64   I can talk about rules

A   Rules at school

The school I went to in the 1930s was very strict. We had to wear a uniform, and the headteacher insisted that we even wore it to church on Sundays. We weren’t allowed to talk to the girls at the school next to ours, but of course nobody obeyed that rule. Smoking was banned everywhere. The teachers made us work very hard, and we were forced to stay after school some evenings to do four or five hours’ homework. One day I laughed during a test, and the teacher made me write to all 40 students in the class and apologize for my bad behaviour. How silly! I was very disobedient, and always being punished.

 

 

Glossary

strict  expecting people to do what you say.

insist that  say strongly that sth must be done.

allow sb to do sth  (often passive) tell sb that they can do sth.

obey sb/sth  do what sb/sth tells you to do. OPP disobey.

rule  an official statement which says what you must or must not do.

ban sth  (often passive) say officially that sth is not allowed.

make sb do sth  tell sb that they must do sth which they do not want to do. SYN force sb to do sth.

behaviour  the way you do and say things. behave V.

disobedient  A disobedient child doesn’t obey rules. OPP obedient.

punish sb  make sb suffer for sth they have done wrong. punishment N.

 

 4     ABOUT YOU Write your answers to Exercise 3, or ask another student.

Answers from an Italian person

►   Yes, they were allowed to wear make-up.

1     Yes. I was a quiet and obedient child.

2     If you disobeyed the rules, you would have to stand outside the classroom.

3     The rules were not that strict.

4     The teachers didn’t force me to do anything I didn’t want to do.

5     I think children probably behaved much better then compared to nowadays.

B    Can you choose? 

I’m a bus driver, in my job…

…wearing a uniform is compulsory / obligatory FML.

I have no choice / option; I have to wear one.

= you must do it because of a rule or a law.

 

…smoking is forbidden / isn’t permitted FML when I’m working.

I’m not allowed to smoke at work.

= you mustn’t do it; it’s against a rule or against the law.

 

…working at night is optional / not compulsory.

If I want to work at night, it’s my choice/ it’s up to me INF.

I have the option of working on Sunday twice a month.

= you can decide or choose what to do;you needn’t / don’t have to do it.

 

My boss lets me go home early on Fridays.

= you are allowed to go home early.

7     Test yourself. Cover the left-hand column in the table and look at the explanations. Can you remember the words and phrases in bold?