目上の人に対して / そんなことある / 変わった人 / 一つは

Hi

1. 目上の人に対して、よくあんな失礼なことが言えたもの だ。

To me, this looks like it means "It's often possible to say such rude things to/about one's seniors." I assume this is incorrect, so what is the correct translation?


2. そんなことあるはずがないよ。そうでしょう。

Does the first sentence essentially mean "That's impossible"? I don't really understand the grammar. Is it そんな・こと・ある・はず・が・ない・よ? How does こと grammatically link with ある?

What does the second sentence mean in this context?

3. ＿＿＿＿なんて、変わった人がいるもんですね。

This is an exercise in which the student has to fill in the blank with some appropriate words. Is the overall purpose of the sentence to express interest/surprise that there are people who have changed in some way explained by the information that goes before なんて?

4. たいてい一学期に一つは論文を書かされる。

Translation given: "In general, we are made to write at least one paper a semester."

I'm unsure about 一つは. Is this the sort of は that "indicates contrast with another option", in this case the option of not writing any papers?

1)
"よく + potential form" can mean "I can't believe~". This is a kind of ironic expression, just like "How can you/they do ~ ?" actually means "I can't believe you/they do~" in English.

How can you say such rude things? = I can't believe you said such rude things.

2)
そんなこと（は/が）ある modifies はず.

There is no possibility that such a thing happens.

3)
That sentence expresses interest/surprise. There's no necessity of "people who have changed in some way".

4)
一つは means "at least one". This would be a bit special idiomatic usage, I think.

Hi Toritoribe, thanks for your help.

By the way, as I know you are a regular contributor here, are you having any difficulties lately with viewing posts? I have been away for a week or two, but the site seems very slow and problematic for me today.

2. What sort of thing would そうでしょう mean here?

3. Given your reply, I'm having some difficulty understanding what 変わった人がいる is doing in the sentence. Doesn't this literally mean "There are people who have changed"?

Yeah, the same thing happened in some threads after the update...

2)
Don't you think so?

3)
Ah, I see your point. 変わった means "strange/eccentric" here.