-l

MACMILLAN READERS
BEGINNER TEVEL

JOHN MILNE

The Long Tirnnel

 I
MACMILI.AN READERS
EEGINNER TEVEL
Holiday Plans
F ounding Ediun : John Mi lne

At universiries in England, Mry is the month of

The Macrr"rillan Reader.s pt>vide a choice of enjoyable reacling examinations.
materials for leamers of English. The series is publiihed at six levelf
- Starrer, Beginner, Elementary, Pre-inrermediate, Intermediate Paul was lying on the grass in front of
the
and Upper. examination hall. His friends, Sheila and Charles, were
Level control sitting near him.
Information, srructure and vrrcabulary are c.ntrcllled t, suit the The three of them were first year $u&nts at
srudents'ability ar each level.
university. They were sirring rheir first year exams. Paul
The number of words at each level: and Charles were nineteen and Sheila was a year
Startcr about
younger.
300 basic words
Beginner ahour 600 hasic words The next exam began in half an hour's rime. But the
Elcmrntirry afxrut I 100 hasic w,rrds three studenrs were not ralking abour the nexr
Pre-intermediatc ah>ut 1400 basic wonls examination. They were ralking abour rlrcir holidays.
Interme.liatr alxut 1600 hasic words
Uppcr ahrut 2200 hasic words

Vocabulary
Sor*c diflicrrlr *,rr<is ir.d phrascs in rhis h<xrk arc imp.rtant f.r
unclcrsta.rtlirrg rhc srtlry. slr,e rrf thcsc rv'rtls are explirincd in rhtt
sttlry irnd s()[le Arc sh.wn in tlrc pictures. Frr>m Prc-intcrnrcdiarc
level upwards, worcls arc marked with a number like this: ... '. These
wtlrds are explained in the Glossary at rhe end of the book.

i
n
T
Y

e.,

3
 'Where are you going this summerl' Sheila asked
Paul.
'To Wales,' Paul replied. going to sray in a
cottage in the counrry.'
'You have a co$age in Walesl,asked Charles.
'lt's not my cottage,' replied paul. ,lt belongs to my
uncle. He usually goes there for his holidays every
summer. But rhis year he's going ro Greece. And I'm
going ro sray in his corrage for rwo months _
July and
August.'
'Where are you going for your holidaysl' paul asked.
'We don'r know,' replied Sheila. .We haven,t

'\)ilhy don'r you both come to \I7alesl'said paul. .you

can stay with me for a week or two.,
'Whar do you rhink, Charlesl, asked Sheila.
The college bell rang loudly. It was time for the nexr
examinarion.
'We'll calk about ir after rhis exam,, Charles replied.
'Let's go now.'
The studcnts gor up from thc grass. They picked up
their norebooks and hurried rowards the examination
hall.

4
5
 Three hours later, rhe examinarion was over. paul,
'How do we ger from the station ro the co$agel,
Sheila and Charles were siring in a cafE.
asked Charles.
'\U7har's your uncle's conage likel, Sheila asked paul.
'Look, I'll draw a map,' said paul. .The railway line
Paul rook a photograph out of his wallet.
goes rhrough a long runnel before Llanvoy Sration.
The
conage is on the hill above this tunnel.'
Charles gave Paul his diary. paul drew a map and
wrore down the name and address of rhe coftage.
'There you are,'said Paul. ,Bur don,t worry. I,ll meet
you ar Llanvoy Srarion. ['ll see you there on Monday
rhe
fifth of Augusr at half pasr one.'
f*>--
\

14onday 4ueo.rr

'lt looks lovely,' said Sheila.

