Q28 - The bag they missed
The police received a report that six men had stopped a van. The van was carrying factory wages and the men had attacked the driver. They had tied him up and had stolen one of the bags. After searching for three hours the police found the van near the river. The driver was sitting on a bag in the van and his hands were tied behind his back. The thieves had tied a handkerchief round his mouth so that he wouldn’t shout. The police climbed into the back of the van and freed the driver. Then they asked him what had happened.
‘I was stopped soon after I left the bank,’ the driver explained. ‘Six men stopped my van and made me drive to the river. “If you shout,” one of them said, “we’ll shoot you.” When I got to the river, they tied me up. Then they threw me into the back of the van. There were two bags in the back and the thieves took one of them.’
‘How much money did the bag contain?’ a police officer asked.
‘It didn’t contain any money at all,’ the driver laughed. ‘It was full of letters. This one contains all the money. I’ve been sitting on it for three hours!’
Answer these questions
A
1 Had six men stopped a van?
2 Was the van carrying goods?
3 It was carrying wages, wasn’t it?
4 hadn’t the thieves tied up the driver?
5 The police found the van, didn’t they?
6 The thieves had attacked the driver, hadn’t they?
7 Could the driver shout for help?
8 Weren’t there two bags in the back of the van?
9 Did the thieves take them both?
10 Did the bag the thieves took contain any money?
11 Has the driver been sitting in the back of the van for
three hours?
B
12 Who stopped the van?
13 Who had tied up the driver and stolen one of the bags?
14 Who found the van?
C
15 Was the van carrying wages or goods?
16 Was the van stopped by thieves or by the police?
17 Did the thieves tie up the driver or did they shoot him?
18 Did the thieves leave the van near the river or did they
drive away in it?
19 Did the thieves take one of the bags or both of them?
20 Did the bag the thieves took contain money or letters?
D
21 What was the van carrying?
22 How long did the police search for the van?
23 Why couldn’t the driver shout for help?
24 Where did the thieves leave the van?
25 What would the thieves have done if the driver had
shouted for help?
26 Which bag did the thieves take?
E
Ask me
1a if the van was carrying factory wages.
b what the van was carrying.
2a if the thieves had tied up the driver.
b why they had tied up the driver.
3a if the police found the van near the river.
b where the police found the van.
4a if the driver was stopped soon after he left the bank.
b when the driver was stopped.
5a if the driver shouted for help.
b why he didn’t shout for help.
6a if the bag the thieves took contained any money.
b what the bag contained.
