ENGLISH-IN-LAW. Textbook

pluck something from the air/out of the air/ out of thin air – to say or suggest a number, name etc that you have just thought of, without thinking about it carefully

grasping, adj – eager for money, greedy

TASK 2 Match the words on the left with their synonyms on the right:

TASK 3 Make up sentences with the following word combinations to describe lawyer’s work:

to play a part; to repeal old laws; to give power to somebody; to settle disputes; to interpret the laws; to pluck something from the air; to fit the facts; to fill in the gaps; to respect the authority

TASK 4 Give definitions to the legal terms:

statute; case law; regulation; a lawyer; authority; a legislator; a legislature, a wll, murder, contract, treaty

TASK 5 Choose the meanings in which the words are used in the text:

1. authority — a) power b) an organization c) an expert d) official permission

2. to entitle — a) to give a right to b) to give a title to

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3.regulation — a) an official rule or order b) control

4.to bind — a) to tie together b) to cause to obey

5.to appeal — a) to make a strong request to help b) to seem

attractive c) to formally ask a higher court to change the decision of a lower court

TASK 6 Use prepositions to complete the sentences:

1.Judges fill ... the gaps in the laws.

2.Lawyers advise clients... the rules that ... apply ... them ...

particular cases.

3.Many problems ... practice crop ... .

4.Laws are permanently ... ... debate.

5.Solutions cannot be plucked ... the air.

6.The authority comes... the constitution and attaches ... the statutes, regulations and state law.

7.To find the right solution calls ... learning, wisdom and restraint.

8.Law cannot leap too far ... ... opinion.

TASK 7 Answer the following questions:

1.What role does the constitution play in modern states?

2.What bodies are involved in making laws? What are their functions?

3.Why should laws be interpreted?

4.Why is it difficult to be a good lawyer?

5.What should lawyers do to succeed in profession?

6.What qualities do lawyers have?

TASK 8 Read the text, explain and illustrate the expressed viewpoints:

The function and role of law can be defined at a particular point in history. For example, Albert Venn Dicey (English academic, born 1835) writing in 1885, claimed the law at that time operated a formal equality at the expense of a substantive quality. The law was blind to the differences of wealth or power and assumed all possessed abstract rights and duties.

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Text 6

PARLIAMENT

The legislature, or lawmaking body, of Great Britain, Canada, Australia, and most other Commonwealth nations is called a parliament. Many European nations and Japan also have parliamentary-type legislatures, though they use other names. Japan’s legislature, for example, is called the Diet, while Sweden’s is the Riksdag.

Most parliaments, like the Congress of the United States, are bicameral, so they have two houses. One of the oldest and best known is that of Great Britain, made up of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The oldest still-functioning parliament is the Isla of Man’s Tynwald, which dates from the period of Scandinavian occupation in the early Middle Ages. It is composed of an upper house, called the Legislative Council, and a lower house, called the House of Keys. Australia uses the terms ‘Senate’ and ‘House of Representatives’, while Canada has a Senate and a House of Commons. Sweden, Finland, and a few other countries have unicameral, one-house legislatures.

The word ‘parliament’ is related to the French verb parler, which means “to speak”, and to the English word ‘parley’ – “a discussion or conference”. Legislatures are places where elected representatives of the people meet to speak, to debate, and to discuss proposed laws and other national business.

The federal government of the United States is noted for its separation of powers: it has three distinct branches – the presidency, the Congress, and the federal courts. No individual who is serving in one branch may, at the same time, be a member

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of another branch. In most parliamentary systems this separation does not exist in such a clear-cut fashion. In Britain the prime minister is always a Member of Parliament, as are some of the ministers, or heads of departments. A prime minister always holds office as leader of the majority party. If the party loses an election, the leader of the winning party becomes the new prime minister. In the United States the length of a president’s term is not affected by election results in Congress because the president is not and cannot be a member of Congress. In Britain the highest court in the land was the House of Lords, but since 2009 the Supreme Court has been established. Therefore till 2009 some functions exercised by the United States Supreme Court were in Britain carried out by the upper house of Parliament.

The typical modern parliament is more than a lawmaking body. It spends much of its time on fiscal matters, the socalled money bills. These are appropriations of funds for such governmental needs as defence, construction of public works, and salaries of departmental employees. Through this control of the purse parliaments have a large measure of control over government policy. Policy itself, however, is decided by the prime minister and the Cabinet.

USEFUL TERMS AND NOTIONS:

the Commonwealth – an organization of about 50 countries that were once part of the British empire and which are now connected politically and economically

Parliament – the main law-making institution in the United Kingdom, which consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords

majority party – the political party that has the most people elected, in either the lower or the upper house

Cabinet – the politicians with important positions in a government who meet to make decisions or advise the leader of the government

Congress – the group of people elected to make laws in the US, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives

the people – a race or nation, all the ordinary people in a country or a state who do not have special rank or position (in this meaning the noun ‘people’ can be used both in singular and in plural)

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TASK 1 a) ACTIVE VOCABULARY. Read the text. Consult a dictionary to find out the meanings of the following words and word combinations:

b) Consult a dictionary and find out the pronunciation of the following:

the Diet, the Riksdag, the Isla of Man’s Tynwald

с) Complete sentences with the following words and phrases: affected, bicameral, carry out, exercise the functions, head of department, hold office, legislature, lose an election, made up of, Member of Parliament, president’s term, proposed law, separation of powers (there is one word/word combination you don’t need):

To ensure balance within the new Federal Government, executive, … and judiciary were separated.

