犯罪是雅思 Writing Task 2 最常见的话题之一。题目可能问：延长刑期能否减少犯罪，惩罚罪犯与帮助他们改过自新哪个更有效，青少年为什么违法，以及警察、学校和家庭应该由谁应对。Speaking Part 3 中，考官可能问你所在的城市是否安全，以及怎样让年轻人远离犯罪。
这个话题的陷阱，首先就是“犯罪”这个词。学习者有时会选 criminality，但英语中谈论一座城市的犯罪情况，通常用 crime 或 the crime rate：Crime has risen、The crime rate has fallen。“犯罪”的动词也有固定选择：用 commit，不用 make 或 do。法院判处某人五年监禁，用 sentence，而不是 judge。这些词单独看你都认识，组合起来时却可能出错。
所以下面没有孤立的“高级词”，而是四个子话题中的 27 个实用搭配、常见误用，以及 LetsWords 对造句进行反馈的示例。其他考试话题见雅思话题词汇指南。
犯罪与法律：词汇和搭配
犯罪行为与犯罪率
| 表达 | 含义 | 例句 |
|---|---|---|
| commit a crime | 实施犯罪行为 | Many people who commit a crime for the first time are under twenty-five. |
| petty crime | 商店行窃等轻微犯罪 | Petty crime such as shoplifting often goes unreported. |
| violent crime | 涉及人身伤害的暴力犯罪 | Violent crime attracts far more media attention than fraud. |
| the crime rate | 某个地方的犯罪发生水平 | When the crime rate rises, residents stop feeling safe in their own streets. |
| youth crime | 年轻人实施的犯罪 | Youth crime is often linked to boredom and a lack of local facilities. |
| turn to crime | 开始走上犯罪道路 | Teenagers with no education or work are more likely to turn to crime. |
| get away with it | 做了错事却逃脱惩罚 | If offenders believe they can get away with it, fines will not stop them. |
警察与法院
| 表达 | 含义 | 例句 |
|---|---|---|
| break the law | 违法 | Even people who break the law deserve a fair trial. |
| enforce the law | 执行法律，确保人们守法 | The police cannot enforce the law effectively without public trust. |
| law enforcement | 警察及其他执法机构，或其执法工作 | Cuts to law enforcement can leave whole districts unprotected. |
| be convicted of | 被法院判定犯有某项罪行 | People convicted of minor offences should not lose the right to work. |
| stand trial | 出庭受审 | Politicians accused of corruption must stand trial like anyone else. |
| be sentenced to | 被法院判处某种刑罚 | He was sentenced to two years in prison for fraud. |
| serve a sentence | 服刑 | Many prisoners serve their sentences without any education or training. |
惩罚与改造
| 表达 | 含义 | 例句 |
|---|---|---|
| a harsh punishment | 严厉的惩罚 | Harsh punishments may satisfy the public but rarely change behaviour. |
| act as a deterrent | 起到威慑作用，阻止人们采取某种行为 | Long prison terms are supposed to act as a deterrent to potential offenders. |
| the death penalty | 死刑 | Opponents of the death penalty point out that courts can make mistakes. |
| community service | 代替监禁的无偿社区服务 | For first-time offenders, community service is often more useful than prison. |
| rehabilitate offenders | 帮助罪犯重新过上正常、守法的生活 | Prisons should rehabilitate offenders, not simply keep them away from society. |
| reoffend | 再次犯罪 | Prisoners who learn a trade are less likely to reoffend. |
| a repeat offender | 多次犯罪的人 | Judges usually give repeat offenders longer sentences. |
| a criminal record | 个人过去犯罪行为的正式记录 | A criminal record can make it almost impossible to find a job. |
原因与预防
| 表达 | 含义 | 例句 |
|---|---|---|
| tackle crime | 应对犯罪问题 | Tackling crime requires cooperation between schools, families and the police. |
| address the root causes | 处理问题的深层原因 | Longer sentences do not address the root causes of crime, such as poverty. |
| crime prevention | 防止犯罪发生的措施 | Crime prevention is far cheaper than keeping someone in prison for years. |
| crack down on | 严厉打击 | The city decided to crack down on street drug dealing. |
| peer pressure | 来自同龄人的压力 | Peer pressure can push teenagers into shoplifting or vandalism. |
常见错误
The crime rate has raised in recent years.
The crime rate has risen in recent years.
某个数值本身上升，用 rise，完成时是 has risen。使某个数值上升，则用 raise，如 raise taxes。
The court judged him to five years in prison.
The court sentenced him to five years in prison.
