Vocabulary

armed forces — вооруженные силы

commander-in-chief — главнокомандующий

executive — исполнительная власть, исполнительный орган

govern — управлять, править; руководить

judicature — правосудие; судоустройство

judiciary — правосудие; судоустройство

legislature — законодательная власть, законодательные учреждения

Majesty — величество (титул)

monarch — монарх

reign — царствовать

remain оставаться

single — единый, один

support — гл. поддерживать; сущ. Поддержка

Written Exercises to the Text

1 Translate the sentences with the words of the Vocabulary into Russian.

2. find in the text the English equivalents for:

1) одна из немногих стран в мире; 2) конституционная монархия; 3) не принимает никаких политических решений; 4) ее величество королева Елизавета II; 5) не обладает реальной властью; 6) символ единства страны; 7) глава англиканской церкви; 8) от имени королевы; 9) крупнейший землевладелец; 10) законодательный орган; 11) состоит из ...; 12) независимый от....

Oral Exercises to the Text

1. Answer the following questions:

1.What are the main functions of the monarchy in Great Britain today?

2. What is the British constitution like?

3.Who is the monarch today?

4. What are the organs that govern Great Britain?

Text 2

The Political System

Тhe United Kingdom is a constitutional (or parliamentary) monarchy, without a written constitution. The British constitution is based on Acts of Parliament (also called “laws” or “statutes”) and “conventions”, which are commonly accepted assumptions about the way things should be done. The country has a monarch (a king or a queen) as its Head of State. The monarch has very little power and can only reign with the support of parliament. Parliament consists of two chambers known as the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Parliament and the monarch have different roles in the government of the country, and they only meet together on symbolic occasions such as the coronation of a new monarch or the opening of Parliament. In reality, the House of Commons is the only one of the three which has true power. It is here that new bills are introduced and debated. If the majority of the members are in favour of a bill it goes to the House of Lords to be debated and finally to the monarch to be signed. Only then does it become law. Although a bill must be supported by all three bodies, the House of Lords only has limited powers, and the monarch has not refused to sign one since the modern political system began over 200 years ago.

Text 3 The Monarch

“Her Most Excellent Majesty Elizabeth the Second by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith” is the official Head of State and, for many people, a symbol of the unity of the nation. For a thousand years England (and later the whole of the United Kingdom) has been united under one sovereign. The hereditary principle still operates and the Crown is passed on to the sovereign's eldest son (or daughter if there are no sons).

The Queen has a certain role in state affairs, not only through her ceremonial functions, such as opening Parliament, but also because she meets the Prime Minister every week and receives copies of all Cabinet papers.

Functions of the Sovereign are as follows:

— opening and closing Parliament;

— approving of the appointment of the Prime Minister;

— giving her Royal Assent to bills;

— giving honours such as peerages, knight hoods and medals;

• Head of the Commonwealth;

• Head of the Church of England;

• Commander-in-Chief of the armed Forces.

The powers of the monarch are not defined precisely, however. Theoretically every act of government is done in the Queen's name — every letter sent out by a government department is marked “On Her Majesty's Service”— and she appoints all the Ministers, including the Prime Minister. In reality, everything is done on the advice of the elected Government, and the Monarch takes no part in the decision-making process. Many members of the Royal Family undertake official duties in Britain and abroad. Their various responsibilities reflect tradition, their own personal interests and Britain's former imperial status. For example, among her many titles the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) is Chancellor of the University of London, Colonel-in-Chief of eleven Army regiments, and President of the Save the Children Fund.

Text 4

House of Lords

The House of Lords has more than 1,000 members, although only about 250 take an active part in the work of the House. Members of the House of Lords are not elected, they sit there because of their rank and do not receive a salary. There are 26 Anglican bishops, 800 hereditary peers, 11 judges and 400 life peers. The chairman of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor, who sits on the Woolsack.

The Sovereign's throne is in the House of Lords, and the Queen sits on it once a year to make her speech, prepared by the Government, at the opening of an annual session of Parliament.

Members of the House of Lords debate a bill after it has been passed by the House of Commons. Changes may be recommended, and agreement between the two Houses is reached by negotiation. The Lords^’ main power consists of being able to delay non-financial bills for a period of a few months, but they can also introduce certain types of bill. One of the oldest functions of the House of Lords is judicial. It works as the highest and final Court of Appeal.

The House of Lords is the only non-elected second chamber among all the democracies in the world, and some people in Britain would like to abolish it.

Text 5

The House of Commons

The two Houses of Parliament, the Lords and the Commons, share the same building, the Palace of Westminster. The Lords occupy the southern end, the Commons the rest, which includes some hundreds of rooms, among which are the library, restaurants, committee rooms, and offices for MPs.

The House of Commons is made up of 650 elected members, known as Members of Parliament, or MPs. The Commons debating chamber, usually called “the House”, has seats for only about 370 MPs .

The House of Commons is presided over by the Speaker. The choice of an MP as Speaker is made by vote of the House. A Speaker is customarily reappointed to his office in each new Parliament, even if the majority of the House has changed. As soon as a party MP becomes a Speaker he must abandon party politics.

The central rule of procedure is that every debate must relate to a specific proposal, or “motion”. An MP moves (proposes) a motion, the House debates it and finally decides whether to agree or disagree with it. At the end of every debate the Speaker asks the House to vote on the motion that has been debated. - б

Except in holiday periods the House of Commons meets every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 2.30 in the afternoon, and normally sits until 10.30 p.m., although it may continue to sit later still — often until eleven or twelve, and occasionally until one or two in the morning or even all through the night. On Fridays it meets at 9.30 in the morning and finishes at 3.30 p.m.

The life of Parliament is divided into periods called “sessions”. A session normally lasts for about a year, from late October of one year to about the same date of the next year. MPs have holidays of about four weeks over Christmas, two weeks each at Easter and Whitsun, and about eleven weeks — from early August to mid-October — in the summer.

The beginning of a new session, called “the State Opening of Parliament” is a fine ceremonial occasion, beginning with the royal carriage procession from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster. The ceremony takes place in the House of Lords, with leading members of the House of Commons standing crowded together at the end of the chamber opposite to the Throne within the four walls of the room, but technically outside the “House of Lords” itself.

The Queen takes her place on the Throne and reads out the “Queen’s Speech”, which is a document, about a thousand words in length, prepared by the Government, in which the Government gives a summary of the things which it intends to do during the session which is about to begin.

Members of the House of Commons have been paid salaries since 1911. The rate has lately been nearly twice the average industrial worker’s wage.

Text 6

Government

The Government is formed by the party, which wins most seats at a general election, or which has the support of a majority of the members in the House of Commons. The leader of the majority party is Prime Minister. The Queen must appoint him. Then he forms his Cabinet of about 20 Ministers. The majority of the Ministers are members of the House of Commons. All the Ministers are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

The role of the monarch in the government is limited to acting on the advice of Prime Minister and Ministers.

A modern British Government consists of over ninety people, of whom about thirty are heads of departments, and the rest are their assistants. The Government controls and arranges the business of the House of Commons. As the initiator of policy, it dictates what action it wishes Parliament to take.

The head of the Government is the Cabinet of Ministers with Prime Minister having the leading position. The Cabinet determines policies, controls government and co-ordinates government departments.

The Prime Minister forms the Cabinet, gives functions to the Ministers, informs the Queen about the general business of the Government, and determines the general political line of the Government.