Test 2c

Task 1. Study the text.

The government of the republic of belarus

Under the Constitution of 1994 the Republic of Belarus is a unitary democratic social legal state. The Republic of Belarus possesses supreme and absolute power on its territory; it independently exercises its home and foreign policy. The power in the Republic of Belarus is exercised on the basis of its separation into three branches: legislative, executive and judicial. The state bodies are independent within the limits of their authority: they interact, restrain and balance each other (the system of checks and balances).

The principle of the supremacy of law is established in the country. The State, all its bodies and officials act within the Constitution and laws adopted according to it. The Republic of Belarus recognizes the priority of universally recognized principles of international law and provides the correspondence of the national law to these principles.

The President of the Republic of Belarus is the Head of the State. He is the guarantor of the Constitution, the rights and freedoms of people and citizens. The term of office of the President is five years. The President possesses wide powers in all three branches of power.

The supreme legislative power of the Republic is Parliament - The National Assembly. It consists of two houses: the House of Representatives and the Council of the Republic. The House of Representatives consists of 110 members. They are elected in general elections. The Council of the Republic has 64 seats. It is formed by the 8x8 formula: each of 6 regions and the capital city of Minsk supply 8 members each, 8 members are appointed by the President. The term of office of the National Assembly is four years.

The supreme executive power of the Republic is the Council of Ministers. The head of the Council is the Prime Minister.

The supreme judicial power is the Supreme Court of the Republic. The Constitutional Court checks the constitutionality of laws and the acts of the government. There are also district and regional courts.

The local governmental bodies comprise councils of deputies and executive bodies. The local councils are legislative bodies. The members of the local councils are elected for the term of four years while the heads of the executive bodies are appointed by the President. There are regional and district courts at the local level, which are local judicial bodies.

Task 2. Translate the marked paragraphs into Russian.

Task 3. Put the questions to the following sentences using prompts in brackets:

1. Local councils are elected for the term of four years. (What …? Alternative)

2. The principle of the supremacy of law has been established by the Constitution. (What principle …? Disjunctive)

3. The judicial system is being reformed. (General, Why ...?)

4. The Government will be formed after the general elections. (When ...? How ...?)

4. Put the verbs in brackets into required Tense Form (Present Indefinite, Present Continuous, Present Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous Active)

1. Marcus (to finish) already with the letters and now (to look through) the report. 2. It is cold today. The weather (to change) since yesterday. 3. My uncle (to know) everything about roses. He (to grow) them for 35 years. Now he (to try) to produce a blue one. 4. I never (to hear) this story from my father. 5. He (to be) a reader of this magazine for years. 6. I can’t give you the book now. I (to read) it. 7. My father (to have) an important appointment tomorrow. 8. The employees (to receive) salaries twice a month.

5. Put the verbs in brackets into required Tense Form (Past Indefinite, Past Continuous, Past Perfect, Past Perfect Continuous Active)

1. They (to walk) in the garden for an hour when the storm (to brake out). 2. Paula (to drop) the cup she was holding and (to burst) into tears. 3. You (to work) in Spain this time last year? - Yes, I (to go) out there in '93. 4. She (to write) to her brother when he (to walk) through the front door. 5. Why you (not to speak) to Jim at the meeting yesterday? - Because he (to leave) by the time I got there. 6. The poor woman complained she (to have) trouble with her eldest son for a long time. 7. The waiter assured me that he (to look) for the watch everywhere. 8. He (to write) the whole composition during the lunch hour.

6. Put the verbs in brackets into required Tense Form (Future Indefinite, Future Continuous, Future Perfect, Present Perfect Continuous Active)

1. I (to speak) to the doctor by 11 a.m. tomorrow. 2. If you come at nine they already (to have) dinner. 3. When the train comes my parents (to wait) for me at the station. 4. I (to fin­ish) this book very soon; I (to read) it all day tomorrow. 5. "Yes, we... (to pay) in advance," she said at last. 6. By next September she (to work) here for five years.

7. Transform the following sentences from the Active Voice into the Passive Voice using the recommended beginnings.

1. They are operating on him at the moment. He …

2. They told me a lie. I …

3. They are making fun of him. He …

4. Somebody phoned for the police. The police …

5. Someone will tell us how to do it. We …

6. They require of pupils to change shoes when entering school. Pupils …

7. Nobody has slept in his bed. This bed …

8. Transform the Direct Speech sentences into the Indirect Speech sentences.

1. “Are you going to answer any advertisements?” he asked.

2. “Write to Head Office about it,” he recommended.

3. “I’ve seen a lot of interesting things,” he said.

4. He said, “I’m writing my thesis now.”

5. “I’ll report the problem to the engineer,” he promised.

6. “I can’t promise you my assistance in this matter,” he said.

7. “Don’t leave the car on the road if you have a puncture ”, said my father.

8. “Look in the cupboard,” Alisa said.

9. “How far is it to the shops?” Sally asked.

10. “What do you think of the flat?” Mrs Jennings asked.

11. “Do you intend to go to Greece?” he wondered.