'lt is lovely,' agreed Paul. ,Bur it,s very lonely. There
are no houses near the coftage. And there's no electricity
and no telephone.'
'Ler's go and sray wirh paul,' Sheila said ro Charles.
'OK,'agrccd Charles. '!7e can sray there for a week.,
The rhree shrdents made arrangements for rheir
holiday in Wales.
'C-ome on rhe fifth of Augusr,' said paul. ,Thar,s
a
Monday. The train from London arrives at Llanvoy #
Station at half past one.'
'lU7here's Llanvoyl' asked Sheila.
'[t's a small railway sadon near the cottage,,
answered Paul. 'Fast kains from l,ondon stop
there.,
 It is the ftfth of August- Sheila and Charles arrive at
Llanvoy station in \ilUales,
Excuse rne, is
there a caf6

I
 2 They sat at the table and looked out of the window'
Some soldiers were loading bags into the lorry' Other
A Stranger at the Door soldiers were shnding on guard.
The girl brought the coffees.
Sheila and Charles went into the small cafe' There was a
young girt behind the counter. Sheila went up to her'
'Has a young man been in here this moming?' asked
Sheila.
'A soldierl' asked the young girl. r

'!Uhat's in those bagsl' Charles asked her'

'Banknotes,' replied the girl. 'The money comes from
j

I
London by train. Then the soldiers take it to a large army
'No, not a soldier - a srudent,' replied Sheila' camp near here.'
'lil(/e see a lot of soldiers here,' said the girl. 'But no 'lVhat do they do with the money?'sheila asked'
students.'
'I don't know,' said the girl. And she walked away'
Charles asked for rwo coffees. He sat down with
{ 'They are probably old banknotes,' said Charles'
Sheila at a table near the window.
'After some years, the govemment destroys old
'Paul's forgotten about our visit,' he said' '\Ue'l[ have
* banknotes and new money is printed' The money in
those bags will not be used any more"
a coffee. Then we'll walk to Hilltop Cottage''

1l
10
*
ffi
Charles and Sheila waited in the caf6. Paul did not
come. It was now after two o'clock.
Th"y left the caf6 and walked to a crossroads. Charles
looked at Paul's map. Sheila pointed to a signpost.
'That's rhe road to Barconney,'she said.
They pulled their rucksacks onto their shoulders and
walked along the road. [t was a very hotday. The sun was
shining brightly and they walked slowly.
After an hour, they came to a telephone box. On the
left, there was a narrow lane into the woods.
'The telephone box is on Paul's map,' said Charles.
'This is the way to the cottage.'
tz
They walked up the narrow lane. Tall ftees grew on
each side. The branches were thick with leaves.
'lt's dark in here,' said Charles. 'There's no sun.'
'lr's nice and cool after the hor road,' replied Sheila.
'Anyway, Paul's cottage is higher up. It'll be brighter up
there.'
They walked farther up the steep, dark lane.
I 'l don't like this place,' said Charles. 'lt's too dark.
\7hat a place for a holiday.'
'Oh, come on,' said Sheila.
r3
 - Sheila and Charles arrived at the cottage. There were
high rrees all round it.
'There's something wrong,' said Charles. 'Look at
the curtains. They are all closed. There's no one here.'
'Don't be silly,' said Sheila.
She went up to the cottage and knocked loudly on
the door. They waited for some time.
Sheila pushed at the comage door. It did not open. It
{
was locked.
'Paull' shouted Charles. 'Pau[? Are you there?'
There was no reply.
Sheila knocked again on the door. Th.y stood and
listened.

I 'There's someone inside,' said Sheila. 'I heard a

noise. Listen!'
Th"y both stood in silence. Someone unlocked rhe
door.
'lt's Paul,' said Charles. 'Why is he taking so long?'
The door slowly opened. A tall man with a beard
stood in the doorway. He was about fory years old.
Sheila and Charles did not know him. He was a srranger.
'Who are you?' asked the srranger. 'What do you
wantl'