Devolution has led to a … … in Scotland with the Scottish Parliament and Westminster responsible for different policy areas.

It is … …. senior judges from each member state, who hold office for a renewable term of six years.

One candidate attacks the other nominee, saying that he

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would rather lose a war than … … , and that only sitting presidents should make speeches in foreign countries.

The legislation further states that the other may continue to “… … of his office until the election” of first and deputy first ministers.

Councillors know that when they … … they will be subjected to criticism.

The … … of office in the USA is four years.

However, convention dictates that the term … … , or MP, usually applies to members of the House of Commons.

There would be an elected president and a … assembly with a House of Representatives and a Senate.

Under the … … , anyone caught in the act of piracy would be fined from between $50,000 (£31,000) and $500,000; they would also face a prison term of between five and 20 years.

Are you … by the issues raised in this story?

Robots can … … boring work efficiently, accurately and without breaks.

TASK 2 Start your own sentences with the following words and phrases:

a legislature, a lawmaking body, elected representatives of the people, proposed laws, the federal government, a member of Parliament, the leader of the majority party, election results

TASK 3 a) Check how well you know the text:

1.What countries have parliamentary-type legislatures?

2.What chambers does the parliament of Great Britain have?

3.What composition does the oldest still-functioning parliament have? What is it called?

4.Speak on the meaning of the word ‘parliament’.

5.What does the separation of powers mean? Does the text mention the separation of powers in the USA or in Great Britain? How does the situation in Great Britain differ from that of the USA? Compare these two systems.

6.What is the highest court in Great Britain? And in the USA?

7.Describe the work of the typical modern parliament.

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b) Comment on the following:

‘The typical modern parliament is more than a lawmaking body.’

What do you think this statement could mean? What is the main task of a parliament? How has the role of parliament changed since the Middle Ages? What extra functions does the modern parliament have to exercise? Give arguments and examples to prove your point of view.

TASK 4 Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right:

1) to be called a) to be directly connected with and affected by 2) to date from something

3)to relate to b) to have a particular name or title

4)to mean c) to be well-known, to be famous for

5)to debate d) to have existed since a particular time in the past

6)to be noted e) to spend a period of time doing a job, to work

7)to serve g) to discuss a subject formally

8)nation h) the act of entering a place in a large group and

9) term keeping control of it

10) occupation i) a country (its people and its social or economic 11) clear-cut structure)

j)definite or easy to understand

k)a word that has a particular meaning, e.g. in some professional area

TASK 5 Match the words on the left with the words on the right according to the text and make up your own sentences with them to speak on the UK legislature:

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TASK 6

a)Study the following words: unicameral, bicameral. What does the prefix uni- mean? What does the prefix bi- mean? Explain the meanings of the following words: unisex, unilateral, uniform, unanimous, Unicode, unicorn, bicycle, bi-partisanship, biennial, biceps, bigamy, binominal? Consult a dictionary and continue the list.

b)What part of speech do the following words belong to: governmental, typical, departmental, national, federal? What suffix are they formed with? Find these words in the text and translate the sentences.

c)Find the word length in the text. Look up its meanings in a dictionary. There are some other words formed with this suffix. Continue the list, note the change in the spelling and (or) pronunciation: long – length, strong – strength, wide – width, true — …, dead — …, deep — …, broad — …, heal — …, steal — …, weal — …

d)Study the words presidency, president, to preside (over). Make a list of similarly formed nouns with the suffix -ent, -ant (consult a dictionary).

e)Study the meanings of the following words: nation, occupation, discussion, construction, separation, appropriation. What part of speech do they belong to? What suffix are they formed with?

f)Use the suffix -ion to derive nouns from the following verbs:

to act, to connect, to create, to decide, to explain, to posses, to produce, to realise, to reduce, to situate

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TASK 8 What do you know about the following words? How are they formed? Add as many nouns as you can to the words and make up your own sentences to describe the legislative body of your country:

upper, lower oldest, best, highest

TASK 9 Write down degrees of comparison for the following words:

big, typical, thick, clean, simple, good, bad, large, easy, boring, wanted, lovely, far, old, much, many, little

TASK 10 Open the brackets to make the comparison degrees:

1.Peter is … … (clever) than John.

2.The days are getting … … (short).

3.I have never tasted something … … (delicious) than this course!

4.This mistake is … … (common).

5.It is … … (bad) news I’ve ever heard.

6.I think this place is … … (comfortable) than that one.

7.This watch is … … (expensive) than anything else in the shop.

8.Your English is getting … … (good).

9.Ann is … … (curious) than her little sister.

10.I couldn’t imagine, but this film is … … (bad) than any other!

11.I don’t know what can be … … (pleasant) than taking part in one of the … …. (fascinating) competitions!

12.Lisa is … … (charming) person I’ve ever seen.

13.Have you been to … …. (remote) places on earth?

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