Unit 4. The Law.

Task 1

1. miscarriage of justice — a situation in which someone is punished by the law courts for a crime
that they have not committed (судебная ошибка):
 Many people oppose the death penalty because of the possibility of miscarriages of justice.

2. To strictly enforce a law – to ensure a law is obeyed by punishing those who do not obey it

Task 2

3. To obey /əʊˈbeɪ/ – to act according to what you have been asked or ordered to do by someone in
authority, or to behave according to a rule, law, or instruction:
 The soldiers refused to obey (orders).
 to obey the rules of international law
4. To obey the law – do what the law tell you to do

5. breakdown in law and order – many more people than usual are committing crimes and there’s
social unrest and violence.

6. To turn a blind eye to (idiom) - to ignore something that you know is wrong:
 Management often turn a blind eye to bullying in the workplace.

7. Offender - a person who is guilty of a crime:

 first-time offenders
 sex offenders
 young offenders

8. To let someone off with a caution – to warn someone who has broken the law not to do it again and
not punish them (отпустили (из-под ареста) с предупреждением.)

9. To take the law into your hands (idiom) – to do something illegal and often violent in order to
punish someone because you know the law will not punish that person. Often used in a negative
context.
 He took the law into his own hands and beat the man up.
 One day, after years of violent abuse from her husband, she took the law into her own hands.

10. To update – to make something more modern or suitable for use now by adding new information or
changing its design:
 an updated version of the software

11. Antiquated /ˈæn.tɪ.kweɪ.tɪd/ - old-fashioned or unsuitable for modern society:

 antiquated ideas/attitudes/values
 antiquated laws/machinery/technology

12. To tighten the rules (ужесточить правила) – make the rules stricter and more efficient.

13. An offence - an illegal act; a crime:

 a serious/minor offence
 a criminal/drink-driving offence
 Driving without a licence is an offence.
 14. a crackdown on smth - a situation in which someone starts to deal with bad or illegal behaviour in a
more severe way:
 There are signs the crackdown is working as designed.
 crackdown on There has been a series of government crackdowns on safety in factories.
 crackdown on crime — решительные, крутые меры по борьбе с преступностью
 to crackdown on terrorism — принимать крутые меры против терроризма

15. to toughen the law (on) – make the law that is stricter than the one it replaces
 The government is toughening antidrug laws.
 Правительство ужесточает антинаркотическое законодательство.

16. Convicted (of) - having officially been found guilty of a crime in a law court:
 Being a convicted criminal, I couldn't really get a job.
 He was convicted of shoplifting.
 a convicted murderer
 wrongly convicted (of) - несправедливо осужденный

17. to overturn - to change a legal decision (отменить вынесенное решение):

 The Court of Appeal overturned the earlier decision.

Task 3. Listening.

18. Tweezers – a small piece of equipment made of two narrow strips of metal joined at one end. It is
used to pull out hairs or to pick up small objects by pressing the two strips of metal together with the
fingers:
a pair of tweezers
eyebrow tweezers

19. Boarding gate – контрольно-пропускной пункт аэропорта

20. Hassle (informal) – (a situation causing) difficulty or trouble, involves problems, effort or argument
with people (стычка, перебранка):
 I can't face the hassle of moving again.

21. Fingerprints – the pattern of curved lines on the end of a finger or thumb that is different in every
person, or a mark left by this pattern:
 His fingerprints were all over the gun.
 take fingerprints: The police have taken fingerprints from every man in the neighbourhood.

22. Catch 22 - an impossible situation where you are prevented from doing one thing until you have
done another thing that you cannot do until you have done the first thing. Come from a famous book
entitled Catch 22 by Joseph Heller.
 a catch-22 situation

23. an offensive weapon - a dangerous weapon (knives, clubs, explosives, etc).

24. over-the-top (idiom UK informal (abbreviation OTT) – excessive and therefore unacceptable/ too
extreme and not suitable, or demanding too much attention or effort, especially in an uncontrolled
way:
 I thought the decorations were way (= very) over the top.
 The speech was a bit OTT.
 He realized he'd gone over the top with the seating arrangements.
 The clothes she wore were a bit OTT for the party.

25. Make a scene (idiom) - to behave in a loud, angry way in public:

  Please don't make a scene.
 So he paid, too embarrassed to make a scene in front of his date.

26. To give someone a dirty look (idiom) – to look in a way which shows that you are angry with
someone/ to look at someone in a disapproving way:
 He gave me a really dirty look.

