Think believe say feel argue

 

· Verbs used to take a position on an issue:

Be in favour of call for propose oppose

· Verbs used to discuss causes and consequences:

Cause encourage lead to

Task 2. Fill in the blanks in the text below with one of the words given above, in the appropriate form. Vary the verbs you use.

 

Many drug experts now (1) __________ the legalization of drugs. They (2) __________ that making drug use illegal only (3) __________ other social problems. They (4) __________ that it can, for example, (5) __________ police corruption, and (6) __________ more crime. Some people also (7) __________ that the money spent on fighting drug abuse would be better spent on fighting other crimes. Others (8) __________ that drug use is a question of individual rights. However, some people (9) __________ tough drug laws because they (10) __________ that drug use is morally wrong or because they (11) __________ drug use will (12) _________ people to commit other crimes. Others (13) __________ fighting the underlying factors of poverty and unemployment, which (14) __________ the problem of drug use.

 

 

Read and translate the text. Then do the tasks below.

Who commits crime?

 

Reports on crime can’t give us a complete picture of who commits crimes because not all crimes are reported. However, available statistics on reported crimes can give us information about people who commits crimes. If we consider all categories of crime together, the most likely people to commit crimes are young men from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Young people have the highest rates of arrest for reported crime. Almost half of all people arrested are under the age of 25. In 2009, individuals under the age of 25 accounted for 48.9 percent of all arrests for murder, 65.2 percent of arrests for robbery and 60.3 percent of arrests for burglary.

Recent figures show a worrying increase in violent crime and homicide among youngsters under age 18. In 2007, 3,042 children and teens died from gun-related injuries, and a recent study revealed that U.S. children are fifteen times more likely to die from guns than their counterparts in the twenty-five other major industrialized countries combined. Youth homicide - teens killing teens – has become a very serious problem. Disagreements between people that would have been settled with a fist fight a generation ago are now gunfights. Clearly, guns are only a part of the problem. Poverty, gangs and drugs are directly related to much of the crime.

One of the primary reasons that juveniles become involved in delinquent behavior and illegal conduct rests in drug abuse. In fact, teens who use drugs are almost twice as likely to engage in violent behavior, steal, abuse other drugs, and join gangs, as compared to teens who do not use drugs. Drug use and abuse accelerates juvenile delinquency in two primary ways. First, drug abuse increases the incidence of juvenile delinquency because young people undertake unlawful acts in order to obtain illicit drugs. These youths commit a variety of crimes in order to get money to buy drugs, or to obtain drugs directly. Second, many juveniles commit crimes while "high" on these substances. These young people commit crimes to get drugs and engage in illegal conduct while using drugs.

According to FBI reports “Crime in the United States 2000 – 2009”, nearly 75 percent of the persons arrested in the Nation during 2009 were males. Males are also responsible for about 81 percent of violent crime and 62 percent of all property crime. Females are arrested for criminal behavior in about 25 percent of all arrests. Although women commit all types of crime they are most likely to be involved in prostitution, petty theft, shoplifting, passing bad checks, domestic theft, and welfare fraud. They are less likely to be involved in the more profitable crimes of burglary, robbery, embezzlement, and business fraud.

Why is it that figures for males and females are so different? Sociologists suggest that it is more socially acceptable for males to be deviant and involved in crime than it is for females. Women are under a greater social pressure to conform than men are. If they do not conform to the expected social roles of wife and mother, they are more likely to be assigned extremely negative labels. However, over the past decade, many young females seeking protection from threatening environments and abusive homes have transcended the auxiliary roles they once played in male-dominated gangs and have gained more power through engaging in more violent crime or forming all-girl gangs. A comparison of data for 2009 and 2000 showed that the number of males arrested for violent and property crimes declined, but arrests of females for these crimes increased. The number of females arrested for property crimes rose 33.2 percent.

 

Task 1. State the comparisons below in a different way. Change the underlined words to their opposite meaning and change other information as necessary.

 

Older less younger

1. Younger people are more likely to be involved in crime than older people.

2. Young people have fewer relationships that encourage them to follow conventional behavior than older people do.

3. Women are less likely to be involved in the more profitable crimes of burglary and robbery than men are.

4. It is more socially acceptable for males to be involved in crime.

5. Women are under greater social pressure to conform than men.

6. The rich are far less likely than the poor to be arrested.