75-Year-old caught shoplifting in supermarket

Write:

• where/ when it happened

• what happened in detail

• what the criminal said

You can use words from Tasks 2, 3 (Vocabulary and grammar).

Crime and punishment kramer vs. Kramer

I. PRE-VIEW ACTIVITIES

Cultural points about the movie

“Kramer vs. Kramer” literally means Kramer versus (against) Kramer. The term “vs.” is used in legal action when one party sues or brings legal action against another party. The last names of the two parties are used.

Task 1. In groups, discuss the following questions and give reasons for your answers:

1) What reasons for divorce exist in our country? Are they similar or different compared to the reasons in other countries?

2) Who plays a more important role in children upbringing – a father or a mother? Why?

3) Who usually gets custody of the child after divorce in our country?

4) How can divorce of parents influence on a child? Can it be the cause for a child to embark on life of crime or not, and why?

5) What problems can a family face during divorce?

Task 2. Read the text about getting custody of the child after divorce. Some sentences have been removed from it. Choose from the sentences (A-E) the one, which fits each gap (1-5).

Kramer vs. reality

In divorce cases, as in society, rules are changing

While moviegoers have been weeping over the divorce drama “Kramer vs. Kramer”, lawyers have been shaking their heads. Their complaint is not that the couple’s attorneys in the film are the least appealing characters, but that the courtroom scenes are legally out of date. Meryl Streep, playing a restless housewife trying to find fulfillment, has walked out on her marriage to Dustin Hoffman, a young Manhattan adman, leaving him with their young son; eighteen months later she wins custody of the child despite the husband’s devotion to the boy during her long absence. 1- _______.

More and more, in the USA single dads are rearing their children. While women still get custody in the majority of divorces, between 1970 and 1978 the number of children under 18 living with divorced fathers jumped by 136 percent. At the same time, many other ex-spouses are trying another fast-spreading arrangement: joint custody, in which fathers and mothers share the responsibilities for the rearing of their kids.

2-_______. That principle died in the 19^th century as courts took on a guardian role and began to favor the mother, especially if the child was in his first five to seven years. The rule that generally prevails in the U.S. today is that custody must be based on the “best interests of the child”. Though the rule is sex-blind in principle, men seldom win custody in the 10 percent of the cases that go to court.

While many judges cling to this “unfitness” test, things are changing. The emergence of job-holding mothers (59 percent women now work) has destroyed a leading legal basis for favoring ex-wife. 3-_______. Once father has obtained custody, whether by agreement or by court ruling, he faces lots of adjustments. If his work hours are a problem, he may have to find a new job. Most single fathers rely on female friends or parents to help; day care is often a must.

Some advocates of divorce-law change believe that only joint custody makes sense. 4-_______.

While few lawyers quarrel with the goals of joint-custody advocates, many question the wisdom of this arrangement. “It’s the easiest thing for a judge to decide,” says Family Law expert Henry S. Foster. “He then abdicates his responsibility. The judge represents the conscience of the community; he should examine all the facts from the perspective of the child and then decide.” 5-_______.

A. In the real world, psychiatrists or psychologists would have testified, the judge would have at least interviewed the child and probably would have allowed the father to retain the custody he had since the split-up.

B. In Roman times and after, the man was king: offspring were considered his property even if the marriage ended.

C. Of course, such an arrangement can succeed only if the parents are able to work out details harmoniously.

D. They favor a system under which the child lives with one parent, while the other has unlimited visitation rights and a full voice in decisions involving the child’s rearing.

E. Fathers, encouraged by the new emphasis on equal rights, are increasingly inclined to put up a fight.

Task 3. In small groups compare the situation of getting custody of the child after divorce in our country and in the USA.

Task 4. Read the proper names you are going to come through in the film.

The Kramer family: Thelma

Ted Phyllis

Joanna Jim O’Connor

Billy Murray

Gressen

Shaunessy

Task 5. Read the following sentences. Guess the meaning of the underlined words and expressions from the context.

1. I don’t want to discuss this problem anymore. Everything is open and shut.

2. I’m not responsible for taking such important decisions at my work. Only the guys upstairs are in charge of things connected with foreign policy of our company.

3. That politician was prepared for debates so well, that he could easily beat the pants off his opponent.

4. She’s a housewife and looks after the child; it’s her husband who brings home the bacon.

5. They were ready to divorce, but at the last moment he asked her to give him a shot to change everything for the better.

