Составитель: Матвиенко Л.М.,

УЧЕБНО-МЕТОДИЧЕСКОЕ ПОСОБИЕ

ДЛЯ СТУДЕНТОВ

ПО СПЕЦИАЛЬНОСТИ

«ЮРИСПРУДЕНЦИЯ»

ПО ТЕМЕ

«ВЕЛИКОБРИТАНИЯ. США»

(АНГЛИЙСКИЙ ЯЗЫК)

Составитель: Матвиенко Л.М.,

Доцент кафедры иностранных

Языков, к.п.н.

 

 

Учебно–методическое пособие состоит из восьми разделов, включающих специальные тексты по специальности и текстов для дополнительного чтения.

Пособие предназначено для студентов 1–2-х курсов по специальности «Юриспруденция» всех форм обучения.

Content

Unit I. GREAT BRITAIN…………………………………. 3-6

Unit II. GREAT BRITAIN …………………………………7-10

Unit III. USA ……………………………………………….11-14

Unit IV. USA ……………………………………………….15-19

Unit V. USA ………………………………………………...20-23

Unit VI. THE COURT SYSTEM …………………………...24-28

Unit VII. JUSTICE AND LAW …………………………….29-32

Unit VIII. JUSTICE AND LAW ……………………………33-36

Supplementary Reading

Text 1. THIS IS BRITAIN ……………………………………………..37-38

Text 2. THE SUFFRAGETTE MOVEMENT …………………………38 -

Text 3. THIS IS THE USA …………………………………………….38-39

Text 4. US CONSTITUTION ………………………………………….40-41

Text 5. THE ENGLISH AND AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONS ……. 41-42

Text 6. ENGLISH CRIMINAL LAW ………………………………….42

Text 7. THE GARDEN CITY OF ASIA ……………………………….42-43

Text 8. A VERY BEAUTIFUL STORY ……………………………….43-45

GREAT BRITAIN (I)

Warm up Activities

What do you know about Great Britain? Here is a short test. Choose the correct answer.

 

1. What is the formal title of the country?

a) the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; b) Britain; c) England.

2. The population of Great Britain is

a) over 67 million people; b) over 47 million people; c) over 57 million people.

3. Who presides over the House of Commons?

a) the Prime Minister; b) the Lord Chancellor; c) the Speaker.

4. How many parts make the UK?

a) 3; b) 4; c) 2.

5. Who is the head of the State in Britain? a) the Prime Minister; b) the Queen; c) the Speaker. 6. Who is the head of the Government in the UK? a) the Queen; b) the Speaker; c) the Prime Minister. 7. The voting age in Great Britain is … a) 21; b) 18; c) 16. 8. The UK consists of a) districts; b) states; c) counties. 9. What’s the name of the British flag?

a) Stripes and Stars; b) Union Jack; c) Welsh Dragon.

10. Margaret Thatcher was

a) the Queen of Britain; b) the British Prime Minister; c) the famous writer.

11. Which is the present ruling party?

a) the Conservative Party; b) the Liberal Party; c) the Labour Party.

12. Who presides over the House of Lords?

a) the Prime Minister; b) the Lord Chancellor; c) the Speaker.

13. The seat of the British Parliament is …

a) the Tower of London; b) Buckingham Palace; c) Westminster Palace.

14. The ‘shadow cabinet’ means

a) a cabinet situated in the shadow; b) the official opposition’s cabinet; c) a dull cabinet.

 

1 – 6 – Poor! The following information would be extremely important for you. Good Luck!

7 – 11 – Good job!

12 –14 – Excellent job!

 

There are a lot of international words, which are used in the text below. Look through the words and put them into the correct boxes: nouns and adjectives. Try to guess their meaning.

monarch, parliament, Catholic, Protestant, historical, factor, stability, political, democratic, function, local, opposition, system, practice, centre, secret, traditional, leader, cabinet, official.

 

Nouns	Adjectives
democracy role	constitutional formal

Reading

Read the text about the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and explain the words and word combinations in bold.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1)

 

Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch as its head of State. Its formal title is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The total area is about 120.000 square miles. It is composed of four parts: England (London), Wales (Cardiff), Scotland (Glasgow) and Northern Ireland (Belfast).

The east coast is washed by the North Sea and the west coast is washed by the Atlantic Ocean. There are no high mountains in Great Britain. The highest mountains are the Snowdon (3000ft.) and the Highlands. The longest rivers are the Severn and the Thames. The climate of the country is mild. The worst thing about the climate is the thick fog.

The population of Great Britain is over 57 million people. About 20 per cent of the British people live in rural areas, the others live in urban districts, towns and cities.

Great Britain has highly developed industries. One of the leading industries is the textile industry (Liverpool, Manchester, Leeds, Bradford). The country is known for the metal goods (Birmingham, Sheffield), heavy and light machinery and shipbuilding industries (Newcastle). Among other industries are steel, coal-mining, oil and engineering. Agriculture is also important industry in Great Britain.

The official language is English; the capital city of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is London.

Complete this chart with information from the text in Ex.3. Then speak about the country.

