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Файл:Буква закона = Letter of law. Учебное пособие
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The picture shows a small island in the middle of a
deep lake. The lake is 300 metres across. There is a tree
on the island, and another tree on the land. A woman
wants to go from the land to the island. She can't swim.
She has a rope that is 350 metres long. How can she
reach the island?
A man wants to cross a ditch. The ditch is 3 metres
wide and full of water. The man cannot swim. The only
equipment that he can find is a pile of eight wooden
planks. Each plank is about 2 ½ metres long. How can
he cross the ditch?
Unit 8. CRIME (IV)
Warm up Activities
1. The following words are related to the theme “Crime”. List them under
the headings according to their meaning:
to steal, a rapist, a judge, an arsonist, a jail sentence, to acquit, a fine, a
prosecution lawyer, to murder, a suspended sentence, to rob, a defence lawyer, a
mugger, life imprisonment, murderer, death sentence, electric chair, a burglar, an
offender, a stenographer, lethal injection, a juror, gas chamber.
Types of criminals | People in court | Verbs of crime | Form of punishment
______________ ____________ ____________ ________________
______________ ____________ ____________ ________________
______________ ____________ ____________ ________________
______________ ____________ ____________ ________________
______________ ____________ ____________ ________________
Reading
2. You are going to read a text about the crime rate in the US. Four
sentences have been removed from the text. Choose from the sentences the one
which fits each gap.
1. Experts believe that this awareness and fear of crime is largely caused by the
great attention it is given newspapers and on television, and also because violent
crime is a popular theme for television series and films.
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2. In other words, American cities with a higher rate of unemployment and
poverty do not necessarily also have a higher crime rate.
3. However, experts who had predicted a further decline were puzzled when
FBI figures for 1985 showed an increase in violent crimes.
4. It makes a difference, of course, where someone lives in America.
Crime in the USA
The crime rate in the US, which rose dramatically in the 1960s and 1970s, has
gone down steadily since 1980. Department of Justice statistics show that serious
crimes (murder, rape, robbery, etc.) declined 7 percent nationwide in1983 and an
additional 4.5 percent the following year.
In some areas, for example in New York City, crime decreased 17 percent over a
three-year period, with homicides and burglaries down by 10 percent.
Public opinion polls show that Americans view crime as one of the most serious
problems of their society. Several studies have also shown that the amount of crime,
especially violent crime, is frequently overestimated. Many Americans are
therefore surprised to learn that, according to Interpol, the “general crime rate per100,
000 inhabitants” for the US is significantly lower than that for several other, or
Denmark, and not much higher than those for West Germany, Austria, or England.
Nevertheless, among all crimes, murder makes the headlines, and there is no
doubt that homicides continue to be a serious problem in America. The US had a
murder rate (per 100,000 inhabitants) of 8 in the mid-1980s, compared, for instance,
with a rate of 7 for Canada, 5 for Sweden and West Germany, and 4 for Italy.
The murder rates (in 1985) for states such as Texas (13.0), Florida (11.4), and
Michigan (11.2) contrast with those for Minnesota (2.1), Iowa (1.9), South Dakota
(1.8), and North Dakota (1.0). In some parts of the country, above all in decayed,
inner-city areas, most people keep their doors locked and do not walk alone at night.
In other parts, few people take such precautions.
In the United States, as elsewhere, the causes of serious crime are hotly debated
and many reasons for it suggested. Among these are unemployment, drug-abuse,
poverty, inadequate police enforcement, television, and “a general decline in
middle-class values”. Surprisingly, a major study of crime in the 1982 found that
“the number of poor people in a city is only marginally related to property or violent
crime.” Many experts believe only grass-roots efforts to improve community
life overall and to have a lasting effect.
Vocabulary Exercises
3. Find and remember the Russian equivalents of the words and word
combinations in bold.
4. Fill in the appropriate word(s) from the list, then make sentences using
the completed phrases.
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fear, television, further, public opinion, makes, inner-city, take, the causes of, be,
have
…………….. polls
to………….. precautions
to ………….. the headlines
to………….. a lasting effect
.……………. of crime
…………….. crime
a…………… decline
……………… series
.……………. areas
……………… hotly debated
Speaking
5. Answer the following questions:
1. How did the crime rate rise in the US?
2. What do statistics show?
3. How did the crime rate rise in Russia?
4. What are the reasons of crimes in Russia and the USA?
5. What do Russian and American experts think about the crime rate in their
countries?
