Short Story 4

Driver Loses Mabel, Finds Jail

A fifteen-year-old boy was injured in a car accident when the minivan he was traveling in was hit by a pickup truck at an intersection. The boy was taken to a nearby hospital. The paramedics said that it appeared that the boy had nothing more serious than a broken left leg, but that internal injuries were always a possibility. The boy was conscious and alert. His mother, who was driving, was uninjured. She said that the truck appeared out of nowhere, and she thought she was going to die. She turned the steering wheel sharply to the left, and the truck hit her minivan on the passenger side.

The driver of the truck was a 50-year-old man who was unemployed and apparently had been drinking—police found 18 empty beer cans inside the truck. The man denied drinking, but he failed the police test for sobriety. When asked to touch his nose with his arms outstretched and eyes closed, he was unable to touch any part of his head.

The handcuffed man asked the police if they knew where “Mabel” was as he was put into the back seat of the police vehicle. The police asked him if Mabel was his wife. He said, “She’s my dog, my dog! Where’s my baby?” A dog with a collar, but no identification, was found minutes later, half a block away. The man was taken to the city jail and booked on suspicion of driving while intoxicated and on causing an accident.

Vocabulary

injured - damaged; hurtminivan - a small passenger vanwas hit by a pickup truck – a pick up van collided against himintersection - a place where roads meet/cross = junctionnearby - only a short distance awayinjuries - damage done to people´s/animals ‘bodyuninjured - no damaged / hurtout of nowhere - appearing suddenly and unexpectedsteering wheel - the wheel which the driver holds when he/she is drivingsharply – changing direction suddenlyunemployed - without a job, joblessempty - with no contents in itdenied . said / stated that it was not true

failed - didn’t pass, was unsuccessfulsobriety - the state of being sober rather than drunkoutstretched - stretched out as far as possibleunable to = not able to handcuffed – with handcuffs (metal rings) around his wristscollar - a band of leather around the neck of a dog/cata block -. an area of land with streets on all its sidesjail - prisonbooked - charges were recorded against himintoxicated - drunk

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Questions

1. Was the boy injured in a car accident?

2. Was the car hit by a pickup truck?

3. Did the accident happen in a parking lot?

4. Was the boy conscious?

5. Was the mother injured?

6. Was the truck driver young?

7. Did the truck driver pass the test for sobriety?

8. Was Mabel the driver’s wife?

9. Did they find Mabel?

10. Did they let the man go home?

11. Who was injured in a car accident?

12. Where did the accident happen?

13. Where was the boy taken?

14. Who was driving the minivan when the accident happened?

15. Which side of the minivan was hit by the truck?

16. How old was the truck driver?

17. What did the driver deny?

18. Which part of his head was the driver unable to touch?

19. Where was the man put in the police vehicle?

20. Where was the man taken?

Ask the questions

1. The minivan was hit by a pickup truck. (What)

2. He was taken to a nearby hospital. (Where)

3. Internal injuries were always a possibility. (What)

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4. She turned the steering wheel sharply. How)

5. They found 18 empty beer cans inside the truck. (How many)

6. He failed the police test for sobriety. (What)

7. He was unable to touch any part of his head. (What)

8. It (dog) was found minutes later. (When)

9. He asked the police if they knew where Mabel was. (Who / Whom)

10. He was taken to the city jail.

Open questions

1. What’s the biggest difference between a pickup truck and a minivan?

2. What might have happened if the mother hadn't turned the steering wheel sharply?

3. What is an example of "internal injuries" that the boy might have?

4. Why did the police think that the truck driver was drunk?

5. What are the penalties for being convicted of driving under the influence?

6. What constitutes a “drinking problem”?

7. Why did the truck driver bring his dog with him?

8. What’s going to happen to Mabel if the driver goes to jail?

9. How long do you think the driver will have to stay in jail?

10. How did Mabel escape injury?

Crossword puzzle 1

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Across:1. Doctors, nurses, and patients fill up

