Driving n

careless / dangerous driving

drink-driving

to disqualify smb. from driving

Accident n.

to report an accident

Breath test

 

Exercises

I. Comprehension. Answer the following questions:

1. What was Mark Webster jailed for?

2. What did he feel when he ran over Anthony Wilkinson?

3. Under what circumstances did the accident happen?

4. How did Webster account for the fact that he hadn’t stopped his van?

5. Were there any witnesses to the accident?

6. When was Webster arrested?

7. What did a breath test show?

8. What offences did Webster admit?

9. What prison term was he sentenced to? Was the sentence adequate?

10. What is the position of Wilkinson’s constituency authorities?

 

II. Vocabulary. Choose the most appropriate explanation for the following words and phrases:

To mow smb. down

a. to drive a vehicle into smb.

b. to imprison smb.

c. to frighten by shooting at smb.

To plough into

a. to dig

b. to hit

c. to plant

d. to kick

To come forward

a. to enter a room or building

b. to be useful for a particular purpose

c. to offer to give help or information

To care for

a. to deal with

b. to love

c. to look for

d. to help

Appalling

a. shocking and very bad

b. causing a strong feeling of disgust

c. making people happy

Flagrant

a. noticeable by being brightly coloured

b. behaving in a way that is not responsible or expected

c. shocking because of being so obvious

Derisory

a. unable to control

b. ridiculous

c. depressing

d. enjoyable

Offence

a. crime

b. privilege

c. misuse

 

III. Vocabulary. Fill in the blanks with the appropriate words and word combinations from the vocabulary list:

1. The police examined all the facts and have decided not to _____ _____ against him.

2. Many people believe that putting an offender _____ _____ isn’t a cure for crime.

3. Driving while drunk is a serious _____.

4. For age reasons they don’t usually imprison _____ _____.

5. My flat is _____ against fire.

6. The car _____ _____ a tree and burst into flames.

7. A _____ _____ showed that the driver was intoxicated. He was fined for _____ _____.

8. Why was your brother _____ _____ driving?

9. Has anyone _____ responsibility _____ the explosion in the Central square?

 

IV. Writing. The One life, six months story is about 500 words long. Write a shorter version of it, in not more than 200 words. Keep all the important facts but leave out all the unnecessary details.

 

 

Text 2

The day before The Sun ran the same story of the drunk driver killing the schoolteacher. In the next issue of the newspaper there appeared an article in the section Sun Campaign for Justice. Read it and do the exercises below.

 

Give us laws that make killer drivers REALLY pay

Soft sentences must stop