CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
Crime and punishment General Vocabulary (part I)
1. felony – уголовное преступление
2. misdemeanor – судебно наказуемый проступок, преступление
3. petty or grave / grand offence – мелкое/крупное правонарушение
4. murder (syn. homicide) – предумышленное, убийство, совершённое с заранее обдуманным злым умыслом
5. manslaughter – непредумышленное убийство
6. suicide – самоубийство
7. assault – словесное оскорбление и угроза физическим насилием
8. rape – изнасилование
9. robbery – грабеж, разбой с насилием
10. theft – воровство, кража
11. burglary – ночная кража со взломом
12. house-breaking – кража со взломом
13. kidnapping – похищение людей
14. mugging – нападение с целью грабежа, групповое нападение
15. embezzlement – растрата, хищение, присвоение
16. bribery – взяточничество
17. forgery – подлог, подделка, фальсификация
18. fraud – обман, мошенничество
19. swindling –надувательство, обман
20. perjury – лжесвидетельство, клятвопреступление
21. slander – клевета, злословие (в устной форме)
22. defamation – клевета, диффамация (письменная/устная формы)
23. libel – клевета, диффамация (в печати)
24. blackmail – шантаж
25. abuse of power – злоупотребление властью
26. disorderly conduct – хулиганство, нарушение общественного порядка
27. speeding – превышение скорости
28. arson – поджег
29. shoplifting – ограбление магазинов
30. contempt of court – неуважение к суду (неявка в суд)
31. handling stolen goods – хранение краденного
32. laundering money – отмывание грязных денег
33. treason – измена, предательство, государственная измена
34. drug trafficking – торговля наркотиками
35. insider dealing – использование служебного положения в личных целях
36. hijacking – угон воздушного транспорта
Text 1.
What is crime?
Crimes can be thought of as acts which the state considers to be wrong and which can be punished by the state. A crime is an act that is forbidden or the omission of a duty that is commanded by a public law and that makes the offender liable to punishment by law. Crimes may be of two general types: petty offences and grave ones. The English legal system, for instance, divides criminal offences into three basic categories: 1) «summary offences» is the category of minor crimes such as parking offences, minor assaults, begging, and less minor crimes such as drinking and driving which are tried without a jury; 2) «indictable offences» are those of more serious offences for which the police are given a power of arrest and which will be tried by jury: murder, manslaughter and serious fraud all come within this category. 3). A number of offences, because of the fact that they are not uniformly major or minor, are termed «either way» offences which may or may not be tried by a jury at the request of the defendant. The best example of these offences is theft which may involve either very small or very large amounts of money.
There are some acts which are crimes in one country but not in another. For example, it is a crime to drink alcohol in Saudi Arabia, but not in Egypt. It is a crime to smoke marijuana in England, but not (in prescribed places) in the Netherlands. It is a crime to have more than one wife at the same time in France, but not in Indonesia. It is a crime to have an abortion in Ireland, but not in Spain. It is a crime not to flush a public toilet after use in Singapore, but not in Malaysia. In general, however, there is quite a lot of agreement among states as to which acts are criminal. A visitor to a foreign country can be sure that stealing, physically attacking someone or damaging their property will be unlawful. But the way of dealing with people suspected of crime may be different from his own country.
Different societies and different governments continually review their ideas of what should and shouldn't be a considered crime. Homosexual acts, suicide and blasphemy were once crimes in all European countries, but have now mostly been decriminalized. On the other hand, discrimination against someone on the grounds of race or sex was not acknowledged as a crime until relatively recently, and is still not recognized in some countries. Recent cases of euthanasia (shortening the life of a sick person) are causing re-evaluations of the concept of murder. In most industrialized countries existing theft laws were not adequate to deal with computer crimes where complex kinds of information are stolen, altered or used to deceive other, and, thus, new laws have been passed.
Task 1.Give two definitions of a crime from the text and think about your own one.
Task 2. Give the examples of «summary», «indictable» and «either way» offences. What classifications of crimes can you mention?
Task 3. How can you prove the statement: There are some acts which are crimes in one country but not in another.
Task 4. Give synonyms from the text to the terms felony and misdemeanor.
Task 5. Speak about the importance of International law in the process of global / world integration. If you go abroad, what you mustn’t do in order to be a law-abiding traveler? Find the answer from the text.
Task 6. Comment on ethic and moral points of euthanasia. Is it a crime or not?
Task 7. Are there any laws in your country against high-tech crimes? Are you legally protected from hakers?
Task 8. There is no such a profession as killer, is there?
Task 9. Prepare a 3-minute talk on the topic «What Is Crime».