Politics

Part II. Glossary

Study the meaning of the following words

1. General Information, population

accent

AD

BC

adventurous

cheque

cliff

coin

colony

continent

continental Europe

currency

dale

decline

density

dialect

discrimination

drought

enrich

extinction

heather

humid

immigrate

impoverish

inherit

invader

island

marsh

moor

note

oppression

pensioner

patron saint

pollution

prejudice

race

rare

scattered

survive

temperate

unite

waste

- individual, local or national way of pronouncing

- (Anno Domini) in the year of the Lord

- before Christ

- fond of, eager for adventures; full of danger and excitement

- written order to a bank to pay money

- a steep rock

- (piece of) metal money

- country, territory, controlled, administered, and (often) developed by another country

- one of the main land masses

- the part of Europe that excludes the British Isles

- money that is actually is use in a country

- valley (esp. in Northern England)

- 1) say “no”, reject; 2) continue to become smaller, weaker, lower

- the quality of being crowded together in great numbers

- form of a language (vocabulary, pronunciation, grammar) used in a part of a country or by a class of people

- treating someone differently because of their colour, race, religion or sex

- continuous period of dry weather; want of rain

- make rich; improve in quality, flavour

- making, being, becoming extinct, i.e. no longer in existence; having died out

- variety of low evergreen shrub with small light-purple or white flowers, common in Scotland

- damp

- to come and live in a new country

- cause to become poor; take away good qualities

- receive property, a title, as heir

- a person or thing that enters a country with armed forces in order to attack

- piece of land surrounded by water

- (area of) low-lying, wet land

- (area of) open, uncultivated land, esp. if covered with heather

- written or printed promise to pay money

- ruling unjustly or cruelly; keeping down by injust or cruel government

- person who is receiving a regular payment made by the state to somebody old and disabled

- a saint who is strongly associated with a particular country

- making dirty, destroying the purity

- thinking badly of people without really knowing them

- any of several subdivisions of mankind sharing certain physical characteristics, esp. colour of skin, colour and type of hair, shape of eyes and nose

- unusual, uncommon, not often seen, etc

- lying in different directions, not situated together, wide apart

- continue to live or exist; remain alive after

- free from extremes of heat and cold

- make or become one; join

- refuse; material no longer of use; products unwanted after a manufacturing process

2. Nationalities

abolish

affect

anthem – musical composition to be sung in churches; national anthem, song or hymn of a country

background

bagpipe

bilingual

body-guard

boundary

clan – large family group, esp. Scottish Highlanders with a common ancestor

commute

county

densely populated

dole

dome

emigrate

entertainment

fame

famine

fatal

festival

forefathers

interior

kilt

masterpiece

mediaeval

metropolis

nickname

pilgrim

pilgrimage

rebellion

recession

relic

resort

retire

revive

shrine

superstitious

tartan

trade union

warfare

- put an end to, do away with

- have an influence or impression on; act on

- musical composition to be sung in churches; national anthem, song or hymn of a country

- person’s past experiences, education, environment

- musical instrument with air stored in a wind-bag held under one arm and pressed out through pipes in which there are reeds

- speaking, using two languages

- a single man, or a group of men guarding an important person

- dividing line; line that marks a limit

- large family group, esp. Scottish Highlanders with a common ancestor

- travel regularly, e.g. by train or car, between one’s work in a town and one’s home in the country or suburbs

- an administrative area on the UK

- with many people crowded together

- money given by the government to unemployed people. “To be on the dole” or “to join the dole queue” means to be unemployed

- the rounded top of a building, e.g. church

- go away (from one’s own country to another to settle there)

- amusement, interest

- being known or talked about by all; what people say (esp. good) about smb.

- extreme scarcity of food in a region

- causing, ending in death or disaster

- rejoicing, public celebration; series of performances given periodically

- ancestors

- situated inside; inland, away from the coast

- pleated skirt, usually of tartan cloth, worn as part of male dress in the Scottish highlands

- something made or done with very great skill

- of the period of history between 1100 and 1500, the Middle Ages

- chief city of a country, capital

- name given in addition to or used instead of a real name

- person who travels to a sacred place

- journey of a pilgrim

- resistance; strong protest; fight against the government

- withdrawal, act of receding

- something that has survived from the past and that serves to keep memories alive

- recourse; a place where tourists stay

- go away; give up one’s work, position

- come or bring to consciousness, health; come or bring into use again

- tomb or casket containing holy relics

- believing in magic

- Scottish woolen fabric woven with coloured crossing stripes

- organized association of workers formed to protect their interests, improve their conditions

- making war; condition of being at war; fighting

3. Politics

abandon

alliance

bill

bishop

chamber

constituency

debate

election campaign

electorate

hereditary peer

life peer

manifesto

merge

negotiation

Polling Day

sovereign

summon

woolsack

- go away from, not intending to return; give up

- association or reconnection; union; in alliance with = joined or united with

- the special name for a proposal before it becomes law

- Christian clergyman of high rank who organizes the work of the Church in a city or district

