
- •Факультет Международных отношений
- •Lesson 1. A constitution or a constitutional monarchy
- •Reading for vocabulary 1.1. Constitution
- •Exercises:
- •1. Give equivalents of the following:
- •2. Find as many synonyms as you can:
- •3. Translate into English:
- •4. Translate the underlined passage into Russian. Listening 1.
- •Reading for vocabulary 1.2. Monarchy
- •Exercises:
- •1. Give equivalents of the following:
- •2. Find as many synonyms as you can:
- •3. Translate into English:
- •4. Translate the underlined passages into Russian. Debates 1.
- •Text translation 1.
- •Lesson 2 . Legislative branch of power.
- •Reading for Vocabulary 2.3. Order, order
- •Give the equivalents of the following:
- •Find as many synonyms as you can:
- •4. Translate the underlined passage into Russian. Reading for Vocabulary 2.4.
- •Exercises
- •1. Find the equivalents for the following:
- •2. Give as many synonyms as you can:
- •4. Translate the underlined passage into Russian. Listening 2.
- •Reading for Vocabulary 2.5. The House of Lords
- •Exercises
- •1. Read the text and entitle its parts. Choose the headings from the list
- •2. Put up questions to these sentences : a)a general question
- •3. Give definitions for the following .Translate the names of the titles marked with asterisk into Russian.
- •4. Check yourself and fill in the gaps without looking into the text. See how much you have coped with.
- •Reading for Vocabulary 2.6. Us legislative branch of power
- •Exercises
- •1. Give equivalents of the following:
- •2. Find as many synonyms as you can:
- •3. Translate into English:
- •4. Translate the underlined passage into Russian. Text translation 2.
- •Lesson 3. Executive branch of power
- •Reading for vocabulary 3.7. The British Government: The Structure of Her Majesty's Government
- •Exercises
- •1. Read the text and complete these sentences:
- •2. Speak about these appointments and their responsibilities. Translate the names of the titles into Russian.
- •3. What is the difference between Ministers of State, Junior Ministers and Non-Departmental Ministers? Reading for vocabulary 3.8. The Cabinet
- •1. Find equivalents of the following:
- •2. Give as many synonyms as you can:
- •3. Translate into English
- •4. Translate the underlined passage into Russian. Reading for vocabulary 3.9. Executive Branch of Power of the usa
- •Exercises
- •1. Give the equivalents to the following:
- •2. Give as many synonyms as you can:
- •3. Translate into English:
- •4. Translate the underlined passage into Russian. Text translation 3.
- •Vocabulary test I
- •Homereading I.
- •Unit II. Elections
- •Vocabulary list 2 . Elections
- •Lesson 4. Elections in britain
- •Reading for vocabulary 4.10. General elections in the United Kingdom
- •Polling Day
- •Exercises
- •Debates II.
- •Reading for vocabulary 4.11.
- •Elections in the United Kingdom
- •Exercises
- •2. Put up questions to these sentences : a)a general question
- •3. Give definitions for the following:
- •4. Check yourself and fill in the gaps without looking into the text. See how much you have coped with.
- •Reading For Vocabulary 4.12. Calls for a change of system
- •Exercises
- •1. Find the equivalents of the following:
- •2. Give as many synonyms as you can:
- •3. Translate into English:
- •Listening 3.
- •2) Now fill in the gaps:
- •3) Study the idioms: “to pull one’s punches”,“ to come as a thunderbolt” “ to lose track of”and make up your own sentences with them. Lesson 5. Elections in the usa
- •Reading for vocabulary 5. 13 Elections in the usa (part I)
- •1. Find equivalents of the following:
- •Listening 4.
- •Reading for vocabulary 5. 14. Elections in the usa( part II)
- •1. Read the text and entitle its parts. Arrange them in the list below.
- •2. Put up questions to these sentences : a)a general question
- •3. Give definitions for the following:
- •4. Check yourself and fill in the gaps without looking into the text. See how much you have coped with.
- •Vocabulary test II.
- •Homereading II.
