Замените русские слова в скобках на их английские эквиваленты. Переведите предложения.

1. The advent of the (пишущей машинки) in 1873 reduced the need for handwriting.

2. Today the influence of the early (алфавитов) is seen throughout Europe and the Americas.

3. (Письменность) evolved because people had a desire to communicate their thoughts with others.

4. A forensic document examiner deals with items such as (чернила, карандаш, бумага).

5. (Школы каллиграфии) became extinct early in the 20^th century as the typewriters replaced handwriting in modern business.

6. For typing, the document examiner observes characteristics of the typeface, (полиграфического шрифта), spacing between letters and (строками).

 

4. Найдите ответы на вопросы.

1. What is the origin of the word “alphabet”?
2. What contribution did Romans do in the development of alphabet?
3. What does the word “italic” mean?
4. What alphabet is used in Russia and Eastern European countries?

 

a) Our present cursive handwriting is called italic, the word which comes from Italy. Today italic means script that slants to the right.

b) The word stems from the first two letters of Greek alphabet, alpha and beta. Their alphabet consists of 24 letters.

c) The Cyrillic alphabet derived from the Greek is used in Russia and Eastern European countries. This alphabet was introduced by St. Cyril and Methodis who proselytized* the Slavic tribes of East Europe in the ninth century.

d) The Romans borrowed the alphabet from the Greek and gave letters their names. For several centuries their writing consisted of disconnected capital letters then they invented the lowercase letters that were patterned from the capital letters. These letters simplified the forms and made it easier to copy manuscripts.

 

*to proselytize – обращать в другую веру

 

 

5. Прочитайте текст и ответьте на вопросы.

1. What will you do as a forensic document examiner?
2. How does a forensic document examiner work?
3. What problems does a forensic document examiner resolve?
4. What kind of documents does a forensic document examiner study?
5. What is the role of a forensic document examiner as a witness?
6. What qualifications should a forensic document examiner satisfy?
7. What educational qualifications are required?

TEXT

If you become a document examiner, you will not conduct crime scene searches, street investigations, interviews, or interrogations. Document examiners are laboratory investigators — not field investigators — most of the time. But know this, as a document examiner you will not be bored. Be assured, you will not find your work routine or mechanical.

You will usually work your cases solo — just you and the documents. You will use your eyes, your intellect, your experience, and optical tools such as the stereo-binocular microscope and camera. Examining questioned documents is a personal and mostly subjective decision-making business. When the examiner’s name on the report is yours, you alone will be responsible for the findings and conclusions. And you will be expected to show judges and jurors why you believe you are right. And you will do it alone.

So as a forensic document examiner you will usually have two basic problems to resolve: (1) solving the evidence puzzle itself and (2) convincing judges and jurors that your opinions (conclusions) are correct.

A forensic document examiner studies all aspects of a document to determine its authenticity and origin, including handwriting, typewriting, printing, photocopies, inks and papers. Examiners look for clues that point to forgery. Having found they also try to determine where the forgery originated. Some of the most frequently examined documents are wills, medical records, loan agreements, contracts, checks, and letters that have no identified authors.

Forensic document examiners also testify as expert witnesses in court. A Forensic Document Examiner (also known as Questioned Document Examiner) discovers and develops evidence from a document or signature that can be used in a Court of Law. Forensic document examiners may cross and examine all forms of documents without losing any credibility in their testimony.

A Forensic Document Examiner must be a person of good moral character, high integrity, and good repute and must possess high ethical and professional standing.

A Forensic Document Examiner must have a sound basic education through the Bachelor degree. The typical training period is two years of study and practical experience in an established questioned documents laboratory where the examiner trainee studies the basic literature, completes study projects, becomes familiar with the role of forensic sciences in general and questioned documents in particular as they relate to the legal system.

 

Прочитайте, что является объектами исследования судебной экспертизы документов. Переведите их названия на русский язык. Выберите любые пять и выпишите из толкового словаря их дефиниции.

• Handwriting (cursive / printing) and signatures
• Typewriters, photocopiers, laser printers, ink jet printers, fax machines
• Rubber stamps, Price markers, Label markers
• Printing processes
• Ink, pencil, paper
• Alterations, additions, erasures, obliterations

 

 

7. Работа в парах. Прочитайте пример судебного дела, исход которого определило проведение почерковедческой экспертизы. Обсудите в форме диалога, какими профессиональными знаниями и качествами должен обладать эксперт.

Case Study: Insurance Fraud

Background

A life insurance agent was “selling” insurance policies to people without their knowledge and consent. The people were elderly immigrants from Eastern Europe. The agent falsified the medical information and changed the age of the insured. He was caught because the handwriting did not match the insured’s normal writing.

Question

What alphabet would immigrants of Eastern Europe use?

Answer.

The Cyrillic alphabet.

Outcome

The document examiner determined that the handwriting of the immigrants was based on the Cyrillic alphabet, whereas the signatures in question were not. The insurance company sued the agent and recouped its losses.

 

UNIT 2. BASIC PRINCIPLES OF HANDWRITING

 

Прочитайте и переведите текст.

 

 

TEXT

BASIC PRINCIPLES OF HANDWRITING

No two people write exactly alike. The principles of handwriting identi­fication are based on basic scientific truths about handwriting. The first and foremost of these scientific truths is that no two people write exactly alike in an extended handwriting sample. The use of a signature in legal and financial transactions is possible because unique characteristics in an individual's hand­writing distinguish it from every other handwriting. This principle enables document examiners to differentiate genuine and non-genuine writing and to identify the author of a sample of handwriting.

The second basic scientific truth about handwriting is all writing con­tains natural variation so that no two writing samples by the same writer will be exactly the same. There are slight deviations in all handwriting character­istics. The document examiner must learn to distinguish between natural varia­tion and a different writer.

Writing is a complex act and a highly developed skill. Many influences affect the development of each person's writing ability, resulting in the unique style of each individual writer. These influences continue to occur through­out the life of the writer.

Physical factors, including hand-eye coordination, flexibility of wrist movement, and the grip of the writing instrument, play a part in the develop­ment of handwriting skills. Other factors include attitude and discipline. If handwriting is important to the writer, he or she will expend more effort in learning to write. Taking care to adhere more closely to the written model, the writer will continue practicing until reaching a skill level that is comfortable. Each person attains a level of skill that he or she finds acceptable. The more an individual practices writing, the better the skill.

Just how does the act of writing occur? Skilled writing uses arm, wrist, and finger movement. The arm moves across the paper as writing is produced so that the pen is presented at the proper location for writing. The arm may be in continual movement, or it may rest on the writing surface and move in segments as necessary. Skilled writers use a combination of finger, wrist, and arm movements to accomplish the act of writing. Poor writers use only their fingers and have to constantly lift and move their hand to reach across the page. Some writers use only arm movement, which is more difficult.

Writing becomes automatic to the point where the operation not only requires almost no conscious direction but is frequently beyond the control of the mind or the hand. This is evident when someone tries unsuccessfully to disguise his or her handwriting. The habits are so ingrained that the writer cannot eliminate all the characteristics comprising his or her writing style.