NEIGHBOURS
“Good walls make good neighbours” is an extremely negative way of
viewing the people who live next door. We all have neighbours, and it
makes life so much easier if you can manage (1) TO GET ON (get on) well with
them. In Britain, over 30,000 people a year complain about noisy
neighbours – their music, parties, pets, children and cars, and many of
these complaints go to court.
Take the case of Peter Knowles and his wife, Pat. They (2) WERE SITTING (sit)
in their garden when a cricket ball came flying over the wall, narrowly
missing Pat. Peter was furious. “If it (3) HAD HIT (hit) her, it (4)
WOULD HAVE KILLED (kill) her.” He went to the court, and won the case, to stop his
neighbours’ children (5) PLAYING (play) cricket in their garden. This
was just one incident in the feud between the Knowles family and their
neighbours, the Cunnighams.
Ken Cunnigham used (6) TO PARK (park) his car outside his own home, until
one day Peter put a brick through the windscreen. Peter was convinced
that that was his parking space. “I didn’t know I was parking in his
space,” said Ken. “He should (7) HAVE SPOKEN (speak) to me instead of
smashing my car.” The case ended up in court again, and both parties (8) WERE ORDERED (order) to keep the peace; but the war still goes on. “If we
could afford it, we would move,” said Ken, “but we can’t. And anyway, we
like it here, apart from the old fusspot next door, who (9) HAS BEEN BOTHERING (bother) us for ages. I
wish he (10) LEARNT (learn) that being good neighbours is a matter of
give and take.”
All was not easy between the occupants of number 37 and 39, Johnson’s
Walk, Bolton. Mr. and Mrs. Brown are a retired couple, and live at
number 37. The previous occupier of number 39 was an old lady. “She was
very quiet,” said Mrs. Janet Brown. “We (11) HADN'T HEARD(not hear) anything
before The Smiths moved in with their eight children. The first night
they were in, they had a party. The noise was unbelievable. They must
(12) HAVE HAD (have) at least forty people, all dancing and singing.” The
Browns complained bitterly to their neigbours. Mrs. Smiths said, “I wish
she (13) HAD TOLD (tell) us we were making a lot of noise. We would have
invited them round! We don’t really make much noise, it’s just that they
aren’t used to (14) HAVING (have) children next door.”
So what are the golden rules for harmony between neighbours? Sympathy,
tolerance and honesty. Don’t think that they are making a noise just to
annoy you, and don’t go round when you are in a fury. Calm down first
and the problem (15) WILL BE SOLVED (solve) more easily.