 

name
area
population
language
capital
largest cities
head of State
longest rivers
highest mountains
main industries

 

Writing

Britain and the British

1. What's the current Queen's name?

a. Queen Ann I

b. Queen Elizabeth II

c. Queen Margaret II

2. Where does the Changing of the Guard take place?

a. Buckingham Palace

b. Piccadilly Circus

c. Victoria and Albert Museum

3. What is a double-decker?

a. a bus

b. a disco

c. a taxi

4. What is Harrods?

a. a bank

b. a department store

c. a school

5. How many pence are there in 1-pound sterling?

a. 10

b. 100

c. 1000

6. What is the name of the famous stadium in the north of London?

a. Wembley

b. Westminster

c. Wimbledon

7. Which Liverpool band was so popular in the 60's?

a. The Beatles

b. The Police

c. The Rolling Stones

8. In Britain, cars are driven on the ________ side of the road.

a. left-hand

b. right-hand

c. wrong-hand

9. Dame Agatha Christie wrote lots of ________

a. detective stories

b. plays

c. poems

10. Manchester United is a popular ______ team.

a. basketball

b. football

c. handball

11. Which famous writer was born in Stratford-upon-Avon?

a. Samuel Beckett

b. James Joyce

c. William Shakespeare

12. Which king had 6 wives?

a. Henry IV	b. Henry V	с Henry VIII

GREAT BRITAIN (II)

 

Warm up Activities

 

1. Match the words to the definitions.

 

1. a peer	a) a female sovereign who is the official ruler or head of state
2. a lord	b) a person who holds any of the five grades of the British nobility (duke, marques, earl, viscount, and baron)
3. the Queen	c) the executive policy-making body of a country or state or a system by which a country or state is ruled
4. government	d) the highest law-making authority in Britain, consisting of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the sovereign
5.voting	e)a building for public Christian worship
6. authorities	f) a title given to certain male peers or to certain high officials or judges
7. the Constitution	j) a process of making a choice by vote by a participant in a shared decision, esp. in electing a candidate
8. a church	h) a decision-making organization or government department
9. Parliament	i) the statute embodying principles on which a state is governed

 

Reading

 

Reading

Read the text about the English Constitution, translate it, using a dictionary and explain the difference between the “unwritten” Constitution and “flexible” Constitution. Which Constitution corresponds to Great Britain, the USA, Russia?

Speaking

Writing

Just for fun

Great Britain Quiz   How much do you know about Great Britain? Decide whether these statements about Great Britain are true or false. Put T (True) or F (False) on the line next to the sentence. 1. If you drive a car in Scotland you will have to drive on the left. …… 2. If you go on a sightseeing tour of London you will be able to see the National Gallery. …… 3. If you go to Madam Tussaud's you'll be able to buy new clothes for yourself. …… 4. If you go shopping in Cardiff you will have to change English pounds to Welsh pounds. …… 5. If you want to see how the bridges raise London, go to Tower Bridge. …… 6. If you go to Piccadilly Сircus you'll see Nelson Column. …… 7. If you go to Regent's Park you'll be able to visit London Zoo. …… 8. If you fly from London to Scotland you'll have to show your passport at the airport. …… 9. If you take the ferry to Northern Ireland you will cross over the English Channel. ……

 

 

THE USA (I)

Warm up Activities

Match the opposites.

rich wet	heavy northern
light	low
hot	dry
southern	the same
high	cold
various	poor

Speaking

Just for fun

THE USA (II)

Warm up Activities

 

1. Read the sentences and circle the correct item.

 

1. How many British colonies came together in America in 1776?

a) the fifteen; b) the thirteen; c) the eighteen.

2.The man who wrote the following “of the people, by the people, for the people” was

a) Jefferson; b) Washington; c) Lincoln.

3. The supreme law of the USA is

a) the Constitution; b) the Bill of Rights; c) the Articles of Confederation.

4. The ultimate power in the USA belongs to

a) the President; b) the people; c) the Supreme Court.

 

Reading

 

The Constitution of the USA

The Constitution of the USA, the oldest still in force in the world, has been repeatedly amended to meet the changing needs of the nation, but it is still the “ supreme law of the land”. All governments and governmental groups, federal, state, and local, must operate within 1) its guidelines. The ultimate power under the Constitution is not given to the President (the executive branch), or to the Supreme Court (the judicial branch). Nor does 2) it rest, as in many other countries, with a political group or party. It belongs to “We the People” in fact and in spirit.

In this way, Americans first took for themselves the liberties and rights that elsewhere were the privileges of an elite few. 3) They are stated in the first ten Constitution Amendments, known together as the Bill of Rights, and considered to be the fundamental rightsof any American. Among these rights are the freedom of religion, speech, and the press,the right of peaceful assembly, and the right to petition the government to correct wrongs. Other rights guarded the citizens against unreasonable searches, arrests, and seizures of property, and established a system of justice guaranteeing legal procedures. 4) This included the right of trial by jury, 5) that is, being judged by one’s fellow citizens.

