Rules of Law

In Britain you officially become an adult on your eighteenth birthday. From that age you can vote in elections, borrow money from a bank, and you can be sent to prison. Until you are eighteen there are some things that you aren't allowed to do. Here are some examples. You can’t go into a pub until you are fourteen and if you go in, you must be with an adult. You can go into a pub on your own when you are sixteen, but you can’t buy or drink alcohol till you are eighteen.

You can ride a motorbike when you are sixteen, but you can't drive a car until you are seventeen. You can leave home and you can get married when you are sixteen, but only if your parents agree. When you are eighteen, you can leave home or get married, even if your parents don’t agree.

You aren’t allowed to leave school until you are sixteen.

You can get a part-time job when you are fourteen, but you can’t work in a shop until you are sixteen. You aren’t allowed to work in a cafe or restaurant until you are eighteen.

Exercise 8A Study the following table, correct the false information and write down the appropriate age for Ukrainian young people.

Young people and the law	age in the UK	age in Ukraine
They must go to school They can buy a pet without their parents being there They can get a part-time job They can leave home without permission of their parents They can get married if their parents agree They can leave school and work full time They can apply for a passport They can drive a car but not a lorry They can go to prison They can vote They can drink alcohol in public	5 12 12 15 15 16 16 16 17 17 16

Exercise 8B Write sentences saying what you needn’t / don’t need to do in your country.

– carry an ID card at all times; – be 21 before you can drive;

– have a work permit; – have a licence to own a gun;

– be 21 before you can marry; – call a police officer sir or madam.

Final writing task: now that you have almost completed this part of unit 1 look through it once again to find “noun + noun” combinations. Write them down with the translation.

Suggested activity in conclusion: decide what you think these quotations mean. Think of examples to illustrate some of them:

1. That the king can do no wrong is a necessary and fundamental principle of the English constitution (Sir William Blackstone).

2. Democracy means government by the uneducated, while aristocracy means government by the badly educated (1931, Gilbert Keith Chesterton).

3. You can never have a revolution in order to establish a democracy. You must have a democracy in order to have a revolution (Gilbert Keith Chesterton).

4. If has been said that democracy is the worst form of government, except for all those other forms that have been tried from time to time (1947, Winston Churchill).

5. No government can be long secure without a formidable Opposition (Benjamin Disraeli).

UNIT 1

PART III

SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT OF THE USA

READING WITH A PURPOSE

Exercise 1 Read and translate the text. Learn the essential law terms by heart.

TEXT A

POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE USA

PART I

The US Constitution names the three branches of government: the legislative, the executive, the judicial. They are separate and distinct from one another. Each branch serves as a check on the others. There is the system of checks and balances*, which keeps any branch from gaining too much power.

The executive branch of government is headed by the President who is assisted* by the Vice President. The US President is both head of State and government, enforces* federal laws, serves as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The Vice President, elected from the same political party as the President, acts as chairman of the Senate. The President of the USA is chosen in nationwide elections every 4 years together with the Vice-President. The President cannot be elected for more than two terms. The President’s Cabinet is made up of Department Secretaries*. The most important of them is the Secretary of State*, who deals with foreign affairs.

The United States of America is a federal republic consisting of 50 states. Each state has its own state government. In some ways the United States is like 50 small countries. The Constitution proclaims a federal system of government of the USA which keeps both the states and the federal power from getting too much power. The federal government is located* in Washington, D.C. The government of the USA acts according to the Constitution which was signed* by the representatives of thirteen original* American states in 1787. The document was written in 1787 and since that time twenty six Amendments have been added. The first ten Amendments* are known as the Bill of rights.

the system of checks and balances – система стримувань та противаг

to locate – знаходитися, розташовуватися

to sign – підписати, підписувати

original – перший

amendment – поправка (до резолюції, законопроекту)

to assist – допомагати, сприяти

to enforce – втілювати в життя

to veto – накладати вето, забороняти

Department Secretaries – міністри

Secretary of State – державний секретар, голова зовнішньополітичного відомства

Exercise 2 Fill in the blanks with the correct words from the box. Translate the sentences:

differences judicial Supreme amended Cabinet executive veto vote legislative federalist

1 The US Constitution can be ______.

2 The Fifteenth Amendment gave black Americans the right to __________.

3 The United States has a __________ system.

4 The President is the head of the __________ branch.

5 The President’s __________ is composed of the department secretaries.

6 The __________ branch interprets the laws.

7 The __________ Court is the most important body of the judicial branch.

8 The President can __________ a law passed by Congress.

9 There are no clear __________ between the Republicans and the Democrats.

10 The __________ branch is represented by Congress.

Exercise 3 Study this table for better understanding the structure of the US government.