Task 4. Point out the statements not mentioned in the text.

1. The British Parliament consists of two Houses – the Lower and the Upper ones.

2. A new practice appeared in Britain: the practice of "creating" new peers called life peers because their children do not inherit their titles.

3. Since the beginning of the 14^th century English judges, lawyers, clerks have been working, living and studying there in this part of London.

4. Each constituency has on an average about 60,000 people and each elects one member to the House of Commons.

5. The Queen cannot act independently but may exercise her powers only on the advice of her ministers.

6. The chief officer of the House of Commons is the Speaker elected by the House at the beginning of each Parliament.

7. MPs are elected at a general election held every five years.

8. The hereditary (наследственный) lords or peers lost their right to sit in the House of Lords, thus the hereditary principle is a matter of past.

 

Task 5. Ask questions according to the model to get information on the British political set-up.

Model: What … kind of State? – What kind of State is Great Britain? – Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy.

 

1. the official name of Great Britain;

2. the official titles of the monarch;

3. the full royal title of the monarch;

4. the main function of the British Parliament / the government / the law courts;

5. the two chambers of the British Parliament;

6. the Upper House / Lower House;

7. the Prime Minister;

8. the highest judicial body.

 

Task 6. Match the two columns.

 

1. In terms of political set-up, Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy … 2. According to law, the monarch is the head of the executive, the head of the judiciary … 3. The monarch appoints all important state officials, opens the new session of Parliament, … 4. Power in Great Britain is divided into three branches: … 5. The British Parliament makes laws, the government … 6. The British Parliament consists of … 7. There are 650 members in the House of Commons... 8. The House of Lords is composed of … 9. The executive branch is vested in … 10. The highest judicial body is the Supreme Court of Judicature …

1 … because the whole country is divided into 650 constituencies. 2. … which contains the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal. 3. … two chambers – the House of Commons and the House of Lords. 4. … but the powers of the King or Queen are limited. 5. … the Prime Minister, who is appointed by the monarch. 6. … the commander-in-chief of all Armed Forces of the Crown and the temporal head of the Established Church of England. 7. … Lords Spiritual, 21 law lords and life peers. 8. … the legislative (Parliament), the executive (the government) and the judicial branch (the law courts). 9. … "executes" laws and the law courts interpret laws. 10. … declares war and makes peace, etc.

 

Task 7*. Make the table complete.

 

The UK Political Set-Up

 

Branch	Members	How chosen	Powers
Legislative (…)	The House of Commons	general election (by election)	…, finance the operation of the government
	… (more than … hereditary and life peers, … Archbishops and … bishops)	sit there because of …	… as MPs
Executive	…	King’s or Queen’s … (as a rule, a leader of the …)	… the other ministers (about 20) and forms … to administer the laws
…	Supreme Court (the High Court of Justice and …)	… appointment	…

 

Ex. 53. a) Read the title of Text C and try to understand what information the text presents. b) Do the below tasks.

Task 1. Look through the text to answer the following questions.

 

1. Why and for what purpose did the 13 states join together after the War of Independence?

2. What powers did each state reserve to itself? / What powers are usually given to a Federal Government?

3. What system did the three branches establish?

4. Under the Constitution, no member of one branch of government may be a member of either of the two others, may he?

5. By what process can the Congress remove government officials, including the President, from office?

6. What is the difference between the state Constitutions and the Constitution of the United States, if any?

 

Text C