Discussion

12. Speak on the crime the willful burning of the dwelling of another constitutes. Use the following words and phrases:

• malicious burning;

• decided to enlarge the definition of arson;

• the owner of the property;

• degrees of arson;

• even if the building is unoccupied;

• was materially injured;

• the fire communicated to a distant part of the building.

13. Divide the paragraph "Assault and battery" into logical parts and entitle each of them.

14. Work in pairs:

a) Look at the following words and phrases and think of a story that might combine them all. You may reorder them in any way you want to using any form of the verb:

• endangered species;

• it constitutes cruelty;

• he inflicted the unjustifiable pain to his domestic animals;

• his attitude constitutes abuse;

• he only resorted to husbandry and chastisement;

• it was a legitimate research.

b) When you have decided upon the story, tell it to your partner. Then listen to that of your partner. Ask each other as many questions as you can to learn further details or clarify some points.

15. Give a summary of the text.

16. Speak individually or arrange a discussion on the following.

• The best way to prevent an assault is carrying some weapon – a gun or at least a knife.

• I don’t think that physical contact is an essential element in the offense of assault and battery.

• I think only those who set fire to occupied buildings can be convicted of arson.

Case study

17. Scrutinize the situations and provide detailed and motivated answers to the questions given below.

Identify key points in the articles and extract information from them to pass on to somebody else.

I

CAMPAIGNING IN THE NUDE

I was happy to see the people item about, and photograph of, Boss agency models’ turning their back on fur and posing nude to show their support for People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. It reaffirmed that there really are people nuttier than I. I am not at all impressed by the models’ plan to take off their robes. It actually sounds rather narcissistic. If these people want to do something sacrificial, they should shave all the hair off their bodies. That would demonstrate their ability to empathize with the animals whose “rights” they are defending [5].

Raymond J. Herman. Baltimore, Maryland

Questions:

1. Why did the models turn their backs on fur and pose nude?

2. Would you support animals of protected or endangered species the way these girls did?

3. Do you think the models’ action will turn out to be effective?

4. Will the models follow the advice of the reader and do the sacrificial thing he recommends?

5. Don’t you think that Russia’s laws protecting migratory animals and animals of endangered species should be drastically changed?

6. What means of defending animals’ right to live and to survive would you suggest?

II gay man shot dead

Jonathan Schmitz, 26, a waiter and guest on a U.S. TV talk show who fatally shot a fellow guest three days after their taped encounter was convicted of second-degree murder; in Pontiac, Michigan. During a March 1995 taping of the Jenny Jones Show, Schmitz, a de­clared heterosexual, expected to meet a female with a secret crush on him but learned that his admirer was a gay man, Scott Amedure, 32. The jurors decided not to convict Schmitz of more serious first-degree murder after a defense plea that his history of depression coupled with the shock of the TV "ambush" left him mentally incapacitated [7].

Questions:

1. What degree murder was Schmitz convicted of?

2. Why do you think he murdered Scott Amedure?

3. Why did the jurors decide not to convict Schmitz of more serious first-degree murder?