📘 Part 3: Laws and Regulations

This episode's vocabulary

Infamous (adj.) - famous for something considered bad.

Severe (adj.) - causing very great pain, difficulty, worry, damage, etc.; very serious.

Mandatory (adj.) - something that is mandatory must be done, or is demanded by law.

Mutual (adj.) - (of two or more people or groups) feeling the same emotion, or doing the same thing to or for each other.

Sensible (adj.) - based on or acting on good judgment and practical ideas or understanding.

Consistent (adj.) - always behaving or happening in a similar, especially positive, way.

To promote (verb) - to encourage people to like, buy, use, do, or support something.

Altercation (noun) - a loud argument or disagreement.

To embroil (verb) - to cause someone to become involved in an argument or a difficult situation.

To penalize (verb) - to punish someone, esp. for breaking the law or a rule.

Carefree (adj.) - having no problems or not being worried about anything.

To obey (verb) - 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.

To toe the line -  to do what you are ordered or expected to do.

Justification (noun) - a good reason or explanation for something.

Cut it (idiom) -

To repeal (verb) - if a government repeals a law, it causes that law no longer to have any legal force.

Blasphemy (noun) - something that you say or do that shows you do not respect God or a religion.

Tax code (noun) - in the US, the rules of the tax system.

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Questions and Answers

M: Rory, Rory, Rory. Are you all ready? Ready Rory.

R: I'm ready to regulate my answers in the appropriate manner.

M: Cool. So, are there laws about education in your country?

R: Oh, there are lots. Russia has a rather infamous propaganda law whereby if you even slightly mention that gay people are human beings deserving of equal rights, then there are rather severe consequences. By contrast, in Scotland there are laws which do the opposite of this. Both countries have mandatory education requirements for students.

M: What kinds of rules do schools in your country have?

R: Um, I think they have similar rules to elsewhere regarding mutual respect, a sensible dress code, and standards of behavior. I don't think there's anything uniquely Scottish or Russian, to be honest.

M: Do you think students should have a say in what school rules to have?

R: Well, they already do. They can choose to follow them or no. In the same way that they choose to accept the consequences of not following them. Just because you don't get to make the rules doesn't mean you don't have a say.

M: What can teachers do to make students obey the rules?

R: By having clear and consistent systems of rewards and consequences for students. They can also lead by example, and be supported by the school, and promoting them.

M: What should parents do to educate children about laws?

R: Well, it helps to have a relevant example. So if there's something in the news or popular culture or debate at the time, then they can explain what is going on in relation to that. Maybe reading to them at an appropriate level also helps.

M: Do you think that parents should teach children about laws? Or it's the responsibility of like teachers or friends or like this police officer?

R: Why can't it be shared? Because the thing about laws at least in, well, all of the countries I've been to is that there are hundreds of them, and you can't know absolutely everything. So maybe if there are specific cases, then some people are better placed to answer these questions than others. That's why you have lawyers because the law is complicated and huge.

M: So children first learn about laws from their parents, right? Or at school?

R: Well, it would be difficult to say specifically, but I mean, like, I would imagine most children discover the fact that laws exist from their parents, and then they get a more formal education in the process of how this works at school.

M: Let's talk about police officers. What qualities should a police officer have?

R: Oh, probably attention to detail and a good knowledge of the rules, in addition to physical and moral fitness would be ideal. Well, indeed, it should be a priority if they're to do their job effectively.

M: Do you think both men and women can be police officers?

R: Probably not in a country where the police are not armed with firearms. No. And the reason for this is simple. Like in a physical altercation men are stronger than women. And in mixed-sex police environments, male police officers will have to protect not only themselves but support their female colleagues as well. Of course, if you have a gun that levels the playing field rather effectively in that regard, but if you don't have one, then really it should be men doing this mainly.

M: Do you think that there are many female police officers in your country?

R: I don't know. I don't know what the quotas are. But there are female police officers for sure. And they have the same training as their male colleagues, but they're not armed. And that is a problem.

M: Do you think the police officers are paid too much?

R: Well, probably if anything, they aren't paid enough, which is why they're always embroiled in corruption and scandal in many countries. We don't really have this problem in Scotland, but it used to be quite a serious problem in Russia as well. I don't know if it's still a problem now, but it still comes up from time to time.

M: Why do some people prefer to be a lawyer?