6. Make notes under these headings. Use your notes to talk about the crime
rate in the US.
• The crime rate in US
• The results of public opinion polls
• A murder rate and the place of living
• The reasons of crimes
Reading
7. Read the text and translate it, using a dictionary. Then explain the words
and word combinations in bold and try to remember them all.
Russian Organized Crime in the United States
“Russian organized crime presents the greatest long-term threat to the security
of the United States... The United States is presented with a well-organized, well-
funded, sophisticated and brutal conspiracy,” said FBI Director Louis Freeh. Russian
criminals have been implicated in numerous murders, attempted murders, assaults
64
and extortion. As evidence of their intimidation effect, witnesses to crimes often
could not be found, or both witnesses and victims refused to cooperate in
investigations.
The size of problem is really immense. There are, for instance, approximately 24
organized crime families in the United States, traditional La Cosa Nostra families,
that have been identified, which are composed of about 2,000 active members. The
Russian Ministry of the Interior has estimated that they number 5,000 to 8,000 groups
and have some 100,000 members. Thirty of those groups are active in other countries,
including the United States.
According to the testimony of Ralf Mutschke, Assistant Director, Criminal
Intelligence Directorate International Criminal Police Organization - Interpol General
Secretariat, in recent years, South American drug cartels have been forming alliances
with East European (Russian Organized Crime Groups) in order to support and
diversify their operations. East European groups have offered drug cartels access to
sophisticated weapons that were previously not available. Helicopters, surface-to-air
missiles, rocket-propelled grenades, and even submarines are on the drug cartels’
"shopping list."
Donnie R. Marshall, Administrator, Drug Enforcement Administration states
that Russian Organized Crime groups are involved in a wide variety of crimes,
including drug trafficking to and within the United States.
R. James Woolsey, former Director of the Central Intelligence Agency notices “...
Russian organized crime can use its resources to corrupt institutions here in the United
States. The recent case involving the Bank of New York may prove to be one such
example.” Russian organized crime groups have seized upon the opportunities offered
by Russia's brand of "Wild West" capitalism, and they have had close ties with corrupt
Russian businessmen. In addition, organized crime groups in Russia have been
implicated in the corruption of current and former Russian government officials, a
problem that is certainly not unique to Russia but that appears to be a serious problem
there. Russian organized crime groups provide corrupt businessmen and government
officials with protection, muscle, assassination teams and lines of communication to
other groups of criminals, government officials and businessmen.
Professor of the American University Louise Shelley adds “... because Russian
organized crime is a transnational phenomenon, its intimidation, or let us say the
authoritarianism that is associated with it, is not confined within the borders of the
former Soviet Union, but results in intimidation of citizens abroad and intimidation of
foreign newspapers that try to publish articles that reveal and expose problems of
organized crime abroad.” Three years ago, President Yeltsin called his country, the
Russian Federation, with 150 million people and over 20,000 nuclear warheads,
“the biggest mafia state in the world... the superpower of crime that is devouring the
state from top to bottom.” The situation has not improved since then.
(Congressional Hearings on the Threat from International Organized Crime and
Global Terrorism. US House of Representatives. Committee on International
Relations, 1997.)
to implicate – впутывать, вовлекать
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extortion – вымогательство
intimidation – запугивание
to seize upon – ухватиться, воспользоваться
to confine – ограничивать
Vocabulary Exercises
8a). Fill in the gaps with the appropriate word from the list below:
immense, revealed, estimated, muscle, evidences, support, border, intimidation
1. The scientist must produce ….. in support of his theory. (anything that gives a
reason for believing).
2. Her new house was ….. .(very large)
3. They ….. the cost at 200$. (form a judgement about, calculate the cost)
4. Modern weapons added more ….. to the attack. (authority, power)
5. The criminal escaped over the ….. . (line dividing two states)
6. I’m afraid of her ….. . (an act of frightening)
7. One day the truth about this event will be ….. .( make known)
8. I hope you …. me in the election. ( provide)
8b). Fill in the correct preposition, then make sentences using the completed
phrases.