r4 15

Paul is Here
Sheila looked up ar rhe tall man.
'[s Paul in?' she asked.
'Paull' said the sffanger. 'There's no one here with
that name. You've made a mistake.'
The stranger slowly closed the door.
'But this cottage belongs to Paul's uncle,' said Sheila.
'We saw it in a phorograph.'
'lt was anorher cottage in your photograph,' said the
man. 'lt wasn't this one. This cottage is mine. I live here.'
The man was becoming angry.
'You've made a mistake,' he shouted. 'l don't like
visitors here. Go away.'
The door closBd with a loud bang.
i;,
16
Sheila turned away from the door. She saw a piece of
paper under a bush. She stopped and quickly picked up
the paper.
'lVe've made a mistake,' said Charles. 'Paul isn't
here. \7e've come to the wrong cottage. Let's go back to
the road.'
They walked back down the lane. After a few
minutes, Sheila stopped. The cottage was now behind
the trees. Sheila opened the piece of paper and looked at
it in surprise.
"1il7e haven't made a mistake,' she said to Charles.
'Look ar rhis!'
Charles took the paper and looked at it. 'lt's an
examination paper,' he said. 'lt's our exam paper. \07e sat
this exam in May.'
j
..:
L't
I ffiGui

5o Paul
is here.

[*";;
ito the cottage
tonight. We
must find Paul.

*fOffing.
Look! fh"r" r
hear a plAj
We'll waitAthere. .ffimil i_lcan

It's coming up the lane

to the cottage.

18
19
 4 'What's happening?' Charles asked Sheila. 'Bi[['s put
What's Happening?
Sheila and Charles waited in the old building. Slowly it
became dark. They walked quietly back to the cottage
and hid behind a bush. A lorry was parked near the
cottage door.
Th.y waited quietly in the darkness. Suddenly a man
hurried up the lane. He knocked at a window of the
cottage. The door opened quickly.
'Everything is OK, Frank,' said the man outside. 'Bill
has telephoned from London. He's put sleeping pills in
the guard's coffee.'
'Good,' said Frank. '\7e can start now. Get the bags
out of the lorry and inro the cottage.'
J
t,l
20
sleeping pills in the guard's coffee - what does that
mean? And what's in those bagsl'
'l don't know,' said Sheila. 'Listen - they're talking
again.'
'What about that young man?' one of the men asked
I
Frank.
I '\)Ue'l[ leave him in the upstairs bedroom,' Frank
replied. 'He's tied up tightly. He'[l be found tomorrow.
By then, we'[ be far from here.'
'Paul's in the cottage,' Sheila whispered ro Charles.
'And he's a prisoner.'
Four men carried all the bags into the cottage.Th"y
closed the door behind them and locked it.
2l
 'Paul's in one of the upsrairs bedrooms,' said Sheila.
'\Ve musr help him.'
'How are you going to get into the cottage?' asked
Charles. 'They've locked the door.'
'l'll climb up onto the top of the porch,' said Sheila.
'Then I'll get in through a window.'
Sheila and Charles waited for half an hour. Then
they walked up quietly to the front door. There were no
lights in rhe corrage.
'Help me up, Charles,' said Sheila.
22.
Sheila stood on top of the porch. She reached up and
pulled at the window. It opened slowly and made a loud
noise. Sheila waited for a few momenrs. Nothing
happened.
She opened the window wide. The curtains inside
were closed. She opened them carefully and climbed into
the bedroom.
In the dark room, Paul was lying on a bed. He was
tied up dghtly and there was a gag over his mouth.
Sheila quickly took off the gag.
'Sh!' she said. 'Don't make a noise. There are some
men downstairs.'
'lt's all right,' said Paul. 'They won'c hear us. They're
not in the cottage. They're our at the back.'
23
 Sheila slowly untied the ropes round paul.
'Whar's happeningl'she asked him. ,!7ho
are those
menl lfhar are rhey doingl,
'They're going ro rob a main ronighr.,
'Rob a train?'asked Sheila in surprise.
'They've found an old shaft behind the comage,,
said
Paul. 'The shaft goes down into the railway tunnel.
They're going to change rhe signal in the tunnel. The
signal lighr will be red and rhe train will srop.'
'Now I understand,' said Sheila. ,someone has put
sleeping pills in rhe guard's coffee.,
I 'Thar's part of their plan,, said paul. ,The train will
stop in the tunnel and the guard will be asleep.
The men
willsteal the bags of money from the rrain and escape
up 'But rhese men have taken bags into the coftage,'
the shaft.'
said Sheila. 'Whar are they for?'
'The bags are full of paper,' said Paul. 'They look like
the bags of money. The soldiers won'r find the paper
until romorrow morning. Then these men will be far
away from here.'
'!7'e can run down to the telephone box,'said Sheila.
'!7e can relephone the police from rhere.'
'There isn't enough time,' said Paul. 'We have to
stop these men. !7e can put heavy srones over rhe shaft.
Then the men can't get out.'
'And Charles can run down and telephone the
police,' said Sheila.
Now all the knots were untied and paul was free.
They climbed out of the window. Charles was waiting for
them in the darkness.

