Test 3 (Variant c)

1. Read the text:

BRITISH PARLIAMENT

The supreme legislative authority in the United Kingdom is the Queen in Parliament, that is to say the Queen and the two Houses of Parliament - the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The life of a United Kingdom Parliament is five years. During its life, it can make or unmake any law; it can destroy by a statute the most firmly established convention of the constitution; it can legalise past illegalities and thus reverse the decisions of the court; and it has even the power to prolong its own life by legislative means beyond the normal period of five years without consulting the electorate. In law, therefore, the supremacy of Parliament is absolute. In practice, Parliament does not exercise its supremacy in this way.

* A Parliament begins and ends with a proclamation made by the Sovereign. The time between the meeting of a Parliament and its prorogation or dissolution is called a session. The average length of a session is about 160 sitting days, divided into four periods. Great Britain is the only major industrial country in the world where the medieval custom of choosing legislators on the hereditary principle still survives.

* The House of Lords consists of nearly 900 peers, including 26 spiritual lords. Descendants of the ancient land-owning aristocracy are in a minority in the House. Half of the present House of Lords hold peerages created during the present century. One-third of the Lords today are company directors. The Lords can reject a bill once; if it then passes through the Commons in a Second Session it can receive the Royal Assent. The Lords cannot reject or amend any financial bill passed through the Commons.

The House of Commons is elected by an almost universal adult suffrage. Any British citizen aged 21 or over, not otherwise disqualified (as for example, members of the House of Lords, certain clergy, undischarged bankrupts, civil servants, holders of judicial office, members of the regular armed services and the police forces) may be elected a Member of Parliament (MP). There are at present 650 members of the House of Commons. Members of the House of Commons receive a salary for their parliamentary work and hold their seats during the life of a Parliament. They are elected either at a general election, which takes place after a Parliament has been dissolved, or at a by-election, which is held when a vacancy occurs in the House as a result of the death or resignation of a member, or as a result of the elevation of a member of the House of Commons to the House of Lords.

2. Translate the marked (*) paragraphs into Russian.

3. Answer the questions:

1. What is there specific in forming the House of Lords? 2. Why is the power of Parliament considered to be absolute in law? 3. How is the power of the House of Lords in legislation limited? 4. How are the members of Commons elected?

4. Use the Perfect forms of the verbs in brackets:

1. I didn’t recognise Magi, she (to change) a lot. 2. To my surprise Tom (to ask) Joan to marry him. 3. Look! Somebody (to break) into the shop! 4. I’m sure she (to calculate) your account balance by next Monday. 5. You may put your favourite suit on, I already (to clean) and (to press) it. 6. They (to train) for lawyers for two years already. 7. I was very pleased to see her. I (not to see) her for three years. 8. Jane came in wet through: she (to water) the garden all morning. 9. The National Assembly (to adopt) some bills on small businesses by the end of the session. 10. When we found her she (to starve) for 5 days. 11. The juvenile court already (to hear) their case. 12. They (to repair) the fax machine since morning, but it doesn’t work so far.

5. Put questions using the words in brackets:

1. They have been trying to contact their agent since 9 a. m.. (Who? Since what time?)

2. Keith Morgan has already postponed the interview. (Why? Alternative)

3. The plane will have landed by the time we reach the airport. (General, Disjunctive)

6. Use may or might:

1. You ... not change the procedure of voting. 2. You ... see Mr Bryan at the presentation we made last month. 3. Excuse me, ... I make an appointment with the doctor? 4. You ... have bought this book for me, you know I need it badly. 5. He ... have failed to contact his lawyer before the weekend. 6. You ... find a gift-shop on the ground floor of the hotel.

7. Use little, a little, few, a few:

1. This application takes ... computer resources. 2. We’ll have to hire ... workers to help with the work. 3. Do you take sugar in your tea? Yes, but very... . 4. We have ... money, not enough even for a gallon of fuel. 5. He is proud of his collection: he has ... rare and expensive items. 6. The pub is almost empty: just ... people. 7. There are very ... businesses which are willing to invest to our economy. 8. The new release caused... excitement, but only among professionals. 9. I have ... time so I’ll interview ... applicants.

8. Use articles where necessary:

1. He has an account with ... Barclays Bank. 2. ... Shetlands became the headquarters of oil extracting companies. 3. Our agency organises holiday trips to ... Mediterranean Sea. 4. ... Bank of ... England is the main financial institution of ... United Kingdom. 5. The focus of American business moved to ... Far East. 6. The US Army still controls ... Panama Canal. 7. The accident happened in ... Belmont Street. 8. The ethnic conflicts in ... Caucasus is a painful point of Russian home policy.

9. Choose the correct prepositions:

1. The man chased by the police ran ... a shop. (in, into, to) 2. The convict was sent ... prison after the verdict had been made.(in, into, to) 3. What is the reason ... your absence at the briefing? (for, to, at) 4. You may consider it as an official invitation ... the party. (to, for, on) 5. In most shops customers are required to pay ... cheque. (in, by, with) 6. Sorry, I’ve sent this document to you ... mistake. (in, on, by) 7. She is excellent ... shorthand recording. (at, in, for) 8. He needs a holiday: he is tired ... the routine and boring office work. (at, by, of) 9. I can explain to you the advantages and disadvantages of the project, but the decision belongs ... you. (for, -, to)