Active Vocabulary

firmly rooted	прочно укоренившийся
to govern relations between	регулировать отношения (между)
private citizen	частное лицо
to concern	иметь отношение, заниматься
hierarchy	иерархия
tort	деликт, гражданское правонарушение
trust	доверительная собственность
probate	наследственное право
family law	семейное право
land law	земельное право
constitutional law	конституционное право
administrative law	административное право
criminal law	уголовное право
managerial procedures	организационные меры
to impose sanctions for	принимать меры (в связи с)

Vocabulary Focus

I. Change the words in brackets so that they make sense in the sentences. The first one has already been done for you:

To begin to understand U.S. law, you must look at the founding of the United States and the 1 (unite) - uniting of the individual colonies into a single nation. The American War of 2 (independent) brought the original thirteen colonies together to fight a common foe, the British. The colonies, declaring themselves independent states, 3 (original) agreed to a very weak confederation in order to defeat their common enemy. The first federal constitution of the United States was written in 1778 and was 4 (final) ratified by the states in 1781.

In this first form of American 5 (govern), there were neither federal courts nor a president and the single chamber of Congress had no way to enforce its laws. The individual states could and did ignore federal laws with impunity. It quickly became clear that the United States would not remain 6 (unite) long unless the role of the federal government was strengthened.

In 1787, a constitutional convention convened to form a stronger, more durable nation. The primary concern of the 7 (participate) was the formation of a strong union without the disappearance of the states as individual powers in the system. The inevitable compromise among the delegates led them away from the earlier loose confederation of sovereign states toward a stronger central government. In the end this 8 (move) resulted in a central government, still protective of states’ rights, but with broader federal powers over individuals.

Broadened powers, however, did not mean unlimited powers. The “Founding Fathers” designed the federal government with limited powers, which included the right to impose certain federal taxes, to wage war in the name of the states, to regulate interstate and foreign commerce, and to make treaties with foreign governments or nations. The remaining powers belonged to the states.

This new constitution added two branches to the federal government: a federal system of courts with the Supreme Court as its head and the 9 (execute) branch under the control of the newly created office of the president. Additionally, to help solve a major problem of representation between the large and the small states, the legislative branch was changed to its present bicameral form – the House of Representatives and the Senate, known 10 (collective) as Congress.

The Constitution established a series of checks and balances so that each of these three federal branches could maintain a watch on the other two. These checks and balances ensure that no one branch of the federal government becomes too 11 (power). Additionally, the states, ever mindful of retaining their powers, also provide an external check to ensure that the federal government as a whole does not become too powerful.

II. Give the synonyms for these words using active vocabulary:

individual person, to control, to deal, measures, solidly.

III. Match the words to form collocations as they appear in the text. Make your own sentences using these collocations:

1. to govern a) property

2. to commit b) the powers

3. to administer c) sanctions

4. to define d) relations

5. to impose e) a fundamental distinction

6. to draw f) wrongs

IV. Give English equivalents for the following word combinations using active vocabulary:

Прочно укоренившийся; иерархия; гражданское правонарушение; частное лицо; публичное право; принимать меры; земельное право; доверительная собственность; семейное право; организационные меры.

V. Match the terms to their definitions:

1.	hierarchy	a)	the branch of law that deals with relations between a state and its individual members
2.	public law	b)	the body of law dealing with the constitution of offences and the punishment of offenders
3.	tort	c)	a system of persons or things arranged in a graded order
4.	private law	d)	the penalty laid down in a law for contravention of its provisions
5.	criminal law	e)	the act or process of officially proving the authenticity and validity of a will
6.	probate	f)	the institution and conduct of legal proceedings against a person
7.	sanction	g)	the branch of law that deals with the rights and duties of private individuals and the relations between them