II. Skimming

1. Look more closely through the part “Equity” and decide which of the following statements renders the main idea of the given part:

a. The court of equity was established because the King himself couldn’t cope with the volume of petitions presented to him.

b. The court of equity was established by the Lord Chancellor because he was the “ Keeper of the King’s Conscience”.

c. The court of equity was established so that everyone should receive fairness and justice.

2. Look through the next two pages and mark one statement that was not true in the passage.

a. The problem with the old Court of Chancery was that it depended entirely on the Lord Chancellor’s personal ideas of justice.

b. As the work of the Court of Chancery grew it earned a good reputation for delivering justice for the poor.

c. Another problem of the Court of Chancery was that it became formalized and bound up in “red tape”.

Vocabulary Work

Exercises

I. Suggest Russian equivalents of these expressions and use them in your own sentences based on the text.

1. be rich in smth; 2. a reasonable man; 3. draw on the system of laws;

4. law reports; 5. add to the gradual build-up of the law; 6. grasp the need to reinforce the system; 7. be traced back to; 8. fall foul of the law; 9. public whipping; 10. a focal point; 11. embodiment of smth; 12. drive a coach & four (horses) through the law; 13. give smb a remedy; 14. cast doubt on the valid- ity; 15. the reverse side of the legal coin; 16. it stems from; 17. the word of his plight leaked out; 18. our legal history is paved with landmark cases.

II. Suggest English equivalents of the following expressions and use them in your own sentences based on the text.

1. во время правления; 2. заложить фундамент; 3. прецедентное право; 4. если возникнет необходимость; 5. уполномочивать, поручать;

6. возмещать убытки; 7. с незапамятных времен; 8. предшественники, предки; 9. удовлетворить жалобу; 10. право справедливости; 11. нару- шить уговор, сделку; 12. доказывание завещания; 13. волокита, бюро- кратизм; 14. уважать; 15. отменить рабство; 16. неминуемая опасность;

17. действовать по принуждению.

III. Match the expression on the left (A) with their proper translations on the right (B).