Additional reading materials to unit 2

1 Law in singapore

Exercise 1 Read and translate the information about law in Singapore, taking into consideration the meaning of the modal verbs and their equivalents.

Singapore welcomes visitors and tourists. Please respect the laws of this country. Here are some points to remember:

SMOKING: Cigarette smoking is a danger to health. It is prohibited in lifts, cinemas, theatres, all government offices and on buses. Fines are up to $500.

LITTER: Singapore is Garden City of Asia – clean and green. Dropping litter in public places is forbidden. You can be fined up to $500 for dropping litter – even if it is a sweet wrapper or a cigarette end.

LONG HAIR: Male visitors should not have hair longer than the top of shirt collar. Long-haired men will be served last of all in government offices.

DRUGS: You can be fined or put in prison for possessing illegal drugs. The penalty for possessing and trafficking more than 15 grams of heroin or morphine is death.

GAMBLING: Only official horserace betting and lotteries are permitted. No other forms of gambling are allowed – even in private houses.

JAYWALKING: You must always use the pedestrian crossings. You can be fined $50 for crossing the street less than 50 metres from a crossing, or for crossing on the red man. These laws also apply to children who are old enough to be in the street on their own.

Exercise 2 Read the text and again and mark whether the statements are true, false or not mentioned. Correct the false sentences.

1 Foreign tourists do not have to follow Singapore laws.

2 It is illegal to smoke in Singapore.

3 You can be fined up to $50 for smoking on a bus.

4 Dropping litter carries the death penalty.

5 It is illegal to have long hair in Singapore.

6 Women with long hair are served last in government offices.

7 You can be executed for buying and selling heroin.

8 You are only allowed to gamble in your own home.

9 Children are not allowed to cross the road on their own.

10 You should cross the road only when the pedestrian light is green.

Exercise 3 Find words in the text to complete these tables:

Smoking in cinemas is	f ________________________
	p ________________________
	i ________________________

You are not ____________________ It is i _____________________	to	smoke in cinemas
You ___________________ not

Exercise 4 Make as many true sentences about Singapore’s laws as you can. Use the information from the previous exercise.

… is illegal.

You are not allowed to …

You must not…

Exercise 5 These sentences all mean the same. One is informal, the others are formal. Which do you think is the informal one?

1 You are not allowed to smoke in cinemas.

2 Smoking in cinemas is forbidden.

3 It is illegal to smoke in cinemas.

4 Smoking in cinemas is prohibited.

5 You mustn’t smoke in cinemas.

Exercise 6 Give the informal version as in example:

1 Smoking in cinemas is forbidden. – You mustn’t smoke in cinemas.

2 Crossing on the red man is prohibited. – You mustn’t cross on the red man.

Creative task: what do you think of Singapore’s laws? What are the laws in our country for these things? Make a set of your own laws to keep your environment clean and green.