1. The Academic Board — ученый совет

2. He used to be always silent — он обычно молчал

3. To bear — выносить, вынести

Part Three

GREAT BRITAIN

Great Britain is formed of the following parts: England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and is situated on the British Isles which lie to the west of the continent of Europe. Great Britain is separated from the European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel. It is washed on the western coast by the Atlantic Ocean and by the Irish Sea, the latter separating England from Ireland.

Great Britain being an island, its climate is rather mild. Thus the weather, which is greatly influenced by the cool wind that blows from the sea, is cooler in summer and warmer in winter than in most other countries of Northern Europe. There is not a single point in Great Britain which is more than 120 kilometres away from the sea.

There are many rivers in Britain, the Thames, the Mer­sey, the Aire and others but none of them are very long. Many of the rivers are joined by canals, so that it is quite possible to travel by water from one end of England to the other.

Great Britain is one of the most densely populated countries in the world, the average density being over 200 people per square kilometre, 80 per cent of the popula­tion live in towns. The population of Great Britain is more than 56 million.

England is one of the most powerful capitalist countries in Europe. There are many big industrial cities here, such as Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Cardiff, Sheffield and many others. London, its capital, which is situated on the river Thames, is one of the biggest commercial centres of the world.

One of the leading industries of Great Britain is the textile industry. Coal, iron and steel as well as various machines are also produced there. Ship-building and motor industry are highly developed too.

Northern and Western England is a coal, metal and textile country. The most ancient centres of English iron and steel industry are Birmingham and Sheffield. Iron smelting based on local ore deposits has been practised here Since ancient times. In the period of England's industriali­sation Birmingham and Sheffield played the leading role in the creation of England's heavy industry.

Each of the two towns became the centre of various industries. Especially great is the variety of industries in Birmingham. One can find any type of production here, from steel smelting to manufacturing the most delicate articles. Various machinery, railway cars, motor cars, electrical equipment, scientific instruments and many other things are produced in Birmingham in great quanti­ties. Alongside with the most modern big plants, a lot of old small enterprises are to be found in this town.

Sheffield is the city of steel. It has specialized in producing high-quality steel and articles of steel, heavy armaments, wheels of railway cars, weaving looms, knives, fine instruments, etc.

The main centres of the textile region are Liverpool and Manchester.

Manchester is the chief cotton manufacturing city sur­rounded by a number of towns. Every town has specialized in producing certain kinds of yarn and fabrics. Plants pro­ducing textile machinery not only satisfy the needs of British industry but also export great quantities of machin­ery to the other countries.

Liverpool is the principal port of Western England. It stands on the river Mersey. It is first in Great Britain in exports and it comes second after London in imports. Imports passing through Liverpool consist of cotton, wool, non-ferrous metals and oil; exports consist of fabrics, yarn, textile machinery, electrical equipment and chemicals,

CLIMATE IN ENGLAND

In England it is never too hot or too cold. This is be­cause of the sea which keeps the island warm in winter and makes the air cool in summer.

The weather in England changes very often. They never have the same kind of weather for a long time.

In spring the weather is generally mild but sometimes they have really cool days. In summer it is not so hot as on the continent. In winter they have all sorts of weather. Sometimes it rains and sometimes it snows. In England it is never so cold in winter as on the continent, the rivers and lakes are seldom covered with ice,

But the worst- thing about the climate in England is the thick fog which they so often have in autumn and in winter. In London the fog is sometimes so thick that cars run into one another. The fog is one of the worst typical features of London and the Londoners cannot imagine their capital without it, as we cannot picture winter in Leningrad without snow.

The climate influences British architecture very much. British houses have large windows to let through more light during winter. Sunshine is a welcome visitor for the Brit­ish people, and it is not usually from the- heat of the sun that they seek shelter, but from wind and rain and cold.

And yet British houses give little protection from cold. Double windows are unknown. Few houses have central heating. The usual heating of a room is an open fire. Brit­ish rooms are kept much cooler than is the custom in Amer­ica and Central Europe.

THE GOVERNMENT OF GREAT BRITAIN

1. The Monarchy and the Cabinet.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a parliamentary monarchy. The monarch has certain political rights. Now at the head of the State is the Queen. She is only a formal ruler and does not actually governs. Her position is usually described as a constitu­tional or limited monarchy. In practice that means the Queen does not act independently. Whatever she does ¹ must be done on the advice of the Prime Minister and her Ministers.