1 to be presented ….; 2 …. order to; 3 to be composed …. ; 4 …. and …. the
United States; 5 …. recent years; 6 to be implicated ….; 7 …. top …. bottom;
8 …. addition.
Speaking
9. Discuss the following questions:
1. Does Russian organized crime present the only
greatest long-term threat to the security of the United
States?
2. Why do organized crime families come to the
United States but not somewhere else?
3. How do the drug cartels use helicopters and other
sophisticated weapons?
4. Why is it so easy to corrupt institutions in the
United States?
5. Is a problem of corruption of Russian government
officials unique only to Russia?
6. Was President Yeltsin right calling our country “the biggest mafia state in the
world”?
66
Writing
• Study the following information.
Narrative writing includes stories (imaginary stories, true stories, describing
experiences, tales, etc.) and factual reports (news reports: events, current affairs,
accidents, disasters, etc). In narratives we use a variety of past tenses. Each paragraph
deals with a different idea which is developed through it. The last sentence of each
paragraph should lead to the next paragraph.
When writing a narrative composition, you should always keep in mind the kind
of reader you are writing for. In other words, writing a fictional short story is
completely different from writing a factual report.
When writing a narrative, keep a time sequence in mind. Factual reports and
stories describe a sequence of events and these events are linked with appropriate
sequence words such as:
First
Then/Next
After/Before (that)
During/Meanwhile
Finally
As soon as
The moment that
As
No sooner … than
Hardly … when
Immediately
Since
While
Until
By the time
As long as
A story can be written either in the 1st person (personal style) or in the 3rd person
and it describes sequence of real or fictional events. It should display both
atmosphere and our emotions at the time and must be exciting, strange or funny in
order to entertain the reader. Successful beginnings and endings are the most
important factors in story writing. A good beginning will stimulate the reader’s
interest and his/her curiosity. Keep in mind that a boring ending can spoil a good
story. A story may end with a conclusion, a question, a surprise or it can end in
suspense.
Factual reports describe a series of events and can be written only in the third
person (impersonal style). The passive is frequently used as well as a variety of past
tenses. When writing factual reports we should stick to the facts and use reporting
verbs (eg. comment, complain, add etc) in Direct or Reported speech. Use of short
forms is acceptable in stories but not in factual reports, unless we use Direct Speech.
67
General outlines for narratives
Story
Factual reports
Introduction
para 1 set the scene (describe the
weather, time, atmosphere, people
involved, possible feeling etc)
Introduction
para 1 summary of the event (write about
time, place, people involved. Do not give
detailed descriptions.)
Main Body (may include 1 – 3
paragraphs)
para 2 before the main event(s)
(incidents leading to the main event)
para 3 the main event(s) (describe the
main event(s), people involved in, more
details etc)
Main Body (may include 1 – 3
paragraphs)
para 2 development of the event(s)
(describe the main event(s), people
involved. Give detailed facts. If it is 2 or 3
events, each paragraph should deal with
one topic.)
Conclusion
final para end the story (refer to moods,
consequences, people’s reactions,
feelings etc)
Conclusion
final para comments/reference to future
developments
A story has a less formal style than a factual report.
Informal style for stories
Formal style for factual reports
• Personal style (first or third person)
• Direct Speech is more common than
Reported Speech.
• Detailed and chatty descriptions (use
of adjectives)
• Colloquial English (use of idioms and
idiomatic expressions)
• Impersonal style
• Use of Passive Voice/reporting verbs in
Direct or Reported Speech
• Only facts
• Complex sentence structure, well-
developed paragraphs, high level of
vocabulary, non-colloquial English
10a). Match the beginnings with the endings, then decide which beginnings
and endings are factual reports and which are stories. Give reasons.
The body of a 75-year-old man has
been found in Regent’s park. It was
discovered by a group of workers who
reported to the police. The man, later
discovered to be Mark Smith, a
widower, had been attacked.
A neighbour looked at Jones and told
me in a low voice that the people from
Number 17 were on holiday. I arrested
Jones and brought him to the police
station.
“I saw a man on a ladder at the back
of Number 17, Oak Street. His
behaviour was a little strange, so I
called him. I asked him if that was his
house. He said that it was his house, he
couldn’t find his key and he wanted to
get in.