Z5
 'What about the money in the guard's van?' the mate
asked the driver.
The Robbery 'Don't worry,' replied the driver. 'Pete's a good
guard.'
The main from London was in the long tunnel. The driver watched the signal. It was red. The train
'The signal is red,' said the driver to his mate. 'That's waited in the long tunnel.
unusual.' Frank and his men were in the tunnel. They were
The rrain slowed down. It stopped on a long bend in wairing at the bottom of the shaft. The rrain slowed down
the runnel. and stopped. The guard's van was in front of them.
The driver's mate looked back. The end of the train Frank quickly climbed up. He opened the lock on the
was out of sight. door of the guard's van. He looked inside.

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76 27
 'lt's all righr,' he said to rhe orhers. 'The guard has
drunk rhe coffee. He's sleeping.'
Frank threw down the bags of money.
'Throw up rhe bags of paper,' he told his men. 'And
move quickly. We haven'r much rime.'
A few minures later, Frank and his men were at the
bottom of the shaft. They were carrying rhe bags of
money.
'Get up to the coftage,' Frank said. '['ll follow you in
a moment.'
The signal changed from red ro green. The rrain
moved towards Llanvoy Station.
'Good,' thought Frank. 'The plan has worked.'
28
At the top of the shaft, Sheila and Paul were working
fast in the darkness. There was a heavy iron cover at rhe
entrance to the shaft. Th"y pulled the cover over the
entrance and put some heavy stones on top of it.
The first of Frank's men reached the rop of the shaft.
His head hir rhe iron cover. He reached up wirh one
hand and pushed. The cover did not move.
'There's something wrong,' he shouted. 'l can't ger
out.'
Below him in the shaft, the other men waited. They
were trapped.
29
 6 'Thanks to you, we've got the men and the money,'
said the police sergeant. 'We arrested the orher rwo men
The End at Llanvoy Station.'
'But there were five men,' said Paul. 'Have you
The police moved quickly. A police car came to the arrested the leaderl He's called Frank.'
telephone box. Charles jumped in and they drove fast Sheila, Charles and Paul spent the night in the home
towards the cottage. of the police sergeant. The next morning the sergeant left
The police arrested rwo men at the top of the shaft. early.
An hour later, Sheila, Paul and Charles were in rhe 'l must go to the police station,' he told them. 'l'il
police station at Barconney. phone you later in the morning.'
At breakfasr, Sheila turned on the radio.
'Here is a police message. The police are looking for
Frank Steel . . . aged forry . . . this man was last seen on
the railway line to Llanvoy Station in the early hours of
this morning. He is a dangerous. . .'
Sheila turned off the radio.
'lt's a strange beginnning to a holiday,' she said.
Later, rhe phone rang. Paul answered it. It was rhe
sergeant.
,ful 'Good news,' said the sergeant. 'A police car has
p'il picked up Frank Steel.'
-.P-*. Paul put down the phone.
'The police have arrested Frank Steel,' he said to the
a' other rwo.
'That's great,' said Sheila. 'Now we can go back to
the cottage and begin our holidav.'