6. I doubted if I was on the right way in my job, but he cheered me up saying that I was playing my cards right.

7. They took general’s stripes as a severe punishment, and he became captain.

Task 6. Watch the film and be ready to describe the trial (note down the details of the trial, questions of lawyers, arguments of both parties, answers to lawyers’ questions).

II. POST-VIEW ACTIVITIES

DISCUSSION

Task 1. Answer the following questions:

1. When we first see Ted Kramer, is he portrayed as a good husband?

2. Why does Joanna not want to return to the apartment when she and Ted are arguing in the hall at the start of the movie?

3. What does Ted’s cleaning the house of Joanna’s things symbolize?

4. Why do you think Billy behaves the way he does after he receives his mother’s letter?

5. Why did Joanna leave?

6. How do you think the ice-cream eating incident contributes to the growth of the father-son relationship?

7. In court, how does Joanna explain leaving her child?

8. Does Joanna seem surprised by the changes in Ted during his testimony?

9. What do you think will happen to Joanna, Ted and Billy in the future?

Task 2. Imagine you are Joanna Kramer. You are talking to your mother on the phone on the day the final trial has taken place. Tell her about what has happened using the following words and word-combinations:

to bring civil action against

to ask for custody

to be in session

to call as the first witness

to strike and physically abuse

to provide for the family

to object statement

to harass the witness

to hear the respondent

to win the case

Task 3. Retell the whole trial on behalf of Ted Kramer. Use the following words and word-combinations:

to set the court date

to retain custody

the court-appointed psychiatrist

to call witness

to question

to be responsible for injury that permanently disfigured the child

to introduce the question of negligence

to deny

to lose the case

the Saturday Father

to have the rights of visitation

to appeal

Task 4. In each blank, write the most appropriate word of phrase.

Yesterday, there was a (1)… at the First National Bank on Main Street. Three men carrying (2)… entered the bank at 2:00 p.m. and demanded that the tellers (3)… all the money in their drawers. One of the tellers pressed a silent alarm button during the robbery, but the thieves had (4)… by the time that the police arrived. Fortunately, no one (5)… during the robbery, and no one was hurt.

Police questioned the witnesses, who said that one of the three robbers was only a (6)…, perhaps 16 years old. All of the witnesses agreed to (7)… in the court when the three are arrested and (8)… with armed robbery. The police are confident that the (9)… of the witnesses will lead to the (10)… of the robbers.

VOCABULARY AND GRAMMAR

Task 1. Put the verbs in brackets into the correct tense of verb form.

A big armed robbery (1)… (foil) yesterday when gunmen walked into a police ambush in central London.

The gang (2)… (hold up) a security van after it (3)… (collect) more than 600,000 pounds around the City, but they (4)… (not have) time to begin (5)… (put) their plan into operation. If it (6)… (succeed), it (7)… (be) one of the largest this year.

However, the gang’s carefully planned raid (8)… (betray), and police, (9)… (act) on a tip-off, knew where and when it (10)… (take) place.

Officers from the Metropolitan police flying squad and the firearms unit set an elaborate trap.

Plain-clothes detectives (11)… (position) in streets and cars around the London Electricity showrooms just north of the City, where the van (12)… (pick) up takings. The robbers, who were armed with pistols, (13)… (allow) loitering outside the showroom entrance and waiting for the van to arrive.

A police spokesman refused (14)… (discuss) what happened next or to say how many officers (15)… (involve) in the operation. Witnesses said that as the raid (16)… (begin), plain-clothes detectives came out from a side road and used a post office van to block off a possible escape route down the street.

Meanwhile, marksmen who (17)… (hide) behind a wall in front of the showroom appeared behind the gunmen and called on them (18)… (surrender).

The three (19)… (throw) to the ground and (20)… (handcuff). Scotland Yard said that no shots (21)… (fire).

Last night men (22)… (interview) at City Road Police Station. They (23)… (appear) in court tomorrow.

Task 2. Fill each gap in the following passage with one word. Below the passage there is a list of basic root words for you to use; in some cases you will have to find other forms of these words. Some of them may be used more than once.

Bert made a mess of … (1) the bank: two … (2) were waiting outside for him. “Come along,” they said, “You’re under … (3).”

At the … (4), Bert’s … (5) couldn’t think of a good … (6), so it all went very quickly. “You have been found … (7) of … (8),” said the … (9). “You know very well that it is an … (10) to … (11) money from other people. In fact it is a very serious … (12), and I … (13) you to two years’… (14).”

arrest defend guilt judge law offend police prison

rob sentence steal thief try