- room; office; (hall used by a) group of legislators (e.g. in GB, the House of Commons)

- body of voters living in a town or district that sends a representative to Parliament

- to discuss formally

- an organized attempt to persuade people to vote for a particular party

- whole body of qualified persons having the right to elect

- a lord who has gained his title by birth

- a lord whose title will not be inherited by his children

- public declaration of principles, policy, purposes by a ruler, political party, etc

- become one

- discussion

- day appointed for an election

- ruler, e.g. a king, queen or emperor

- demand the presence of; call or send for; gather together

- wool-stuffed cushion on which the Lord Chancellor sits in the House of Lords

4. Education

badge

break

canteen

charter

chronicle

coat of arms

comprehensive school

curriculum

day release

degree

domestic science

extracurricular

fee

fellow

grant

local Education

Authority (LEA)

optional

public school

registration

selective school

syllabus

tuition fee

tutor

tutorial classes

undergraduate

- a special mark, a sign of membership

- a pause for rest between lessons

- the place in a school or factory where you can buy food

- (written or printed statement of) rights, permission to do something, esp. from a ruler or government (e.g. to a town, city or university)

- record of events in the order of their happening

- pictorial design used by a noble family, town, university, etc

- state school for children of all abilities

- course of study in a school, college, etc

- the system where someone with a job studies for one day a week

- a university qualification

- cookery and housekeeping

- no part of the school timetable

- charge or payment for professional advice or cervices; entrance money for an examination, club, library, etc

- member of a learned society; member of the governing body of some university college

- money, given by an organization, eg. the Local Education Authority

- the education department of local government

- not obligatory

- the most expensive private school for pupils aged 13-18

- a period when pupils answer to their names to see if anyone is absent

- a school which pupils must pass certain exams to enter

- outline or summary of a course of studies; programme of school lessons

- teaching costs

- a teacher in a college or university who leads a discussion group

- period of instruction given by a college tutor

- university student working for a bachelor’s degree

5. Mass media, holidays

amateur

broadcast

caravan

carnival

carol

circulation

conventional

divorce

dummy

Easter

fast

gambling

holly

Lent

license

outlook

pastime

regatta

reunion

romance

satellite

subsidy

survey

tolerate

vicious

violence

wicked

worship

- person who paints pictures, performs music, plays, etc for the love of it, not for money; person playing a game, taking part in sports, etc. without receiving payment

- send out in all directions, esp. by radio or TV

- covered cart or wagon used for living in by people on holiday

- public merrymaking and feasting usually with processions of persons in fancy dress

- song of joy or praise, esp. a Christmas hymn

- number of copies of a newspaper or other periodical sold to the public

- following what has been customary; traditional

- legal ending of a marriage so that husband and wife are free to marry again

- object made to look like and serve the purpose of the real person or thing

- anniversary of the Resurrection of Christ, observed on the first Sunday after a full moon on or after March 21

- go without food or without certain kinds of food, esp. as a religious duty

- playing games for money, taking risks for possible advantage

- evergreen shrub with dark, shiny, dark-green sharp-pointed leaves and, in winter, red berries

- (in Christian Churches) period of forty days before Easter

- (written or printed statement giving) permission from someone in authority to do something

- person’s way of looking at smth

- anything done to pass time pleasantly; game

- meeting for boat races

- meeting of old friends, former colleagues, etc. after separation

- story or novel of adventure; love story

- an artificial object put in orbit for relaying back to the earth telephone messages, radio and TV signals

- money granted, esp. by a government or society, to a cause needing help

- general view

- allow or endure without protest

- given up to vice; spiteful; given or done with evil intent

- state of using or showing great force

- bad, wrong; immoral; spiteful

- reverence and respect paid to God; admiration and respect shown to smb

Part III. Essential Expressions

Review the meaning of some essential expressions reflecting outstanding events, traditions, features, characters of the British history and public life.

Act of Supremacy

- in 1535 the Parliament declared the king the Head of the Anglican Church

Fidei Defensor (lat.)

