The following dictations have not been read in class, but nevertheless belong to the

second-semester corpus of dictations.

1. When the elderly cook was interviewed, she proved to be a disappointing witness.
The constable had warned the inspector that she was not a person who was willing to talk, but
the superintendent thought that her silence was connected to her being completely ignorant of
her employer’s affairs - the woman was innocent. When her boss stayed at the cottage, she
was never required to do more than cook a tasty breakfast and tidy the top-floor rooms after
his guests left.
After the fingerprinting, she was left alone in the little apartment, with a couple of
Sunday papers and her own thoughts.
It was past one o’clock when a car drew up in front of the police station. A tall,
handsome, middle-aged man went inside the building and announced his name in a pleasant,
lazy voice. There was a moment’s silence, and then they started looking through several
photographs of the stolen goods taken at the scene of the committed crime.

2. To her knowledge that particular worker had never called in sick before, making her
feel curious about the nature of his sudden illness. She left her foreign correspondence for
another time and headed toward the small employee kitchen.
The radio was owned by a media empire, which included five newspapers, three
television stations, eight studios and seven offices where famous serials and soap operas were
written. The main office was on the top floor of the building with ten storeys which was
bought from a previous owner who was afraid of heights.
At this time of night, the noise coming from the streets below was soft, and the passages were
hardly lit. Other personnel were long gone, their offices dark and empty. The woman was
used to the silence, the darkness, and the curious smells of dust burnt by electronic
equipment, spilt coffee and tobacco smoke. She began to make her cup of tea when she heard
voices in the hall.

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3. I cycled up the steep roads until the skies grew pale with morning light. As the clouds
cleared before the sun, I found myself in a wide, green world, with valleys on every side.
Here, if nothing else, I would be able to see my enemies coming. I sat down at the top of a
hill and looked around.
I could see the path I had followed, climbing up towards me through a long narrow
valley. It seemed to melt away into the blue distance. To the left and right were green hills,
but to the south I saw high mountains. Below me was the man’s cottage, with smoke rising
from it, but that was the only sign of human life. All I could hear was the wind in the grass.
At about seven o’clock, I heard the threatening noise once again. I realised that I
might be trapped – there was not a single tree or bush anywhere in sight.

4. I enjoyed that evening. At about eight o’clock, we drove down the valley, through a
village or two, and I could not help noticing several very strange men by the side of the road.
They did not seem to be very interested in me. One touched his hat respectfully, as if he knew
me – I waved back at him politely.
As it grew dark, I turned into a valley which, as I remembered from the map, led into
a quiet corner of the hills. Soon, the villages below were left behind, then the farms, and then
even the loneliest cottages. We came to a great open moor, and here we stopped.
As quickly as I could I got out of the car and scrambled along the side of the stream.
Then I sat down on the grass and watched the men’s figures fade into the distance. I saw the
face of an elderly man look towards me with some curiosity.

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5. I picked up the little notebook and opened it. On the first page I saw the title of my
story.
The twelve star signs appeared in a circle around the words, and I knew them well.
They had been important to me when I was a boy. Each sign had suggested confidence, life
and power. The smaller beings in the signs were playing happily, and they stood for young
things and energetic people. That year was the first year of the new century. I was twelve
years old then, and I hoped for great things in the twentieth century. The larger beings in the
signs stood for the men who would rule the world. I intended to grow up to be just like them.
Virgo was the only lady in the circle. I did not know what she meant. Her long hair
almost covered her. I often thought about her, and in time she became the chief figure in the
group.

6. The inspector did not have much to tell. An elderly servant, whose duty consisted of
sweeping and dusting the flat before breakfast, entered at seven o’clock, unlocking the heavy
doors. She was surprised to find the passage light still on - she had switched it off the
previous night. She deduced that someone must have forgotten to turn it off, and then noticed
a curious beam of light. She found the room lit, all the curtains drawn, and her employer’s
valuable paintings missing. She ran screaming from the flat, downstairs, to inform everyone
about her discovery. The porter’s first reaction was to go up the staircase, but he decided to
dial the police instead.
A sergeant arrived shortly, and the constable and superintendent followed soon after.
They knew about a jailbird on the loose who could have committed this crime.
A policeman came in with the photographer, and they took photographs of the empty
cupboard, which was then closed and locked.

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7. It was long past midday when Dorian woke up. His servant brought him tea and his
letters. Yesterday seemed like a bad dream, but when he went downstairs, he saw the covered
picture. Should he uncover it, he wondered? Had the face in the picture really changed? He lit
a cigarette and thought for a while. Yes, he had to know. He lifted the cover.
There was no mistake. The portrait had really changed. He could not explain it, could
not understand it. It was impossible, but it had happened. Dorian felt sick and ashamed. He
did not know what to do, or what to think. Finally, he sat down and wrote a long letter to the
girl. He covered page after page with wild words of love and passion. Then, suddenly, he
heard a voice at the door. Dorian jumped up and covered the picture.
‘My dear boy,’ the voice said, ‘I’m so sorry. But you must not think too much about
her.’

8. Occasionally, I wore the jacket that I had received as a present from my mother. It had
unusually faded in places, and it still smelled really bad. There was a hole in the pocket and a
piece of the sleeve was missing. On the inside it was dirty, as if a wet cat had walked across
it. My grandmother tried everything to get the stain out, and eventually she succeeded. The
rest of my uniform came from clothing sales. My new jumpers had other girls’ names on
them, and it was strange to think of someone else’s feet in my boots. That irritated me
immensely.
My grandparents insisted on taking a photograph of me before I left, which was
annoying. The picture was put on the fridge. I saw it whenever I went to take something from
the fridge. It was the only picture they had where my hair looked pretty – the sun had caught
it, and one side of it almost looked blonde.

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9. Life is not a mystery to him. He knows the point of it all, the unbearable truth. Some
think he is awkward because he is so different from the rest, both physically and
psychologically. Many times he was embarrassed by his looks; even more so because he
knew what people thought when they looked at him – he could read people’s minds. It often
occurred to him to end it all.
The weather was bad that night. The rain was pouring hard. He was all alone in his
small room in the attic. Suddenly, he seized the gun that lay on the table and went out onto
the empty streets. He moved swiftly towards the harbour. The moonlit water glimmered
before him. All he had to do was pull the trigger and his brain would no longer be able to
accommodate thoughts – his or anyone else’s. But then a gentle voice echoed in his mind.
The gun fell out of his hand and into the dark water.