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This is English USA, on the Voice of
America. Now, Lesson 78, Part 1. |
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MARTIN: |
Let's sit here Alan. You can see everything. Excuse me, please.
Are these seats taken? |
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ALAN: |
Excuse me. Thanks. What's happening, dad? |
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MARTIN: |
Nothing yet. What do you want to know? |
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ALAN: |
Everything. I've never been in a courtroom before. Of course, I've
seen them on TV and the movies. Is that the person on trial?
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MARTIN: |
Which one? The one with blond hair? |
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ALAN: |
No, the young man at the other table. He looks very excited.
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MARTIN: |
No. The one on trial is that short man. The plaintiff is the tall,
thin woman in front of us. She's the victim. |
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ALAN: |
She looks very confident. Are you sure she is the victim? |
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MARTIN: |
Of course. You can be a victim and still be confident. |
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ALAN: |
I
know. I was kidding. I thought she was a lawyer. |
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MARTIN: |
Why? |
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ALAN: |
I
don't know. She's well dressed. She looks very nice. |
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MARTIN: |
She's the main witness. She needs to look her best. She
wants the court to believe her. |
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ALAN: |
Who is that woman sitting at that little table? |
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MARTIN: |
She takes down everything people say in the courtroom. |
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ALAN: |
She seems very uncomfortable. What is that machine? Is it some
kind of tape recorder? |
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MARTIN: |
No, she types on it. |
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ALAN: |
It doesn't look like a typewriter. It's too small. |
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MARTIN: |
It's a special kind of typewriter. The court must have a written
record of what is said in the trial. You'll see. Someone will ask
her later to repeat what someone else said. |
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ALAN: |
Is it time to begin? |
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MARTIN: |
Yes. We're waiting for the judge. |
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ALAN: |
Where is he? |
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MARTIN: |
He's probably in a room behind that door on the left. |
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ALAN: |
Why is he waiting? |
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MARTIN: |
He's probably studying his papers before he comes in. He'll be
here in a minute. |
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ALAN: |
Do you know the judge? |
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MARTIN: |
I've seen him. His picture is in the newspaper or on TV now and
then. |
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ALAN: |
What does he look like? |
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MARTIN: |
He's very large. He's more than six feet tall. He weighs over two
hundred pounds. He has a lot of white hair. |
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ALAN: |
Is he old? |
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MARTIN: |
Not very. He's about fifty-five years old. |
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ALAN: |
That's pretty old, dad. |
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MARTIN: |
Here comes the judge. |
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MR. D: |
Miss Richards. Could you describe the man you say came to your
door? |
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MISS R: |
Of course. He was very short. |
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MR. D: |
How old was he? |
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MISS R: |
I'll come to that. He was very short. He was shorter than average.
Maybe only four and a half feet tall. He was also heavy. |
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MR. D: |
Do you mean fat? |
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MISS R: |
I
don't use that word. |
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MR. D: |
Was he what other people might call fat? |
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MISS R: |
He was heavier than average. |
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MR. D: |
So he was short and fat. |
