Ce que l'élève doit retenir :

• Boredom and peer-pressure can lead to irresponsible behaviour on the road, causing harm and suffering.
• As an individual one has to assume one's responsibility as a citizen also and try to prevent criminal acts.
• Resolving an inner conflict.

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Just along for the ride

Objectifs disciplinaires Objectifs sécurité routière Speaking skills reading aloud of authentic texts pronunciation and stress discussions (group work) expressing agreement and disagreement Reading skills / Comprehension skimming for general impression scanning for retrieving specific information understanding the text as a whole understanding the structure of a text / understanding how the ideas are presented reading inbetween the lines- inferring, recognizing implications and consequences breaking up of text into more manageable coherent units recognize style, mood understanding the writer's intention, his attitude and tone understanding the purpose of a text expressing opinionsWriting skills note taking using key words- summarizing expressing opinions- answering questions on the texts presentation of arguments / ideas effective presentation of arguments / ideas (heading, paragraphing, lay-out, etc.) giving descriptions- writing (development) essays using connectors, set phrases for transitions etc. style: using adjectives and adverbs as qualifiers, enhancers, choosing words carefully using the appropriate register work out useful phrases for talking about texts: evaluating, discussing views, setting, action, characterization (e.g. according to…, On the one hand …) devising headings for paragraphs / isolating topic sentences- writing dialogue quoting correctly Lexis and grammar guided dictionary work autonomous dealing with unknown words expansion of both passive and active vocabulary (memorization) transmission of skills / strategies to deal with unknown words: inferring meaning from context, semantic mapping, linguistic mapping, Irresponsible behaviour on the road caused by boredom and peer-pressure Hit and run "accident" Non-assistance à personne en danger. Raising awareness that harm is caused on the roads, either deliberately and irresponsibly or by accident.

Just along for the ride

I leaned back on the seat and watched the back of Dick's head as he steered. The '55 DeSoto rumbled along the rain-soaked street.

This evening's gonna be a total loss, I thought. Things have gotta be pretty dull when all you've got to do is drive around with a friend who just got his license. But it beats sitting at home. So, there we were, five of us. Dick and Phil were in front. Reid, Steve and I were in the back. We were all cold, damp, and bored. Man, we needed something to do!

"This is really crummy. I think we …"

I was cut off by Phil. "Hey, let's drive up to somebody … some kid… and flatten him."

"What?" I said.

"We drive up slow, then swing open the door real fast, and knock the guy on his can."

We all looked at him kinda funny.

"Well, it's something to do," Phil said.

"Aw, why not? OK, we'll do it."

We began looking round for a victim.

"You guys are nuts," I said. "What if he calls the cops?"

"You worry too much. Whenever we wanna have some fun, you always chicken out."

"There's one!"

It was raining hard, but we could see the blurred figure of some guy under a streetlight on the corner. Steve laughed.

"Oh wow! This is gonna be funny."

A couple of us started laughing.

"Will you guys shut up?" said Dick. I guess it made him nervous. The kid was about half a block away. The street wasn't too busy. Only a few cars were around. Dick started weaving across the road.

"Stop fooling around!" I said.

Steve got on the door, ready to open it. Then everything started happening too fast. The guy at the corner stepped out into the street. The car swerved. The door swung open, and Steve started falling out. He grabbed my arm, and we both fell back on the seat. Dick got scared and threw the car away from the kid. The headlights flashed on the frozen figure. I could see his face, eyes wide, mouth open. There was a squeal of tires on the slick street and a hollow thud as the figure was hurled, rolling across the roof. I got all mixed up.

"Ken Benjamin!" I said. "I think that was Ken Benjamin!"

Dick slowed down. Then he suddenly started speeding down the street.

"Dick! Stop! I know that guy! Dick, will ya stop?" He didn't hear me. "Stop the car! He's my friend!"

I hit him on the shoulder and grabbed his shirt. He turned around. Tears were blobbing up in his eyes.

"Shut up, you jerk! You want us to get nailed for manslaughter?" He hit my arm. What a stupid thing to do! I got so scared that I started shivering like crazy. I just couldn't believe it. I felt sick.

