Task 2. Arrange the following words

a) close in meaning,

offender, to protect, aggressive, be convicted, to result in, agreement, engaged, adolescent, to depend on, to defend, staggering, be charged, severe, consent, to mutilate, minor, to hinge on, criminal, shocking, violent, stern, to ensue, to cripple, involved

b) opposite in meaning.

of age, worthwhile, guilty, decrease, result in, attractive, innocent, retribution, to curb, safe, to shatter, minor,, to lead to, reward, disgusting, to restore, dangerous, worthless, to get out of control, to increase.

Task 3. Match the terms with their definitions.

1. assault a) insults; wrong or excessive use of something;

2. abuse b) making somebody have a particular set of beliefs by

Giving them no opportunity to consider other points

of view;

3. mugging c) taking somebody’s money in the street with threats of

violence;

4. indoctrination d) a crime that involves threatening and making a

physical attack on;

5. crime e) misdemeanor committed by young people;

6. traffic in f) an offence for which one may be punished by law;

7. delinquency g) illegal trading.

8. evanescence h) to prevent from getting out of control;

9. retribution i) someone who is too young to have the legal responsibilities of an adult;

10. minor j) a document signed by a judge which gives the police permission to arrest or search someone’s house;

11. to curb k) quick fading; disappearance from sight or memory;

12. warrant l) deserved severe punishment (for)

Task 4. Fill in the blanks choosing the appropriate word from the following list.

Worsen, legalize, carry, “soft”, opposed, Dutch, authorities, special, approach, sell, abuse, heroin.

 

In the Netherlands, people are allowed to (1), small amounts of (2) drugs such as cannabis for their personal use. However, only (3) cafes licensed by local (4) are allowed to (5) these drugs. The (6) government believe that this (7) has helped to control the (8) of “hard” drugs, sucn as (9). Similar attempts to (10) cannabis in other countries have been (11) by those who believe that this would (12) the drug problem.

 

Task 5. Translate from Russian into English:

В штате Калифорния в США недавно ввели закон, по которому любой осужденный за три самых незначительных преступления автоматически приговаривается к 25 годам тюремного заключения. Это привело к пожизненным заключениям за очень небольшие преступления, как например кража пиццы. В Европе некоторые политики хотели бы последовать калифорнийскому примеру в надежде уменьшить преступность.

 

READING PRACTICE

T E X T 1

Pre-reading Activity

Task 1. Before you read the text give your opinion on the following.

a) What’s the law?

b) Are laws necessary and why?

c) What are laws made for?

Task 2. Discuss your answers in pairs.

Reading Activity

(!) Read the text to find the answers to the above questions.

YOU AND THE LAW

If every person on earth were a hermit and had no contact with other people, there would be no need for laws. Fortunately, human beings live in social groups. This helps each person in the group live a better life. But this also means that people must work and cooperate with each other. Unfortunately, it seems that some people in society behave in antisocial ways. Some individuals are irritable, some angry, some selfish, some aggressive and some violent. These hostilities may be turned against other persons or groups in society. Laws are made to protect people from the “bad” actions of others. In effect, the idea of law is to put limits on people’s greed, drives and emotions. As individual, we all have certain freedoms and rights. Sometimes, for the protection of society, the law places limits on the rights. As a famous judge once pointed out, ”Your right to swing your fist ends at the point where the other fellow’s nose begins”.

Imagine for a moment what your world would be like without laws. None of your possessions would be safe – your radio, television, stereo player, bicycle or even your clothes. Someone bigger, stronger or faster could take them from you. Even your person could not be safe from attack. The law of the jungle, “might makes right”, would take over.

We may not always agree with the laws we live by. In fact, we may not always know what the laws are. However, we are expected to live by these laws. Ignorance is no real excuse and no guarantee against being charged. If we feel that a certain law is unfair, we have the right to appeal it or work to change it. We do not have the right to break it.

Laws basically exist to maintain order and stability. The most obvious function of the law is social control. Other functions include dispute settlement, innovation or social engineering and allocations of goods and services. Modern law in Western societies is adapted to a market society that puts high value on freedom to buy and sell.

Post-reading Activity

 

Task 1. Compare the answers from the text with the ones you gave before reading.

Task 2. Are you a law-abiding person? Give the reasons why you think so. Would you do something against the law? (what? why?)

Task 3. Skim this information to figure out your eventual behaviour in the same situation as described.

Would you hand in a windfall?

How honest are you? A local businessman who recently stumbled on* a briefcase containing more than $ 2,500 in cash handed it straight in to police. The owner, a shopkeeper, was so relieved he gave the man a $ 100 reward.

Would everyone else be as honest if the same thing happened to them?

- It depends how much was in it. If it was a lot of money, say $10,000, then I would take it to the police. But if it was not so much I would probably be very tempted to keep it.

- I would take it to the police station.

- I think you would just think to yourself what if it this happened to you and lost a lot of money.

- I would definitely take it to the police station. I am an honest person. It would never occur to me to do anything other than that.

- I would be very tempted to keep it, but I think I would probably have to hand it in, so there was no comeback*.

- It could be anything – something dodgy*.

Notes: windfall: an unexpected gift of money, piece of good luck etc.;

comeback: (here) trouble that comes later; stumbled on: found by chance; dodgy: dishonest (slang).

Task 4. Try to recollect some similar episodes you read about (heard of) or speak on your personal experience.

 

T E X T 2

Pre-reading Activity

 

Task 1. Answer the following questions.

1. Is it easy to be young? Give your reasons why? (why not?)

2. What legal right does a teenager have in our country?

Reading Activity

Task 1. Scan and analyse the guide of what you can do from the ages of 10 to 21 in Britain.

 

WHAT A TEENAGER CAN DO IN BRITAIN

Age 10: Be convicted of a crime. If convicted of homicide be detained “during Her Majesty’s pleasure”.

Age 12: Buy a pet.

Age 13: Get a part-time job but not for more than two hours on a school day or a Sunday.

Age 14: Go into a pub but not buy or drink alcohol there. Own an unassembled air gun.

Age 15: Open a Girobank account with a guarantor.

Age 16: Leave school. Work full-time. Marry with parental consent. Ride a moped. Join the armed forces with parental consent (boys). Drink cider, beer or wine with meal in pub or restaurant. If you leave home the law is

unlikely to enforce your return.

Age 17: Drive most vehicles. Buy or hire any firearm and ammunition.

Join the armed forces with parental consent (girls).

Age 18: Vote.

Be dealt with by adult criminal courts. Make a will. Own a house, apply for a mortgage. Apply for a passport. Open a bank account without a parent’s signature.

Join the forces without parental consent. Donate your body to science.

Age 21: Be an MP.Drive a heavy goods vehicle.

Task 2. Skim an additional text “On a fast road with no map”(p.141) and say what legal rights a teenager has and if they give helpful guidelines for a youngster’s life.

Post-reading Activity

Task 1. Are these sentences true or false according to the information you read.

- Teenagers have strong feelings about their rights.

- At the age of 17 you can fight in a war but not vote.

- At 17 one can’t be tattooed.

- At 16 one can’t work full-time.

- The legal frame work is inconsistent and ambiguous.

Task 2. What do you think.

a) When is child no longer a child?

b) Do adults in general and parents in particular always know best?

c) Do Belarusian adolescents have similar legal rights as their British peers?

d) Why should teenagers’ legal rights be discussed and thought through?

e) What really annoys you in legal rights you have (haven’t)?