2. Скажите, соответствуют ли данные утверждения прочитанному тексту:

1. There are four leading types of constitutional democracy in the world

today.

2. In both systems political parties are key institutions.

3. The number of parties is the same in all countries.

4. In a presidential system the president is both the political head of the government and also the head of state.

5. There is often one level of courts.

6. In a parliamentary system the prime minister is the head of state.

7. Each country may have its own name for a parliament.

8. The members of a parliament are chosen in the same way.

2. Найдите в тексте английские эквиваленты:

   1. членство

2. голосовать

3. однако

4. разделять

5. выбирать

6. назначать

7. разнообразие, множество

8. судья

4. Замените подчеркнутые слова синонимами из текста:

   1. He is the main person in this society.

   2. Many people like to try lots of different kinds of food.

   3. Nowadays lots of people get divorced.

   4. She always has the same point of view.

5. Our boss drinks only certain types of tea.

6. The climate of the country differs from one region to another.

7. The divorce rate goes up every year, for example in Russia.

8. The work is to control the quality of food.

Text 9

1. Прочитайте текст

Parliament

The legislature, or lawmaking body, of the United Kingdom and many other nations is called a parliament. The word parliament is related to the French verb parler, which means “to speak.” Parliaments are places where elected representatives of the people meet to speak, to debate, and to make laws. Many modern parliaments are modeled on that of the United Kingdom, which is one of the oldest parliaments still in existence.

Most parliaments are bicameral, which means that they consist of two separate houses of legislators. Great Britain's Parliament is made up of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The upper house, or House of Lords, is the older of the two parts. It originally consisted of the nobility and clergy who were the closest advisers to the monarch. Until 1999 the House of Lords consisted mostly of members who inherited their positions. Since then it has been made up mainly of people chosen by the monarch in recognition of their outstanding achievements. Other members include important clergy of the Church of England as well as the country's senior judges. The judges are known as Law Lords. They constitute the highest court in the United Kingdom. The presiding officer is the lord chancellor, or the speaker of the House of Lords, who may take part in debates and votes. In addition to serving in Parliament, the lord chancellor is also a member of the cabinet and the chief administrator of the courts. The House of Lords was at one time the more powerful of the two houses. Over the centuries it lost much of its power to the House of Commons.

The House of Commons is the real authority. The members of the House of Commons are elected by the people. The country's chief executive is the prime minister, who is a member of Parliament and who is the leader of the majority party. The prime minister chooses members from both houses to serve as the ministers, or heads of the various departments of the government. These members are known as the cabinet. The House of Commons can impose taxes and vote money to, or withhold it from, the various public departments and services. The

primary function of the House of Commons is to make laws and to debate the major issues of the day.

In the House of Commons the members sit on benches in rows facing each other. The government ministers and their supporters sit on one side of the room, and the opposition sits on the other. One member is chosen by the others to serve as the speaker. The speaker makes sure that there is fair play between the two sides and orderly debate. On being chosen speaker he or she is expected to cut off all party ties in order to be impartial.

Each party has a whip, who makes sure that members attend the sessions during votes. There is also an officially recognized leader of the opposition, a member of the largest minority party.

Members of both houses also serve to keep a check on the prime minister and other government leaders. A certain portion of most sessions is devoted to a period in which members can ask questions of specific government ministers.