B2 - Lesson 17 - Crime and Punishment

Question 1

threatening [/ˈθretn-ɪŋ/]

Answer 1

1 if someone’s behaviour is threatening, you believe they intend to harm you
His voice sounded threatening.
a threatening gesture

2 if the sky or clouds are threatening, bad weather is likely
a threatening thundercloud

Question 2

reveal [/rɪˈviːl/]

Answer 2

to make known something that was previously secret or unknown OPP conceal
He may be prosecuted for revealing secrets about the security agency.
a test that can reveal a teacher’s hidden skills

Question 3

counterfeit [/ˈkaʊntəfɪt/]

Answer 3

made to look exactly like something else, in order to deceive people SYN fake
counterfeit currency/money etc
counterfeit £10 notes

Question 4

shoplifting [/ˈʃɒpˌlɪftɪŋ/]

Answer 4

the crime of stealing things from shops, for example by hiding them in a bag or under your clothes
She had been falsely accused of shoplifting in a clothing store.

Question 5

blackmail [/ˈblækmeɪl/]

Answer 5

1 when someone tries to get money from you or make you do what they want by threatening to tell other people your secrets

2 when someone tries to make you do what they want by making threats or by making you feel guilty if you do not do it
She had already tried emotional blackmail (=tried to make him feel guilty) to stop him leaving.

Question 6

victim [/ˈvɪktɪm/]

Answer 6

someone who has been attacked, robbed, or murdered

The victim received head injuries from which she died a week later.

Question 7

mugging [/ˈmʌɡɪŋ/]

Answer 7

an attack on someone in which they are robbed in a public place
Crime is on the increase, especially mugging and burglary.

Question 8

theft [/θeft/]

Answer 8

the crime of stealing → thief, burglary, robbery
Car theft is on the increase.
an arrest for petty theft (=stealing small things)

Question 9

burglary [/ˈbɜːɡləri/]

Answer 9

the crime of getting into a building to steal things
Burglaries have risen by 5%.
He was charged with burglary.

Question 10

pickpocket [/ˈpɪkˌpɒkɪt/]

Answer 10

someone who steals things from people’s pockets, especially in a crowd► see thesaurus at thief

Question 11

arson [/ˈɑːsən/]

Answer 11

the crime of deliberately making something burn, especially a building
The school was destroyed in an arson attack.

Question 12

persuade [/pəˈsweɪd/]

Answer 12

to make someone decide to do something, especially by giving them reasons why they should do it, or asking them many times to do it
persuade somebody to do something
I finally managed to persuade her to go out for a drink with me.
persuade somebody into doing something
Don’t let yourself be persuaded into buying things you don’t want.

Question 13

deceive [/dɪˈsiːv/]

Answer 13

to make someone believe something that is not true → deception
He had been deceived by a young man claiming to be the son of a millionaire.

Question 14

intentional [/ɪnˈtenʃənəl/]

Answer 14

done deliberately and usually intended to cause harm SYN deliberate OPP unintentional
I did trip him, but it wasn’t intentional.

Question 15

piracy [/ˈpaɪərəsi/]

Answer 15

1 the crime of illegally copying and selling books, tapes, videos, computer programs etc → pirate
software piracy
2 the crime of attacking and stealing from ships at sea
3 the crime of making illegal television or radio broadcasts

Question 16

fraud [/frɔːd/]

Answer 16

the crime of deceiving people in order to gain something such as money or goods
tax/insurance/credit card etc fraud
 He’s been charged with tax fraud.
 electoral fraud
 She was found guilty of fraud.

Question 17

bribe [/braɪb/]

Answer 17

to illegally give someone, especially a public official, money or a gift in order to persuade them to do something for you
The only way we could get into the country was by bribing the border officials.
bribe somebody to do something
He bribed one of the guards to smuggle out a note.

Question 18

bribery [/ˈbraɪbəri/]

Answer 18

the act of giving bribes
We tried everything – persuasion, bribery, threats.
He was found guilty of bribery and corruption (=bribery and dishonest behaviour).

Question 19

corruption [/kəˈrʌpʃən/]

Answer 19

dishonest, illegal, or immoral behaviour, especially from someone with power
officials charged with bribery and corruption
The investigation uncovered widespread corruption within the police force.

Question 20

widespread [/ˈwaɪdspred/]

Answer 20

existing or happening in many places or situations, or among many people
the widespread use of chemicals in agriculture

Question 21

criminal [/ˈkrɪmɪnəl/]

Answer 21

1 relating to crime
Experts cannot agree on the causes of criminal behaviour.
I was sure he was involved in some kind of criminal activity.
She has not committed a criminal offence (=a crime).

2 relating to the part of the legal system that is concerned with crime → civil
The case will be tried in a criminal court.
We have no faith in the criminal justice system.

Question 22

judge [/dʒʌdʒ/]

Answer 22

the official in control of a court, who decides how criminals should be punished
The trial judge specifies the number of years to be spent in prison.

Question 23

jury [/ˈdʒʊəri/]

Answer 23

a group of often 12 ordinary people who listen to the details of a case in court and decide whether someone is guilty or not
the members of the jury
The jury found him not guilty.
the right to trial by jury

Question 24

trial [/ˈtraɪəl/]

Answer 24

1 COURT [countable, uncountable] a legal process in which a judge and often a jury in a court of law examine information to decide whether someone is guilty of a crime → try
The trial is due to start next week.

