[originaltext]M: I suppose you must have heard about that great piece of concre

M: I suppose you must have heard about that great piece of concrete falling onto a car in that terrible accident on South Street yesterday (19), didn’t you, Jane?
W: Yes, I saw it in the paper. From a 200-foot high building, wasn’t it? I gather the driver had just got out or he’d have been killed, wouldn’t he?
M: Oh, yes. I saw the car; it was totally damaged.
W: You usually park your car around there, don’t you, Bill?
M: Yes, I left it in that very spot a couple of days ago, but yesterday it was parked up the road.
W: You were lucky then, weren’t you, Bill?
M: I’d be very pleased if my old car were smashed to bits. I could claim from the insurance company then, couldn’t I? (20)(21)
W: But you used to be so proud of your car, didn’t you?
M: I used to be years ago, but now there are all sorts of repairs to be done, and I just haven’t got enough spare cash to put it right (21).
W: You can always sell it, can’t you?
M: Few people are stupid enough to buy a car in that state, are they?
W: The man whose car was crashed yesterday was very annoyed about it(22). He’ll be given a new car by the builders, though.
M: Yes, but his car was a specially-built model that can’t be replaced, and there was hardly anything wrong with it, was there?
W: Well, that’s life! When people actually want to get rid of their cars, this sort of thing seldom happens, does it?