判处刑期的动词结构是 sentence to。Judge 可以表示“作出评价”或“审理案件”，但不能像这里这样接若干年的刑期。
Young offenders should not be sent to the prison for minor crimes.
Young offenders should not be sent to prison for minor crimes.
把监狱作为服刑制度来谈时，不加冠词：go to prison、be in prison，类似 go to school。加 the 则是在说某座具体建筑，例如 visit the prison。
Criminals should be punished more hardly.
Criminals should be punished more severely.
Hardly 是“几乎不”的意思，会让句子偏离原意。要表达惩罚“更加严厉”，用 more severely 或 more harshly。
LetsWords 如何解释这些错误
看表格时，每个词都很熟悉。真正动笔时，错误才会出现。下面是 LetsWords 中一道练习的过程。
假设你正在复习 commit a crime。LetsWords 用母语提示给出含义，你回想英文表达，再写一句关于青少年犯罪的话：
Teenagers make crimes because they are boring and have nothing to do after school.
LetsWords 的反馈指出两个错误：
- make crimes → commit crimes：与 crime 搭配的动词是 commit，这里不用 make 或 do；
- boring → bored：bored 描述人的感受；boring 描述让别人产生这种感受的人或事物，所以 they are boring 说的是这些青少年本身很无趣。
Teenagers commit crimes because they are bored and have nothing to do after school.
几天后，这个表达会再次出现在复习中，你需要换一个情境使用它，例如在 Speaking 中回答有关城市安全的问题。这样，词表中的搭配才会逐渐变成能凭记忆想起、并准确使用的表达。
注册时选择 IELTS 目标和水平，LetsWords 就会为你安排相应练习。付费前可以先体验反馈。
在 Writing Task 2 中使用这些搭配
一道考试风格的题目：
In many countries, governments spend more on prisons than on programmes for young people. Some argue that this money would reduce crime more effectively if it were invested in education and job training for teenagers. To what extent do you agree or disagree?
示例段落：
Investing in young people is likely to reduce crime more effectively than building new prisons. Many teenagers who turn to crime have no qualifications, no work and nothing to do, so programmes that offer training address the root causes of the problem. Prisons, by contrast, often make matters worse: young people who serve a sentence alongside experienced criminals frequently reoffend after release, and a criminal record then closes the door to legal employment. A long prison sentence may act as a deterrent to some, but a place on a training course gives a teenager a reason not to break the law in the first place. Spending on youth programmes is therefore a form of crime prevention, not a reward for bad behaviour.
这个段落为什么有效？第一句就直接回答问题，符合 Task Response 的要求。每个加粗搭配都在推进论证：起因是 turn to crime，解决方法是 address the root causes，监狱可能带来的问题则通过 serve a sentence、reoffend 和 a criminal record 展开。用 may… but 先承认反方观点，随即作出回应。这里没有生僻词；Lexical Resource 看重的是准确与得体，而不是词有多难。
在 Speaking 中使用
一道 Part 3 问题：Why do you think some young people get involved in crime?
I think it’s mostly about opportunities, or the lack of them. In areas with high unemployment, some teenagers simply see no future, and peer pressure does the rest: if your friends are shoplifting, it’s hard to say no. And if they get away with it the first time, it quickly becomes a habit. So I’d say crime prevention should start with schools and youth clubs, not with the police.
在 Speaking 中，does the rest、I’d say 等口语表达很自然，同时话题词汇仍然准确。
免费练习
- break the law：违法；
- break the rules：违反规则；
- get away with：逃脱惩罚；
- rob vs steal：哪个动词接人，哪个接被取走的东西；
- hard vs hardly：努力地，还是几乎不；
- catch red-handed：当场抓住；
- take steps：采取措施处理问题。
从词表走向实际运用
知道法院判刑用 sentences 而不是 judges，还不够。考试中能帮助得分的，是不依赖逐字翻译、能够独立想起并准确使用的搭配。可以通过 LetsWords 把词表变成实际练习：选择适合水平的 IELTS 词集，再把本页的搭配加入词集，例如 rehabilitate offenders 或 address the root causes。你根据含义回想表达，用它写一个句子；LetsWords 指出错误，用母语解释修改方法，并建议更准确的说法，间隔重复则安排表达再次出现，让用法逐渐熟练。之后再把词汇用于完整文章：IELTS Writing 专区提供犯罪与法律话题的 Task 2 题目，涉及刑期与改造、轻微犯罪和监控摄像头；每篇完整回答都会得到围绕四项评分标准的详细反馈。注册时回答几个关于目标和水平的问题，LetsWords 就会安排练习；付费前可以体验反馈。更多话题见雅思话题词汇指南。