📘 Part 3: Law and order

This episode's vocabulary

Hooligan (noun) - a violent person who fights or causes damage in public places.

Chaos (noun) - a state of total confusion with no order.

Hindrance (noun) - something that makes it more difficult for you to do something or for something to develop.

To conform (verb) - to behave according to the usual standards of behaviour that are expected by a group or society.

Disturbance (noun) - something that interrupts someone or makes someone feel worried.

Law-abiding (adj.) - someone who is law-abiding - obeys the law.

Incentive (noun) - something that encourages a person to do something.

To second-guess (verb) - to guess what someone will do in the future.

To justify (verb) - to give or to be a good reason for.

Boundary (noun) - a real or imagined line that marks the edge or limit of something.

To impart (verb) - to communicate information to someone.

First and foremost (idiom) - more than anything else.

Dispute (noun) - an argument or disagreement, especially an official one between, for example, workers and employers or two countries with a common border.

On a par (with someone/something) (phrase) - the same as or equal to someone or something.

At face value (idiom) - for what something appears to be.

To preempt (verb) - to prevent something from happening by taking action first.

Questions and Answers

M: Rory, do people in your country usually obey the law?

R: I would imagine so, given that you don't really see things like hooligans out on the streets causing chaos, and people are still quite good about following rules and regulations, even if they are a bit of a hindrance sometimes.

M: What kinds of behaviour are considered good behaviour?

R: Well, I mean, that's determined by the culture you live in, really. But broadly speaking, I suppose it's all about how well you conform to the definition of what's good. So where I come from, that's about being respectful of others and their property and not causing too much disturbance in terms of noise and actions.

M: Do you think children can learn about the law outside of school?

R: Absolutely. They have lives outside of school, even when they are school-aged. And of course, they get some moral instruction from their parents before they even get there. They could come to know it through learning the rules of games or even their experiences of seeing how orderly and law-abiding people behave.

M: What are the benefits of obeying rules?

R: Well, when it comes to the law, you don't go to prison, so that's a great incentive. Beyond that, if you stick to the rules, then social interaction becomes more stable and predictable. So there's less stress from constantly second-guessing others. And that would probably have some health benefits too if you aren't stressed out all the time.

M: How can parents teach children to obey rules?

R: Well, in the first place, probably by aiming to set a good example and not breaking too many rules themselves, or at least justifying their decisions when they do, and show it's all not just random and selfish or self-interested behaviour. Another way might be discussing and enforcing reasonable boundaries to impart power to behave decently.

M: And why do some people become lawyers?

R: Well, lots of reasons. First and foremost, lawyer, or being a lawyer, is quite a well-respected position to have in life. So that's one incentive. Another might be the pay. Lawyers sometimes are extremely well paid. And they're powerful if they do their jobs correctly. And then, on top of that, it's a pretty stable career. I mean, there will always be disputes between people that must be resolved, and so you'll always need lawyers.

M: And why do some people prefer to be a lawyer rather than a policeman?

R: Well, being a police officer is quite dangerous, and whereas being a lawyer, it could be dangerous, but it's probably not as dangerous as being a police officer. I'm not sure about the pay. They might be on par with each other, but not so sure. But certainly, it seems at face value, that being a police officer would be less well-paid than being a lawyer.

M: And how should lawmakers address the controversy surrounding certain laws?

R: That will depend on the effect they want to achieve. Some controversies just burn themselves out naturally. So taking steps to avoid this might actually wind up making it worse, whereas others, they could preempt it by telling people what's going to happen and preparing them accordingly. I think those are the two best ways. There are others, of course, but I think those were the ones that seemed like the most popular choices.

Discussion

M: Hey! Thank you, Rory, for your answers! Law and order, dear listener. So first of all, we obey the law. Obey. Obey the law. We follow the rules, and we have hooligans who don't follow the rules. Criminals and hooligans. They cause chaos on the streets.

R: With vandalism and violence.

M: Hooligan is a violent person who fights and causes damage in public areas. So it's good to follow the rules. So follow rules, obey the law, follow rules, follow regulations.

R: That's another binomial. Rules and regulations. No?

M: No, I don't think... I don't know.

R: I do, and it is.

