《罪與罰》(Crime and Punishment)是俄國文學家杜斯妥也夫斯基(Fyodor Dostoyevsky)的長篇小說作品,與《戰爭與和平》並列,被認為是最具影響力的俄國小說。
What is Crime?
Crime is an act against the law, for example, if you steal someone’s property, you are committing a crime and breaking the law. 罪有輕有重。Some offences are very minor, e.g. illegal parking; but for more serious and especially violent crimes, e.g. killing or attacking someone, a person could go to prison for a long time.
Crime does not pay 犯罪不會有好下場。某人犯罪,警察將他繩之以法,緝拿歸案:the police arrests somebody for a crime and put him on trial in court, we say the police brings him to justice。
犯罪的種類和詞匯繁多:不法行為 illegal act,犯罪 crime or offense。重大犯罪活動,屬於felony:有殺人 homicide,謀殺 murder,過失殺人 manslaughter,搶劫 robbery,盜竊 burglary,勒索 ransom,綁架 kidnapping,誘拐 abduction,勒索 blackmail。嚴重性略低的犯罪活動屬於 misdemeanor,有偷竊 theft,扒手 pickpocket,高買 shoplifting。
很多員工都遭受過性騷擾 sexual harassment:the making of unwanted and offensive sexual advances。性騷擾的定義:明知對方不願意,故意進行攻擊性的性接觸,或者語言、行為引起對方在性方面的反應,特別是地位優越或處於領導者職位的人,以續聘、升職和獎勵為條件親自實施或默許這種行為。
犯案時被警察逮個正着,現場捕獲。A person is caught red-handed, he is caught while he is doing something wrong or illegal: The police arrived as the burglar was leaving the house. He was caught red-handed. 也可以說:he is caught in the act, in the act of doing something wrong。
法律講證據。慣用語 a smoking gun,是指 a piece of evidence and the indisputable sign of someone’s guilt,證明某人犯罪的真憑實據,例如犯案現場留下的指紋:The fingerprints left on the door-handle was the smoking gun that enabled the police to arrest him。證據充份,可以說 in black and white 白紙黑字,to say that something is in black and white means that there is written proof of it。Give someone the benefit of doubt 表示疑中留情,縱使對某人懷疑,但仍作善意解釋,把人往好處想。
刑事法舉證的責任 burden of proof 在控方 lies with the claimant,公訴人一定要確切無疑地證實疑犯作不真實的口供:The prosecutor must be able to establish beyond reasonable doubt that the suspect is lying, otherwise he is innocent. The burden of proof is the task or responsibility of proving that something is true. 作偽證,很嚴重,罪名是妨礙司法公正:If a person perverts the course of justice, he tells a lie or prevent the police from finding out the truth about something. 靠欺詐的手段或虛假的借口得到某些東西是 false pretences。If you obtain something under false pretences, you deceive others by lying about your identity, qualifications, financial or social position, in order to get what you want:The journalist obtained an interview under false pretences.
Cut somebody some slack 表示寬鬆處理,從輕發落。If you relax a rule, treat a person less severely or allow someone to do something which is normally not permitted, you cut him some slack. 你對別人寬容,不過於挑剔,不吹毛求疵,也可以說:cut somebody some slack。
Punishment
Punishment 懲罰,一般是指因為某種不當的行為,所受的痛苦或損失:you make somebody suffer because they have broken the law or done something wrong。常見的、被認為構成處罰的主要條件包括:懲罰是由權威發出的,會對做出侵犯行為的人造成損失,同時也是對侵犯行為的回應。Punishment 有 capital punishment 死刑,a capital offence 是死罪;corporal punishment 體罰:the physical punishment by hitting and beating;life imprisonment 終身監禁;fine 罰款:a sum of money as punishment for breaking a law。
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