ENGLISH-IN-LAW. Textbook

14.Do you know any … …. (picturesque) valley?

15.Paul is … … (intelligent) person I’ve ever met.

16.Kate is … … (reliable) nurse at this hospital.

TASK 11 Open the brackets to make the comparison degrees. Then answer the questions:

1.What is … … (long) river in Europe called?

2.Is … … (long) river in Europe … … (long) than any other rivers in the world?

3.What city is … … (big) than your native one?

4.What is … … (high) mountain in the world?

5.What is … … (deep) lake in your country? And in the world? Compare these lakes.

6.What cities are … … (densely populated) than the capital of your country?

7.What is the … … (sparsely populated) country in Europe?

8.What is … … (large) country in Europe?

9.How many Oscars has … … (good) film won this year?

10.Who has earned … … (good) actress prize?

11.What sphere should a person be … … (successful) in to get the Pulitzer prize?

12.What … … (helpful) achievements can win the Nobel prize?

13.What sea is … … (small) than the Red Sea?

14.Is the broom … … (useless) than the vacuum cleaner?

15.Is the abacus … … (useful) than the calculator?

16.What are … … (great) holidays in your country called?

17.What is … … (interesting) hobby for you?

18.What book is … … (exciting) in your opinion?

19.What is … … (low) winter temperature in India?

20.Do you think that the film is … … (interesting) than the book?

21.What are … … (significant) museums in our city?

22.What can you identify as … … (beautiful) thing?

23.What quality is … … (important) in your future profession?

TASK 12 Compare these countries/cities/means of transport, etc.:

1.Britain, Japan, Russia, India, Sweden, Austria

2.Paris, Athens, Roma, Vienna, New York, London

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3.car, bus, plane, train, bicycle

4.iron, glass, plastic, wood, leather

5.poodle, greyhound, wolf, fox

6.telephone, post, internet

TASK 13 Choose the proper word:

1.The (last / latest) news must have been bad.

2.My (older / elder) sister is 10 years old.

3.You can cry and scream during the break but at lesson you are (smaller / less) emotional.

4.I know that at (last / least) 5 students of our group got good marks in English last year.

5.Our university is one of the (oldest / eldest) in Europe.

6.Have you heard what is the (nearest / next) station called?

7.The police didn’t give any (further / farther) information.

8.This car is (smaller / less) than that one.

9.At our (last / least) meeting we were discussing the new business strategies of our company.

10.I’m sorry, this hotel is (further / farther) from the airport than we thought.

11.It takes me two hours to get to my university. You should choose some other place to study. Do you know which the (nearest / next) university to your place is?

12.Sara has just sent two e-mails, one mail is for her grandparents and the other is written for her friend, the (last / latter) is full of different emoticons while the sentiments in the (first / former) are expressed through the words rather than with the help of some signs.

TASK 14 Match the legislatures with the countries and make a report on one of the legislative bodies you haven’t studied before:

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TASK 15 a) Summarise the text and define all legal terms:

The growth of the legal system

The legal system plays a significant and growing role in society as our lives become governed by an increasing number of laws. As our society has become more sophisticated, a greater number of laws have been required. This in turn has resulted in our legal system becoming increasingly more complex. Changes in technology, the way in which we live and the types of relationships we have are all reflected by the law. Society expects the law to reflect its ideas, values and culture, so the law has to evolve to keep up with social changes. Examples of areas where the law has changed to keep pace with changes in society include family matters such as marriage, divorce and civil partnerships, technological developments such as the telephone, computers and the internet, and social developments such as consumer and employment rights.

Due to the growth in the number of laws and the growing complexity of society, most people will now seek some form of legal advice during their lifetime, whether it is to purchase a house, in relation to family issues, to seek advice about debt, a legal claim, or for advice on tax or income issues. This increase in people seeking legal advice has also seen a rise in the number of those providing that advice. During the second half of the twentieth century, the provision of legal advice became a large industry. Recent turnover in the legal advice sector exceeded eleven billion

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pounds. This also makes it a substantial economic player and contributor to both industry and the public sector.