M: When you talk about good behaviour, you can say that it's about how well people conform. So conform to something is the word here, and it's a bit negative, to be honest with you. Conform. Sometimes disapproving, sometimes negative. To conform means to behave according to the usual standards. Okay? So everybody does this so, and I... I'm gonna also do this because of society. So at school, for example, we had to conform. We wore uniforms. And like, we conformed.

R: Did you wear a uniform in school?

M: Oh, only, I think, either for half a year or only for one year.

R: Oh, wow. Okay.

M: And good behaviour could depend on where you are from or where you grew up. For example, where I come from, good behaviour is about being respectful of others, respecting their property, and not causing too much of a disturbance. Disturbance? When you disturb people. Disturbance? Like something that interrupts someone. C1 word. Advanced.

R: Nice.

M: For example, if you live close to a nightclub, this nightclub causes some disturbance. We talk about children following the rules, and the children could be taught how to obey the law outside of school. And you can say that school-aged people could be taught by their parents, for example.

R: Well, they should be taught by their parents as well.

M: Yeah, they should get some moral instruction. Okay?

R: But that's a fancy way for being told how to behave.

M: Yes. Like instruction is a good synonym for education, and moral is about standards of good or bad behaviour. And school-aged people should come to know the rules of the game. So the rules of life.

R: Well, and games in general.

M: And parents could help them to become law-abiding people. A very good adjective. So people who follow the rules, who follow the law are called law-abiding.

R: Maria is a law-abiding citizen, right?

M: Absolutely correct.

R: Nice.

M: It's good to obey rules. It's beneficial to obey rules. There are certain benefits of obeying the rules. And you can say you don't go to prison. So go to prison. You don't go to prison if you obey the law. If you stick to the rules, if you follow the rules, everything is stable and predictable in your life. There is no risk, there is less stress. And you can also talk about health benefits. Because if there is less stress, the person becomes healthier, right?

R: Well, you would hope so.

M: No, you can kind of give an example with taxes. If you pay taxes, you sleep well, everything's fine. And if you don't, you kind of like... When, when are they gonna catch me? You knowб it's this anxiety and stress all the time. Parents teach children by setting a good example themselves. So they set a good example for their children. We follow the rules and we break rules, okay?

R: And we don't follow them. Although, there's a fun question, what rules are okay to break, and which ones do you absolutely never break?

M: Oh, for example, like a red light. You know, when...

R: Please tell me that that's one that you never break.

M: No, I break all the time.

R: What?

M: No, I break it, yeah. Like, if I see there are no cars, like, I'm just, I'm going.

R: Oh, okay, this is for walking.

M: No, no, no, not driving. No, no driving. Walking as a pedestrian. I don't drive.

R: I was thinking for a moment there. I was, like, oh, my God.

M: No, no, no. But in speaking part three, you don't speak about yourself, which is good. You can say, ooh, some people don't pay for their tram ride.

R: Not me. I'm a good person.

M: Some people in my country, you know. But please don't talk about yourself, because it's speaking part three. So we talk about other people, what we think about other people. And some questions could be about lawyers and police officers, right? And Rory, you said something like they might be on par.

R: Oh, they're just equal.

M: How do you spell it?

R: I think it's on par.

M: Is it one word?

R: No, no, it's two.

M: Actually three. On a par.

R: Oh, really? Well, I have on par.

M: Cambridge online dictionary says on a par with someone or something.

R: Well, Merry Webster has a bracket around it. So...

M: Oh, okay. For example, his writing is considered to be on par with Charles Dickens. So kind of to be equal with Dickens, who was a famous English writer. One of the greatest writers in this world. Equal or similar to something. Give us another example, please. Maybe about laws.

R: His new book is on par with his best sellers.

M: Any other contexts? Where would you use this word on par?

R: I think people use it in golfing quite a lot. I think it means something slightly different there.

M: But like where would you use it yourself?

R: Well, here I use it when I'm comparing things that I think are equal.

M: For example.

R: Maria and I are on par when it comes to our knowledge of the English language.

M: Yay! Sweet. Right, dear listener. How are you doing? Are you okay? Thank you very much for listening, and we'll get back to you with our new episodes. We're going to be using fresh IELTS topics which are used in the exam now, because topics have changed on the first of September. So from now on, new, fresh, delicious IELTS speaking topics. Okay? Stay with us. Bye!

R: Bye!

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