20. 39. British Parliament

Britain is administered from the Palace of Westminster in London. This is also known as the Houses of Parliament. Parliament is made up of two chambers — the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The members of the House of Lords are not elected: they qualify to sit in the House because they are bishops of the Church of England, aristocrats who have inherited their seats from their fathers, people with titles. There has been talk of reform in this century because many Britons think that this system is undemocratic. The House of Commons, by contrast, has 651 seats which are occupied by Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected by the British public.The , United Kingdom is divided into constituencies, each of which has an elected MP in the House of Commons. - Each of the major political parties appoints a representative (candidate) to compete for each seat. Smaller parties may have a candidate in only a few constituencies. There maybe five or more parties, fighting for one seat, but only one person — the candidate who gets the greatest number of votes — can win. Some parties win a lot of seats and some win very few, or none at all.

The Queen, who is the Head of State, opens and closes Parliament. All new laws are debated (discussed) by MPs in the Commons, then debated in the Lords, and finally signed by the Queen. All three are part of Parliament in Britain.

The House of Lords comprises about 1 200 peers. The house is presided over by the Lord Chancellor. The House of Lords has no real power but acts as an advisory council for the House of Commons. As well as having legislative functions, the Lords is the highest court of appeal.

The House of Commons consists of Members of Parliament who are elected by the adult suffrage of the British people in general elections which are held at least every five years. The party which wins the most seats forms the Government and its leader becomes the Prime Minister. The functions of Commons are legislation and security of government activities. The house is presided over by the Speaker. The government party sits on the Speaker's right while on his left sit the members of the Opposition.

20. 40. New Zealand

New Zealand, an independent state and a memberof the Commonwealth, is sitiiated southeast of Australia. The country consists of three large islands, called North Island, South Island and Stewart Island, and also many small islands.

New Zealand is a mountainous country. The mountains run from south-west to north-east throughout both the larger islands. The Southern Alps, the highest New Zealand mountains, lie near the west coast of South Island.

The mountains in North Island are not so high and are mostly forest-covered. The central part of North Island is high volcanic plateau. There are many lakes in this part of the island-New Zealand's rivers are short.

The climate in New Zealand is warm and the greater part of the country is well watered. Tbe north of North Island is subtropical but not too hot. The east and north of both islands have a Jot of sunny days, but much rain falls on the west coast

Most of North Island and the south-west of South Island have good forests of evergreen trees and large areas are rich Grasslands.

New Zealand has very lew native animals. The kiwi, a bird which lives in the forest and does not fly, is found nowhere else in the world. The kiwi is the national emblem of New Zealand.

New Zealand's natural resources are not rich—timber, coal, natural gas. iron ore, building materials and fast rivers on which hydro-electric stations have been built. The country produced goods of different kinds both for her own needs and for export.

The main cities in North Island are Auckland, the largest city and port with 750,000 inhabitants, and Wellington, the capital. A little north of Wellington there is an important industrial area, now included m the city. The population of greater Wellington is about 350,000.

New Zealand's climate with rainfalls all the year round is very favourable for dairying, sheep-farming and cattle-farming, as well as growing fruit, vegetables and flowers.

The population of New Zealand is over three million people, more then two thirds of whom live ia North Island. About 50 per cent live in the four cities of Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin. The Maori people make an eight per cent of the total New Zealand population.

New Zealand is a self-governing state and a member of the Commonwealth. The Governor-General represents the King or Queen of England. The Parliament of the country consists of one house only, the House of Representatives. The Primer Minister heads the cabinet. Tht main political parties are the Labour Party and the National Party of New Zealand.