The great pride Americans have in their Constitution, their almost religious respect for it, comes from the knowledge that these ideals, freedoms, and rights were not given to 6) them by a small ruling class. Rather, there are seen as the natural “ unalienable ” rights of every American, which had been fought for and won. 7) They cannot be taken away by any government, court, official, or law.

The federal and state governments formed under the Constitution, therefore, were designed to serve the people and to carry out their majority wishes. One thing 8) they didn’t want their government to do is to rule them.

Americans expect their governments to serve them and tend to think of politicians and governmental officials as 9) their servants. This attitude remains very strong among Americans today.

1. its

a) the Constitution b) the nation

 

2. it

a) the judicial branch b) the power

 

3. they

a) the rights b) Americans

4. this

a) a system of justice b) legal procedures

 

5. that

a) trial by jury b) jury

 

6. them

a) the rights b) Americans

 

7. they

a) the rights b) Americans

 

8. they

a) the people b) the wishes

 

9. their

a) politicians and officials’ b) Americans’

Vocabulary Exercises

 

Congress

Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 Senators, two from each state. The Senators represent all of the people in a state and their interests.

The House of Representatives has 435 members. They are elected every two years for two-year terms. The number of Representatives from each state is based upon its population. For instance, California, the state with the largest population, has 45 Representatives, while Delaware has only one. All election districts must have about the same number of residents. So one of the basic principles, which are found at all levels of American government is the “one person, one vote” principle which says that legislators are elected from geographical districts directly by the voters. There is no limit to the number of terms a Senator or a Representative may serve.

Almost all elections in the United States follow the “winner-take-all” principle: the candidate who wins the largest number of votes in a congressional district is the winner.

Congress makes all laws, and each House of Congress has the power to introduce legislation.

Because legislation only becomes law if both Houses agree, compromise between them is necessary. Congress decides upon taxes and how money is spent. In addition, it regulates commerce among the states and with foreign countries. It also sets rules for the naturalization of foreign citizens.

Congress has the power to make laws, but the President may veto any act of Congress.

Congress can also refuse to provide funds requested by the President.

The President has the power to name all federal judges, but they must be approved by the Senate. The courts have the power to determine the constitutionality of all acts of Congress and of presidential actions, and to strike down those they find unconstitutional.

The House of Representatives controls spending and finance, so the President must have its agreement for his proposals and programs. The President cannot declare war, either, without the approval of Congress. Any treaty must first be approved by the Senate. If there is no approval, there is no treaty. The rule is “the President proposes, but Congress disposes”.

Vocabulary Exercises

 

7.a) Find the English equivalents of the following words and phrases in the text, then make sentences using them.

например, законодательная власть, договор, жители, зарубежные страны, предложения, одобрять, уровень, победитель, торговля, избирательный участок, определять, налоги, представлять, избиратель, количество сроков полномочий, внести законопроект, установить правила, отказать, расходы.

7.b). Underline the correct words in bold.

 

1. Multimedia web pages with photographs, music and video make downloading slow and boring. In addition/in its turn, there is too much advertising instead of real information.

2.Village members/residents still prefer to get up early.

3. The new manager worked hard to provide/to strike down better workingconditions in the hotel.

4.The thirteen American states were divided/declared independent in 1776.

5. If you want to have a happy family affairs/compromises should always be found.

6.He represents/disposes the election district in California.

8. Match a) the synonyms b) the antonyms.

to be made up	commerce	override	spending
for example	consist	foreign	a looser
a sum of money	override	to limit	to accept
a bill	an elector	a winner	for
trade	for instance	to refuse	domestic
veto	legislation	against	approve
a voter	funds	savings	to widen

Speaking

Just for fun

AMERICA THE BEAUTIFUL

 

Words by *Katharine Lee Bates Melody by Samuel Ward

 

О beautiful for spacious skies, For amber waves of grain, For purple …………… majesties Above the fruited plain! America! America! God shed^1 his grace on thee^2 And ………. thy good with brother-hood From sea to shining sea!   О beautiful for pilgrim feet Whose stern,^3 impassioned stress A thoroughfare^4 of …………… beat Across the wilderness! America! America! God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy ……….. in law!   О beautiful for ………… proved In liberating strife. Who more than self the country loved And ………… more than life! America! America! May God thy gold refine Till all success be nobleness *Katharine Lee Bates, an English professor at Wellesey College, rode in a horse-drawn wagon up Pike’s peak, a mountaintop in Colorado in 1893. She saw a view of the mountains and was inspired by her glimpse of the “spacious skies” and “purple mountains” to write a poem, which became the first verse of the song. The public loved the poem, and Miss Bates was encouraged to set it to music. She chose the music of a hymn by Samuel Ward. The words and music traveled around the world, and today Mexico, Canada, and Australia sing it with their own countries’ names instead of “America.” And every gain divine!

О beautiful for halcyon^5 skies, For amber waves of grain, For ………… mountain majesties Above the enameled^6 plain! America! America! …… shed his grace on thee Till souls wax fair as earth and air And music-hearted sea!   О beautiful for glory-tale Of liberating strife When once and …….., for man's avail^7 Men lavished^8 precious life! America! America! God shed his ………. on thee Till selfish gain no longer stain The banner of the free!   О beautiful for patriot ………. That sees beyond the years Thine^9 alabaster^10 cities gleam Undimmed^11 by human tears! America! America! God shed his grace on thee Till nobler …….. keep once again Thy whiter jubilee!

