Read the stories and answer the questions below.

I. A young woman, called Kitty Genovese, was walking along the streets of a middle-class neighbourhood in New York at 3.00 am, when she was attacked. She screamed for help and managed to escape. A few minutes later her assailant caught her again and she continued screaming for half an hour whilst 38 neighbours watched transfixed from their windows and did nothing. They didn't even call the police. Kitty died of multiple stab wounds.

II. In another town in America,a man went to a garage sale and bought an old tool box for $15. At home when he opened it up, he found $5,500 hidden wider some plates at the bottom of the box. He returned the money to the woman he'd bought the box from.

1 Which seems to be the strangest story – Kitty Genovese’s or the man returning the money?

2 What do you think? True or False?

People did nothing to help Kitty because they:

(a) prefer to protect themselves rather than get involved and risk being killed.

(b) no longer have a group or tribal feeling which binds them together - we areall too individual and we always put ourselves first.

c) convince themselves that there are already institutions in cities to deal with this kind of problem; they don't need to intervene because the police will intervene for them.

d) basically selfish and just don't care about other people.

The man returned the box because:

(a) he was a noble altruist.

(b) he was simply afraid he might have been caught.
3 What would you do in the following situations?

(a)You see someone suspicious hanging around outside a neighbour's door.

(b)You sea a teenager stealing some sweets from a shop. (And if it was a little old lady?)

(c) You see someone of a different colour skin being beaten up by four of your colour skin.

(d)You see a mother violently beating her screaming child.

(e) You see some children teasing and taunting another child.

13. Fill in the missing word(s).

1.The arsonist had set fireto six homes before he was finally caught and s….. ..... to fifteen years in prison.

2. "If you want me to keep my mouth shut, it'll cost you £5,000," he whispered. "Don't try to b…….. me!" she said.

3. Secret service agents quickly disarmed the men who had tried to a…… the coun­try's leader.

4. With dynamite strapped to his chest, he h....... the plane and ordered that it fly to his country.

5. The young boy tried to p...... the old man's p...... but the security guard saw what he was doing.

6. The shop detective caught him s……. and held him until the police arrived.

7. The museum was v…… by a gang of young boys who covered the walls with graffiti.