It was three o'clock...
... on an afternoon in May. I, Richard Hannay, was a single man in the great city of London, but I was bored. The city didn't interest me any more. This was my first visit to Britain since my childhood. My father took me from Scotland to Africa at the age of six.
When I was a young man I worked as an engineer. My Salary was good and I had a comfortable life, but for years I dreamt of going back to Britain. But now that I was here, nothing was as good as I hoped - I was bored with the old buildings, the theatre, the people and I had no friend to go about with.
That evening I had a meal in a restaurant and went to the theatre. As I walked back to my flat, I made a promise to myself. "I'll stay for one more day and if nothing interesting happens, I'll take the next boat back to Africa."
I was just putting my key in the door when a man run up to me. I was surprised. It was a neighbour - who lived on the top floor.
"Can I speak to you?" He said. "Can I come in for a minute?" He sounded worried.
I opened the door and we went inside. Immediately he ran into the bedroom, looked all around it and ran back again. "Is the door locked?" he asked.
"Of course it is" I said.
"I'm sorry about this," he said, "but my life is very difficult at the moment. Will you do something for me?"
"I'll listen to you," I said. "I can't promise more than that."
He poured himself a drink of my whisky. "Forgive me," he said. " I'm very worried. You see, at this moment I am a dead man."
I sat down in an armchair and lit my pipe. "What does it feel like?" I asked. I thought he was probably crazy.
He smiled. "No, I'm not crazy," he said, "but I'm in a bad trouble and I need your help. Will you help me?"
from The Thirty-Nine steps by John Buchan (Penguin Readers)
Read the text WITHOUT using a dictionary and answer the following questions (write the answers as an attached comment to this post):
1. Why isn't Richard happy with his life in London?
2. What was his job in Africa?
3. Why does Richard think his neighbour is crazy?
4. Do you think Richard will help his neighbour?
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