31
 Exercises What Happened Nextl
Number the sentences in the correct order to give the outline of the
Multiple story.

Tick the corrcct statement. T Paul, Shcila and Clrarles were sirring rheir exams.
laul and Sheila rrapped rhe criminals in rhe shaft.
la tr Paul, Sheila irnd Charles u,cre seconrl year srutlents
ar Sheila and Charles agreed ro sperrtl a week with paul in Wales.
un ivcrsi ty.
Thc crinrinirls rvere arrcsred hy rhc police.
f] Pirtrl, Shcila arrcl Charlcs were rhird ycirr stuc.len$
tr
un iversity. Sheila saw soltliers putring hags of m()ney into a krrry.

aI
[7l Paul' sheila a^d charles rverc firsr year srucienrs
at university.
u Sheila ancl Charlcs found orrr rhirr sonrc criminals rvcre going trr
srcal thc rnrrncy fr.,rn a rrain.

h[]
Llarrvoy is in !7ales.
Llanvoy is in Sct:tland. u Wlrcn they got to the c()tr?tge, Paul rvas not there.
cfl Llanvoy is in Englirntl. D While the criminirls
resctred Paul.
$,cre ().r ()[ rhc c()trage, Shcila antl Charles

afl
bn
No one ut the cortage when they arrivetl.
was
A strange tnan was :rt the cottage rvhen they arrived.
I Sheila ancl Churlcs found laul's cxilr.n p.rper.

cI Tht'police were ar rhe coffage whcrr they arriveti.

True or Falsel
4 ".t
tr Thc'guanJ orr rhe rrain had sleeping pills put in his
coffee.
l't tl Thc guard on rhe train hacl heen kidnapped. Write T (True) or F (False).
c D The guard on rhe rrain had heen ried up and gagged.
I F At universiries in England, April is the monrh of examinations.
5a D Sheila was tied up and gaggecl. 2 The cotrage had elecrriciry and a relephone.
b tr Charles was ried trp and gaggcd,
3 There was a cafd outside the station ar Llanvoy.
c D Paul was tied up and gagged.
4 Sheila and Charles had two cups of rea ar rhe cafi.
6a n The criminals replaced the brrgs of money wirh hags of paper. 5 There wasn't a telephone box on Paul's map.
h n The crirninals replaced the bags of rnoney wirh boxes <lf
paper.
6 The stranger rhey met at rhe corrage had a beard.

cfl The criminals replaced rhe bags of money with bags of

7 [-l Sheila and Charles waired in an old building while rhey
t--.t decided what ro do.
clt'lthes.
S I Sfreita got inro the cottage through a window.
D Two of the criminals were arrested. I ! fn. signal in the runnel was usually red.
tr AII of the criminals were arresred. l0 T-l Afrer rhe criminals were arresred, paul, Sheila and Charles
tr One of the crinrinals was arrested. t-J decided to canccl rheir holiday.

)t l3
 Choose the Word

Circle the correct word.

34
l5
I

Story Outline Words From the Story

Complete the gaps. Use each word in the box once. Unjumble the letters to make words that complete the sentences.

I STARMENRANGE Charles and Sheila made

......YY!:. !l:1.11t ......... to stay with Pau l.

Clrrrrles and Sheila ,........t.99.k....... a rrain from London to Llanvoy.

2 READSTER The police
They t........... at l.30pm. As st.ron as rhey gor off
the '............... they looked around for all the criminals at the end of the story.
. Paul said he t................ meer rhem
......... the afrernoon of Monday 5th Augusr.
] ELLB They knew it was time for the exam when
Llanvoy is a small ........ . There were very a ................... ..... rang loudly.
"..................... ... people around. Charles and Sheilrr
... for five minutes but there was no
of Paul. 4 ELONGBED *::':"1
..... have a cup of coffee,'Charles said. They :: :::' ::"_ l _,., n,.,
went t() a caf€ ''......... the station. ,\07e
will
see Paul when he ,'................:... ....,'Charles said.
5 DEDCIDE When Paul did not arrive, they
They did nor see Paul. They saw an army ,a...........
and soldiers. The ,5............ were putting
......... to walk to the c()ttafre.

