Pc means ‘police constable’. can you guess the meaning of wpc? wpc clark’s full name is samantha clark, and her friends call her sam. she is working at ealing police station in west london. 4.00 p.m. sam arrives at the station. she changes into her uniform. she doesn’t carry a gun. 4.20 p.m. sam’s first call. a shoplifter tried to steal a walkman, and the shop manager is holding him. sam and her colleague, pc jock mccoy, jump in the car. they put on the blue light and the siren, and drive to the shop. 4.28 p.m. the shoplifter is shouting and trying to get away. sam and pc mccoy go in and arrest him. sam says to him: i am arresting you. you do not have to say anything. but, if you say anything, i will write it down. do you understand? the man keeps shouting. “i didn’t steal nothing”leave me alone! pc mccoy holds the man’s arms behind his back, and sam puts on the handcuffs. they put him in the car and take him back to the station. 5.10 p.m. a car accident. nobody is badly hurt, but the cars are in the middle of the road. sam writes a report. they take one of the drivers to hospital for a check-up. 6.00 p.m. nothing is happening. clark and mccoy drive around just checking the streets. they see some boys sitting on a wall by the river. “who are they? ” asks mccoy. “do you know them? ” “no. they’re not from round here. let’s have a word with them”. the boys are not very happy about answering questions. but they are not doing anything wrong. they are just waiting for some friends. 7.30 p.m. sam and pc mccoy get a takeaway dinner from an indian restaurant and sit in the car eating it. but the radio comes on: “clark and mccoy! a mugging at ealing central underground station. the mugger stole £40 from an old man. the criminal is white, quite short, with long dark hair. about 25 years old. he’s wearing a baseball hat and black jeans. he has a strong scottish accent”. 7.33 p.m. they arrive at the underground station. “there he is! ” shouts pc mccoy. sam stops the car and they jump out. pc mccoy holds the man and sam speaks to him: “ok. where’s the money? ” “i’m sorry? ” he says in an’ american accent. ‘it’s the wrong man, says sam. 11.15 p.m. sam goes back to the police station and writes her reports. 12.00 midnight sam finishes work. вопросы: 1) what does wpc mean? 2)what is shop-lifter? 3)why don't they arrest the boys by the river? 4)what is a mugger? 5)did the mugger speak to the old man? how do you know? 6)how many people does sam arrest? 7)sam says it's the wrong man. how does she know?
2) A shop-lifter is a person who steals something from shops
3) They don't arrest the boys by the river because they are not doing anything wrong (they are just waiting for some friends)
4) A mugger is a person who attacks and robs people in a public place.
5) Yes, the mugger spoke to the old man because the old man could define his accent (Scottish)
6) She arrested just one person
7) She knew it was the wrong man because he spoke in an American accent, while the mugger has a strong Scottish accent