Vocabulary in use vocabulary reference and practice Third Edition Elementary Michael McCarthy Felicity O’Dell

74
English Vocabulary in Use Elementary
Crime
34
Crimes and criminals
crime
robbery
murder
/md@/
burglary
/bl@ri/
mugging 
[
attacking 
a person in a public 
place and stealing their 
money
]
person
a robber
a murderer
a burglar
a mugger
verb
to rob
somebody or 
a place (e.g. a bank)
to murder
somebody
to break into
a 
house / flat 
(break / broke / 
broken)
to mug
somebody
crime
car theft 
drug dealing
terrorism
shoplift ing
person
a car thief
/θif/
a drug dealer
a terrorist
a shoplift er
verb
to steal
a car (steal / 
stole / stolen)
to sell drugs 
(sell / sold / sold)
to attack
somebody or 
a place
to steal
things from 
a shop
There was a 
burglary
at the school last night.
John West 
murdered
his wife.
There are a lot of 
muggings
in the city centre.
The bank 
was robbed
yesterday. My sister 
was 
robbed
last week.
A
The law 
/lɔ/
A student 
was arrested for
shoplift ing this morning. 
The police
came to the school and spoke to his teacher.
The student has to 
go to court
next week.
If he is 
guilty 
he will have to 
pay a fine
. 
/Ilti/
If he is 
innocent
he can go home. 
/In@s@nt/
I don’t think he will 
go to prison
.
Other crime problems
Some 
vandals
broke the windows in the telephone box. 
[
A vandal breaks and smashes things.
]
We have a lot of 
vandalism
in my town.
A lot of people 
take drugs
nowadays. 
Is 
football hooliganism 
a problem in your country? 
/hulI@nIzm/
[
A 
football hooligan
is a person who goes to a football match and makes trouble.
]
B
C
Common
 
mistakes
A thief 
steals
something (
steal
/ 
stole
/ 
stolen
). 
Somebody 
stole
my bicycle. [
NOT Somebody 
robbed my bicycle.
] 
I 
was robbed
last night. [
NOT I was stolen.
]

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Exercises
75
English Vocabulary in Use Elementary
What do we call someone …
1 who steals cars?
a car thief
2 who kills someone?
3 who steals things from shops?
4 who robs people’s houses and flats?
5 who attacks someone in the street and steals their money?
6 who sells illegal drugs? 
Fill the gaps in these sentences. 
1 There were a lot of football h
near the stadium.
2 The police officer arr
her for shoplifting.
3 Some van
destroyed all the flowers in the park.
4 He had to pay a fi
of £50 for parking his car in the wrong place.
5 There are a lot of bur
in this part of the city, so always close the windows.
6 The police made a mistake; she was inn
. She did not steal the money.
7 A group of terr
have attacked the airport.
8 He murdered his wife. He was in pr
for 20 years.
True or false? 
1 A burglar goes into someone’s house and steals things.
True
2 Vandals take people’s money.
3 A murderer kills someone.
4 A car thief is someone who drives very badly or dangerously.
5 If you are guilty it means you are the person who did the crime.
Choose the right word to complete each sentence.
1 My brother was 
robbed / stolen
yesterday.
2 Someone 
robbed / stole
my bike last night.
3 My local bank has been 
robbed / stolen
.
4 Who has 
robbed / stolen
my pen?
5 Someone 
robbed / stole
our TV when we were on holiday.
6 Where were you when your keys were 
robbed / stolen
?
34.1
34.2
34.3
34.4
ooligans
Over to 
you
Give your opinion. What do you think should happen to these people? 
1
A man murdered his wife and three children. 
He should go to prison for 30 years.
2
A student with no money stole a book from a bookshop. 
3
A woman sold some drugs to a teenager.
4
Some terrorists attacked a bus and killed five people.
5
A woman parked her car and blocked the traffic.
6
A teenager damaged some trees in the park.

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76
English Vocabulary in Use Elementary
The media
35
Radio and TV programmes 
The 
news
is on TV at 6 o’clock every night. [
important things that happen
]
Do you watch 
soaps
/ 
soap operas
? 
Home and Away
is my favourite. [
Soaps are stories about people’s 
lives. They are oft en on TV every day.
]
I like 
nature programmes
best. [
programmes about animals, birds, etc.
]
I watched a 
documentary
last night about drugs and crime. [
programme looking at a social problem 
or question
] 
In 
talk shows
, people talk about themselves or discuss topics with an interviewer.
The children watch 
cartoons
on Saturday mornings. (For example, Disney films with animals that 
talk. See 
Unit 24: Cinema
.)
My brother likes watching 
reality TV
[
programmes that film real people living their lives, not actors
].
I always watch 
sports programmes
.
Newspapers and magazines
In most countries there are 
morning 
(
news
)
papers
and 
evening 
(
news
)
papers
.
Every month, I buy a 
magazine
. 
My mother buys 
women’s magazines
. 
I like 
news magazines
like 
Newsweek
and 
Time
.
In most magazines and newspapers there are lots of 
adverts 
/
 advertisements
[
something that tries to persuade 
people to buy something
].
Other types of magazines: 
sports magazines
/ 
computer magazines
/ 
teenage magazines
. (See 
Unit 25: Free time at home
.)
People and the media
There was 
an interview with
the US President on 
TV last night.
The 
reporters
are outside the film star’s house. 
[
people who go out and get the news stories 
where they happen
]
My sister is a 
journalist
; she writes for 
The Oxford 
Times
newspaper. [
person who writes articles
]
Expressions
You can 
read newspapers
or 
watch TV
online
.
What’s your 
favourite TV
programme
? 
What’s on TV
tonight?
Is it OK if I 
change the channel
?
A
B
C
D
Common
 
mistakes
The news is on now. [
NOT The news are on now.
]

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Exercises
77
English Vocabulary in Use Elementary
Fill the gaps in these sentences.
1 Ten million people watch this 
every week. It’s very popular.
2 The news 
on channel 3 at 9 o’clock every night.
3 There was a 
about traffic problems in cities on TV last night.
4 I saw a 
programme about birds in Antarctica.
5 My sister is 13; she reads a 
magazine every week. She likes the stories about boys.
6 With my mobile I can read the sports news 
.
7 I’d like to watch the news now. Is it OK if I 
the channel?
8 Did you see the 
with the Prime Minister last night? 
Match the left-hand column with the type of programme on the right. 
1 Talking about family problems 
a International news
2 Film of elephants in Africa 
b Sports programme
3 Football cup final 
c Reality TV programme
4 Reports from all over the world 
d Soap (opera)
5 Maria decides not to marry Philip 
e Nature programme
6 Ten people in a house – they cannot
f Talk show 
leave or talk to anyone outside