Woman who drove car on pavement punished with 'idiot' sign The Telegraph (November 14, 2012)
Pre Questions
- Why do you think someone would drive on the pavement?
The Original Article
An American woman who drove her car on a pavement in an attempt to pass a stationary school bus has been forced to stand in public holding a sign describing her as an "idiot."
The unusual sentence was imposed by a judge in Cleveland, Ohio on Shena Hardin, 32, after she was caught on camera trying to circumvent the bus as it unloaded children.
The sign she was made to hold read: "Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus."
Hardin stood for an hour in freezing temperatures at a busy road junction, ignoring passers-by and drivers honking their horns.
Lisa Kelley, whose nine-year-old daughter uses the bus, said: "She's an idiot, just like her sign says. She did this almost every day last year.
"She won't stop laughing. She's not remorseful, she laughed at every court appearance. She's still laughing, so she needs to be humiliated like this."
Bill Lipold, 37, a local resident, yelled at Hardin: "Why do you hate kids?" He added: "How else are you going to stop her from doing it again? She really didn't show remorse for her action after being caught, so you've got to try something."
An American woman who drove her car on a pavement in an attempt to pass a stationary school bus has been forced to stand in public holding a sign describing her as an "idiot."
The unusual sentence was imposed by a judge in Cleveland, Ohio on Shena Hardin, 32, after she was caught on camera trying to circumvent the bus as it unloaded children.
The sign she was made to hold read: "Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus."
Hardin stood for an hour in freezing temperatures at a busy road junction, ignoring passers-by and drivers honking their horns.
Lisa Kelley, whose nine-year-old daughter uses the bus, said: "She's an idiot, just like her sign says. She did this almost every day last year.
"She won't stop laughing. She's not remorseful, she laughed at every court appearance. She's still laughing, so she needs to be humiliated like this."
Bill Lipold, 37, a local resident, yelled at Hardin: "Why do you hate kids?" He added: "How else are you going to stop her from doing it again? She really didn't show remorse for her action after being caught, so you've got to try something."
Easy Version
A 32 year old American woman drove on the pavement to avoid a stopped school bus. She was made to hold a sign on a busy road for one hour (as punishment). It was very cold. The sign said, "Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus". Her daughter said that she drove on the pavement almost every day last year. The lady wasn't sorry. She thought it was funny and laughed. A local man said she needs to be humiliated like this so she doesn't do it again.
A 32 year old American woman drove on the pavement to avoid a stopped school bus. She was made to hold a sign on a busy road for one hour (as punishment). It was very cold. The sign said, "Only an idiot would drive on the sidewalk to avoid a school bus". Her daughter said that she drove on the pavement almost every day last year. The lady wasn't sorry. She thought it was funny and laughed. A local man said she needs to be humiliated like this so she doesn't do it again.
Conversation Starter Questions
- Do you ever drive on the footpath?
- Do you ever see other people drive on the footpath?I
- Is it ever okay to drive on the footpath? If so, when?
- Is this legal in your country? If not, what do you think the punishment would be?
- When do you honk your horn?
- How do you feel about people honking their horn at you?
- Do you think adults set a good example for kids with their road manners (in your area)?
- Is this punishment appropriate? Is one hour long enough? What punishment would you give?
- Are people publicly humiliated in your country? If so, how?
- How were people publicly humiliated in old times?
- Have you ever been remorseful about something?
- What idiotic behavior have you seen before?
- Have you ever been caught on camera doing something wrong? (eg. speeding) If so, what was the punishment?
- Are speed cameras and red light cameras used in your country? If so, describe where you've seen them.
- How else are cameras used to watch the public? How do you feel about this?
Practice making sentences using 'to' infinitive
- be made to (compare with 'let')
- be forced to
- attempt to
- try to
- need to
- be going to
- have got to
Further Practice
- (sb) said (st)
- so ...
- still ... (yet, already)
- Why do you ...? ( to ... / for ... / because... / so that ... / in order to ...)
- How else ...?
- stop ...ing (won't / can't / should(n't) / need to / must/ etc )
- almost