Read the book: «Детективные истории на английском. А1. Читаем с удовольствием и повышаем уровень»

© Родина А.М., рукопись, 2025

© Оформление. ООО «Издательство «Эксмо», 2025

Do you believe in horoscopes?

Chapter 1

Alice is a young woman. She works in an office as an accountant. She likes her job.

Her friends at work call her “Miss Marple”. Alice loves detective books. Her favorite writer is Agatha Christie. She also likes puzzles, horoscopes, and coffee. Every morning, she drinks coffee with milk and reads her horoscope.

“Bad luck for Leo all day!” reads Alice.

Today, the office is noisy.

“What's wrong?” Alice asks her colleague Max.

“Boss's laptop is missing. He thinks someone stole it!” answers Max.

Max is a designer. Today he is sad as usual because his girlfriend left him last month.

The boss enters the room. He is angry.

“Alice, to my office! Now!”

In the office, there are two people: the HR manager and Tara, the cleaner.

“Yes, I think I saw her yesterday”, Tara says.

“Alice, you were the last to leave yesterday, right?” HR asks calmly.

“That's right”.

Alice is confused. Why are they asking her this?

“Do you think that I took the laptop?” she guesses.

“We do not know. But we need to check your desk,” HR continues dryly.

They go to her workplace and open Alice's desk drawer.

“This is the key to my office!” the boss exclaims. “Can you explain that?”

Полезные выражения

bad luck – невезение, неудача

to love horoscopes – увлекаться гороскопами

to be missing – пропасть, отсутствовать

to be angry – злиться, сердиться

to break up – расстаться

Упражнения

1. Соотнесите персонажа и его роль в истории:

1. Alice

2. Max

3. Tara

4. The boss

a. is a cleaner

b. is very angry

c. likes horoscopes

d. broke up with a girlfriend

2. Вставьте пропущенное слово:

a key, a laptop, a designer, a desk drawer, an accountant

1. Sarah keeps her pens and notebooks in _____.

2. You can work at home if you have ____.

3. Maria studies maths in college. She wants to become ___.

4. This is ___ from my apartment.

5. Coco Chanel was a famous fashion ___.

3. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. Who is the main character of the story?

2. Why is it noisy in the office today?

3. Why does the boss think that Alice took the laptop?

4. What do the boss, HR manager and Alice find in her desk drawer?

Chapter 2

Everyone in the office thinks that Alice is a thief.

Her boss wants her to leave her job. He says he won't call the police if Alice brings the laptop back. But Alice didn't take it!

“Did you really do it?" Max asks. He looks worried and pale.

“No! I'll prove I didn't do it!” Alice says.

Alice starts to think.

“What would a detective do? Look for clues!”

Alice checks the security cameras. She goes to a security guard. The security manager likes Alice. He is happy to help her. They watch the video from yesterday. The video shows Alice leaving the office and locking the entrance door. No one else is there.

But wait! Somebody unlocks the boss's office! This person probably left through the back door. There are no cameras there.

Alice is puzzled. She goes to the office kitchen for coffee. Who is this person in the video? Why did he or she take the laptop?

Suddenly she sees something bright in the trash. It's a paper from a shop that buys used things. It says:

“1 laptop – $200 – Must return by May 30”

Now Alice knows where the laptop is! And she understands something bad: the thief works with her.

Полезные выражения

to prove something – доказать что-то

to look for clues – искать улики

to check the security cameras – проверить камеры наблюдения

to lock the door – запереть дверь

to be puzzled – быть озадаченным

Упражнения

1. Сопоставьте слово и определение:

1. clues

2. a security camera

3. pale

4. trash

a. бледный

b. мусор

c. камера видеонаблюдения

d. улики

2. Выберите правильный вариант ответа:

1. Alice is going to …

a) go home

b) find the thief

c) find a new job

2. Max is…

a) happy

b) angry

c) nervous

3. … helps Alice to prove that it was not her.

a) security guard

b) Max

c) Tara

4. The laptop is …

a) in the office kitchen

b) in the security guard office

c) sold

3. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. What does the boss want to do?

2. How does Alice prove that she didn't take the laptop?

3. What does she find in the kitchen?

4. Why is Alice upset?

Chapter 3

Alice shows the boss the camera video. The video proves Alice did not take the laptop.

The boss says: “I'm sorry, Alice. I was wrong.” Alice gives the boss a paper from the pawnshop. Now the boss can get his laptop back.

The boss wants to call the police. But Alice is afraid that the thief is one of her colleagues. She is sure that all her colleagues are good people. Alice says: “No, please! Maybe it was a mistake. Let's talk to the person first. Everyone deserves a second chance.”

It is 2 p. m. Lunch time is finished. Alice goes back to her desk. Her colleague Max is not there. His computer is open. Max is acting very strange today. And he forgets many things.

Alice wants to close his computer for him. Then she sees something on Max's desk. It is a small white card. It says “PAWNSHOP”.

Alice can't believe her eyes. She remembers the pawnshop paper for the laptop. Is Max the thief?

At that moment, Tara the cleaner comes in. She sees Alice near Max's computer. Tara shouts: “What are you doing?!”