- Defender of the Faith – the official title of the monarch. F.D. is printed on every coin

The Spanish Armada

- the fleet of 130 Spanish ships was sent to invade England in 1588 in order to restore Catholicism and was defeated

The Bill of Rights (1689)

- parliamentary act restricting the absolute power of the monarch, granting rights to the Parliament

The Reform Act (1832)

- gave the vote to all men who owned a house, but it was not until 1918 that the right to vote was given to all men over 21 and to women over 30

Pilgrim Fathers

- a group of puritans sailed from England to America in 1620 in a ship “Mayflower” to find religious freedom in a new country

Stonehenge

- an ancient stone monument in a form of a circle, more than 3500 years old, is associated with sun worship of Druids

Druids

- ancient Celtic priests

Hereditary Peer

- the head of an aristocratic family who inherits membership in the House of Lords

Life Peer

- a member of the House of Lords awarded with this title due to outstanding services to the country, often former members of the House of Commons

The “firsts past the post”

- system of election is a two-party system in which the winner is the candidate who gets more votes than any other single candidate, even if the difference is only one vote. Smaller parties who become second in many constituencies don’t win many seats in the Parliament. (In most countries the system of proportional representation is used)

The Shadow Cabinet

- the alternative government formed by the second biggest party in the House of Commons, the official opposition whose leader is paid a salary from the public purse and given an office

Trooping the Colour

- the traditional Guards Parade held on the 2^nd Saturday of June to celebrate the official birthday of the British monarch

The Commonwealth

- a free association of 50 states, former British colonies with UK leadership and the Queen as the head to keep economic, political and cultural ties

Highland Games

- national Scottish Olympic Games held in summer. It’s a competition in traditional Scottish sports like tossing the caber, throwing a hammer, tug-of-war as well as national dance (Highland fling)

Bank holidays

- public holidays on which banks are closed: New Year’s Day, Good Friday, Easter Monday, May Day Bank Holiday (the first Monday after the first of May), Spring Bank Holiday (last Monday in May), Late Summer Bank Holiday (last Monday of August), Christmas Day and Boxing Day

Hogmanay

- New Year in Scotland

Remembrance Day (Poppy Day)

- is observed throughout Britain in commemoration of the million British soldiers, sailors and airmen who lost their lives during the two World Wars. Two-minute silence is observed at 11 o’clock on the 11^th of November. Artificial poppies, a symbol of mourning, are worn in button holes by most people

Maypole

- is a pole decorated with flowers, flags and ribbons usually in the middle of the village. Children dance and sing around the maypole to celebrate the end of winter and welcome spring on the May Day Bank Holiday

First-Footing

- is an ancient tradition in Scotland and Northern England. The first person to put a foot across the doorstep in the New Year is said to decide the luck for the household during the coming year

Royal Ascot

- horse racing, a major event in the court’s summer social calendar, creates general interest due to the presence of the Royal family and hat fashions demonstration of the spectators

“Trick or treat?”

- a phrase used by children who knock at the neighbouring houses on the Halloween. If they get some money or some sweets (treat), they go away. Otherwise, they play a trick on you

Punch and Judy

- a traditional street puppet show

“To be on the dole”

- to receive unemployment benefit

“The two intellectual eyes of England”

- universities in Oxford and Cambridge

The South-East English accent

- high-prestige standard British English pronunciation of the upper classes also known as R.P. (Received Pronunciation)

stiff upper lip

- a prominent trait of the English national character (to be self-controlled in any situation)

Part IV. Historical Review

1. The most important dates:

600 B.C. – 43 A.D.

- the Celtic invasion, paganism, druids

43 A.D. – 450

- the Romans on the British Isles, Hadrian’s Wall, Roman colony “Britannia”

450 – 790

- the Germanic tribes’ invasion

597

- St. Augustine converts Kent to Christianity, first archbishop of Canterbury. First churches and monasteries

790 – 1066

- the Vikings’ invasion

1066

- the Normans’ invasion. William the Conqueror is crowned

1215

- Magna Charta is designed

1265

- the First Parliament is established

1535

- Henry VIII is declared Supreme Head of the Church of England

1536

- Act of Union. Wales becomes part of the English administrative system

1547

- Protestantism becomes official religion in England

1649 – 1660

- the Republic. Oliver Cromwell – Lord Protector

1665

- Great Plague of London

1666

- Great Fire of London

1707

- union with Scotland

1800

- union of Great Britain and Ireland

1922

- the Republic of Ireland becomes independent of London

1947

- decline and fall of the British Empire

1973

- Britain enters European Economic community

2. Famous Names:

St. Augustine

- Roman missionary arrived to Britain in A.D. 597, converted Anglo-Saxons to Christianity, established churches and monasteries all over England

King Henry VIII

- declared the Church of England independent of the Roman Catholic Church, spread Protestantism

William the Conqueror

- the Duke of Normandy became king of England after the Norman invasion in 1066

Oliver Cromwell

- Lord Protector, Parliament leader during the Republic period (1649-1660)

Guy Fawkes

- a Roman catholic together with fellow conspirators attempted to blow up the Houses of Parliament on November the 5^th 1605 as they disagreed with the King’s protestant policy

Florence Nightingale

- the founder of modern nursing and a reformer of hospital sanitation methods, became famous during the Crimean war with Russia. A typical English lady with a stiff upper lip

William Wordsworth (1770-1850)

- a famous “Romantic” English poet, founder of the Romantic Lake District movement