1 to shed – проливать, распространять

2 thee – (поэт.) – тебя, тебе

3 stern – неумолимый

4 thoroughfare – оживленный поток,

главная артерия

5 halcyon – тихий, безмятежный

6 to enamel – разукрашивать

7 avail – выгода, польза

8 to lavish – расточать

9 thine – твой

10 alabaster – алебастровый

11 undimmed – незатуманенный

 

THE USA (III)

Warm up Activities

 

1. Read the sentences and circle the correct item.

 

1. The legislative branch of the federal government of the USA is

a) the Supreme Court; b) the President; c) Congress.

2. Congress is made up of

a) the Senate and the House of Representatives; b) the House of Lords and the House of

Commons; c) the Federal Assembly and the State Duma.

3. There is no limit to the number of terms of office for

a) the President; b) a Senator; c) the Secretary.

4. The executive branch of the federal government of the USA is headed by

a) the Senate; b) the President; c) the Prime Minister.

5. Congress sits in

a) the Capitol; b) the White House; c) the Pentagon.

 

Reading

 

2. Read the article about the President of the United States and match the questions (a-f) to the numbered spaces (1-6), as in the example. Then try to remember the words in bold.

 

Just for fun

THE COURT SYSTEM

 

Warm up Activities

Reading

The English Court System

In all legal systems there are institutions for creating, modifying, abolishing and applying the law. Usually these take the form of a hierarchy of courts. The role of each court and its capacity to make decisions is strictly defined in relation to other courts. There are two main reasons for having a variety of courts. One is that a particular court can specialize in particular kinds of legal actions – for example, family courts and juvenile courts. The other is so that a person who feels his case was not fairly treated in a lower court can appeal to a higher court for reassessment. The decisions of a higher court are binding upon lower courts. At the top of the hierarchy is a supreme lawmaking body, but the process of taking an action from a lower court to the highest court may be very time-consuming and costly.

 

HOUSE OF LORDS
COURT OF APPEAL
Criminal Division	Civil Division
HIGH COURT
CROWN COURT	COUNTY COURT
MAGISTRATES COURT	(MAGISTRATES COURT)

 

In general, the division between civil and criminal law is reflected in this chart. The Crown Courts, for example, deal exclusively with criminal matters, the Country Courts, with civil (for example, divorce or bankruptcy cases). However, the High Court considers appeals from lower criminal courts as well as civil matters, and the Magistrates Courts, while mostly concerned with criminal cases, also deal with some civil matters. The highest court, the House of Lords, deals with all matters (including appeals from Scottish and Northern Irish courts).

A criminal case usually begins in a Magistrates Court. Having arrested someone suspected of committing a crime, the police must decide if they have enough evidence to make a formal accusation, or charge. If they charge the suspect, they may release him on the condition that he appear on a certain date at a certain Magistrates Court. This is know as unconditional bail. However, the police may instead take the suspect to a magistrate so that he remains in custody until he next appears before a court. The magistrate may decided that it is not necessary to hold the suspect in custody and may agree to unconditional bail, or the magistrate may grant conditional bail – that is, release the suspect provided that he puts up some money as security or agrees to surrender his passport or some similar condition.

The Magistrates Court is the most common type of law court in England and Wales. There are 700 Magistrates Courts and about 30,000 magistrates. As the lowest criminal court, a Magistrates Court is empowered to hear certain cases only. Some serious crimes, like murder, cannot be heard by the magistrates and must go to the Crown Courts, which has 90 branches in different towns and cities.

In a Crown Court trial there are twelve jurors. These are ordinary members of the public between the ages of 18 and 70 who are selected at random. They are not paid but are given expenses while they are on jury service, which is usually for about two weeks. Service is compulsory, and it cannot normally be avoided without a good reason, such as illness. It is not necessary for a juror to know anything about the law – indeed certain people connected with the world of law, such as solicitors, are not allowed to serve as juror. This is because the job of the jury is to listen to the case and to decide questions of fact. It is the judge’s responsibility to guide them on questions of law.

Apart from the limited civil functions of Magistrates Courts (for example, prevention of family violence), the lowest court in a civil action is a Country Court, which is in every town in England and Wales. The judges are always professionals. They may hear matters such as contract and tort disputes or those regarding the property of a dead person. Cases involving larger amounts of money are heart by one of the divisions of the High Court.

Appeals are heard by higher courts. For example, appeals from Magistrates Courts are heard in the Crown Court, unless they are appeals on points of law. Appeals from the Crown Court go first to the High Court and, in special cases, to the Court of Appeal. The highest court of appeal in England and Wales is the House of Lords. (Scotland has its own High Court in Edinburgh, which hears all appeals from Scottish courts.) Members of the House of Lords are not elected but consist of hereditary peers, peers appointed for life by the government, bishops of the Church of England, and the law lord – peers appointed for life after long service lawyers. Only the government can overturn a decision of the House of Lords and then, only by passing an Act of Parliament.

