[00:13.77]A businesswoman’s desperate need for a cigarette
[00:19.12]on an eight-hour flight from America resulted in her being arrested and handcuffed,
[00:25.68]after she was found lighting up in the toilet of a Boeing 747,not once but twice.
[00:33.62]Joan Norrish,aged 33,yesterday became the first person to be prosecuted
[00:41.27]under new laws for smoking on board a plane,
[00:45.82]when she was fined $440 at Uxbrdge magistrates’court.
[00:51.77]Ms Norrish,from Radwinter,Essex,said:
[00:57.05]’I’m such a nervous passenger,and I couldn’t have handled the flight without a cigarette.
[01:04.21]If they’d told me I couldn’t smoke on board,
[01:08.86]I would’ve avoided going by plane altogether.’
[01:13.33]Ms Norrish first attracted the attention of the in-flight staff
[01:19.99]when she had her first puff in the toilet
[01:24.24]after the plane touched down for refuelling at New York’s JFK airport.
[01:30.41]One and a half hours later,she went into the lavatory again,
[01:36.37]causing passengers to complain to the cabin crew.
[01:41.33]However,on inspection,they could find no sign of cigarettes in the toilet,
[01:47.81]and were concerned that Ms Norrish may have hidden the cigarettes,
[01:53.06]thus adding to their fears for the safety of the plane.
[01:57.81]Relations between Ms Norrish and the crew soon got worse,
[02:04.29]as Ms Norrish violent when the plane leanded at Heathrow,
[02:09.85]where the police were alerted.She was subsequently arrested and handcuffed.
[02:16.33]Outside the court,Ms Norrish commented on her fine.
[02:22.29]’It was quite high,much higher than I was expecting.
[02:28.14]It all seems like an awful lot of fuss over just a couple of cigarettes.’
[02:34.62]Ms Norrish is being encouraged to appeal against the find
[02:40.50]by a prosmoking organisation who have offered her legal aid.
[02:45.75]A spokesman for the group said:
[02:50.14]’This is yet another example of the way in which smokers
[02:55.46]are being discriminated against and marginalised in society.
[03:01.03]We generate millions of pounds for the government every year through the taxes we pay
[03:08.08]-and yet we are treated like second-class citizens.
[03:13.54]We’re banned from smoking in all kinds of public
[03:19.00]and people expect us to stand outside in all weathers if we want to smoke.
[03:25.48]It’s got to stop!’
[03:28.82]However,anti-smoking lobbies have welcomed the judeg’s decision
[03:34.75]and have claimed that there is no excuse for endangering the lives of others by lighting up in public.
[03:41.83]’This is a step in the right direction,’a spokeswoman said,
[03:47.60]’and we look forward to the day when all smoking is banned.’
[03:52.93]4 Flying joke
[04:01.58]Alfred had never flown before and was extremely nervous.
[04:07.54]He was flying across the Atlantic to visit his sister,
[04:13.00]who had emigrated to Canada.
[04:16.24]When he got on the plane he found he was sitting in a window seat.
[04:22.19]After a few minutes,the person next to him arrived-an enormously fat American.
[04:30.13]Not long after the plane took off,the American fell asleep and began to snore loudly.
[04:37.58]It was obvious to Alfred there was no way he could get out,
[04:43.32]even to get to the toilet,without waking the man up.
[04:47.87]After the in-flight meal had been served,
[04:52.60]the plane entered an area of severe turbulence.
[04:57.46]The American continued to snore.
[05:01.84]Alfred,however,started to feel sick.He was desperate to get to the toilet.
[05:09.39]Finally,he was sick-all over the man’s trousers.
[05:15.56]The American didn’t wake up,but he just continued to snore.
[05:22.04]Alfred didn’t know what to do.
[05:26.11]As the plane touched down,the American finally woke up and saw his trousers.
[05:33.24]Alfred turned to him and said,’Are you feeling better now?"
[05:38.49]Strong adjectives
[05:47.27]1.It must’ve been really hot in Greece.
[05:55.53]Hot?It was boiling!That’s why we made sure the hotel had air-conditioning.
[06:02.37]2.Oh,you’re from Sao Paulo originally,are you?
[06:09.32]It’s a pretty big city,right?
[06:13.39]Big?It’s enormous!That’s why I moved to a small town out in the country.
[06:20.24]3.How’s your flat?It must be a bit cold with all this snow we’re having.
[06:28.21]Cold?It’s freezing!That’s why I’ve decided to have central heating put in.
[06:35.05]4.It’s pretty quiet down in Devon,isn’t it?
[06:41.21]Quiet?It’s dead!That’s why I decided to move to the city!
[06:46.99]5.You must’ve been pretty surprised when you read the report in the papers.
[06:54.35]Surprised?I was shocked!That’s why I contacted my solicitor straightaway.
[07:01.20]6.It’s a bit small in here,isn’t?
[07:07.68]Small?It’s tiny!You can hardly swing a cat in here!
[07:13.42]7.So,is he good-looking,then,your new boyfriend?
[07:20.66]Good-looking?He’s gorgeous!You’ll die when you see him!
[07:27.29]8.It must’ve been a bit scary,going so high up like that.
[07:33.93]Scarry?It was terrifying!There’s no way you’ll catch me doing that again!
[07:40.77]3 Playing for time
[07:49.13]Listen and practise saying these ’delayers’.
[07:54.98]So how come you decided to start smoking?
[08:00.13]Why did I start smoking?
[08:04.39]That’s a good question.
[08:08.65]That’s a difficult question.
[08:13.09]Well,I’d have to think about that.
[08:17.76]I’m not really sure.
[08:22.02]Um,I don’t really know.
[08:27.38]Why?I haven’t really thought about that.
