The world of Agatha Christie

TheWorldOfAgathaChristie.pdf
TheWorldOfAgathaChristie.mp3

Sam

Hello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Sam.

Neil

And I’m Neil.

Sam

Have you ever played the game, Cluedo, Neil? The idea is that the person playing

detective discovers who the murderer is, where the crime took place, and which

weapon was used.

Neil

The last time I played Cluedo it was Professor Plum, in the library, with the dagger!

Sam

Cluedo is based on a very popular type of book – the murder mystery, sometimes

called a whodunnit – a story about a murder which does reveal who the murderer

is until the end.

Neil

The queen of murder mysteries is a British writer who was born in 1890. Her books

are read all over the world and have been translated into a 103 different

languages. Her name is Agatha Christie.

Sam

To date over 2 billion copies of her crime novels have been sold worldwide, making

her the best-selling novelist of all time… and the subject of this programme.

Neil

Perhaps her best-known story is ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, a whodunnit

featuring her most famous detective, Hercule Poirot, who starred in 33 of Agatha

Christie’s books.

Sam

More about that later but as usual I have a quiz question for you, Neil. Poirot may

be Agatha Christie’s most famous detective, but he isn’t her only one – so who is

Agatha Christie’s other fictional detective? Is it:

a) Hetty Wainthropp?

b) Jessica Fletcher? or,

c) Miss Marple?

Neil

I’ll guess it’s a) Hetty Wainthropp.

Sam

OK, Neil. I’ll reveal the answer at the end of the programme.

Neil

As mentioned, one of Agatha Christie’s most famous books is ‘Murder on the

Orient Express’. The story takes place on a train travelling from Istanbul in Turkey

to Calais in northern France. Listen as writer and Agatha Christie superfan, Harriet

Gilbert, summarises the story for BBC World Service programme, World Book

Club.

Harriet Gilbert

Poirot is on the train, heading back home to England from Syria, when two

unconnected events take place. In a snowstorm in Croatia, the train comes

grinding to a halt and in one of the sleeping berths, a passenger is murdered. Since

it’s impossible for anyone to have reached the isolated snow-trapped train or to

have escaped from it without leaving telltale footsteps in the snow, the killer can

only be one of the dozen people sharing Poirot’s coach. Yet as he starts to

investigate it seems that each of them has an alibi for the time of the murder.

Impossible? Well, Poirot’s certainly perplexed…

Sam

During a snowstorm, the express train comes to a grinding halt – it slows down

until it stops altogether. Then, someone is murdered!

Neil

The murderer can’t have escaped without leaving telltale footprints in the snow.

When something is described as telltale, it reveals information which allows a

secret to be uncovered. For example, lipstick on your husband’s shirt could be a

telltale sign he’s having an affair.

Sam

The murder victim is found in bed stabbed with a knife. Poirot begins to

investigate, but as he questions the train passengers one by one, it seems that

everyone has an alibi - proof that they were somewhere else when a crime was

committed.

Neil

Naturally, this leaves the Belgian detective perplexed, or confused because

something is difficult to understand or solve.

Sam

I won’t spoil the story by telling you what happens next, Neil. But let’s just say

that, as usual, Poirot uncovers the murderer using his incredible powers of

observation.

Neil

In her stories, Agatha Christie describes Hercule Poirot as a very strange or

eccentric man.

Sam

The author, Sophie Hannah, has written several new Poirot stories based on the

characters invented by Agatha Christie before her death in 1976. Here she is

describing more of Hercule Poirot’s strange characteristics to BBC World Service

Programme, World Book Club.

Sophie Hannah

There’s the sort of the outward things, his appearance which is very striking and

very unusual, and his sort of, I suppose foibles is the best thing to call them, he

likes neatness, he likes order, he approaches thing very methodically, he’s very

proud of his luxuriant moustaches, you know, all of that.

Neil

Sophie calls Poirot’s unusual behaviour his foibles - habits or characteristics which

are considered strange or foolish but which harm no-one.

Sam

Yes, unlike the fictional murderers he uncovers, Poirot’s foibles do no harm, but it

makes me wonder if Agatha Christie’s other famous detective also had unusual

habits.

Neil

Well, first you’ll have to reveal the answer to your quiz question, Sam. You asked

me for the name of Agatha Christie’s other famous detective, and I guessed it

was a) Hetty Wainthropp.

Sam

Well, I’m afraid that was the wrong answer! In fact, Miss Marple was the name of

Agatha Christie’s second most famous character - although Hetty Wainthropp is

a fictional detective on TV.

Neil

Now that we’ve solved the murder and revealed the correct answer, let’s recap the

vocabulary starting with whodunnit - a murder story which does not tell you who

the murderer is until the end.

Sam

In the whodunnit, Murder on the Orient Express, the train comes to a grinding halt

– it slows down until it stops altogether.

Neil

A telltale sign reveals hidden information so that a secret can be revealed.

Sam

An alibi is proof that you were somewhere else when a crime was committed.

Neil

To be perplexed means to be confused because something is difficult to

understand.

Sam

And finally, someone’s foibles are their strange but harmless habits or

behaviour.

Neil

That’s all for our six-minute investigation into the mysterious world of Agatha

Christie. Goodbye for now.

Sam

Goodbye.

VOCABULARY

whodunnit

story about a murder which does not tell you who the murderer is until the end

a grinding halt

something which gradually slows down until it stops altogether

telltale

revealing hidden information which allow a secret to be uncovered

alibi

proof that you were somewhere else when a crime was committed

perplexed

confused because something is difficult to understand or solve

foible

unusual habit or characteristic which is considered strange or foolish, but which

does not harm anyone

رمز عبورتان را فراموش کرده‌اید؟

ثبت کلمه عبور خود را فراموش کرده‌اید؟ لطفا شماره همراه یا آدرس ایمیل خودتان را وارد کنید. شما به زودی یک ایمیل یا اس ام اس برای ایجاد کلمه عبور جدید، دریافت خواهید کرد.

بازگشت به بخش ورود

کد دریافتی را وارد نمایید.

بازگشت به بخش ورود

تغییر کلمه عبور

تغییر کلمه عبور

حساب کاربری من

سفارشات

مشاهده سفارش