Text 13 The us Congress

Vocabulary

to compose [tu: kәm’pәuz] — составлять

according [ ә‘ko:diŋ ] — соответственно

The Congress of the United States is composed of two houses: The Senate and House of Representatives. The Senate represents the states. Each state is guaranted at least one representative in the House. The remainder are apportioned among the states according to their population. The Senate of US is composed of one hundred members – two being elected from each state. Senators are chosen for six years, one-third retiring or seeking is re-elected every two years. Two senators from the same state never finish their terms at the same time, one of them is called “Senior Senator” and other – “Junior Senator”.

The presiding officer of the Senate is the Vice-President of the United States. The vice-President is not a member of the chamber over which he presides and he sometimes is not a member of the party in power.

The work of the US Congress is done mostly in different committees. The most important of the Senate committees are Appropriations Foreign Relations, Finance, Armed Services.

In the House of Representatives the most important are Rules, Appropriations, Ways and Means, Judiciary, Agriculture.

The chairman of the standing committees are considered the real rulers of the Senate and the House.

Task 1. Answer the questions to the text:

1. How many houses are there in the US Congress?

2. What represents the Senate?

3. How many members of Senate are there?

4. Who is the Vice-President?

5. How is the work of the US Congress done?

6. Name the important committees of the Congress.

Task 2. Complete the following sentences:

1. The Congress of the US is composed of…

2. The Senate represents …

3. Each state is guaranted…

4. The remainder are…

5. Senators are chosen…

6. Two senators from the same state…

7. The Presiding officer of the Senate…

8. The Vice-President is not …

9. The work of the US Congress is done…

10. The most important of the Senate committees are…

11. In the House of Representative the most important are…

12. The chairman of the standing committees are considered…

Task 3. Express the main idea of the text. Share your opinion.

Text 14 The us Government The Vocabulary

to inspire [tu: ins’paiә ] — вдохновлять

dominance [‘dominәns] — превосходство

After its 200^th birthday the United States of America still holds the leading position in the western world. A country that has inspired many names – “Land of Opportunity”, “Meeting Pot”, “God’s Country” is still referred toa as land of superlatives – “the richest”, “the greatest”, “the most”.

In size the United States is not the biggest. What makes the USA the leader of the western world is its economic, political and military dominance over other countries.

The United States is a parliamentary republic. The Government is divided into 3 branches: legislative (the US Congress), executive (the President and his Administration) and judicial (the US Supreme Court).

There are two main political parties in the USA: the Democratic (symbolize by a “donkey”) and the Republican (symbolized by an “elephant”). The US president is both head of State and of government. He is elected for a 4-year term.

The Supreme Court consists of Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices who are appointed for life. The Supreme Court is supposed to decide whether a law of the Congress or an executive order of the president is “Constitutional or not”.

Task 1. Answer the questions to the text:

1. Is the USA the biggest country in the world?

2. What makes the USA the leader of the western world?

3. Is the USA a parliamentary republic?

4. How many branches is the Government divided on?

5. How many main parties are there?

6. How many people are there in the supreme Court?

Task 2. Find the equivalents in the text:

США; после своего 200-летия; по-прежнему удерживают лидирующие позиции в западном мире; «Страна возможностей»; «Богоизбранная земля»; «богатейшая»; «величайшая»; экономическое, политическое и военное превосходство; парламентская республика; разделена на 3 составляющих: законодательную, исполнительную и судебную; эмблема; осел; слон; одновременно ( и…и); он избирается на четырехгодичный срок; Верховный суд; все они назначаются на свои посты пожизненно; «конституционными».

Task 3. Express the main idea of the text. Retell it.