___s.3. The angry woman spoke ___ to the

clerk about his rude behavior.6. An un___ person looks like he's

asleep.9. Many vehicles on the freeways

contain 1 driver and no ___s.10. The police will give you a roadside

___ test if they think you've been drinking.

13. Criminals end up in prison or ___, at least for a while.

14. Some people turn up their ___ to protect their neck from the sun or the cold.

16. Hollywood and Vine is a famous ___ in Los Angeles.

17. I saw you take the money; don't ___ it. Your theft is on tape.

18. You should recycle your ___ cans and bottles.

Down:2. Los Angeles County has over 100

traffic ___s every day.3. A relationship will suffer if there is

___ or distrust.4. There is always the ___ of Peace

on Earth.5. You must show some ___ when

you use your credit card.7. DWI means Driving While ___d.8. DMV stands for Department of

Motor ___s.10. A cold is not ___, but cancer is a

___ disease.11. The man fell out of the boat and

drowned. ___, he wasn't able to swim.

12. A Smog ___ warns asthma patients to stay indoors.

15. A big rig and a pickup are two types of ___s.

Crossword puzzle 2

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Across:1. You're supposed to get healthy

here, but many people get sick here.

4. Godzilla fears ___.5. People drive cars and ___s, but

not always carefully.8. Thousands of ___s occur on

highways every day.10. He ___ed to have a broken leg.11. The boy ___ injured.13. The opposite of less.15. Your liver and kidneys are ___

organs. Your skin is not.18. The truck ___ the minivan.19. Love ___ marriage go together

like a horse ___ carriage.20. He was ___ in a car accident.21. ___ oh ___! That a ___! It's a

___! Down, ___!

Down:2. ___s are popular farm vehicles.3. The boy was ___ years old.5. I got ripped off. I got ___ to the

cleaners.6. The story says it was a ___ accident,

yet no ___ was involved!7. Para___ save people's lives every day.9. Go from one place to another.

11. The boy was injured ___ the truck hit the minivan.

12. 'Crossroad' is another word for 'inter___.'

13. A popular passenger vehicle that was built after the stationwagon but before the SUV.

14. You have a right arm and a ___ one.16. Not far away.17. Be ___, or some people might cheat

you.18. The boy ___ a broken leg.

Answers

Crossword 1

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Crossword 2

Open questions possible answers

1. What’s the biggest difference between a pickup truck and a minivan?

A pickup is more of a "worker" vehicle. It has a big "outdoor" bed for hauling and loading stuff. A minivan is more of a people-carrier.

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2. What might have happened if the mother hadn't turned the steering wheel sharply?

If she hadn't turned the steering wheel, both she and the boy might have been injured.

3. What is an example of "internal injuries" that the boy might have?

He might have suffered a ruptured spleen.

4. Why did the police think that the truck driver was drunk?

In addition to seeing the empty beer cans, they might have smelled alcohol on the man's breath.

5. What are the penalties for being convicted of driving under the influence?

Drivers may lose their license and go to jail.

6. What constitutes a “drinking problem”?

If drinking interferes with your personal relationships and your work, you probably have a drinking problem.

7. Why did the truck driver bring his dog with him?

For many people, their pets are their companions. They take them along for company.

8. What’s going to happen to Mabel if the driver goes to jail?

Mabel might go to the pound, or even be put to sleep if the driver is going to be in jail for a long time.

9. How long do you think the driver will have to stay in jail?

He might have to stay in jail until he goes to trial. He probably won't be in jail more than three or four days.

10. How did Mabel escape injury?

Thrown out of the truck, she landed on the ground with apparently no or little injury.

Grammar and Structure

Passive Voice (see story 2)

was hitwas taken

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Non-defining relative clauses (see story 2)

His mother, who was driving, was uninjured.

Past Continuous Tense (see story 1)

was going

Simple Pas Tense (see story 1)

hitdeniedfailed

Past Perfect and Past Perfect Continuoushad diedhad been drinking

(First the patient died. Then the doctor arrived)

Practice

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1)

Past Perfect Continuous or Progressive

We use the Past Perfect Continuous or Progressive to describe actions in progress for a period of time before something happened:

Repeated actions in the past:

Drawing conclusions:

Practice

2)

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Verbs in this Story

Ask asked asked

Be was/were been

Book booked booked

Cause caused caused

Deny denied denied

Drink drank drunk

Drive drove driven

Find found found

Go went gone

Have had had

Hit hit hit

Injure injured injured

Know knew known

Put put put

Say said said

Take took taken

Think thought thought

Touch touched touched

Past Perfect / Continuous Practice Key

1)

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2)

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