III. Agree or disagree with the statements:

1. Ukraine is a country in Western Europe which borders Russia, Belarus, Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania and Moldova.

2. In the 9th century, the territory of Ukraine was a center of the medieval East Slavic civilization.

3. The territory of Ukraine was divided among a number of regional powers during its history.

4. By the 19th century, the largest part of Ukraine was integrated into the Polish Empire.

5. Ukrainian territory was enlarged westward shortly before and after World War II.

6. In 1940, the Ukrainian SSR became one of the co-founding members of the United Nations.

7. Ukrainian independence after the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 began a period of transition to a market economy.

8. Ukraine is a monarchy composed of 24 oblasts and one autonomous republic.

9. Ukraine is a republic under a semi-presidential system with separate legislative, executive, and judicial branches.

10. Ukrainian and Russian are official languages in Ukraine.

IV. Answer the questions:

1. What countries does Ukraine border?

2. When did the nation's modern history begin?

3. Did Ukraine take a part in the United Nations forming?

4. What is an administrative structure of Ukraine as an independent state?

5. What branches are the powers of the government divided into?

V. Match the first part of the sentence (1-5) with the second one (a-e).

1	The dominant religion in the country	a	began with that of the East Slavs.
2	The Ukrainian language	b	one autonomous republic and two cities with special status.
3	Ukraine is a unitary state composed of oblasts,	c	among a number of regional powers.
4	The territory of Ukraine was divided	d	is the only official language in Ukraine.
5	The nation's modern history	e	is Eastern Orthodox Christianity.

VI. Make up a plan of the text.

VII. Retell the text in a written form (in English or Ukrainian). Text 17. Political structure of ukraine

I. Read and memorize the following words and word combinations:

Everlasting – давній, destiny – доля, to vote – голосувати, single-chamber – однопалатний, to hoist – піднімати, to elect – обирати, a constituency – виборчий округ.

II. Listen to the text: Political Structure of Ukraine

On the 24th of August, 1991 Ukraine became an independent state. On the 1-st of December the everlasting dream of the Ukrainian people came true. 90% of the people voted for the independence of Ukraine and since that time the Ukrainian people had become the masters of their own destiny.

The Ukrainian political system has a popularly elected President, a 450-person single-chamber national Parliament — the Verkhovna Rada. The yellow and blue flag is hoisted over it.

A Prime Minister is nominated by the President and is a subject to approval by the Verkhovna Rada. The first President of the country became Leonid Kravchuk. In 1994 Ukrainian people elected a new President — Leonid Kuchma and deputies to the 450-member legislature. Voting, which is not compulsory, is by secret ballot and from the age of 18. The candidate rolling the largest number of votes in a constituency is elected. Though Ukraine has a wealth of political parties, ranging from unreconstructed communities to far-right nationalities, personal and regional loyalties tend to play larger role in the Ukrainian political life than programmatic parties. A key challenge facing Ukraine is the establishment of effective, democratic governing institutions that strike a balance between executive and legislative authority.

Ukraine is divided into 24 regions, each of which has an elected council whose Chairman (elected at large) also serves as head of the executive branch. The status of the autonomous Republic of Crimea is being redefined. In March 1995, the central government suspended the Crimean constitution following a year of political instability caused in past by attempts of local politicians to develop a foreign policy independent of Kyiv.