Certain cases may be referred to the European Court of Human Rights in Luxembourg. In addition, individuals have made the British Government change its practices in a number of areas as result of petitions to the European Court of Human Rights.

The legal system also includes juvenile courts (which deal with offenders under seventeen) and coroners’ courts (which investigate violent, sudden or unnatural deaths). There are administrative tribunals, which make quick, cheap and fair decisions with much less formality. Tribunals deal with professional standards, disputes between individuals, and disputes between individuals and government departments (for example, over taxation).

Vocabulary Exercises

Speaking

Reading

 

Speaking

Reading

 

In the Court

A man has been arrested for something like shoplifting, or for dangerous driving, or for getting drunk and causing “a disturbance of the peace”. He’s in a Magistrates Court now.

The accused person is situated in a kind of large, open box. It is on a raised platform almost in the centre of the court and is called “the dock”. There are three Magistrates “on the bench” in front of the offender. At least one of them is a woman. They are also on a raised platform, at desks, side by side. In front of and below them there is another man. He is the “Clerk of the Court” and he, unlike them, is trained in the law and is paid for his work. During the case he will handle the administrative details and perhaps give advice to the Magistrates on legal points.

The case begins. The policeman who arrested the criminal gives evidence. He tells the court when and why he arrested him (her), what the criminal said what he said, and so on. The solicitor questions, or “cross-examines” him. One of the Magistrates speaking for all three also asks questions. Other witnesses appear. Perhaps the accused person says nothing at all. He or she does not have to speak in his (her) defence. “Everyone is innocent unless proved guilty ”. In other words, the accused person does not have to prove that he or she is innocent. The police have to prove the criminal is guilty.

At the end the Magistrates probably do not even go out of the court. They discuss the case in low voices in front of the accused person. Then the Clerk of the Court tells him (her) to stand. The Magistrate who has done the talking for the others tells the person whether they have found him (her) innocent or guilty. He can sentence him (her) to no more than six months in gaol for one offence, to a maximum of one year for two or more offences or to a fine of 400 pounds.

More serious cases are heard in the Crown Court, where the Judge is always a legal expert and is also paid for his work. In the Crown Court the accused person may be given a “trial by jury”. Twelve ordinary people judge you. But the Judge himself always decides on the sentence. The barrister who is qualified to plead in the higher courts presents cases in the Crown Court.

Reporters for local newspapers often go to Magistrates Courts; the next day articles appear in the paper and full names, ages, addresses and details of the case are given.

Writing

 

Just for fun

JUSTICE AND LAW (I)

Warm up Activities

Reading

2. Read the text below. Then try to explain and remember the words in bold.

 

Speaking

Reading

Kinds of Cases

 

The cases can be criminal, civil, or both.

Civil Cases. Civil cases are usually disputes between or among private citizens, corporations, governments, government agencies, and other organizations. Most often, the party bringing the suit is asking for money damages for some wrong that has been done. People who have been injured may sue a person or a company they, feel is responsible for the injury.

The party bringing the suit is called the plaintiff, the party being sued is called the defendant. There may be many plaintiffs or many defendants in the same case.

The plaintiff starts the lawsuit by filing a paper called a complaint, in which the case against the defendant is stated. The next paper filed is usually the answer, in which the defendant disputes what the plaintiff has said in the complaint. The defendant may also feel that there has been a wrong committed by the plaintiff, in which case a counterclaim will be filed along with the answer. It is up to the plaintiff to prove the case against the defendant. In most civil cases the plaintiff’s burden is to prove the case by a preponderance of evidence, that is, that the plaintiff’s version of what happened in the case is more probably true than not true.

Jury verdicts do not need to be unanimous in civil cases.

Criminal Cases. A criminal case is brought by the state or by a city or county against a person or persons accused of having committed a crime. The state, city, or county is called the plaintiff; the accused person is called the defendant. The charge against the defendant is called an information or a complaint. The defendant has pleaded not guilty and you should presume the defendant's innocence unless the plaintiff proves the defendant guilty. The plaintiff’s burden of proof is greater in a criminal case than in a civil case. In each criminal case you hear the judge will tell you all the elements of the crime that the plaintiff must prove; the plaintiff must prove each of these elements beyond reasonable doubt before the defendant can be found guilty.

In criminal cases the verdict must be unanimous, that is, all jurors must agree that the defendant is guilty in order to overcome the presumption of innocence.

In Russia the right to trial by a jury is possible only if the punishment is going to be severe (life imprisonment or death penalty).

 

Vocabulary Exercises

Writing

10. In saying from Ex.1 is reflected people’s respect of law and justice. There is widespread belief that observance of laws is a guarantee against injustice. Do you agree with it? Write what you think about violation of the law and social guarantees in Russia.

WACKY LAWS   There are many old laws in the United States that can only be described as “wacky”. And California, unsurprisingly, has the wackiest local laws of them all. Though few people are ever arrested for any of the examples given below, they are still on the statute book.