27. To guard against smth – to prevent smth from happening.

28. An infringement (нарушение, посягательство) - an action that breaks a rule, law, etc.:
 copyright infringement
 infringement of Even minor infringements of the law will be severely punished.

29. “I won’t go into something.” – “I won’t explain or elaborate on something.”

30. To interrogate – to ask someone a lot of questions for a long time in order to get information,
sometimes using threats or violence:
 Thousands of dissidents have been interrogated or imprisoned in recent weeks.

Task 4

31. A palaver /pəˈlɑː.vər/ (colloquial) – unnecessary work and trouble, fuss and bother about the way
something is done (пустая болтовня, трёп):
 Organizing the annual office lunch was such a palaver, I swore I'd never do it again.
 Getting a visa fir this country is such a palaver.

32. To kick up a fuss/row/stink (colloquial) – to show great anger about something, especially when
this does not seem necessary (поднять суматоху):
 He kicked up a tremendous fuss about having to wait.

33. Make things awkward for someone – deliberately make a situation more difficult and complicated
for someone than it should be.
Task 5

1. Drag (V) - if something such as a film or performance drags, it seems to go slowly because it is
boring:
 The first half of the movie was interesting but the second half dragged.

2. Drag (N) - [ S ] informal - something that is not convenient and is boring or unpleasant:
 such a drag: Filling in forms is such a drag!
 what a drag: I've got to go to the dentist again - what a drag!
 What a drag! Let's go someplace. Какая тоска! Пойдем куда-нибудь отсюда.

3. To tow away (эвакуировать) - an act of a car being officially removed from a place where it has
been illegally left:
 I couldn't find a parking meter, so I decided to park illegally and risk a tow-away.
 This part of town is a tow-away area/zone (= one in which cars left illegally will be removed).

4. speed limit — дозволенная скорость, максимальная скорость, которую может развить

транспортное средство

Task 6 Listening

5. To pop somewhere (colloquial) – go somewhere for a short time

 pop into: I've just got to pop into the bank to get some money.
 pop out: Paula popped out for a minute.
 pop upstairs: Would you pop upstairs and see if Grandad is okay?
 pop in/over: Why don't you pop in/over and see us this afternoon?

6. Abrupt – using too few words when talking, in a way that seems rude and unfriendly:
 He is sometimes very abrupt with clients.
 an abrupt manner/reply

7. A spate of - a larger number of events than usual, especially unpleasant ones, happening at about the
same time:
 Police are investigating a spate of burglaries in the Kingsland Road area.

8. Portable – light and small enough to be easily carried or moved:

 a portable radio/phone/computer

9. To kick a habit (informal) – to give up something harmful that you have done for a long time:
 She used to be a heavy smoker but she kicked the habit last year.

10. A rehab (a rehabilitation centre) – a place which helps people to lead a normal life after they have
been ill or when they have had a drug or alcohol problem

11. To change hands (idiom) – to go from one owner to another:

 That Italian restaurant is nowhere near as good since it changed hands.

12. Burglary (кража со взломом) - the crime of illegally entering a building and stealing things.

Reading

13. Traffic warden - инспектор дорожного движения

14. Money-grubbing – informal disapproving - someone who is money-grubbing has money as their
main interest and does anything possible to get a lot of it:
 The over-charging money-grubbing landlords have tarnished our industry.
  Some money grubbing lawyer had him suing his neighbour.
15. Custody battle – a fight to gain the legal right to keep and look after a child when a couple get
divorced (опека, попечительство)
16. Paternity suits – судебный процесс по установлению отцовства
17. Dodgy financial practices – изворотливый, хитроумный, нечестный
18. Ambulance chasers – a lawyer who tries to get work by persuading someone who has been in an
accident to claim money from the person or company responsible for the accident (адвокат-
стервятник):
 An ambulance chaser contacted her the day she was injured and persuaded her to sue the
city council for negligence
19. Litigation – судебный процесс, тяжба
20. Compensation culture –
21. Scramble over –
22. Underhand means – secret and dishonest methods
23. In a bid to – in an attempt to
24. Crime mobs – преступные группировки
25. Legal loopholes – юридические лазейки
26. A plea bargain – an agreement to allow someone accused of a crime to admit to being guilty of a
less serious crime, in order to avoid being tried for the more serious one (соглашение между
обвинением и защитой; признание обвиняемым вины; сделка)
27. watchdogs – сторожевой пес, наблюдатель,
28. Herewith - настоящим, при этом, при сем, посредством этого
29. Hereafter - ниже, в будущем, дальше, затем, будущее, потусторонний мир, грядущее

