英語趣味課堂：犯罪-Crime

Rebecca: So, Gareth, is England a safe place to live?

Gareth: Um, to be honest, no. I don't think so, but I haven't lived in England for quite a few years now, so I don't know what it's like now. But when I left, no. I can remember like walking back at home, having bottles thrown at me from the ops - walking along the road, the opposite road. So, yeah, and being hassled. So there's one time, I was walking back from uni and I was going to my apartment. This guy was yelling at me, and I had my headphones on, and I didn't really hear him. But he came close and he was still yelling at me, so I turned around, and he said, - Oh, I thought you're my mate. And I said, - No, no, no. I mean, you misunderstand. And he said, - Oh, okay, and he said, - Oh, I'll walk with you, I'll walk with you.

Well, so the road that led to my apartment was so secluded, and I was a little bit wary, kind of made me feel a little bit worried. So he said, - No, I'll walk with you. So we started walking and he said, - So, do you have a cellphone? I said, - Yeah, I have a cellphone. He said, - Oh, can I use it? Can I make a phone call on it? And I said, - No. I'm like, - That's all right. I don't want - yeah, I'm just going to go home. And he started getting to this whole conversation about why he needed to use my cellphone, so I said, - Okay, here's my cellphone, and he took my cellphone.

Then, he said, - Oh, so then, he asked me about my money, like he said, - How much money do you have on you? And I was like, - Oh, no, so I started to run. I had my big backpack on with like I had a camera in my backpack, and I was worried about him like stealing all of my stuff, so I started to run. He chased after me, and he pulled me down to the ground. And at that moment, this lady started walking down this secluded road - and yeah, if it hadn't been -

Rebecca: Oh, the timing!

Gareth: Yeah, if it hadn't been for her, like he would have stolen all of my stuff. And it was quite scary at the time. I was kind of shaken a little bit.

Rebecca: Yeah.

Gareth: But as soon as she came, he just dropped everything and walked in the other direction. So, after that, I went to the police. There was a police station very close to the apartment, and they were just sipping coffee, and not really like paperwork, not really minding the streets at all. So, I went there and I reported this. There wasn't much they could do because it was an attempt to mug me, but he didn't actually steal anything. So, they're like, - So what's the point? basically. And I tried to tell them that it was maybe preventative, like if we acted now, we can prevent him from doing it again to some other poor boys -

Rebecca: Actually mugging someone, yeah.

Gareth: And yeah. So they didn't do much. And so, I don't really have much of a good impression of the police in England, and also, just crime in England.

重點詞匯：

Learn Vocabulary from the lesson

hassled

I remember getting hassled.

When we are hassled, that means someone bothers or annoys us; sometimes dangerously. Notice the following:

When I was a kid, I always got hassled by my older brother.

Hey, stop hassling me!

misunderstand

I said, "No, you misunderstand."

When we misunderstand, that means we are confused or don't understand. Notice the following:

He misunderstood what I said.

I could see a look of misunderstanding on her face.

secluded

The road to my apartment was secluded.

Something that is secluded is away from roads, buildings or other people. Notice the following:

We relaxed on a secluded beach.

They camped next to a secluded lake in the forest.

shaken

I was kind of shaken.

When we are shaken, that means we are scared or very upset. Notice the following:

She was a little shaken by the news.

They were shaken but not injured.

minding

The police were not minding the streets.

Here, the word 'minding' means to take care of something. Notice the following:

Can you mind the kids while I'm out?

I'll be minding the shop for my dad this weekend.