Just for fun

Californian State Laws

Animals are banned from mating publicly within 1,500 feet of a tavern, school, or place of worship.

It is a misdemeanour to shoot at any kind of game from a moving vehicle, unless the target is a whale.

Women may not drive in a housecoat.

No vehicle without a driver may exceed 60 miles per hour.

In Baldwin Park

Nobody is allowed to ride a bicycle in a swimming pool.

In Hollywood

It is illegal to drive more than two thousand sheep down Hollywood Boulevard at one time.

In Los Angeles

It is illegal for a man to beat his wife with a strap wider than 2 inches without her consent.

You cannot bathe two babies in the same tub at the same time.

You may not hunt moths under a streetlight. It is illegal to cry on the witness stand. Toads may not be licked.

It is a crime for dogs to mate within 500 yards of a church. Breaking this law is punishable by a fine of $500 and/or six months in prison.

In San Francisco

It is prohibited for elephants to stroll down Market Street unless they are on a leash.

It is illegal to wipe one's car with used underwear.

Persons classified as “ugly” may not walk down any street.

It is illegal to pile horse manure more than six feet high on a street corner.

In Pacific Grove

It is illegal to molest butterflies.

Unit 11. JUSTICE AND LAW (II)

Warm up Activities

Reading

 

2. Read the text about the criminal justice process in the USA and match the questions (a-e) to the numbered spaces (1-5), as in the example. Then explain and remember the words in bold.

Vocabulary Exercises

Match the synonyms.

law	sentence	purpose	evidence
penalty	obligation	proof	term
verdict	punishment	period	offender
duty	to force	a criminal	reason
to oblige	to formulate	cause	aim
to violate	statute	offence	to obtain
to define	to break	to get	crime

 

Speaking

Writing

Just for fun

What are these? dictver - …………….. (the decision of a court made after the trial of a defendant) mentpushni - …………….. (a fine, imprisonment or probation)

rawrant - …………….. (a formal order given by a judge or a prosecutor to arrest a person)

laib - …………….. (a sum of money paid by the person arrested for being released until the trial)

cemir - …………….. (an act prohibited and punished by law)

cevideen - …………….. (all facts and things presented to court to prove the guilt of the accused)

rapole - …………….. (placing a convicted person under control of a special police officer on condition that he or she behaves well)

simanuromeed - …………….. (a less serious offence punishable by a fine or up to one year in jail, or both)

rujy - …………….. (a panel usually consisting of 12 persons to hold trials)

lonyfe - …………….. (a serious offence punishable by death or imprisonment)

palepa - …………….. (a request for a review of a lower court's decision by a higher court)

Supplementary Reading

Text 1. THIS IS BRITAIN

 

“Great Britain” has several different names. Some people say “Britain”, or “the United Kingdom”, or just “UK”. Everyone from Britain is British, but only people from England are English. People from Scotland are Scottish, people from Wales are Welsh and people from Northern Ireland are Irish. Don't call Scottish or Welsh people English. They won't like it!

Altogether more than 56 million people live in Britain, many of them in big industrial cities like London, Liverpool and Manchester, but people are often surprised by how much of Britain is open country, with lonely hills and woods, quiet rivers, lakes and farmlands.

Everyone in Britain speaks English. But in some parts of Scotland and Wales people speak an older language as well. The Welsh are especially proud of their language, and you can see road signs in Welsh all over Wales.

Everyone speaks English, but they do not all speak it in the same way. A Scottish person has to listen carefully if he wants to understand a Londoner. And when a Welsh person speaks, everyone knows at once where he comes from!

Many people think that the weather is cold and wet in Britain all the year round. But it isn't! True, it sometimes rains and even snows for days and days, but every year there are weeks of beautiful sunny weather when the British take off their sweaters and go out to sunbathe.

Britain is only a small country, but every part is different. Scotland is a land of mountains, lakes and romantic castles. The winters are cold, with plenty of snow, but the summers are often warm and sunny. Most farmers keep sheep, and there are many small factories which make fine sweaters from their wool. In some parts of Scotland, there are very few people. Deer live in the hills, and the rivers are full of salmon. But Glasgow and Edinburgh are both large and busy, with all that is good (and bad) in modern cities.

Northern Ireland has its problems, but it has beauty, too. In the warm, wet climate, the grass grows a brilliant green, and much of the land is farming country. Belfast is a large industrial city with many fine buildings and a big port from which ships come and go to Scotland and England. But Belfast has had many difficult years, and it is not the busy place it once was.

A hundred years ago the north of England was the industrial heart of the country. From the factories came cloth, wool, machines, engines and china. The old factories have gone now and the workers have to look for jobs in the new “high-tech” industries. Outside the towns, much of this part of England is beautiful countryside, with green hills, lakes and sandy beaches. Fishing is still a big industry in the North East, and every night (except Sunday) the fishing boats go out to sea.

The centre of England (the “Midlands”) is also an important industrial area, especially near the huge cities of Coventry and Birmingham, the centre of the car industry. But everywhere, even in the heart of a modern city, there are buildings from an older Britain - cathedrals, castles, and houses built hundreds of years ago.

