Escape From Alcatraz

Escape From Alcatraz (İngilizce Çocuk Hikayeleri)

The courtroom was very quiet.
"Stand up for Judge Whittaker," said the sheriff.
Judge Wtıittaker came in the room and looked at the prisoner. "You robbed the West Union Bank and hide the money'' the judge said. "Where did you hide the money?" the judge asked.
The young man didn't answer.
"Very well," continued the Judge. "You will spend the next twenty years of your life in prison, at Alcatraz!"

1.    courtroom: the room where a person is judged for a erime.
2.    hid is the past tense of to hide: to put a thing in a place that other people can’t find.
3.    to spend: to pass.

''Alcatraz'' thought Jerry O'Brian.
He knew it was a dreadful prison. It was on a small island, in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The sea was very, very cold and dangerous. No visitors were allowed on the island. Only very difficult criminals went to Alcatraz.
Jerry O'Brian was difficult! He always escaped from the prisons he was in. But Alcatraz was different!

1.    knew is the past tense of to know.
2.    dreadful: terrible.
3.    in the middle: in the centre.
4.    to escape: to get out of, to run away.

Motor-boat stopped at the
island and Jerry got off. He was the only prisoner on the boat.
"Welcome to Alcatraz Hotel," said a fat guard sarcastically. “The rooms are small, but the food is good. I'm sure you will like it here, and you will stay for a long, long time!"
“You are wrong" said Jerry. "I won't stay here very long!"
"Ha, ha, ha. You can't get out of this prison," the guard laughed.

1.    sarcastically: making fun of.
2.    food: things to eat.
3.    I’m sure: I’m certain.
4.    wrong: error, mistake.
5.    won’t: abbreviation of will not (future tense).

The guard gave Jerry a grey prison uniform and took him to a celi. It was very small. There were two bunks, a washbasin, a toilet and a very small window.
"Breakfast is at half-past six'' said the guard. "Lunch is at noon. Dinner is at seven o'clock and bedtime is at ten o'clock. The routine is the same, everyday, every week, every year. Nothing changes here, except the prisoners - they get older!"

1.    gave is the past tense of to give.
2.    uniform: when a group of men, prisoners or soldiers wear the same clothes.
3.    took is the past tense of to take.
4.    bunk: bed.

Everyday Jerry ate, worked, walked... and studied! He didn't study English or maths, he studied his escape! He also drew plans of the prison.
"When did you come here?" he asked Jeff, the other prisoner in the celi.
"Ten years ago," Jeff replied.
"Why don't you escape?" Jerry asked. "Ha, ha, ha. Are you mad?" Jeff answered. "It's impossible to leave this island."

1.    maths: mathematics.
2.    drew is the past tense of to draw; to design.
3.    mad: crazy.

Every two or three years somebody1 tries to escape," Jeff continued.
"They are always caught. The prison walls are six metres high. There are guards on ali the walls. They watch us ali the time!"
"Can't you dig a tunnel from the cells under the walls?" Jerry asked.
"The prison is built on rock!" Jeff answered, "A tunnel is out of the question!"

1.    somebody: here, a prisoner.
2.    caught is the past tense of to catch.
3.    to dig a tunnel: to make a tunnel.
4.    built is the past tense of to build: to construct.

"How often does the boat come here?" Jerry asked "It comes once a week to bring prisoners and provisions. There are fifteen guards on the boat and it only stops ten minutes'' Jeff answered. "There is nowhere to hide at the port, and no one is allowed out of the prison when the boat is here. Forget the idea!" But Jerry couldn't forget! He was sure, there was a way to leave the island.

1.    how often: how many times.
2.    once: one time.
3.    provisions: food, drink.
4.    forget is the opposite of to remember.
5.    to be sure: to be certain.

We can't escape by boat, it's too cold to swim," said Jerry, "and we can't dig a tunnel. We must go by air!"
Jeff looked at Jerry in surprise and said, "Of course, I am really stupid! I never thought of that! We can phone Pan Am Airvvays and book two first class tickets for Las Vegas! We can teli them to send a helicopter to Alcatraz for us! We can book a fi ve star Hotel too! I am extremely tired of this hotel!"

1.    by air: by plane.
2.    really: truly.
3.    to book: to reserve.
4.    extremely: very.

Jerry laughed, "I think it will be more difficult than that, but I have a plan. We can make an air balloon! We need a lot of material, a big basket, and some large gas canisters! You are a tailor' Jerry continued, "when you make the prison uniforms, you can steal.

1.    air balloon: montgolfier.
2.    material: pieces of cotton or wool.

It took a long time for Jeff to collect the material.
Each day, he put a small quantity of the grey, uniform material up his jacket. Jeff also stole two needles and some thread. They hid the material in their mattresses. At night, when ali the prisoners were asleep and there weren't many guards, they sewed the material together. Jerry was a builder and during the day he often worked outside the prison walls.
He completed the rest of the plan.

1.    mattress: we sleep on a mattress.
2.    to sew: a tailor sews material, with a needle and thread and makes jackets, trousers, ete.
3.    to sew together: to make one big piece from small pieces.
4.    rest: remaining parts.

The balloon is finished," Jeff told Jerry, “but where can we get the gas canister and the basket?"
"The guards keep the canisters and the baskets in a hut outside the prison. One hot day, a guard was sleeping under a tree. I stole the key of the hut, and made a copy! There is a lot of rope in the hut too. The guards rarely go in the hut. I can hide the balloon in there too, and some matches!"

1.    stole is the past tense of to steal: to rob.
2.    key: we open doors with a key.
3.    rope: cord.

One very foggy, November day, the two men escaped! Jerry and Jeff told the doctor they were ill.
"We feel terrible'' said Jeff and Jerry. "We've got pains in our stomaches." "Very well," said the doctor, "I'll send you to the prison hospital. Tomorrow I will examine you."
When it was dark, they went to the bathroom. In the wall there was an opening for ventilation. The two men took out the bars and climbed up to the roof!

1.    ill: when you are ili you cali the doctor.
2.    dark: at night when you can’t see.

There was a window in the roof. They went through the window and on to the roof. The two men walked across the roof to the end of the building. Jerry tied a rope round a chimney and the prisoners climbed down to rocks below. They quickly ran to the hut and began to assemble the air balloon. It was very difficult and took a long time.
"Listen," said Jerry.
"The siren'' whispered Jeff. "They know we've escaped."

1.    a chimney: takes the smoke from a fireplace up to the roof.

They pulled the basket outside the hut and attached the balloon. They put the gas canisters in the basket, opened the gas and lighted a match.
They tried to work quickly, but their hands were cold. Now they could hear the police dogs barking! When the air in the balloon was hot, they jumped in the basket and cut the rope. The balloon quickly disappeared in the fog!

1.    to attach: to join.
2.    tried is the past tense of to try.
3.    barking: the noise a dog makes.
4.    to disappear: to become invisible

The police searched for the prisoners, but they never found them.
"How did they escape?" asked the journalists.
“They didn't escape'' said the sheriff. 'They drowned in the sea! Nobody can escape from Alcatraz!"
But Jerry and Jeff weren't dead! They were in a five star hotel in Acapulco, spending the money from the West Union Bank!

1.    to search for: to look for.
2.    journalist: a person who writes for a newspaper.
3.    drowned is the past tense of to drown: to die in the sea because you can’t swim.
4.    to spend money: to buy things with money.