SOCIAL MORALITY, RULES AND LAW

Tasks for “Man and Wife” by T. Parsons

Choose two topics from the list below to prepare two five-minute presentations making use of the book you have read.

1. Are those who consider that the first time is more special than the last time really wrong? Do people deserve a second chance, no matter what grave mistakes they have committed? What do you think?

2. Harry used to be a “full-time dad”, now he is a “one-day dad”. What has changed?

3. Why doesn’t Harry like the idea of calling Cyd his second wife, or his new wife?

4. Did Harry really get on well with Peggy? What complicated their relations?

5. Was Harry really good at what he was doing at his work on TV?

6. Marriage can go wrong if both the spouses have a high-flying career. Is it so with Harry and Cyd?

7. Why did Harry say his mother was made of steel, just like many women of her generation? Does her example inspire you?

8. Is revenge really what Gina needs?

9. Do you believe it was Harry who nearly ruined his second marriage?

10. Comment on Harry’s words: “You promise to love each other forever… And in the end your feelings – her feelings – are not what they were once upon a time”.

Tasks for “How to be Good” by N. Hornby

Choose two topics from the list below to prepare two five-minute presentations making use of the book you have read.

1. Do you agree that the main character of the book (Katie) is a “good person”?

2. Can you call David and Katie’s marriage an ordinary one?

3. Relationships where you end up hating your partner are not uncommon, are they?

4. What can you say about David’s and Katie’s parenting skills? Which one turns out to be a better parent?

5. David and Katie’s children have taken after their parents, haven’t they?

6. Why was David’s column called “the angriest man in Holloway”? Do you approve of his methods of work?

7. Do you think Davis was really healed by DJ Goodnews? Was it a change for the better?

8. Does David’s plan to change the world work out?

9. Who is “the good one” – Katie or David?

SOCIAL MORALITY, RULES AND LAW

The English word "law" (Scandinavian borrowing) refers to limits upon various forms of behavior. Some laws are descriptive - they simply describe how people usually behave. Other laws are prescriptive - they prescribe how people ought to behave.

In all societies, relations between people are regulated by prescriptive laws. Some of them are customs, that is, informal rules of social and moral behavior. Some are rules we accept if we belong to particular social institutions, such as religious, educational and cultural group. And some are precise laws made by nations and enforced against all citizens within their power.

Customs need not be made by governments, and they need not be written down. We learn how we should behave in society through the instruction of family and teachers, the advice of friends, and our own experiences. The rules of social institutions tend to be more formal than customs. Governments often consider anti-social behavior not simply as a matter between two individuals but as a danger to the well-being and order of society as a whole. The laws made by the government of one country are often very different from the laws of another country. Law today is, to a large extent, a complex of different and relatively independent national systems.

Task 1. Practice to pronounce the words given below:

Scandinavian, borrowing, custom, behavior, society, religious, precise, enforce, government, experience, individual, extent, independent

Task 2. Find the English equivalents to the following words and phrases:

Task 3. Match the English words and word combinations with their Russian equivalents.

Task 4. Derive

a) nouns from the following verbs:

b) adjectives from the following verbs

Task 5. Say if the following statements are True or False. If the statement is false, comment on the true one:

1. Social customs and rules are both enforced by governments.

2. Many laws reflect social customs.

3. The ways in which people talk, eat and drink are regulated by law made by governments.

4. Relations between people are regulated by customs, rules of social institutions and government-made laws.

5. The laws made by the government of one country are almost identical to the laws of all other countries of the world.

Task 6. Answer the following questions:

1. What does the word “law” refer to?

2. What are descriptive and prescriptive law?

3. What regulates the relations between people?

4. What is the difference between the customs and the rules of social behavior?

5. How do we learn to behave in society?

6. What is law today?

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Date: 2015-01-02; view: 2428