2 TEST [countable, uncountable] a process of testing to find out whether something works effectively and is safe
a new drug that is undergoing clinical trials
3 TRY SOMEBODY/SOMETHING [countable, uncountable] a short period during which you use or do something or employ someone to find out whether they are satisfactory for a particular purpose or job → try
on trial
They let me have the computer on trial for thirty days.

5 DIFFICULTY [countable usually plural] something that is difficult to deal with, and that is worrying or annoying → trying
the daily trials of living in a poor country

Question 25

lawyer [/ˈlɔːjə/]

Answer 25

someone whose job is to advise people about laws, write formal agreements, or represent people in court

Question 26

witness [/ˈwɪtnəs/]

Answer 26

someone who sees a crime or an accident and can describe what happened
Police have appealed for witnesses to come forward.

Question 27

suspect [/səˈspekt/]

Answer 27

1 to think that something is probably true, especially something bad
suspect (that)
I suspected that there was something wrong with the engine.
She strongly suspected he was lying to her.
She’s not going to be very happy about this, I suspect.

3 to think that someone is probably guilty of a crime
Who do you suspect?

Question 28

sentence [/ˈsentəns/]

Answer 28

2 a punishment that a judge gives to someone who is guilty of a crime
She received an eight-year prison sentence.

1 a group of words that usually contains a subject and a verb, and expresses a complete idea. Sentences written in English begin with a capital letter and usually end with a full stop or a question mark

Question 29

evidence [/ˈevɪdəns/]

Answer 29

facts or signs that show clearly that something exists or is true
evidence of
At present we have no evidence of life on other planets.

information that is given in a court of law in order to prove that someone is guilty or not guilty
Murrow’s evidence was enough to convict Hayes of murder.

Question 30

convict [/kənˈvɪkt/]

Answer 30

to prove or officially announce that someone is guilty of a crime after a trial in a law court OPP acquit
convict somebody of something
She was convicted of shoplifting.

Question 31

acquit [/əˈkwɪt/]

Answer 31

to give a decision in a court of law that someone is not guilty of a crime
All the defendants were acquitted.
acquit somebody of something
The judge directed the jury to acquit Phillips of the murder.

Question 32

convincing [/kənˈvɪnsɪŋ/]

Answer 32

making you believe that something is true or right
convincing evidence of his guilt
wholly/utterly/totally etc convincing
Courtenay played the role in an utterly convincing way.

Question 33

utterly [/ˈʌtəli/]

Answer 33

completely – used especially to emphasize that something is very bad, or that a feeling is very strong
You look utterly miserable.

Question 34

innocent [/ˈɪnəsənt/]

Answer 34

not guilty of a crime OPP guilty

Nobody would believe that I was innocent.

Question 35

prosecution [/ˌprɒsɪˈkjuːʃən/]

Answer 35

when a charge is made against someone for a crime, or when someone is judged for a crime in a court of law
a criminal prosecution

prosecution for
Walters could face prosecution for his role in the robbery.

prosecution of
the prosecution of war criminals

Question 36

scene [/siːn/]

Answer 36

1 PLAY/FILM [countable]
a) part of a play during which there is no change in time or place
Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 2
the opening scene
b) a single piece of action that happens in one place in a film, book etc
battle scenes

2 ACTIVITIES [singular] a particular set of activities and the people who are involved in them
I’m not into the club scene (=going to night clubs).
LA’s music scene
the drug scene

3 ACCIDENT/CRIME [singular] the place where an accident, crime etc happened
The police soon arrived at the scene of the crime.

4 VIEW/PICTURE [countable] a view of a place as you see it, or as it appears in a picture
He photographed a wide range of street scenes.

Question 37

community service []

Answer 37

work that is not paid that someone does to help other people, sometimes as punishment for a crime

Question 38

suspended sentence []

Answer 38

a punishment given by a court, in which a criminal is told they will be sent to prison if they do anything else illegal within the time mentioned
a two-year suspended sentence

Question 39

deter [/dɪˈtɜː/]

Answer 39

to stop someone from doing something, by making them realize it will be difficult or have bad results → deterrent
The company’s financial difficulties have deterred potential investors.
deter somebody from (doing) something
The security camera was installed to deter people from stealing.

Question 40

penalty []

Answer 40

1 a punishment for breaking a law, rule, or legal agreement
No littering. Penalty $500.
Withdrawing the money early will result in a 10% penalty.
penalty for
The penalty for a first offense is a fine.

2 something bad that happens to you because of something you have done or because of the situation you are in
penalty of (doing) something
 One of the penalties of being famous is the loss of privacy.
 If you don’t do the job right, you will pay the penalty.

Question 41

illegal [/ɪˈliːɡəl/]

Answer 41

not allowed by the law SYN unlawful OPP legal
illegal drugs
They were involved in illegal activities.

Question 42

collate [/kəˈleɪt/]

Answer 42

1 formal to gather information together, examine it carefully, and compare it with other information to find any differences
collate information/results/data/figures
A computer system is used to collate information from across Britain.

2 to arrange sheets of paper in the correct order SYN sort