News
If you like a good murder mystery, you have probably read a book by the British writer Agatha Christie at some point. Her books are read all over the world and have been translated into a 103 languages. Neil and Sam talk about one of her most famous characters and teach you related vocabulary.
Poirot may be Agatha Christie’s most famous detective, but he isn’t her only one – so who is Agatha Christie’s other fictional detective?
a) Hetty Wainthropp
b) Jessica Fletcher
c) Miss Marple
Listen to the programme to find out the answer.
whodunnitstory about a murder which does not tell you who the murderer is until the end
a grinding haltsomething which gradually slows down until it stops altogether
telltalerevealing hidden information which allow a secret to be uncovered
alibiproof that you were somewhere else when a crime was committed
perplexedconfused because something is difficult to understand or solve
foibleunusual habit or characteristic which is considered strange or foolish, but which does not harm anyone
Note: This is not a word-for-word transcript.
SamHello. This is 6 Minute English from BBC Learning English. I’m Sam.
NeilAnd I’m Neil.
SamHave you ever played the game, Cluedo, Neil? The idea is that the person playing detective discovers who the murderer is, where the crime took place, and which weapon was used.
NeilThe last time I played Cluedo it was Professor Plum, in the library, with the dagger!
SamCluedo is based on a very popular type of book – the murder mystery, sometimes called a whodunnit – a story about a murder which does reveal who the murderer is until the end.
NeilThe queen of murder mysteries is a British writer who was born in 1890. Her books are read all over the world and have been translated into a 103 different languages. Her name is Agatha Christie.
SamTo date over 2 billion copies of her crime novels have been sold worldwide, making her the best-selling novelist of all time… and the subject of this programme.
NeilPerhaps her best-known story is ‘Murder on the Orient Express’, a whodunnit featuring her most famous detective, Hercule Poirot, who starred in 33 of Agatha Christie’s books.
SamMore about that later but as usual I have a quiz question for you, Neil. Poirot may be Agatha Christie’s most famous detective, but he isn’t her only one – so who is Agatha Christie’s other fictional detective? Is it:a) Hetty Wainthropp?b) Jessica Fletcher? or,c) Miss Marple?
NeilI’ll guess it’s a) Hetty Wainthropp.
SamOK, Neil. I’ll reveal the answer at the end of the programme.
NeilAs mentioned, one of Agatha Christie’s most famous books is ‘Murder on the Orient Express’. The story takes place on a train travelling from Istanbul in Turkey to Calais in northern . Listen as writer and Agatha Christie superfan, Harriet Gilbert, summarises the story for BBC World Service programme, World Book Club.
Harriet GilbertPoirot is on the train, heading back home to England from Syria, when two unconnected events take place. In a snowstorm in Croatia, the train comes grinding to a halt and in one of the sleeping berths, a enger is murdered. Since it’s impossible for anyone to have reached the isolated snow-trapped train or to have escaped from it without leaving telltale footsteps in the snow, the killer can only be one of the dozen people sharing Poirot’s coach. Yet as he starts to investigate it seems that each of them has an alibi for the time of the murder. Impossible? Well, Poirot’s certainly perplexed…
SamDuring a snowstorm, the express train comes to a grinding halt – it slows down until it stops altogether. Then, someone is murdered!
NeilThe murderer can’t have escaped without leaving telltale footprints in the snow. When something is described as telltale, it reveals information which allows a secret to be uncovered. For example, lipstick on your husband’s shirt could be a telltale sign he’s having an affair.
SamThe murder victim is found in bed stabbed with a knife. Poirot begins to investigate, but as he questions the train engers one by one, it seems that everyone has an alibi - proof that they were somewhere else when a crime was committed.
NeilNaturally, this leaves the Belgian detective perplexed, or confused because something is difficult to understand or solve.
SamI won’t spoil the story by telling you what happens next, Neil. But let’s just say that, as usual, Poirot uncovers the murderer using his incredible powers of observation.
NeilIn her stories, Agatha Christie describes Hercule Poirot as a very strange or eccentric man.