Other people hear Tara. They run into the room. Now everyone is looking at Alice. They think Alice is doing something bad.

Полезные выражения

a thief – вор

a pawnshop – ломбард, квитанция

to deserve a second chance – заслуживать второй шанс

to call the police – вызвать полицию

do not believe one's eyes – не верить своим глазам

Упражнения

1. Вставьте пропущенное слово:

a thief, a pawnshop, prove, deserves

1. Mark's answer for the exam question is perfect and he ___ an excellent mark.

2. Poor Lotty brought her wedding ring to ___ because she needed money.

3. Police people caught ___ last night.

4. You're wrong, and I can ___ it.

2. Прочитайте утверждения и напишите верно или неверно:

1. The boss apologizes to Alice. ___

2. Alice wants to call the police. ___

3. Alice sees something strange on Max's desk. ___

4. Alice wants to do something bad to Max's computer. ___

3. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. How can the boss get back his laptop?

2. Why did Alice ask the boss not to call the police?

3. Why does Alice think that Max is acting strangely?

4. What happens when Alice finds the pawnshop card?

5. Why does everybody think that Alice is doing something bad?

Chapter 4

Max comes into the room. He sees Alice holding the pawnshop card and freezes.

Alice exclaims:

“Oh, no, Max! Did you take the laptop?”

Max starts crying:

“Yes… I'm so sorry! Please, don't call the police. I'll return it!”

Max tells the story:

Last month Max and his girlfriend planned to marry. He borrowed money from the bank for their wedding. But then she left him. Now Max owes a bank a lot of money. Today is his last day to pay.

Max stayed late at work yesterday. He took the keys from the boss's office when the security guard left for coffee. He took the laptop and when he was leaving the boss's office, the cleaner Tara saw his back. Max understood that and panicked. He threw the keys to Alice's desk.

Tara didn't know who she saw. She decided that it was Alice because she thought that Alice was the only one working so late.

Now Max feels terrible. He likes Alice and didn't want her to get in trouble. All day he wanted to tell the truth. But he was too scared. The boss and HR manager are confused. Max is a good designer. They feel sorry for his situation but stealing is a crime. What should they do?

Полезные выражения

to borrow money from the bank – взять деньги из банка

to owe the bank – быть должным банку

to tell the truth – сказать правду

To feel terrible – чувствовать себя ужасно

stealing is a crime – кража – это преступление

Упражнения

1. Соедините слова так, чтобы получилась правильная фраза:

borrow

call

leave

tell

feel

the police

for coffee

sorry

money

the truth

2. Прочитайте утверждения и напишите верно или неверно:

1. When Max saw Alice with the pawnshop card he is shocked. ___

2. Max left his girlfriend ___

3. Max stole the laptop because he doesn't like the boss.___

4. Tara saw Alice near the boss's office yesterday.___

5. The boss and HR manager don't know what to do with Max.___

3. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. Who is the thief?

2. Why did Max do it?

3. Why did Tara think that she saw Alice?

4. Why didn't Max tell the truth?

Chapter 5

Every morning, Alice drinks coffee with milk and reads her horoscope.

“Pleasant day for Leo at work!” reads Alice.

At work, Alice talks to her boss. She asks him to let Max stay. Max will pay back for the stolen laptop. Alice thinks he deserves a second chance. The boss agrees. Max is very thankful to Alice.

Alice is very smart. She found out who stole the laptop. Everyone in the office is surprised. They admire her detective skills. The boss is so impressed that he gives her a promotion. Now, Alice is the Head of Internal Security. Her job is to keep the office safe. Alice feels proud of her new position.

Tara, the cleaner, helps Alice. She tells Alice about anything suspicious she sees or hears. Tara is like Alice's assistant.

Some colleagues did not trust Alice. Now, they feel sorry. To say sorry in a funny way, they order T-shirts with the words: “It's not me! Max set me up!” Before, everyone laughs. The office is now a happier place.

Alice is happy. She has a new job, her colleagues respect her, and Max gets a second chance. It's a good day for Alice!

Полезные выражения

to be thankful – быть благодарным

to be impressed – быть под впечатлением

to admire skills – восхищаться способностями

to give a promotion – дать повышение

to feel proud – гордиться

Упражнения

1. Вставьте пропущенное слово:

set (smb) up, admire, skills, respect, trust

1. George plays the guitar quite well. A lot of girls ___ him.

2. Mary is an accountant. She has good math ___.

3. This person looks very strange. I don't ___ him!

4. Children should ___ their school teachers.

5. Peter understood that his partner __ him __ when the police arrived.

2. Выберите правильный вариант ответа:

1. Alice drinks ___ in the morning.

a) black tea

b) coke

c) milk coffee

2. Alice ___ her new position at work.

a) doesn't like

b) likes

c) doesn't know about

3. Tara and Alice are ___ now.

a) best friends

b) enemies

c) colleagues

4. Now Alice's colleagues ___ her.

a) respect

b) do not trust

c) admire

3. Ответьте на вопросы:

1. What is Alice's horoscope like today? Does it come true?

2. What does the boss decide to do with Max?

3. How does Alice's career change?

4. Why is the office a happier place now?

5. Do you believe in horoscopes?