1. Crime and Violence in the United States
Chapter 8
Crime and Violence in the United States

2. Pre-listening Warm-up Questions What’s happening in the first picture?
How do you judge whether or not a person is a criminal?
Can you name some of the crimes people fear they would become victims?
Does the man in the second picture look like a criminal? What is a white-collar crime?
Do you think there is more crime in the United States or in China? Why?
What do you know about the reasons why some people commit crimes?

3. Pre-listening Vocabulary and Key Concepts
Read through the sentences and figure out what words would fit in the blanks. Then check your answers by listening to a dictation of the full sentences.
(See the sentences in the textbook on page )

4. Pre-listening Predictions
Using the pictures in your textbook and the vocabulary exercises as a starting point, write 3 questions that you think you can get answers in the lecture. (Answers vary)

5. Pre-listening Note-taking Preparation
Structuring Organizing Your Ideas
Organizing the ideas means putting the ideas down in a logical way: distinguish between main ideas and secondary ideas; Organize your notes by writing main ideas all the way to the left of the page, and the secondary ideas, a little to the right.
Rhetorical Cues: Read the sentences on Page 82. The lecturer uses rhetorical cues to make a transition from one topic to another. Decide in which order you will hear these sentences. ( )

6. Listening
In the first listening, you get down the main subtopics of the lecture. Listen for the three subtopics.
ST1: liberal theory of crime
ST2: conservative theory of crime
ST3: some solutions to the crime problem in the U.S.
In the second listening, write down necessary relevant details. Remember to organize your notes in the correct way.

7. Post-listening Answer the following questions.
By what percentage did violence crime decrease between 1994 and 2001? (52%)
Give 3 examples of white-collar crime. (embezzlement, bribery, political corruption, and dangerous corporate policies )
What 3 shortcomings of society are seen by some as root causes of crime? (racism, poverty and injustice)
Do most people who grow up poor, unemployed, and badly educated become criminals? (no)
Is the underclass part of the liberal or conservative theory of crime? (the liberal theory)

8. Post-listening
How does society socialize its members (by giving them values, a conscience)
In the conservative theory of crime, what two things are supposed to curb crime? (socialization of the family and the fear of punishment)
How do white-collar criminals differ from criminals of the murder-class? (They have enjoyed the benefits of the society.)
What three things do some experts think society should provide for the underclass?(good education, health care and employment)
Is curbing crime through fear of punishment a liberal solution or a conservative solution? (conservative)

9. Oral Activities
Discuss with your classmates on the following questions.
Is crime rate increasing or decreasing in China compared with that before 1980s? Why or why not?
What are some of the differences between the crimes in China and that in the U.S.? What are the reasons that cause the difference?
What solutions would you propose to reduce crime?

10. Post-listening Written Work
Write a summary of the lecture within 250 words.