SamThe author, Sophie Hannah, has written several new Poirot stories based on the characters invented by Agatha Christie before her death in 1976. Here she is describing more of Hercule Poirot’s strange characteristics to BBC World Service Programme, World Book Club
Sophie HannahThere’s the sort of the outward things, his appearance which is very striking and very unusual, and his sort of, I suppose foibles is the best thing to call them, he likes neatness, he likes order, he approaches thing very methodically, he’s very proud of his luxuriant moustaches, you know, all of that.
NeilSophie calls Poirot’s unusual behaviour his foibles - habits or characteristics which are considered strange or foolish but which harm no-one.
SamYes, unlike the fictional murderers he uncovers, Poirot’s foibles do no harm, but it makes me wonder if Agatha Christie’s other famous detective also had unusual habits.
NeilWell, first you’ll have to reveal the answer to your quiz question, Sam. You asked me for the name of Agatha Christie’s other famous detective, and I guessed it was a) Hetty Wainthropp.
SamWell, I’m afraid that was the wrong answer! In fact, Miss Marple was the name of Agatha Christie’s second most famous character - although Hetty Wainthropp is a fictional detective on TV.
NeilNow that we’ve solved the murder and revealed the correct answer, let’s recap the vocabulary starting with whodunnit - a murder story which does not tell you who the murderer is until the end.
SamIn the whodunnit, Murder on the Orient Express, the train comes to a grinding halt – it slows down until it stops altogether.
NeilA telltale sign reveals hidden information so that a secret can be revealed.
SamAn alibi is proof that you were somewhere else when a crime was committed.
NeilTo be perplexed means to be confused because something is difficult to understand.
SamAnd finally, someone’s foibles are their strange but harmless habits or behaviour.
NeilThat’s all for our six-minute investigation into the mysterious world of Agatha Christie. Goodbye for now.
SamGoodbye.
According to the UN, one third of the food we grow ends up in the rubbish bin - how can we stop this?
How are 3D printers providing solutions to some of our medical problems?
What can opinion polls really tell us?
Learn about an idea to deal with climate change that could affect marine ecosystems.
Is music really a cure for a broken heart?
We discuss whether the art of conversation is being lost in the era of social media
Hear about the workers who built the World Cup stadiums
How people are trying to manipulate the weather
We talk about the people who make flavours
We discuss whether Halloween costumes are now too scary to be fun.
We discuss how extreme weather events are affecting our mental health.
How to adapt dishes from other countries
We talk about Mozart, Jimi Hendrix and teach you vocabulary.
Learn vocabulary to talk about inflation
We discuss the language used for online dating
We discuss the advantages of the design of the human body
Hear the inspiring story of people who are doing it
Are emojis turning us into lazy writers?
Hear about women who are using social media to change attitudes to beauty
Hear about the career-killing tasks that are holding women back in the workplace
How can you connect the unconnected?
We talk about previous periods in which deadly diseases went global
Having a Groundhog Day? Keen to break the internet? Learn some modern idioms.
How sharks have become an endangered species.
Can today's animals evolve quickly enough to survive a changing climate?
Missing your mother's cooking? We talk about traditional dishes.
Astronomer Neil deGrasse Tyson's quest to highlight the difference between opinion and fact
In this episode, we discuss the events leading to the creation of the first atomic bomb.
What is life really like in the Pacific islands?
What is the relationship between translation, technology and the human brain?
We talk about a very British tradition
Living with synaesthesia
Is there north and south in space?
Hear how tech is helping people change their behaviour for the better
How do you mark your personal territory?
Deep convictions and a sense of humour - we talk about a man who helped end apartheid in South Africa.
We talk about an extreme environment which is stranger than fiction
We talk about an art that started with ancient Greek philosophers
It's not all about tea. Britons love coffee too!
Listen to a conversation about optimists and pessimists
Hear a chat about the queen of murder mystery, who had her books translated into over 100 languages
Is there life on Mars?
Shouldn't we take laughter more seriously?
Listen to what scientists are saying about the benefits of giving others a helping hand
Would you eat a cricket? How about a portion of nice crunchy ants?
Why not put your idle brain to good use?
We wonder what all that licking is really all about
Life in a place where people work, study longer hours and get less sleep than anywhere else
Artificial snow, coronavirus and controversy surround the Beijing Games starting soon.
Learn how microbes help digest food and have an impact in our bodies.
How do languages get invented?
What will future technology be like?
For a better experience please enable Javascript in your browser