However it would be wrong to underestimate the role of the monarchy in Britain. No Bill can become Law until it receives the Royal Assent.² Nobody but the Queen can summon Parliament or dissolve it. One of the most impor­tant powers is that of appointing the Prime Minister. But the Queen is bound to appoint ⁸ a person who will be sup­ported by a majority in the House of Commons.

Another important attribute of power is information. All cabinet minutes ⁴ and papers go in a red box to Buck­ingham Palace: ^ atomic secrets, budget plans, important foreign correspondence—all go to the Queen. Every Tues­day night, when the Queen is in London, the Prime Minis­ter goes round to Buckingham Palace for a talk with her.

The British Government consists of the Prime Minister and other Ministers. The Parliamentary regime of Great

Britain is sometimes referred to as a system of Cabinet Gov­ernment. The Ministers who compose the Cabinet are members of one or the other House of Parliament, and the Cabinet must be supported by a majority in, at least, the House of Commons. The Cabinet meets at No 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the Prime Minister. The Cabinet usually meets once a week but sometimes more often. The Cabinet and its committees work in great se­crecy. The Members of the Cabinet introduce legislation, control finance, arrange the time-table of the Houses of Parliament, conduct foreign affairs, dispose military forces and exercise control over every department of administra­tion.

Notes

1. whatever she does — все, что она делает

2. the Royal Assent — королевская санкция (парламентского законопроекта)

3. is bound to appoint — обязана назначать

4. minutes — протоколы

5. Buckingham Palace ■— Букингемский дворец (резиденция ан­глийских королей)

2. The Houses of Parliament.

There are two houses in the English Parliament: the House of Lords ¹ and the House of Commons.² The House of Lords is a non-elected hereditary chamber with an over­whelming permanent Tory majority. It consists of nearly 1,000 peers who are created by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister of the day. One-third of the Lords today are company directors. They include bankers, steel magnates, newspaper proprietors and industrialists of all kinds. The main role of the House of Lords is obstruction of the House of Commons especially when Tory governments are not in office.³ The reactionary political character of the House of Lords is assumed without question by most constitutional writers and authorities.

The House of Commons is elected by an almost universal adult suffrage. There are at present 630 members of the House of Commons (511 for England, 36 for Wales, 71 for Scotland and 12 for Northern Ireland). Members of the House of Commons receive a salary for their parliamentary work and hold their seats during the life of a Parliament.

That party which obtains the majority of seats in the House of Commons is called the Government, and the

5*

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others—the Opposition. The party in opposition has its own leader and a council of discussion or Shadow cabinet.⁴

In the middle of the last century the House of Commons was the centre of real political power, but nowadays it is still the centre of the political stage; but it has long ceased to be ? a centre of real political power.

Parliamentary procedure is based on forms and rules and one of them is introducing a Bill.⁶ There are two main stages in the life of a Bill: the period of preparation before it is published or introduced into Parliament; and its subsequent progress through Parliament. Every Bill has three readings. After the third reading the Bill goes before the House of Lords and if the Lords agree to the Bill, it will be placed before the Queen for signature. Only then it becomes an Act of Parliament.

Notes

1. the House of Lords — палата лордов

2. the House of Commons — палата общин

3. are not in office — не является правящей партией

4. Shadow cabinet — «теневой кабинет», комитет оппозицион­ной партии

5. it has long ceased to be — она давно перестала быть

6. a Bill — законопроект

POLITICAL PARTIES

At present there are four main political parties in Eng­land. The Conservative (or Tory) Party started as Royalists in the 17th century. By the end of the 19th century the big landowners, the bankers and the industrialists had united. It was the Tories who represented their interests then. They still do.

The Labour Party was established at the beginning of this century. It was set up by the trade-unions and various small socialist groups. Despite its many sincere and coura­geous fights, it soon came under the influence of imperialist ideas. It supported Britain's participation in World War I.

Political struggles since World War II have concentrat­ed on peace, homes and wages. Education and pensions have also been important problems.

The Liberals began their activities as anti-Royalists in the 17th century. In the early 19th century they represented the small industrialists. They remained strong up to ¹ the end of World War I. Lloyd George, their leader, was

Prime Minister during the war. Then they faded out. Since then only the Conservative and the Labour Parties have held power.

The two-party system means that, if one is dissatisfied with the Government, one votes for the Opposition, and vice versa,² though one can say there isn't much difference between them.

The Communist Party arose out of the workers' strug­gles during World War I and out of the movement to de­fend the young Soviet State. Between the two world wars the Communist Party led the movement for disarmament and for Collective Security against fascist aggression, as well as against the native fascists. It also led the workers* struggles against the effects of the world crises, for bette* living conditions and against unemployment.

Notes