Traffic rules in Great Britain
It is not a simple thing for a tourist from Europe to cross the street in London, because in Britain the cars keep to the left, and not to the right as in European countries and in Russia.
When English people want to cross the street they must look first to the right and then to the left.
The traffic lights are like it is here. The red light says "Stop", the yellow light says "Wait" and only when you see the green light, which says "Cross", you may cross the street. People usually cross the street at the black-and white "Zebra" crossing. If a person crosses the street in the wrong place, he is stopped by a policeman («Bobby), who stands at street corners regulating the traffic.
There are also women police in England. They have the same power as men. There are women detectives and women traffic police who regulate street traffic. But most of their work is looking after women and children. You can often see them patrolling parks other places where children play.
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Active vocabulary:
To cross the street, to keep to the left, to the right, traffic, traffic lights, crossing, to regulate the traffic, power.
Questions:
What side do the cars keep to in Britain ? in European countries ?
What do the lights of the traffic lights say ?
When may you cross the street ?
Who stands at street corners ?
Do women regulate street traffic ?
What is their main duty ?
An arrest
Without question, the police play an important role in protecting citizens from crime. They have special powers to do it. Police have the power to investigate, which often means to stop and question persons, to arrest criminals and many others. Society gives to police the right to use force if necessary. We shall discuss now the problems of arrest.
What is an arrest? When is person "under arrest"? Are you under arrest only if the police officer says that you are? If the police stop you in the street and ask you to explain why you are there and what you are doing, are you under arrest? If a police officer asks you to follow him to the police station, are you under arrest?
These are difficult questions to answer. The answers are not clear and are discussed among police officers and judges. Basically there are two views. Some say that a person is arrested the moment the officer comes up to him and restrains his freedom to walk away. Others say that an arrest is an intent of the police officer to take a person to the police station to charge3 him with crime. What do you think ?
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Пояснения к тексту:
to restrain freedom - ограничить свободу
an intent - намерение
to charge with a crime - обвинить в преступлении
Active vocabulary:
To protect from, to question persons, criminal, to use force, police station, under arrest, judge, basically, a view.