R: Well, many reasons. I mean, foremost, it's a respectable job as as the salary that comes with it in many cases, and it can be a platform for potential politicians. Like I think Bill and Hillary Clinton were, they started as lawyers, for example. Didn't they?

M: Let's talk about some rules. So do you think that people should be penalized when they use mobile phones while driving?

R: Oh, absolutely yes. It's so irresponsible to be on the phone and not paying attention to the road especially with people around you while you're in a machine moving at dozens of miles an hour. So they should be punished for being so carefree with the lives of other people.

M: Any other rules that you would like to implement in your country or in your hometown?

R: No, I can only think of laws that shouldn't exist.

M: Do you think people in your country obey the law all the time?

R: That's a bit of an odd question. Like, of course, they don't. I don't know of any like utopian nation where they do. The reason we have laws in the first place is because people everywhere struggled to toe the line and the laws outline the consequences of what will come with failing to do so.

M: But do you think obeying the law all the time is always a good thing?

R: Well, probably something like 95-97% of the time, it's okay to follow the rules. But some rules are silly, like, well, if we talk about laws regarding Russian education, for example. So because things like sex and drug education are so bad in this country, and it's illegal for you to talk about certain things with children, that actually makes problems worse. So sometimes breaking the law is actually really important to make sure that people don't hurt themselves. But that's, that's like a really specific case. Most laws are designed to help people.

M: So sometimes it's okay to break some rules and laws?

R: In the cause of like, help making sure that there's a good outcome for lots of people, yes. But you can't just break the rules, because you feel like it or because it's got to personally benefit you. There has to be some reasonable justification. And because I wanted to get some kind of benefit from it doesn't quite cut it with me.

M: It's good for me, so I'm gonna break this law. And what do you think in the future? Are there gonna be more restrictions, more laws and rules?

R: Oh, yeah. Like they can't help themselves. This is the problem with governments, they never repeal laws. Like, really. I think we repealed the blasphemy law in Scotland. And then we wrote like, 25 more rules to do two similar things at the same time. So it's like they can't help themselves. They're obsessed with writing laws and fixing things. America's tax code is something like three books long. It's crazy.

M: Thank you, Rory, for your lovely answers.

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Discussion

M: Laws and regulations. Right. Okay. Also could be a pretty difficult topic, yeah? About laws and rules.

R: Especially in a country where there are none. Not thinking of anywhere in particular.

M: When you talk about laws on education, you said that there are mandatory education requirements.

R: Yeah, so that's just like, you have to follow certain laws. So for example, in Russia, children have to be educated. That is mandatory, it's not a choice. You can choose to educate your children at home, but they will have to take certain exams like I think "ОГЭ" and "ЕГЭ", which are the Russian state exams are mandatory. You can't get around them. You don't have to go to school to prepare for them. You can do that at home, but you must take them.

M: Yeah, so for example, the education is mandatory in Russia, from the first form to the ninth. So you must complete nine forms.

R: Really?

M: Yeah.

R: The reason I'm questioning this is because I thought you had to take the exams for these particular years and the tests, but you didn't actually have to go to school.

M: No, you can be home educated, I think. Yeah. Can you? Wow, I don't know.

R: I met a lady in Yegorevsk who's homeschooling her children and she said it's okay. But maybe she's just focusing on it for very young children. Maybe eventually, when they grow up, they'll go to school.

M: I don't think that taking the state exam at the end of high school is a must. Because you needed to apply for university. But if you don't, there's an exam after the ninth form, right? I have no idea, right? I'm not into Russian laws, apparently.

R: Regardless, there are mandatory requirements for education.

M: Yeah. Mandatory, right? So you can also say obligatory, if something is obligatory, it's, well, you must do it. It's a law. And talking about laws, we use the verb must. The modal verb. People must go to the army.

R: But there's a difference between mandatory and obligatory. Even though the end result is the same. Mandatory is like it's written in law, or there's some written rule you can refer to. Obligatory is like sort of social pressure.

M: Ah, okay, okay. So obligatory is not a law?

R: Although they're used interchangeably, but the end result will be the same. It's just a way of saying you must follow the rules.

M: Yep, yep. So it's okay to use must when you talk about laws, right? So for example, you can say like, people must follow a dress code, and there are laws on dress codes, standards of behavior, for example, talking about rules at schools, right? So everybody must wear a uniform. There you go. That's a rule, right?

R: Well, I don't know. It's an example. But do you have to do it in Russia?

M: At some schools yes. There's a uniform.

