Exercises on the vocabulary
I. Read the following words:
to canvass, a deposit, to contest for smth., a precinct, to be eligible, Senate, gerrymandering, reapportionment, incumbent.
II. Give the word combinations with the following words:
election, electoral, ballot, vote, polling.
III. The words given bellow denote the notion of British life. Give the corresponding American variants:
nomination paper, a candidate stands for Parliament, constituency, electoral ward, elector, marginal constituency
IV. Find synonymous words and expressions for:
a polling station, returns, off-year election, to contest an election, franchise, ticket, to have the right to vote, to turn smb. down, gerrymandering.
V. Find antonymous words and expressions for:
safe constituency, by a narrow margin, to win an election, majority vote.
VI. Translate into English:
общие выборы, предвыборная компания, избирательная урна, без единого голоса против /единогласно/, тайным голосованием, предвыборные обещания, право выдвижения кандидатов, кабина для голосования, комиссия, осуществляющая контроль за подсчетом голосов, список избирателей, избирательный участок, проводить выборы, принимать участие в выборах, победить на выборах, потерпеть поражение на выборах, обеспечить избрание, избрать кандидата, отдать голос, выдвигать кандидатов, участвовать в голосовании, пользоваться правом участия в выборах, воздержаться от голосования.
VII Say the following in a shorter way:
-money which makes a part payment of the sum that is or will be owned
-smth that the possible winner promises to do
-to manage or control fraudulently for private profit
-full rights of citizenship given by a country or town, esp. the right to vote an election
-restrictions
-the bottom of the typical, local party structure
- a voting district generally covering an area of several districts
-a candidate who holds the contested office at the time of the election
-an election in which party members select candidates to run for
office under the party banner
-an election which is won by a very large number of votes
-one that takes second place
Text 1
Pre-reading activity:
Consdier the following as you prepare for reading the text. The general background information provided for you in this text consists of three parts; each deals with the political structures of GB, the US, and the Russian Federation separately. Furthermore, you will find a short story for rendering in the section regarding the US elections; its intention is to advance your understanding of the complexities and historical intricacies of the system itself. Drawing on your experiences in the previous classes of British and American history and your general knowledge, briefly comment on the difference in the political structures of the three countries.
Part1
Political processes in Great Britain
A parliamentary (general) election in Britain takes place every four or five years. Election to the House of Commons is decided by secret ballot. Those eligible to vote must have their names entered in electoral registers compiled early in each constituency. A parliamentary election is preceded by a strenuous election campaign which begins well in advance of the election date and involves expenditures running into hundreds of thousands of pounds.
Shortly before election day, each elector is sent a poll card stating the date and hour of the poll and the situation of his polling station. On entering the polling station the voter receives a ballot paper from the poll clerk and going into a screened booth puts a cross opposite the name of the candidate of his choice. Then he puts it into the ballot box in the presence of the presiding officer. As soon as the poll is over, the votes are sent to a central place in each constituency where they are counted in the presence of the returning officer. The result of the poll is declared by the returning officer publicly, e.g. from a balcony outside the place where the count is made. There are 650 constituencies in Great Britain each of which returns one member to Parliament. Today one seat is on average for every 66,000 electors. The candidate must deposit the sum of 500 pounds with the returning officer. If the candidate polls at least one eighth of the total votes cast, he or she is entitled to have his deposit returned, if not, his or her deposit is forfeited. According to the plurality system of voting used in Parliamentary elections in Britain, a candidate is returned if he has polled more votes than the next standing candidate. The more candidates there are in the constituency, the less may be the individual majority of the candidate returned. As it stands today, the British electoral system can and does produce results opposite to those intended by the majority of the electorate. The most notable example was the 1991 election which gave the Conservatives a majority of twenty-six seats over Labour though their total vote was nearly a quarter of a million less.
Britain is divided into 650 areas, called constituencies. Each constituency is represented by one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons. MPs are elected in a general election and the leader of the party which has the most MPs in Parliament becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister must call a general election at least every five years. Citizens who are 18 years old or older may vote in general elections, but voting is not compulsory. People who are not allowed to vote include members of the Royal Family, members of the House of Lords, people serving prison sentences and some patients in mental hospitals. Anybody over 21 can stand for election providing they are not disqualified for any reason - bankrupts, some clergy, members of the House of Lords and certain government employees are excluded. And anyone can form a political party. There are, currently, two main parties - the Conservative (right wing) and Labour (left wing). There is an influential centre party called the Liberal Democrats, and another much smaller centre party known as the Social Democratic Party (SDP). These two centre parties - the Liberals and the Social Democratic Party - often join their forces to contest the election under the title of Alliance. There are also nationalistic parties from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
PartII