“Unhappy Birthday”
A drunk driver speeding along in his SUV on the
60 freeway last night killed three of four people in a sedan. The sedan had
slowed to a crawl because of construction work on the 60. Four lanes were
merged into two. The Department of Transportation crew was making repairs to a
three-mile stretch of highway. Hundreds of bright orange traffic cones guided
the merger. Four heavy duty trucks were parked in the emergency lanes. Their
brightly glowing signs said, “Slow. Be prepared to stop. Construction ahead.”
Vehicle traffic had slowed to about 3 mph.
Missing all of these warnings, the
drunk driver, going at least 50 mph, plowed into the sedan. The sedan driver, a
computer programmer, was a recent immigrant to America. In the passenger seat
was his wife, and in the back seat were his 6-year-old daughter and his
8-year-old son. It was 9 p.m. The family had been at a restaurant to celebrate
the little girl’s birthday. They never knew what hit them.
The impact of the collision caused the
sedan to explode in flames. Somehow, the sedan driver managed to crawl out of
the car seconds after the explosion. Third degree burns covered much of his
body. His chances for survival are slim. His life, as he knew it, is over. His
loved ones were burned beyond recognition. The car was a skeleton of metal.
The 28-year-old drunk was not only
unhurt, but was able to escape from his smoldering SUV and run away, leaving
two whisky bottles behind. The police tracked him down this morning. He claimed
that his brakes had failed. It was revealed that he had four prior convictions
for driving under the influence in the past 10 years.
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Vocabulary
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Phonetic-symbol
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Meaning
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1.construction
(N.)
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/kənˈstrʌkʃn/
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-การก่อสร้าง
- the process or method of building or making
something, especially roads, buildings, bridges, etc.
- Work has begun on the
construction of the new airport.
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2. emergency
(N.)
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/iˈmɜːrdʒənsi/
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-วิกฤตการณ์
- a sudden serious and dangerous event or situation which
needs immediate action to deal with it
-Ex.The government has
declared a state of emergency following the earthquake.
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3.survival
(N.)
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/sərˈvaɪvl/
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-การอยู่รอด
-the state of continuing to live or exist, often
despite difficulty or danger.
- Exporting is necessary
for our economic survival.
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4.recognition
(N.)
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/rekəɡˈnɪʃn/
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-ได้รับการยอมรับ
- the act of remembering who somebody is when you see them,
or of identifying what something is.
- Ex. He glanced briefly
towards her but there was no sign of recognition.
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5.reveal
(V.)
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/rɪˈviːl/
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-เปิดเผย
- to make
something known to somebody.
- Ex. Details of the
murder were revealed by the local paper.
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