As more laws have been created to reflect changing attitudes in society, individuals have become more aware of their rights. We now also expect and demand much more from our legal system. The number of legal cases started has risen. In order to cope with the increased demand, the number of people employed by and involved in the legal system has grown, and it has assumed much greater economic significance.

While the legal system raises substantial sums of money through the collection of fines, it also costs a great deal of public money to run it. The growth of the legal system has, therefore, put a strain on public funds and so it has subsequently been subject to a number of reviews, all of which have attempted to make it more costeffective, efficient, quicker and easier to use.

b)Agree or disagree:

•Changes in technology, the way in which we live and the types of relationships we have are all reflected by the law?

•Examples of areas where the law has changed to keep pace with changes in society include family matters such as marriage, divorce and civil partnerships, technological developments such as the telephone, computers and the internet, and social developments such as consumer and employment rights.

•Nowadays most people seek some form of legal advice during their lifetime.

•People have become more aware of their rights.

•As people have become more aware of their rights they will not seek legal advice any longer.

TASK 16 Do you think you could be law-makers? Divide into groups (one group is for the bill and the other opposes it) and choose the Speaker to preside over the debate. One of you (or a group) will introduce the Bill. Debate the future of the Smoking in Public Places Bill and answer the following questions:

Should smoking be banned in all public places? Should restaurants and cafes keep special smoking and non-smoking areas

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(and what it should be provided with)? What do you think about smoking in schools and universities? Is there anything else to be banned except smoking? What is the proper punishment for smoking in public places? Is this a civil or criminal offence? Should police arrest people smoking in public places? What reactions can this Bill produce in the society?

TASK 17 Comment on the following:

1.“Law is a bottomless pit.” (Dr. (John) Arbuthnot, 1667—1735, an English physician, satirist and polymath, in “The History of John Bull”, 1712)

2.“No poet ever interpreted nature as freely as a lawyer interprets the truth.” (Jean Giraudoux, 1882—1944, a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright, in “La Guerre de Troie n’aura pas lieu”, 1935)

3.“I know no method to secure the repeal of bad or obnoxious laws so effective as their stringent execution.” (Ulysses S. Grant, 1822—1885, the 18th President of the USA in his inaugural address, 4 March 1869)

ADDITIONAL TASKS

TASK 1 Use the text to complete the following sentences:

1.Many European nations and Japan … .

2.… is called the Diet … .

3.The oldest still-functioning parliament is … which dates from the period of … .

4.… who is serving in one branch … at the same time … .

5.In Britain … is always a member of Parliament, as are some of the ministers … .

6.If … the leader of the winning party becomes the new prime minister.

7.… is not affected by election results in Congress because the president … .

8.In Britain the highest court in the land is … .

9.… parliaments have a large measure of control over … .

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TASK 2 Use active vocabulary to answer the questions:

•Who is the incumbent prime minister in your country? Is he/ she a Member of Parliament? Does the prime minister form the Cabinet?

•What is lawmaking body called in your country?

•Is there a unicameral or bicameral legislature? If the legislature is bicameral what are the lower and the upper houses called?

•Do you have any equivalents to the Member of Parliament in your system?

•Do you know any recently proposed laws?

•Is there separation of powers between governmental institutions?

•Is there a president? What is his term of office? If there is no president, how long does the head of the country hold office? What functions does he/she exercise?

•What is the highest court of your country?

TASK 3 a) Note the difference between policy and politics:

policy 1) [uncountable and countable] a definite course or method of action to guide and determine present and future decisions; a high-level overall plan embracing the general goals and acceptable procedures especially of a governmental body; a way of doing something that has been officially agreed and chosen by a political party, business, or other organization

2)[countable] a particular principle that you believe in and that influences the way you behave

3)[countable] a contract with an insurance company, or an official written statement giving all the details of such a contract

politics 1) [uncountable] (especially Br E) (used with a sing. verb) the study of political power and systems of government [= political science], the art or science of government, the science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy, the science concerned with winning and holding control over a government

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2)[singular verb, also plural verb (Br E)] ideas and activities relating to gaining and using power in a country, city, etc. the activities or affairs engaged in by a government/ politician/ political party, the methods or tactics involved in managing a state or government

3)[uncountable] the profession of being a politician, political life especially as a principal activity or profession, political life, political actions, practices