When a chunk of debris was moved
and I saw daylight, I knew I would be
save. As the policeman climbed down and
hauled me out, I felt relief. Although my
leg was hurting terribly, I was happy to be
safe and sound.
68
Detective Stevenson was on
afternoon patrol in a city when he saw
two men standing at a corner. One of
them passed a shop, looked at the
window, went a short distance, and then
returned to the window for another look.
“Everything possible has been done to
find who is responsible, and justice will be
done,” commented sergeant Brown. Police
now plan to patrol the park at night time to
prevent any further attacks.
I went to work on foot that evening.
As usual I went up to the second floor to
get the cleaning stuff out of the
cupboard. The building was empty and I
figured that I could finish cleaning
before 9 pm. Suddenly I heard a strange
ticking noise.
The officer followed them, searched
them and found two 38 calibre revolvers.
He took the men with the guns to a police
station where they were charged with
carrying the weapons.
10b). Choose the beginning and the ending you like best and write a story
and a factual report using the outlines above.
Just for fun
Who killed Frank Davis?
Frank Davis, the pop singer, was in his library. Suddenly there was a shot and
Frank Davis was dead. Was it an accident (he killed himself while cleaning his gun)
or someone shoot him?
There were four other people at Frank’s house that day: Summers, the chauffeur;
Miss Sanders, the cook; Johnson, the butler; Frank’s son, Sam. The policeman
interviewed them all.
The policeman: What’s your name?
Summers: Summers.
The policeman: What do you do here?
Summers: I’m the chauffeur.
The policeman: Where were you this
afternoon?
Summers: I was outside.
The policeman: What were you doing?
Summers: I was repairing the car.
The policeman: Did you hear the shot?
Summers: Yes, I did.
The policeman: What did you do when
you heard the shot?
Summers: I ran indoors.
These are the notes from the policeman’s notebook. Study them thoroughly.
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Did you manage to find the murder? How do you know?
2. Miss Sanders
cook
in kitchen
peeling potatoes
yes
telephone the
police
3. Johnson
butler
in dining room
setting table
yes
drop a plate and
run to the library
4. Sam
Frank’s son
in living room
watching TV
heard a shot and
a crash
go to see what
the noise was
TV was on
a broken plate - in the dining room near the table
some potatoes - in the sink
some oil - on the handle of the front door
gun - in Frank’s right hand
gun was clean, no fingerprints on it
Johnson’s fingerprints - on the handle of the library door
no fingerprints on the telephone
library windows - open
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Supplementary Reading
Unit 1
• Read the text and mark the sentences as T (true) or F (false).
FROM THE HISTORY OF CRIMES
1. Alfred introduced his own laws because he found that different laws were
used in different parts of his kingdom. ……
2. People who were accused of crimes declared outlaws if they killed someone.
……
3. The Anglo-Saxons believed that King of Wessex would judge whether the
person were guilty or not. ……
4. The crimes of treason, rebellion, riot, murder and most kinds of stealing were
all punished by capital punishment. …...
5. Some police methods such as fingerprinting helped to prove a criminal was
guilty. ……
6. The first detective force later became known as the Bow Street Runners. ……
7. Nobody went to see public hangings in Georgian Britain. ……
8. Many criminals were kept in old ships before being transported to prison
camps in America. ……
The accused person either picked a stone out of a pan of boiling water or carried
a bar of red-hot iron for several paces. If the scalded or burned hand had begun to
heal after three days, the person was innocent. If not, he or she was guilty.
Those criminals who were caught in Tudor times were punished very harshly as
an example to others. Common people were hanged, nobles were usually beheaded.
People could be hanged for stealing.
When Alfred (871-899) became King of Wessex, he
found that different laws were used in different parts of his
kingdom. He introduced his own laws from old Saxon
customs, and many good laws from other kingdoms.
People who were accused of crimes had to appear in
front of the village moot. If they did not appear for their
trial they were declared outlaws and could be killed by
anyone. Those who admitted their crime had to pay a fine
to anyone they had harmed. In the case of murder the fine
was called wergild. The size of the wergild depended on
the importance of the injured person. The more important
the victim, the higher the wergild.
If accused people could not find enough oath-helpers
(people who would swear they were innocent), they were
tried by ‘ordeal’. The Anglo-Saxons believed that God
would judge whether the person were guilty or not.
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