C1 English Reading – Short Story & Grammar Quiz
Arthur, an experienced motorist, found himself in an intriguing situation. His old car, usually reliable, was thought to have a small electrical problem, but the mechanic had difficulty doing anything more than a quick fix. Arthur, however, was genuinely interested in finding the main problem. He would often recall doing minor repairs on his first car, a rusty pickup, and felt a familiar instinct to look closer.
One evening, after an intensive drive through a storm, his dashboard lights flickered wildly. He pulled over, and the car’s interior became almost completely dark. He had to have the car towed. The next day, the mechanic, looking unusually nervous, called. “Mr. Finch, I need to confess to seeing something. There is something put into your car’s wiring without permission. It consists of a sophisticated tracking device.”
Arthur was stunned. He couldn’t come up with anything that would explain why this happened. He certainly wasn’t involved in anything important or illegal. The mechanic, now more relaxed, explained that the device probably belonged to a private investigator who had accidentally put it in the wrong vehicle. The mix-up was truly ironic. Arthur, relieved it wasn’t anything worse, simply asked the mechanic to have the device removed. He just wanted his car intact and to drive peacefully again.