&  Pre-Reading Activity:  Vocabulary    top

Instructions:   Match the vocabulary on the left with the correct definition on the right.

relevant

involved in, influential in something happening 

eradicate

a building in which a community of nuns live

tribunal

convent

closely connected to something, important in the circumstances 

prior

the deliberate killing of a race or nation of people 

prosecute

to bring a criminal charge against someone in a court of law 

scrutiny

eliminate, get rid of 

genocide

earlier, before 

instrumental

a group of people working together to settle a dispute 

• Select one of the words listed above and use it in your own sentence. 

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$  Reading Exercise    top

Instructions:    
(1) Read the text and replace all of the missing prepositions.    
(2)  Answer the comprehension questions that follow the text. 

________ 1948, Canadian John P. Humphrey was instrumental ________ drafting The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a United Nations document that professes the “inalienable rights ________ all members ________ the human family.”  Therefore, it is not surprising that fifty years later Humphrey’s vision was put ________ practice ________ another Canadian, Louise Arbour as she assumed the position ________ chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Tribunals for the Former Yugoslavia and Rwanda. 

Louise Arbour was born ________ Montreal ________ 1947 to the owners ________ a hotel chain.  Arbour attended convent school ________ Quebec. As editor of the school newspaper, Louise earned a reputation ________ impertinence. When Louise was ten, her parents separated and she was raised ________ her mother.  Louise went ________ to graduate ________ a degree ________ law from the University of Montreal.  After moving ________ Ontario, she worked as a professor at York University’s Osgoode Hall Law School prior to her appointment to the Ontario Supreme Court in 1987.  Throughout a very distinguished career, Arbour has been involved ________ numerous controversial legal issues. While working for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, she campaigned ________ voting rights for prisoners and developed a reputation for humanitarianism. While vice-president of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association in the mid 1980s, Arbour challenged the law that had prevented rape victims from answering questions about their prior sexual history.  Due ________ Arbour’s appeal, judges are now permitted to allow these types of questions if they decide that they are relevant to the case.  As a high-profile female judge, Arbour faced stiff criticism ________ her views which were perceived as somewhat anti-feminist.  This criticism would pale in comparison to the intense scrutiny she later encountered in the Hague. 

Arbour’s actions brought her praise both domestically and internationally. At the age of 52, Louise Arbour replaced Judge Richard Goldstone as the Head ________ the United Nations War Crimes Tribunal.   The tribunal, based in The Hague, was set ________ in 1993 to prosecute those accused of war crimes in the conflict that followed the breakup of  Yugoslavia and the genocide in Rwanda.  This was the first international prosecution ________ war crimes since the Nuremberg Trials after World War II.  Arbour’s media-friendly approach garnered her quite a lot of international respect which in turn led to political support ________ her mandate.  In May 1999, Arbour’s Tribunal issued an arrest warrant for Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic for perceived “crimes against humanity.”  On June 10, 1999 Louise Arbour was appointed to the Supreme Court of Canada.  Just as she has shaped international law, Arbour is currently working ________ the highest levels to continue to safeguard Canada as a land of tolerance and accountability.  ________ the words of Ms. Arbour:  “If we can eradicate fear through institutions of democracy and justice, creating a safe environment, tolerant of dissent and difference, I believe that we will succeed ________ liberating both the oppressed and their oppressors.” 

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1.  The word “inalienable” (in the first paragraph) could be replaced by:  
(a)  foreign   (b)  inaccessible  (c)  absolute   (d)  forgettable

2.  What does the expression “pale in comparison” (in the second paragraph) mean? 

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3.  The verb “was raised” (in the second paragraph) is:  
(a) simple past  (b) past perfect  (c) simple past passive  (d)  present perfect 

4.  All of the following statements are true EXCEPT:   
(a)  Louise Arbour was raised by a single parent.  
(b)  Louise Arbour was tried in the Hague.   
(c)  Louise Arbour is a member of Canada’s highest court.  
(d)  Louise Arbour has some journalism in her background. 

5.  The word “controversial” (in the second paragraph) is:  (a) an adjective  (b) a noun   (c) a verb  (d) an adverb

6.  Why was Louise Arbour perceived as being “anti-feminist”?  
[Write your answer in sentence format.] 

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7.  Based on what you have discovered by reading this article, what qualities do you think Louise Arbour possesses that make her a valuable member of Canada’s Supreme Court?

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  þ    Grammar Exercise:   top

Working With Prepositions         

A preposition connects its object with the rest of a sentence.  A preposition indicates the relationship between the prepositional phrase and the rest of the sentence.  Although there are fewer than 100 prepositions in English, they tend to frustrate ESL students due to their complex and at times, nonsensical meanings. 

 

Prepositions and Their Meanings

Instructions:    Complete the following chart. The first two have been provided as an example. 

Preposition

Meaning of the Preposition

Example Sentence

1.  About

(a)  on the subject of

I read a lovely article about Louise Arbour.

           (cont) 

(b)  approximately

I think Daniel is about 16, but I’m not sure.

2.  After

(a) later in time

 

           (cont) 

(b)

“B” comes after “A”.

           (cont) 

(c)

The cat is running after the mouse.

3.  Against

(a) in opposition to

           (cont) 

(b)

The bike was leaning against the store window.

4.  By

(a) near

 

           (cont) 

(b)

As they drove by, they waved to the children.

           (cont) 

(c)

Your assignment is due by Friday.

           (cont) 

(d) through means of

 

5.  For

(a) duration of time

 

           (cont) 

(b) distance

           (cont)

(c)

They rallied for peace.

6.  From

(a) place of origin

 

           (cont) 

(b) start of a period of time

 

           (cont) 

(c)

Have you heard from Alice?

7.  On

(a) touching the surface of

 

           (cont) 

(b)

I’ll call you on Saturday.

           (cont) 

(c) about

8.  To

(a)

I’m moving to Vancouver.

           (cont) 

(b)

I go to school from Monday to Friday.

           (cont) 

(c) with an indirect object

 

           (cont) 

(d) part of the infinitive

 

¤  Pre-Writing Activity:    top

Group Discussion 

Instructions:    Discuss the following questions with the members of your group.

1.  What does the word “justice” mean to you? 

2.  How is “justice” related to “freedom”?

3.  Lady Justice is often depicted with scales in her hand a blindfold over her eyes.  In your opinion, do you think justice is blind?    Why should justice be blind? 

 ?  Writing Activity:  top

 

What is Justice?  

Instructions:    Select one of the following quotations and write a one-paragraph response.

(a)   “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.

                        Martin Luther King Jr.  (Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963)

(b)    “Man’s capacity for justice makes democracy possible, but man’s inclination to injustice makes democracy necessary.”   

                     Reinhold Niebuhr   (The Children of Light and the Children of Darkness, 1944)  

(c)   “The whole history of the world is summed up in the fact that, when nations are strong, they are not always just, and when they wish to be just, they are no longer strong.”

                        Winston Churchill