All 4 Graded Readings

Paris Metro fines woman for walking wrong way

PRINT ALL READINGS (PDF)

Paris Metro - Level 0

A pregnant woman got fined for walking the wrong way in the Paris Metro. She took a shortcut to save time. A station inspector caught her. A Metro spokesman said the woman did not follow the rules. The rules are to help people get to trains or out of stations. There are many easy-to-see "walk this way" signs in the stations.

Many people on social media are angry the woman got fined. One group said it was "stupid". It wants the rules to change. Another woman also got fined. She said: "I was the only person in the corridor when they stopped me." The Metro said rules are rules. It said car drivers must also follow rules or get fined.

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Paris Metro - Level 1

A pregnant woman got a $74 fine for walking the wrong way in the Paris Metro. The woman took a shortcut to save time on her journey. A station inspector caught her and immediately fined her. A Metro spokesman said the woman correctly got a fine for not following rules. He said the rules are so everyone can quickly get to trains or out of stations. He added that there are many easy-to-see "walk this way" signs in the stations.

Many social media users are angry that a pregnant woman got fined. A passenger group said it was "completely stupid". It wants the rules to change. A woman shared a similar story. She said: "I was the only person in the corridor when they stopped me." The Metro wrote: "I am sorry that this situation surprises you, but these are the current regulations. In the same way that if a car drives in a prohibited area, the car's driver...receives a fine."

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Paris Metro - Level 2

Slowest

A pregnant woman was given a 60-euro fine for walking the wrong way in the Paris Metro. Sixty euros is about $74. The woman said she took a shortcut to save some time on her journey. However, an inspector at the station caught her and immediately fined her. A spokesman for the Paris Metro said the woman correctly got a fine for not following the rules. He said the rules were to control the flow of people so everyone can quickly get to trains or out of stations. He added that there are many "walk this way" signs in the stations and they are easy to see.

Many social media users are angry. They say a pregnant woman should not be fined for not wanting to walk a long way. A passenger group said the fine was "completely stupid". It wants the rules to change. A woman on social media shared a similar story. She said: "I was the only person in the corridor when they stopped me. It's unacceptable." The Metro responded to complaints. It wrote: "I am sorry that this situation surprises you, but these are the current regulations. In the same way that if a car drives in a prohibited area, the car's driver...receives a fine."

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Paris Metro - Level 3

A pregnant woman got into trouble while she was using the Metro in Paris. She was given a 60-euro fine for walking the wrong way along a station platform. Sixty euros is about $74. The woman said she took a shortcut because she wanted to save some time on her journey. However, inspectors at Concorde station caught her and immediately fined her. A spokesman for the Paris Metro told the AFP news agency that the woman correctly got a fine for not following the rules. He said the rules were there to control the flow of people so everyone can get to trains or out of stations more quickly. He added that the "walk this way" systems are clearly marked with easy-to-see signs in the stations.

The incident has got lots of people talking on social media. Many users are angry that a pregnant woman was fined because she didn't want to walk a long way. A spokesman for a passenger group said the fine was "completely stupid" and that the rules needed to change. A woman on social media complained with a similar story. She said: "I was the only person in the corridor when they stopped me. It's unacceptable." The Metro responded to complaints with a message that read: "I am sorry that this situation surprises you, but these are the current regulations. In the same way that if a car drives in a prohibited area, the car's driver (who is breaking the law) receives a fine."

SPEED READING

Speed 1    |     Speed 2    |     Speed 3

MORE

25 online activities    |    27-page printable    |    2-page mini-lesson



MY e-BOOK
ESL resource book with copiable worksheets and handouts - 1,000 Ideas and Activities for Language Teachers / English teachers
See a sample

This useful resource has hundreds of ideas, activity templates, reproducible activities for …

  • warm-ups
  • pre-reading and listening
  • while-reading and listening
  • post-reading and listening
  • using headlines
  • working with words
  • moving from text to speech
  • role plays,
  • task-based activities
  • discussions and debates
and a whole lot more.


More Listening

Online Activities

Help Support This Web Site

  • Please consider helping Breaking News English.com

Sean Banville's Book

Thank You