Контрольная работа №1 Вариант № 1

1. Прочтите текст и переведите на русский язык.

THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN GREAT BRITAIN

In theory, the constitution has three branches: Parliament, which makes laws, the government, which "executes" laws, i.e. puts them into effect, and the law courts which interpret laws. Although the Queen is officially head of all three branches, she has little direct power.

Parliament has two parts, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Members of the House of Commons are elected by the voters of 650 constituencies every five years. They are known as MPs, or Members of Parliament. They are paid for their parliament work and have to attend the seatings.

The Prime Minister or leader of the Government is also an MP, usually the leader of the political party with a majority in the House of Commons. The party that has won the general elections makes up the majority in the House of Commons and forms the Government. The party with the next largest number of members in the House, or sometimes a combination of other parties, forms the official opposition.

The Prime Minister is advised by a Cabinet of about twenty other ministries. The Cabinet includes the ministers in charge of major government departments or ministries. Departments and ministries are run by civil servants, who are permanent officials. Even if the Government changes after an election, the same civil servants are employed. The House of Lords consists of the Lords Temporal and the Lords Spiritual. The Lords Spiritual are the Archbishops of York and Canterbury, together with twenty-four senior bishops of the Church of England. The Lords Temporal consist of hereditary peers who have inherited their titles; life peers who are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Government for various services to the nation; and the Lords of Appeal (Law Lords) who become life peers on their judicial appointments. The latter serve the House of Lords as the ultimate court of appeal. This appeal court consists of some nine Law Lords who hold senior judicial office. They are presided over by the Lord Chancellor and they form a quorum of three to five when they hear appeal cases.

2. Ответьте на вопросы по тексту.

1. Which of these people are not elected: a peer, an MP, a civil servant, the Prime Minister?

2. What is the difference between life peers and hereditary peers?

3. What is the difference between Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual?

4. What are civil servants?

3. Найдите и выпишите из текста интернационализмы.

4. Выпишите из текста слова с окончанием –s и определите часть речи.

5. Выпишите из текста 3 прилагательных в разных степенях сравнения, дописав недостающие.

6. Определите по суффиксу часть речи: government, minister, political, various, combination, officially.

Вариант № 2

1. Прочтите текст и переведите на русский язык.

The Political System of the Russian Federation

The Russian Federation was set up by the Constitution of 1993. Russia is a presidential republic. It is headed by the President who is elected for four years. The President is commander-in-chief of the armed forces; he makes treaties and enforces laws. He also appoints the prime minister, cabinet members and judges of the Supreme Court. The government consists of three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. The legislative power is vested in the Federal Assembly, which consists of the Federation Council (Upper house) and the State Duma (Lower house). The members of the State Duma are elected by popular vote for a four-year term. The Federation Council is not elected. It is formed of the heads of the regions. Each Chamber is headed by the Chairman.

New legislation is initiated in the State Duma. Any bill in order to become a law must be approved by the Lower and the Upper Houses. It is also must be signed by the President. The executive power belongs to the Government. The judicial branch is represented by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and regional courts. Russian is the official, but not the only language which people speak in the country. Members of more than 60 other ethnic groups who live in Russia speak their own languages. Religions are also diverse on the territory of the country. The Slavs are mostly Orthodox Christian, the Turkic speakers are mainly Muslim and the Mongolians are customarily Buddhist. The main legal document in the country is the Constitution. It guarantees the fundamental freedoms and rights of any Russian. Among these rights are the freedom of religion, speech and the press. The other important rights are the right of education, the right of medical care.

2. Ответьте на вопросы по тексту.

1. What are the branches of the Russian government?

2. Who is the head of the Russian Federation?

3. Where is new legislation initiated?

4. What religions do the peoples of the Russian Federation confess?

5. When was the Russian Federation set up?

3. Выпишите из текста интернационализмы.

4. Выпишите из текста слова с окончанием – s и определите часть речи.

5. Выпишите из текста 3 прилагательных в разных степенях сравнения, дописав недостающие.

6. Определите по суффиксу часть речи: constitution, constitutional, legislative, freedom, important, mainly.