Wales is a special place, a country of high mountains and pretty valleys. But Wales has plenty of industry, too, with many factories and coal mines. The people of Wales are very musical. Every year they have a festival of Welsh music and poetry called an “Eisteddfod”.

The west of England is a rich, farming country. It produces milk, cream, butter, cheese (especially Cheddar cheese, Britain's favourite) and apples, which go to make cider, a popular drink. In the villages, country people often grow their own fruit, vegetables and flowers.

Some areas of Britain are very crowded. Around Manchester, in north west England, and Glasgow, in Scotland, are large city areas of houses and factories. The south east of England, too, has many towns and cities, including London, the giant capital. But quite near London there are still some quiet villages and peaceful farms.

Britain is an island, of course, and you are never far from the sea. Some of the coast, especially in the west, is wild and rocky, with small, sandy beaches, and romantic old harbours. Other parts are industrial. The east coast of Scotland, for example, is busy with oil rigs and fishing boats. The most popular beaches are near the many holiday towns on the south coast, where the weather is usually warmer. It is here that Londoners come to relax.

· Which part of Britain do these people come from?

 

a) The road signs near Margaret Evans’ house are in two languages.

b) The favourite drink of Tim Robinson is cider. It’s no wonder, he was born in the apple land.

c) When Tom Lewis speaks, everyone knows where he comes from.

d) Jim MacDonald keeps sheep and makes fine sweaters from their wool.

e) Mike Wright is very talented as all his ancestors and he’s sent to the festival every year.

f) Chris Taylor likes spending his weekend in the country where the grass grows a brilliant green, and much of the land is farming country.

g) Bob Smith works in a car plant, one of the biggest in Birmingham.

Text 3. THIS IS THE USA

The United States of America - the richest and one of the biggest countries in the world - has several names. People say “the United States”, “the States”, “America”, or just “the USA” or “the US”.

There are fifty states in the USA (including Alaska and Hawaii), and over 200 million people live in them.

There is no “American climate” or “American countryside”. Every part of the country is different, from Alaska in the North, covered with snow and ice, to tropical Florida in the South.

Who are the Americans? Where did they come from? Why did so many people go across the sea to the New World?

The American Indians were the first people to live in that vast land. They had a fascinating, ancient culture, and a rich tradition of language and customs.

When Christopher Columbus arrived, in 1492, there were probably about 1,500,000 Indians in North America.

But then, the immigrants came. By the early nineteenth century, the population was more than 17 million. Most came from Europe, but there were also many from the Middle East and the Far East, as well as millions of Africans, caught in the terrible slave trade.

Immigration went on growing. In 1907 alone, one and a quarter million people arrived. By 1914, the population was 92 million. Now there are more than 25 million British Americans (nearly half the population of Britain), about 23 million African Americans, 25 million German Americans and more Irish Americans than the whole population of Ireland.

You can find almost anything in America. There are mountains and deserts, old churches and moon rockets, homes with three cars and homes with no electric lights at all. There are people who speak Chinese, Italian, Spanish, Arabic, Polish, Swedish, Japanese - in fact, almost every language under the sun.

Do you like wild empty lands? You'll love the great deserts of Nevada and Arizona, the high Rocky Mountains, and the miles of snow and ice in arctic Alaska.

Are you more interested in city life? You'll prefer the North East Coast, where 75% of Americans live on 1.5% of the land. You can drive from Boston through New York to Washington, D.C. and you will be in a town all the time. The three great cities of the East Coast, Boston in the north, New York in the middle and Washington, D.C. in the south, are the most important centres of American culture, education and government. Boston is a city full of history and old world charm. Near it is Harvard, America's oldest university. New York, full of life and colour, also has wonderful museums, art galleries and concert halls. Washington, D.C, of course, is the capital city, where the President of the USA lives in the famous White House.

Perhaps you prefer a more peaceful, agricultural landscape? Then go to the Midwest, to Ohio, Indiana and Wisconsin. There the huge, flat farmlands, covered in wheat, go on and on as far as the eye can see. Out in the country, small towns offer a meeting place for the farmers - a church, a few shops, and a hotel for visitors. But there are huge cities in the Midwest as well. Chicago and Detroit, near the Great Lakes, are the old industrial heartlands of America. Millions of people live and work here, making steel, cars, TV sets and everything Americans love to buy.

Everyone knows about the great cattle ranches of Texas, but not all American cattle farmers are big landowners. Some farmers live on quite small farms, which a family can manage with no extra help.

If you like warm, sunny weather and an exciting atmosphere where new ideas are always welcome, California on the West Coast is the place for you. In this perfect climate, oranges, peaches and grapes grow easily, and on the wonderful beaches giant waves roll in from the Pacific Ocean. Near Los Angeles, California's largest city, is Hollywood, where film stars past and present have their homes. A visit to the film studios here is something you will always remember.

Is California not hot enough for you? Go to the deep South, to Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, where the old paddle boats still go down the great, wide river. Life is different here, quieter, slower, more old-fashioned. In the cotton fields of the South it is difficult to believe that the cities of the North East and the mountains of the North West are all part of the same huge country.