Task 5

1. Maintenance - money that a person must pay regularly by law in order to support their child or
previous marriage partner after a divorce (= official end to a marriage):
 He refused to pay maintenance for his three children.
2. A breach of contract – the act of breaking the legal agreement
3. To go bust (остаться без копейки; вылететь в трубу; обанкротиться) - if a company goes bust, it
is forced to close because it is financially unsuccessful:
 More than 20 companies in the district went bust during the last three months.
 People who've booked flights are naturally worried about what will happen if the airline goes
bust.
4. To file for bankruptcy - объявить себя банкротом
5. Liable for smth – legally responsible for - ответственный, подлежащий, подверженный,
обязанный, доступный, возможный
6. Take out an injunction – obtain a court order that tells someone else not to do smth/ добиться
судебного запрета
7. Injunction - судебный запрет, предписание, приказ, судебное постановление
Task 4. Speaking.

Compensation culture (often shortened to "compo culture") – a culture in which people are very ready
to go to law over even relatively minor incidents in the hope of gaining compensation.

"Compensation culture" refers to a situation where people often seek money or rewards when they feel
they've been wronged or hurt, even in minor situations. For example, if someone trips and falls (споткнулся
и упал), they might try to get money from the place where it happened, claiming it was their fault for not
keeping the area safe. This culture can lead to more claims and lawsuits, as people may feel encouraged to
ask for compensation for various issues, sometimes even when it might not be justified.
«Культура компенсации» — это уничижительный термин, используемый для обозначения того, что в
обществе значительное количество требований о компенсации за правонарушения являются
неоправданными, легкомысленными или мошенническими и что те, кто добивается компенсации,
должны подвергаться критике.

Litigation (судебный процесс, тяжба) – the process of taking a case to a court of law so that a judgment
can be made

Defendant (подсудимый, обвиняемый) - a person in a law case who is accused of having done
something illegal

get (someone) off (something) - to avoid punishment, or to help another person to avoid punishment for
something:
 She was charged with fraud, but her lawyer managed to get her off.
 "Was he found guilty?" "No, he got off."
 get off with She got off with (= her only punishment was) a small fine.

Task 5

8. Maintenance - money that a person must pay regularly by law in order to support their child or
previous marriage partner after a divorce (= official end to a marriage):
 He refused to pay maintenance for his three children.
9. A breach of contract – the act of breaking the legal agreement
10. To go bust (остаться без копейки; вылететь в трубу; обанкротиться) - if a company goes bust, it
is forced to close because it is financially unsuccessful:
 More than 20 companies in the district went bust during the last three months.
 People who've booked flights are naturally worried about what will happen if the airline goes
bust.
11. To file for bankruptcy - объявить себя банкротом
12. Liable for smth – legally responsible for - ответственный, подлежащий, подверженный,
обязанный, доступный, возможный
13. Take out an injunction – obtain a court order that tells someone else not to do smth/ добиться
судебного запрета
14. Injunction - судебный запрет, предписание, приказ, судебное постановление

Task 6

punchline – the last part of a story or a joke that explains the meaning of what has happened previously or
makes it funny (изюминка)

a sick joke – typically refers to a type of humor that is considered offensive, dark, or in poor taste. These
jokes often make light of serious, sensitive, or taboo subjects, such as illness, death, tragedy, or suffering.
While some people may find them humorous due to their shock value or absurdity, others may find them
distasteful or hurtful. The reception of sick jokes can vary widely depending on individual sensibilities and
cultural context.
spot-on – exactly correct or accurate/ exactly right:
 "How old do I reckon she is? I'd say 38." "Spot on."

something is a bit much - too extreme or not reasonable:

 I think it's a bit much for you to expect me to do all the cleaning.
 She wore an expensive suit and diamonds, which was a bit much for such a casual restaurant.
 Earlier on she liked all the attention but then it got to be a bit much.

Task 7. Speaking

To crusade - a long and determined attempt to achieve, change, or stop something because of your strong
beliefs (бороться за):
 to crusade for women's rights [against discrimination] — бороться за равноправие женщин
[против дискриминации]
 crusade for: They have long been involved in a crusade for racial equality.
 crusade against: The town's crusade against drugs resulted in a sharp decrease in overdose deaths.
 moral crusade: The fight against poverty is a moral crusade.