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B2 Vocabulary Masterclass

⚖️ Crime, Law and Justice

Master essential legal terms, court procedures, and justice collocations through structured practice and voice shadowing.

📋

How to use this lesson

🧑‍🏫 For Teachers

Plan for a brisk 20-minute guided session covering vocabulary and oral shadowing.
Check the answers together: the answers and short notes appear after each item.

🎓 For Learners

Study the 10 core words and their forms in the reference table first.
Complete the 16 practice questions, then record each phrase aloud in the Shadowing Lab.

A wide view of a modern courtroom scene, showing a judge

Word table

Study the definitions, common combinations, related forms, and memory anchors below.

Group 1: Crime & the Police 4 terms

Word	Meaning	Collocations	Word forms	Example sentence	Memory tip
suspect	A person believed to have committed a crime.	prime suspect, detain a suspect	suspicion (n), suspicious (adj)	Police held the prime suspect for questioning.	Link with "suspicious behavior".
witness	A person who sees an event take place.	eyewitness account, call a witness	–	The key witness testified in court yesterday.	Think: "with your eyes".
offence	An illegal action or crime.	commit an offence, minor offence	offender (n), offend (v)	Speeding is a punishable traffic offence.	An offence "offends" the legal code.
victim	A person harmed as a result of a crime.	crime victim, compensate the victim	victimise (v)	The court ordered the thief to pay the burglary victim back.	Victim receives harm, not victory.

Group 2: In Court 3 terms

Word	Meaning	Collocations	Word forms	Example sentence	Memory tip
trial	Formal examination of evidence by a court.	fair trial, stand trial	–	The murder trial lasted nearly four weeks.	A trial "tests" (tries) the evidence.
verdict	An official decision reached by a jury.	reach a verdict, guilty verdict	–	The jury reached a unanimous guilty verdict.	Ver = truth, dict = spoken word.
jury	A body of citizens sworn to give a verdict.	swear in a jury, serve on a jury	juror (n)	Twelve citizens were chosen to serve on the jury.	Jury takes a sacred oath ("jur").

Group 3: Punishment 3 terms

Word	Meaning	Collocations	Word forms	Example sentence	Memory tip
penalty	A punishment imposed for breaking a rule.	serve a penalty, severe penalty	penalise (v)	The penalty for tax fraud is a heavy fine.	Think: "penalty kick" for a foul.
imprison	To put or keep someone in prison.	be imprisoned for, wrongfully imprison	imprisonment (n)	The judge decided to imprison him for robbery.	Put "in" a "prison".
prosecute	To take someone to court for a crime.	prosecute an offender, decide to prosecute	prosecution (n), prosecutor (n)	The state decided to prosecute the smuggler.	To "pursue" justice in court.

Practice

Four short steps: match verbs, fill gaps, choose the word, change the word form.

Step 1

Collocation Matrix: Match Verbs to Legal Nouns

4 items

Select the verb that forms the natural legal collocation with each noun phrase.

1. Which verb pairs naturally with: ___ an offence?

____ serve ____ commit ____ reach ____ swear in ____ impose

2. Which verb pairs naturally with: ___ a verdict?

____ swear in ____ serve ____ reach ____ commit ____ impose

3. Which verb pairs naturally with: ___ a jury?

____ reach ____ commit ____ serve ____ swear in ____ impose

4. Which verb pairs naturally with: ___ a penalty?

____ declare ____ swear in ____ commit ____ serve ____ reach

Step 2

Word-Bank Gap-Fills: Case Files

4 items

Word Bank (Use each word once):

trial imprison suspect victim

Case Dialogue 1: "Detectives brought in a 35-year-old local resident as the prime ____ after reviewing security footage from the jeweler."

Case Dialogue 2: "Support counselors arrived promptly to assist Mr. Jones, the robbery ____ , with recovery resources and trauma counseling."

Case Dialogue 3: "The defense attorney requested a short delay to ensure that the accused receives a fair ____ by jury before a neutral judge."

Case Dialogue 4: "Under this law, the judge has the authority to ____ repeat offenders in a state prison for up to five years."

Step 3

Choose the Word: Contextual Multiple Choice

4 items

A person looking out of a window at a street scene below, observing something happening, illustration style

9. The man was neither hurt nor accused of anything; he only saw the crime from his window, so he was a ___.

____ a. suspect ____ b. witness ____ c. victim

10. After two days of deliberation behind closed doors, the twelve jurors announced their final ___.

____ a. trial ____ b. verdict ____ c. jury

11. Companies that dump toxic industrial chemicals into the river face a severe financial ___.

____ a. penalty ____ b. offence ____ c. prosecution

12. Without conclusive forensic evidence, the district attorney decided not to ___ the corporate executive.

____ a. prosecute ____ b. imprison ____ c. penalise

Step 4

Word Formation: Derived Forms

4 items

Transform the prompt root word in brackets into the correct grammatical form for each sentence.

13. Investigators acted on strong ____ [ROOT: SUSPECT] that stolen money was hidden abroad.

14. The court offered a training program because the youth was a first-time ____ [ROOT: OFFENCE].

15. Workplaces must establish clear protocols so managers do not unfairly ____ [ROOT: VICTIM] workers who report problems.

16. The convicted thief was sentenced to six years of ____ [ROOT: IMPRISON].

Shadowing

Listen to the natural native audio, click record, and mirror the rhythm and intonation.

Part 1: Short Legal Collocations (4 items)

Cadence drill

Item 17

commit a serious offence

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 18

reach a unanimous verdict

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 19

call an eyewitness to testify

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 20

face a severe penalty

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part 2: Standard Sentences (4 items)

Sentence flow

Item 21

The jury listened carefully to the evidence.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 22

Police arrested the suspect near the station.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 23

The victim asked for justice during the hearing.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 24

A fair trial is guaranteed by the constitution.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part 3: Long Sentences (2 items)

Sustained delivery

Item 25

State prosecutors decided to prosecute the company after discovering serious fraud.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 26

The court refused to imprison the defendant without evidence.

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Part 4: Difficult Target Words (2 items)

Phonetic accuracy

Item 27

prosecute

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Item 28

verdict

[Bài tập luyện nói]

____

Crime, Law and Justice

⚖️ Crime, Law and Justice

How to use this lesson

Word table

Practice

Collocation Matrix: Match Verbs to Legal Nouns

Word-Bank Gap-Fills: Case Files

Choose the Word: Contextual Multiple Choice

Word Formation: Derived Forms

Shadowing

Part 1: Short Legal Collocations (4 items)

Part 2: Standard Sentences (4 items)

Part 3: Long Sentences (2 items)

Part 4: Difficult Target Words (2 items)

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