4) [mainly plural] a) the activities of people who are concerned with gaining personal advantage within a group, organization, etc., competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power and leadership (as in a government), the often internally conflicting interrelationships among people in a society, the total complex of relations between people living in society; b) political activities characterized by artful and often dishonest practices, intrigue or manoeuvring within a political unit or group in order to gain control or power

5) [mainly plural] someone’s political beliefs and opinions, political attitudes and positions

Usage Note: Politics, although plural in form, takes a singular verb when used to refer to the art or science of governing or to political science: “Politics has been a concern of philosophers since Plato.” But in its other senses politics can take either a singular or plural verb. Many other nouns that end in -ics behave similarly, and the user is advised to consult specific entries for precise information.

b) Define the following collocations:

foreign/economic/public policy, a foreign policy adviser, policy on/towards something, it is (somebody’s) policy to do something, to study for a degree in politics, a good understanding of politics in China, modern Russian politics, national/local politics, to retire from politics, to go into/to enter politics, party politics, power politics, office politics, sexual politics (=how power is shared between men and women), her politics is her own business

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Text 7

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND OF PARLIAMENT

(PART A)

The origins of parliaments can be traced to the popular assemblies that seem to have existed among early European tribes. The assemblies developed into advisory councils that shared power with tribal chiefs. The witenagemot, or “meeting of the wise”, among Anglo-Saxon tribes is an ancestor of modern legislatures, as is the Althing, the deliberating body established in Iceland in 930. During the early Middle Ages a parlement was usually a meeting of the king and his council, to which judges were summoned to consider pleas and petitions. Such a body thus incorporated the executive (king), legislative, and judicial functions of the government.

The name parlement, also called by the Latin term parliamentum, was also applied to a gathering of lords (clergy and nobles) and representatives of the commons (knights and town leaders) when called by the king for a colloquium, literally, a “talking together”. A colloquium might be held to discuss a specific problem such as raising an army for an invasion. More often it was a king’s way to get permission to raise money.

Such parliaments began meeting in the 13th century during the reign of England’s Edward I. Rolls of membership and statutes were kept beginning in 1278. The separation of functions in government began early in the 13th century, when the Court of Common Pleas began operating on its own. The separation of the king’s council (today’s Cabinet) began in the 14th century. The council became a definite legal body during the reign of Richard II, when councillors were sworn in. By the end of the reign of Henry V in 1422, the council and Parliament were two distinct governmental bodies.

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With the separation of functions, Parliament began to develop as a purely legislative body. Petitions asking for a change in the law came to the king’s council. Such changes, even minor improvements, were considered serious because they took place in a society that was rigidly structured and devoted to tradition and custom. Although the king and council could legally issue a new law, it became customary to refer proposed laws to Parliament.

USEFUL TERMS AND NOTIONS:

assembly – 1. a group of persons gathered together for a common reason, as for a legislative, religious, educational, or social purpose 2. a legislative body

colloquium – academic conference, a meeting to discuss and debate some vital issues

body – a group of people who work together to do a particular job or who are together for a particular purpose: governing body (=a body that controls the work or activities of an organization or group)

plea – 1. an accused person’s formal response of ‘guilty’, ‘not guilty’ or ‘no contest’ to a criminal charge. Also termed criminal plea. 2. At common law, the defendant’s responsive pleading in a civil action. 3. A factual allegation offered in a case, a pleading.

petition – 1. a formal written request presented to a court or other official body 2. a written application for a legal remedy or relief that is only available if statute or rules of procedure permit it. Examples are a petition for divorce, a bankruptcy petition, or an election petition.

petition of right – Hist. a proceeding in chancery by which a subject claims that a debt is owed by the Crown or that the Crown has broken a contract or wrongfully detained the subjects’ property. The procedure governing the petitions of right was eventually regulated by the Petition of Right Act 1860.The Crown Proceedings Act 1947 replaced petitions of right by ordinary actions.

tribe – a social group consisting of people of the same race who have the same beliefs, customs, language, etc and usually live in one particular area ruled by a chief

town – a settlement which had a charter to hold a market or fair and therefore became a “market town”.

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