BBC Learning English – Words in the News / A joke gone wrong

Transcript

It seems like an ordinary motorsport event at Britain’s former Grand Prix track, Brands Hatch. But all is not as it should be…

(Commentary: “Why is there a Volkswagen Golf on the track?”)

As a prank, 22-year-old Jack Cottle drove his girlfriend’s car onto the circuit while a race was in progress.

Egged on by a friend, Cottle did one lap before pulling over.

Over two million people have watched it on YouTube.

But it’s no laughing matter: the judge sentenced Jack to eight months in prison to deter others.

Vocabulary

prank
a trick that is supposed to be funny

egged on
encouraged

pulling over
a vehicle moving over to the side of the road and stopping

no laughing matter
very serious

to deter
to stop people from doing something by explaining the possible bad results

To do

Use one of the words or phrases below to complete each of these sentences from news reports.

Note that you may have to change the form of a word to complete the sentence correctly.

prank / egged on / pulling over / no laughing matter / to deter

1. A spokeswoman for bus operator PW Jones Coaches said children claimed a lorry involved in the accident did not stop.

“The coach had __________ to stop on a grass verge and it gave way,” she said.

2. Not that Candy Crush Saga was perfect from the first iteration. “We had an early theme based around the French Art Deco style,” Knutsson explains. That included an over-the-top French voice __________ players when they made good moves.

3. Det Sgt Steve Hall said it was a miracle she was not seriously injured.

He said the stone-throwing “might have seemed like a good laugh at the time but this is __________”.

4. In Victoria, tourism and local governments have protected a population of penguins by introducing a pair of Maremma guardian dogs, a breed whose natural territorial behaviour __________ local foxes that had previously devastated the colony.

5. A Gwynedd man who edited a webpage and named himself the founder of Everton Football Club as a childhood __________ has come clean nine years on.

Answers

1. A spokeswoman for bus operator PW Jones Coaches said children claimed a lorry involved in the accident did not stop.

“The coach had pulled over to stop on the grass verge and it gave way,” she said.

See story

2. Not that Candy Crush Saga was perfect from the first iteration. “We had an early theme based around the French Art Deco Style, Knutsson explains. That included an over-the-top French voice egging on players when they made good moves.

See story

3. Det Sgt Steve Hall said it was a miracle she was not seriously injured.

He said the stone-throwing “might have seemed like a good laugh at the time but this is no laughing matter“.

See story

4. In Victoria, tourism and local governments have protected a population of penguins by introducing a pair of Maremma guardian dogs, a breed whose natural territorial behaviour deters local foxes that had previously devastated the colony.

See story

5. A Gwynedd man who edited a webpage and named himself the founder of Everton Football Club as a childhood prank has come clean nine years on.

See story

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