· Match the features to the places

wild empty lands	the North East Coast
peaceful, agricultural landscapes	the Midwest
huge cities	Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin
city life	Nevada, Arizona, Alaska
warm, sunny weather and an exciting atmosphere	Texas
the great cattle ranches	Hollywood
old-fashioned life	California
film studios	Alabama, Louisiana, Mississippi

Text 4. US CONSTITUTION

The US Constitution is the framework of the US government. It establishes the executive, legislative, and judicial branches. It is also the supreme law of the land, which all public officials are bound by oath to enforce. Moreover, the Constitution guarantees each American certain basic rights.

A «constitution» in American political language means the set of rules, laws, regulations and customs which together provide the political norms or standards regulating the work of the government. The document known as the Constitution of the United States, though a basic document, is only a part of the body of rules and customs which form the whole of the American Constitution. Supreme Court decisions, interpreting parts of the US Constitution, laws, regulations, customs are part of the basic law (the so-called *live constitution). Most historians regard the US Constitution as an essentially conservative document.

One remarkable feature of the US Constitution is its endurance. It is the oldest written national constitution in use in the world. Another remarkable feature of the Constitution is its ability to adapt itself to changing conditions.

The founding fathers knew that the Constitution might have to be changed. So they provided two methods of proposing amendments: by a two-thirds vote of both houses of Congress or by a national convention called by Congress at the request of the legislatures in two-thirds of the states. Once proposed, an amendment does not take effect unless it is ratified either by the legislatures in three-fourths of the states or by special ratifying conventions in three-fourths of the states.

The US Constitution consists of the Preamble, seven articles and twenty six amendments, the first ten of them called collectively the Bill of Rights and adopted under the popular pressure in 1791. When the Constitution was first proposed in 1787, there was widespread dissatisfaction because it didn’t contain guarantees of certain basic freedoms and individual rights. The Constitution consolidated those gains of the revolution that were advantageous for the capitalist class. Significantly, nothing was said about the elementary bourgeois-democratic freedoms. In December, 1791, the Congress adopted ten amendments to the Constitution, known as the Bill of Rights, which contains most of the basic rights. The Bill also enumerated *what the government controlled by the oligarchy was not going to be allowed to do. It was, of course, an important democratic gain for the people at that time. But nowadays some of these ten amendments are relatively unimportant.

The First Amendment protects the freedoms of religion, speech, press, assembly, and petition. The Second Amendment protects the right to bear arms. The Third Amendment protects against quartering of soldiers in private homes, and the Fourth Amendment protects against unreasonable searches and seizures.

The Fifth Amendment provides a right to due process of law and gives rights to accused people, including protection against self-incrimination. The sixth Amendment provides the rights to a lawyer, an impartial jury, and a speedy trial in criminal cases.

The Seventh Amendment provides for jury trials in civil cases.

The Eighth Amendment bars cruel and unusual punishment and excessive bail or fines. The Ninth Amendment declares that the rights spelled out in the Constitution are not all the rights that people have. Finally, the Tenth Amendment reserves to the states and the people any powers not belonging to the federal government.

The Bill of Rights was designed to protect Americans against the power of the federal government. Nothing in the Constitution specifically requires state governments to abide by the Bill of Rights. But in interpreting the Fourteenth Amendment, passed after the Civil War, the Supreme Court has extended most Bill of Rights protections to the states.

In addition to the Bill of Rights, later amendments provide other important rights. The Thirteenth Amendment forbids slavery and outlaws involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime. The Fourteenth Amendment requires equal protection of the laws for all citizens. It also provides that no state can deprive any citizen of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Several amendments protect and broaden the right to vote. The Fifteenth Amendment forbids denying the right to vote based on race or colour. The Nineteenth Amendment gives women the right to vote. The Twenty-fourth Amendment gives citizens of Washington D.C. the right to vote in presidential elections, and the Twenty-sixth Amendments gives all people 18 years of age or older the right to vote.

*«live constitution» — «живая конституция»

*what the government controlled by the oligarchy was not going to be allowed to do.... что правительству, которое контролировалось олигархией, не разрешалось делать.

· Match the Russian to the English equivalents

прочность, выносливость	regulations	рабство	bourgeois
существенно, в сущности	dissatisfaction	перечислять	to abide
упорядочение, правило	advantageous	буржуазный	to enumerate
распространенный	essentially	придерживаться	to extend
неудовлетворённость, недовольство	endurance	лишать	servitude
выгодный	wide-spread	расширять, распространять	to deprive

· Work in pairs. Say the beginning of the word combinations and let your group mate complete them.

in American political ……………..; the set of ………………; Supreme Court …………….; to be aimed at …………………..; to regard as …………………; wide-spread ………………..; guarantees of basic …………………; to consolidate ………………….; to be advantageous………………; the elementary ………………..; ability to adapt …………………; the freedoms of religion, ……………….; to bar ………………; without …………….….; to forbid ………………..; the rights to a ………………..

Part 1.

Inspector: Morning, Sergeant. Wha