.... inro the back of the lorry.

'What's in thc sacksl'Charles asked the 6 DAGGEG The criminals
'Banknotes,'said the waitress. 'l expect banks send old Paul so he could nor speak.
here,' said Charles. The army,r..............................
them.'
7 DUNGGARI Soldiers were .............
After twenty ., Sheila said, 'Shall we walk to
the rr.............
the sacks of banknotes.
........1We have a 22........
'Okay,'said Charles. 'The :,........... is about two
. The last mile is rt........ ........ . It 8 SPEECA The criminals planned rcr
won't take us too long.'
up the shaft.

36 37
 9 ROYLR Soldiers were loading sacks into rhe back
Multiple Choice 2
ofa
Tick the best answer.

IO ROVE Another bell rang when rhe exam was

I What did rhe criminals do rt> paulf
^ E Tl.,"y arresrcd him.
and the stuclenrs h [| Thev held him prisoner.
were allowsd to go.
. D Th"y rcxrk him l,,r.,ng".
d fl They kidnappetl him.

II 2 YhV did the criminal.s wilnr t() usc [.{illtop Cortagcl

ETOMER lr was:r a
......................... lrnJ f] It had a gtxx.l view.

I()nely c()ttagc firr uway from thc rown.

h D They coultl sce the pxrlice conring.
c n Ir was over thc railway runne l.
.l fl tt was quiet antl renrorc.

I] THAFS Therc rva.s lr ................... I \)uha. dicl ciharles d. while sheira and paul rr:rppctr the criminarsl
fronr rhe rop of the
a f] He wenr r() thc grlicc srir(ion.
hill ro rhc tunncl. lr h l--.l H" ran ro rhe r..i"ph.rne hrx an.l called rhe lrrlicc.
let in air. c D I-Ie staye<l in the corrage.
d n n* waitetl at rhe lxxtom <>f rhc shaft.
I I LASIGN 4 Which is the rxld word ourl
'l:". l
"':'": ": it
b
I
!
Knot.
K.,iF".
:. :,::;, *,. ,.,r
c D Kir..
d f] Kn.:ck.
I4 PRATPED Thcy pur il c()ver over the exit to rhe
5 Which of these don't you makef
shaft. The criminal.s wcrc a D A mistalce.
b D A decision.
inside. c D A living.
d D an accident.
I5 NELNUT No one saw rhe robbery taking place 6 What .lid the criminals givc ro thc. traink guarrJl
a LJ
Money in bam;.
because the rain was in the b fl Rop.r and gags.
c D Phsric sacks.
d n Sleeping pills.

l8
)9
 Published by Macmillan Heinemann ELT
Iletween Towns Road, Oxford OX4 _,pp
Macmillan Hcincmann ELT is an irnprint of
Macmillan Publishers Limited
C-ornpanies and represcntarives throughout the world
Hcirronerur ir e crairrcml taltmr* rrf Hrrcrun Etlearin, u*<I uul.r liccncs.

lsBN 978-0-2t0_o103 5-o

ISNN 978-l-405C-.7622-? (with CD edirion)

Text @John Milne 1980, tggl, Z@2, ZOA5

First published l9g0

Design and illusrration @ Macmillan puhlishers Limired

Z@2,2@5

This edirion first publishcd 2005

All rights reservcd; no parr of this publicarion may be reproduced,

stored in a retrieval system, ransmitted in any [orm,
o, by ,n.".,r,
e lectron ic, mecha nica l, phorocopyi ".,y wi
ng,,".ord i.rg, or orherwise,
'- tl.rour
the prior written lxrmission of the publishers.

Illustratcd by David Barnerr

Original cover remplate'design by Jackie Hill
C.over photography by Alamy/lan McKinnell

Prinred in Thailand

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