"Hey!"

I looked up. It was Dick. He was looking in the rearview mirror. There was a car behind us.

"Is he following us?" I asked.

"Well, I'll lose him," said Dick.

The car lunged forward as it picked up speed. I looked back. The headlights shone through the rain, about two or three hundred yards away. Dick hung a sharp right up a narrow street. Hardly anyone ever comes up this way, I thought. If he follows us up here, he's really following us. I looked back. The headlights were even closer. We started up a winding road. I looked back and could see the dark red Volvo as it cut through the street ponds. Yeah, I thought, a good guy would drive one of those Volvos.

What if he catches us? Ken was my friend. Hit and run, hit and run kept going through my head. I kinda hoped that the guy would catch us. We were out in the sticks by now. The roads were winding a lot. The Volvo was making its move, and was closing fast. But as he rounded a curve, he turned too sharply and his car slid off the road. He couldn't have been hurt. Everyone was relieved. After that, Dick drove us all home.

It was 12.30 when I got home. Nobody was awake. I started pacing around the kitchen. I was so scared. I didn't know if we had killed him or not. I turned on the radio and listened to some music. But when the news came on, I turned it off. You idiot, I thought. Ken was your friend. Go to his mom or something. Well, I didn't hit him! It's not my fault! Those other guys … it wasn't my idea … no! You were in the car. You're responsible, too. Hit and run, hit and run. I got in my car and drove for a while. Then I started remembering things Ken used to say.

"I don't know what to do!" I was shouting as I drove. No answer. My mind burned. "Go see Mrs Benjamin, you coward!"

But I couldn't. I just couldn't. When I got home, the lights were on. My mother was in her robe.

"Your friends are here," she said. "I don't think that two o'clock in the morning is the right time to…"

I didn't listen. I just went into the front room. Dick walked up to me and said real low, "I heard in the radio that he's not dead. He isn't even hurt bad."

I didn't say anything. I just looked at him.

"No one knows," he went on. "So maybe we can get away with it."

He could see I was getting mad. I could have killed him. The others stood up and came over. I didn't say a thing. I just walked out the door, got in the car, and left. It took me a while to find Ken's house. It was a gray brick, and the lights were on. Maybe it wasn't gray. I don't know. Everything looked gray. I walked up and rang the doorbell.

Dennis Kurumada

Annotations DeSoto type of car built in 1955 rumble rattern rain-soaked very wet gonna going to gotta got to it beats it is better than rumble rattern crummy bad kid young person guy young man can Hintern kinda kind of, to some extent nuts crazy wanna want to chicken out kneifen blurred verschwommen weave schlängeln swerve change directions suddenly grab greifen squeal kreischen slick smooth and slippery thud dumpfes Geräusch hurl throw forcefully mixed up confused ya you blob form into tears jerk fool get nailed be arrested manslaughter Totschlag shiver shake from cold or fear lunge make a sudden movement forward hit-and-run road accident in which the driver does not stop( Fahrerflucht / Unfallflucht) out in the sticks in the country, far away from anywhere make his move begin to increase speed close get nearer robe(AE) Morgenmantel

Comprehension

Answer the questions on the short story.

1. Describe the situation at the beginning of the story.
2. What is Phil's idea?
3. The narrator doesn't like Phil's idea at all. What is the attitude of the other boys in the car to the narrator?
4. How does the accident happen?
5. Describe the narrator's feelings directly after the accident.
6. What is the narrator's inner conflict when he returns home?
7. Why do his friends visit him that late at night?
8. How does the narrator solve his inner conflict?

Analysis and discussion

1. Could the narrator have prevented the accident? If so, how?
2. What do you think of the boys' way of having fun?
3. To what extent was the narrator responsible for the accident?
4. What can be done about boredom?
5. What do you do in your spare time if you are bored?

Structure and style

1. What kind of story is this? Think about the way it is told and about the ending.
2. List some of the slang expressions and examples of non-standard language you can find in the text. What is the reason for the way the characters speak in this story?