Page 58 - Learn English with short stories

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Lesson 18. Topic: A classic robbery.

Task 1. Read and translate the text.
A classic robbery.
The police had been looking for the criminal for 6 months before they
caught him. The operation involved detectives from several countries, as

the suspect had been hiding in different cities. He was finally arrested in his
summer house in Greece.
The crime took place on Valentine’s Day weekend, when $100 million
worth of precious stones were stolen from the Diamond Centre.
Before the thief could get to the diamonds, he had somehow opened a
thick steel door and had gone through motion and heat sensors. He had been

trying to unseal hi-tech combination locks for 10 minutes, before he
managed to open the safe. The gangster also changed the tapes of the
security cameras in the building to avoid being identified. However, he
made one mistake: he left behind a half-eaten sandwich with DNA samples
on it. This helped the police to identify him.
Nevertheless, while the police were searching for him, he was able to
commit another robbery. He had been visiting a huge bank as a customer

for a few months. His aim was to befriend the bank staff, who believed he
was a successful diamond trader. After he had gained their trust, he
acquired a key to the bank’s vault. Then he simply let himself in and walked
out of the front door with 120,000 carats of diamonds, worth $28 million.
The robber was arrested, but the jewels were never recovered.

Task 2. Write down and learn the new words.
To look for, to catch, to hide, to steal, to arrest, to manage, worth,
precious, thick, thin, an operation, a detective, a suspect, a gangster, a thief,
a crime, a sensor, a stone, a diamond, motion, heat, locks, a safe, a tape, a
camera, a sample, a robbery, a robber, a customer, a trader, trust, a vault,
jewels, security, a steel door, a combination, hi-tech, nevertheless, to be
worth, to go through, to unseal, to seal, to lock, to unlock, to change, to
avoid, to identify, to make a mistake, to look for, to search for, to commit a

crime, to befriend, to gain, to acquire, to recover, DNA.
Task 3. Answer the questions.
How long had the police been looking for the criminal before they
caught him?