R: We have the same thing in Scotland. I think almost every school has a uniform. It's just like, it just makes it easier to manage behavior, apparently.

M: Oh, yeah, yeah. And we follow rules. People in the government make the rules, right? At school teachers, administration, and also students can have a say. So if you have a say, you are part of something. So you have a word in it. You can participate in making the rules.

R: Yes. Or you can choose not to participate.

M: Yeah, it's your choice. You have a choice.

R: It's not a great choice, but it's a choice.

M: We follow rules, we make rules. Well, some people make rules, and we can break rules the same way as we break the law.

R: I would never do that.

M: Yes, Rory. Because you are a law-abiding citizen. Yeah, law-abiding, right. It's with a hyphen, law-abiding. A person who follows the law religiously. That's a good one. Follow the rules religiously. It's like you always follow the rules, you never break rules., you never break the law. Law-abiding Americans, for example. Yeah. And the examiner asks you like, should students obey the rules? Or what can teachers do to make students obey the rules? Obey the rules - like follow the rules.

R: But you don't have to come up with a concrete example for that. You don't have to say like, they should be punished by... Something like this. You can talk about it in general terms. Like I did, like, you can just talk about they need a system to enforce the rules.

M: Or you can say like, they should be punished by what...

R: You can be, you don't have to be specific.

M: Some money should be deducted from them, or some rewards should be given. Yeah.

R: But teachers can also assist in the enforcement of the rules by leading by example. So if you lead by example, it just means you're the example and you encourage people to follow what you do.

M: You can also say you are setting, you should set a good example, right. So you can say like, teachers can also lead by example. So teachers lead by example. So they set an example. Right? Nice. The examiner might ask you about police officers. So police officers or policemen, but to be politically correct we say officers because it could be a lady or a gentleman.

R: Yes. We could just say a policeman or a policewoman.

M: Policeman, policewoman. Okay. Yep. And then you said that some policemen are always embroiled in corruption and scandal.

R: Yeah. So if you're embroiled in corruption and scandal, it just means that you've been part of something corrupt or scandalous. Embroiled is a way of describing being part of something. Like you're very closely connected with it. You can't escape it.

M: Nice. Being a lawyer could be a platform for potential politicians.

R: It could be. Which makes sense because if you're writing laws, then you should understand how they operate.

M: Yeah, it's a nice one. Oh, it's a platform for my future career. Right. Yeah. And lawyer. Right. So the profession is a lawyer. In the UK they have two different types of lawyers. Solicitors and barristers. Rory, what's the difference between a solicitor and a barrister?

R: I think it's more than that actually. So a barrister defends criminals and a solicitor does everything else essentially. But there are different times. I'm pretty sure. Um, solicitors deal with things like wills. They deal with land sales as well, I think. But there are other, I think there are other kinds of lawyers as well. I'm pretty sure.

M: Questions could also be about penalizing people. So to be penalized is to what?

R: Well, it just means you suffer the consequences.

M: Yeah, like you do something illegal and then you have to pay a fine, for example. You are penalized, right. So you smoke inside a restaurant, for example. Okay, that's against the law. So you are penalized. Yeah. Or you use your mobile phone while driving. Yeah, you should be penalized. We say penalize, right?

R: Or penalized. It doesn't matter.

M: Penalized. Yeah, yeah. It's also possible. And about obeying the law all the time, well, you can say like law-abiding people. And you've said one word, repeal laws. What does it mean?

R: So if you repeal a law it just means that you, well, there was the law and it was in effect.

But then you stop it from being enforced anymore, or you remove it from the legal system because it's not relevant. For example, practicing witchcraft was against the law, but that law's been repealed now because we understand that... Well, first of all, people have freedom of religion. And second of all, it's impossible to prove that someone's a witch.

M: Well, you throw them in the water. If they sink, oops, they're not a witch.

R: You'd been great in 1692.

M: Yeah, yeah. So that's a very precise verb. Repeal laws - so to remove laws. Okay. I think that getting up early and starting work at like 7 am, or 8 am, or 9 am. should be illegal. Do you agree, Rory? He's asleep now.

R: Yeah. I am sleeping.

M: He's just had his McDonald's. He's falling asleep. Okay. Thank you very much for listening! And yeah, I know that the topics might be complicated, but they are not our topics. IELTS special people create these topics. And now you know that these tricky topics might be in the exam. Yeah. Rory, say goodbye.

R: Bye!

M: Bye-bye!

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