61
Crime
Exercises
CD
B
Note the difference between the verbs: steal and rob. The object of the verb 'steal' is the thing which is taken away, e.g. they stole my bike, whereas the object of the verb 'rob1 is the person or place from which things are stolen, e.g. I was robbed last night. A masked man robbed the bank. 'Steal' is irregular; steal, stole, stolen.
The table below gives the names of some other types of crimes together with their associated verbs and the name of the person who commits the crimes.
crime	definition	criminal	verb
murder	killing someone	murderer	murder
shoplifting	stealing something from a shop	shoplifter	shoplift
burglary	stealing something from someone's home	burglar	burgle
smuggling	taking something illegally into another country	smuggler	smuggle
kidnapping	taking a person hostage in exchange for money or other	kidnapper	kidnap
	favours, etc.		
All the verbs in the table above are regular.
Here are some more useful verbs connected with crime and law. Note that many of them have particular prepositions associated with them.
Bill committed a crime when he robbed a bank. Someone witnessed the crime and told the police. The police charged him with bank robbery. They also accused his twin brother, Ben, of being his accomplice.
The case came to court and they were tried. The trial did not last very long. Bill and Ben both pleaded not guilty in court. Their lawyer did her best to defend them but the prosecuting lawyer produced a very strong case against them.
After brief deliberations, the jury passed verdict on them. They decided that Bill was guilty but Ben was innocent. The judge acquitted Ben of any involvement in the robbery but sentenced Bill to three years in prison. He also had to pay a large fine. Bill served two years in prison [jail] but was released from prison a year early. He got time off for good behaviour.
Here are some useful nouns.
trial: the legal process in court whereby an accused person is investigated, or tried, and
then found guilty or not guilty case: a crime that is being investigated
evidence: information used in a court of law to decide whether the accused is guilty or not proof: evidence that shows conclusively whether something is a fact or not judge: the person who leads a trial and decides on the sentence i.e. the punishment jury: group of twelve citizens who decide on the verdict i.e. whether the accused is guilty or not
61.4
61.5
61.6
Put the right form of either rob or steal in the sentences below.
1 Last night an armed gang.........................the post office. They........................
2 My handbag.........................at the theatre yesterday.
3 Every year large numbers of banks..........................
4 Jane.........................of the opportunity to stand for president.
6 1.2   Here are some more crimes. Complete a table like the one in B opposite.
crime criminal verb definition
terrorism
£2,000.
blackmail
drug-trafficking
forgery
pickpocketing
mugging
Fill the blanks in the paragraph below with one of the verbs from C opposite.
One of the two accused men.........................(1) at yesterday's trial. Although his lawyer
.........................(2) him very well, he was still found guilty by the jury. The judge
.........................(3) him to two years in prison. He'll probably.........................(4) after
eighteen months. The other accused man was luckier. He.........................(5) and left the
courtroom smiling broadly.
Here are some words connected with law and crime. If necessary, use a dictionary to help you check that you understand what they all mean. Then divide them into three groups, in what seems to you to be the most logical way.
member of a jury     judge      smuggling     witness      prison      fine bribery
detective      hi-jacking     community service      probation      traffic warden      death penalty
rape      drunken driving lawyer
Look at all the crimes named in this unit. Look both at the left-hand page and at exercises 61.2 and 61.4. Which do you think are the three most serious and the three least serious?
Write a paragraph to fit this newspaper headline. Give some details about the crime and the court case, using as many words from this unit as is appropriate.
Local girl's evidence gets mugger two years prison
Follow-up: If possible look at an English language newspaper. List all the words connected with crime and the law which you can find in it.
I 24    English Vocabulary in Use (Upper-intermediate)
English Vocabulary in Use (Upper-intermediate)    125