[00:01.080]--- lesson 11 Not guilty
[00:06.120]--- Listen to the tape then answer the question below.
[00:11.680]--- What was the Customs Officer looking for?
[00:16.920]Customs Officers are quite tolerant these days,
[00:20.320]but they can still stop you when you are going through the Green Channel and have nothing to declare.
[00:26.720]Even really honest people are often made to feel guilty.
[00:31.600]The hardened professional smuggler, on the other hand, is never troubled by such feelings, even if he has five hundred gold watches hidden in his suitcase.
[00:41.720]When I returned from abroad recently, a particularly officious young Customs Officer clearly regarded me as a smuggler.
[00:51.480]'Have you anything to declare?' he asked, looking me in the eye.^“
[00:56.200]'No,' I answered confidently.^“
[00:59.200]'Would you mind unlocking this suitcase please?'^“
[01:03.080]'Not at all,' I answered.^
[01:05.560]The Officer went through the case with great care.
[01:09.440]All the things I had packed so carefully were soon in a dreadful mess.
[01:14.320]I felt sure I would never be able to close the case again.
[01:18.480]Suddenly, I saw the Officer's face light up.
[01:22.320]He had spotted a tiny bottle at the bottom of my case and he pounced on it with delight.
[01:29.840]'Perfume, eh?' he asked sarcastically.^
[01:33.000]'You should have declared that. Perfume is not exempt from import duty.'^“
[01:38.200]'But it isn't perfume,' I said.^
[01:40.600]'It's hair gel.' Then I added with a smile,^“
[01:44.480]'It's a strange mixture I make myself.'^“
[01:48.160]As I expected, he did not believe me.
[01:51.560]'Try it!' I said encouragingly.^“
[01:54.280]The officer unscrewed the cap and put the bottle to his nostrils.
[01:59.200]He was greeted by an unpleasant smell which convinced him that I was telling the truth.
[02:05.120]A few minutes later, I was able to hurry away with precious chalk marks on my baggage.