan, ‘at traffic lights or something, we can make a noise, hit the sides of the van … shout – we want people to hear us.’ Sue moves to the back of the van and looks at the doors. ‘Maybe we can open the doors,’ she says, ‘and jump out.’ ‘We’re going too fast,’ says Dan. ‘It’s too dangerous.’ ‘But if we go slowly or we stop…’ says Sue. ‘Hmmm, maybe,’ says Dan, and looks at the back doors of the van with Sue. ‘How do the doors open?’ he says. Dangerous Do you think Dan and Sue can get out? How? Tell a friend. 46
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Back in Steeple Compton, Emily’s phone rings. She answers it. It is the policewoman. ‘PC Baker again,’ she says. ‘Where are they? Are they safe?’ ‘No, I’m sorry,’ says PC Baker. ‘They’re not at Frenchay Road. We’re looking for the van.’ ‘Oh!’ says Emily. ‘But do you have your friend’s phone number?’ asks PC Baker. ‘Yes,’ replies Emily. ‘But she’s not answering.’ ‘But if her phone is on, we can maybe find out where it is,’ says PC Baker. ‘And if we can find her phone, maybe we can find her.’ ‘Oh I see,’ says Emily, and gives Sue’s number to PC Baker. ‘Now don’t try and call her or send any more text messages,’ says PC Baker. ‘We want her phone to stay on. We don’t want the thieves to turn it off.’ ‘OK,’ says Emily. Phone How can they find Sue with her phone? Tell a friend. 48
Inside the van, Sue and Dan are still trying to open the back doors. ‘It’s no good,’ says Sue. ‘We can’t get them open.’ The van is going more slowly now and then it turns onto a bumpy• road. Everything goes quiet. There is just the noise of the van. ‘We’re not on the main• road any more,’ says Dan. ‘In fact, I don’t think this is a road at all.’ ‘A farm track•?’ says Sue. ‘Something like that,’ says Dan. He is thinking. ‘Listen,’ he says. ‘They think we can’t move. But we can. When they open the doors, we can jump out and run.’ He looks at Sue. ‘OK?’ She doesn’t look happy. ‘Is that a good idea?’ she asks. ‘What if they catch us?’ ‘Maybe it’s not a good idea,’ says Dan. ‘But at the moment it’s the only idea. Phil wants to “teach us a lesson” – remember. We don’t want to find out what he means. Jump, push them out of the way, and run. And hope that we get away.’ ‘OK,’ says Sue. ‘Push them hard,’ says Dan. ‘And run fast.’ ‘OK,’ says Sue. The van stops. Sue and Dan stand up in the back of the van near to the doors. They hear Phil and Annie walk to the back of the van. The doors open wide. 49 GLOSSARY • bumpy: that goes up and down • main: important; big • track: a road; more often used by farm vehicles than cars
9 YOU ARE VERY VERY LUCKY ‘Run,’ shouts Dan. He jumps out of the back of the van and pushes Phil. Sue jumps out with him and pushes Annie. ‘Hey!’ shouts Phil. He takes two steps• backwards. ‘What…’ begins Annie, but she doesn’t finish. She falls back onto the ground and shouts, ‘Ouch!’ Dan and Sue start running back along the track. Phil runs after them. Annie gets quickly off the ground and runs after them too. Dan looks behind him. Phil is only 15 metres away. ‘Quick,’ says Dan to Sue. He looks behind again. Phil is only five metres away. He is fast. Four metres. Three metres. The teenagers run round a corner in the track. They see three blue, white and yellow police cars driving towards them. Run Dan and Sue run. When is it best to run? Tell a friend. 50