- •Unit II. Elections 33
- •Vocabulary list 2 . Elections 33
Санкт-Петербургский государственный университет
Факультет Международных отношений
Пособие по английскому языку
для студентов 2 курса
( 3 семестр)
(Уровень: Advanced, Upper-Intermediate, Intermediate)
The Political Systems of the UK and the USA
Санкт –Петербург
2009
UNIT I. UK AND US POLITICAL SYSTEMS
VOCABULARY LIST 1. Political System
The UK
1)Coronation, abdication, to abdicate
To succeed to the throne
Knight, knighthood
2) legislative, executive, judicial branch
the Houses of Parliament, a Member of Parliament (MP)
the House of Lords, the Lords, the Lords Chamber, the Upper House
the House of Commons, the Commons, the Commons Chamber, the Lower House
3)hereditary peers, to inherit a title, peers by heredity; life peers, to make someone a life peer, to grant peerage
Lords Spiritual, bishops of the Church of England, Archbishop of Canterbury
The Law Lords (judges); Lords Temporal
The Lord Chancellor, the Woolsack, the Mace, the Sergeant at Arms
4)The Speaker; to call to order
The State Opening of Parliament; session, sitting, question time
5)A legislative draft/bill; to introduce/bring in a bill, to debate a bill, to pass a bill, to defeat/reject a bill, to amend a bill; to submit a bill to
First, second, third reading
Unanimous consent
To give/receive Royal Assent; to enter into the Statute book
Aye lobby, No lobby, division, to call for a division
6) The Government, the Opposition, Shadow cabinet, Shadow minister
A front-bencher, a back-bencher
Maiden speech
The USA
7) President, acting president, lame duck
the Congress: the Senate, the House of Representatives
Commander-in-Chief
The Vice President, Senator, Congressman
8) To set and collect taxes, to regulate commerce, to coin and issue money, to declare war
System of Checks and Balances
9) Constitution: articles and amendments
Bill of Rights
Bicameral legislature
Two-party system, political rivalry
Party caucus
Majority/minority leader
10) President’s Cabinet
To resign, to choose/appoint the successor
Term in office
Assassination
Lesson 1. A constitution or a constitutional monarchy
“It's vital that the monarchy keeps in touch with the people. It's what I try and do.”
Princess Diana
Reading for vocabulary 1.1. Constitution
Before you read. Think over the following questions:
What are the basics of a state? Why do most countries have
Constitutions?
What do you know about the history of US Constitution?
Read the following text.
After peace came, the Congress, established during the war, asked each state to send delegates to a convention in Philadelphia, the city where the Declaration of Independence had been signed, to discuss the changes which would be necessary to strengthen the previous agreements.
The smallest state, Rhode Island, refused, but delegates from the other 12 states participated. The meeting, later known as the Constitutional Convention, began in May of 1787. George Washington, the military hero of the War of Independence, was the presiding officer. Fifty four other men were present. Some wanted a strong new government. Some did not.
In the course of the Convention, the delegates designed a new form of government for the United States. The Constitution set up a federal system with strong central government. A federal system is one in which power is shared between a central authority and its constituent parts, with some rights reserved to each. The Constitution also called for the election of a national leader, or president. It provided that federal laws would be made only by a Congress made up of representatives elected by the people. It also provided for a national court system headed by a Supreme Court.
In writing the Constitution, the delegates had to deal with two main fears shared by most Americans. One fear was that one person or group, including the majority, might become too powerful or be able to seize control of the country and create a tyranny. To guard against this possibility, the delegates set up a government consisting of three parts, or branches, the executive, the legislative and the judicial. Each branch has powers that the others do not have and each branch has a way of counteracting and limiting any wrongful action by another branch.
Another fear was that the new central government might weaken or take away the power of the state governments to run their own affairs. To deal with this the Constitution specified exactly what power the central government had and which power was reserved for the states. The states were allowed to run their own governments as they wished, provided that their governments were democratic.
Though the Convention delegates did not think it necessary to include such explicit guarantees, many people felt that they needed further written protection against tyrannny. So, a “Bill of Rights” was added to the Constitution. In the Bill of Rights, Americans are guaranteed freedom of religion, of speech and of the press. They have the right to assemble in public places, to protest government actions and to demand change. They have the right to own weapons if they wish. Because of the Bill of Rights, neither police nor soldiers can stop and search a person without good reason. Neither can they search a person’s home without legal permission from a court to do so.