6. The Life of British Youth

Young people in Great Britain have a wide variety of interests apart of their school work. I would like to tell you about some of them.

As children, both boys and girls play many games, swim, go boating and camping and have fun in many kinds of sports and outdoor activities. A great many of them are members of the organizations for boys and girls, the largest of which are those of the Boy Scouts and Girl Guides. Boys and girls are separate. They take an oath to be true to the Queen and country. Besides going in for sports, they organize social activities, learn all about subjects that interest them, such as woodwork, needlework, cooking, first aid and others.

Secondary schools give their pupils every opportunity to develop their talents and skills. There are usually societies and clubs for them, such as a school literary society, a school drama society and different clubs for photography, music, theatre, art, stamp collecting, natural sciences and debating. Often schools, colleges have orchestras, bands, singing groups. Besides, there are a lot of parties. They are usually organized by pupils themselves, sometimes with the help of their parents or some other people. At the parties they dance, play interesting games, get prizes, eat sandwiches and drink juice or tea and have cakes. Most popular of all are birthday parties and Christmas parties.

There are also many societies for schoolchildren who are fond of sports. Every school, college or university has several sport teams, which take an active part in different competitions and championships. Very often nationwide competitions and championships are organized for such sport teams. Nearly all schools. All colleges and universities have well-equipped gymnasiums, sports grounds and swimming-pools.

Numerous civic, cultural and religious youth groups and organizations give young people the chance to develop and broaden their interests and gain experience in working together. They also sponsor special programmes for young people.

Most schools, colleges and universities have some form of student government with elections to choose class representatives. They take part in raising money for public welfare as well.

A lot of young people hold part-time jobs after school hours and during vacations. They earn money for themselves and to help their families delivering newspapers or taking care of small children in private homes.

As far as I know, Britain teenagers are very active in such popular organizations as “Green Peace”. They also take part in some political organizations and movements, for example, against nuclear weapon.

7. Political parties of the usa

 Political parties are the most representative, inclusive organizations in the United States. They are made up of citizens who may differ in race, religion, age, and economic and social background, but who share certain perspectives on public issues and leaders. Parties are the engines that drive the machinery of elections: They recruit candidates for office, organize primary elections so that party members can select their candidates for the general election, and support their candidates who reach the general election. Parties also write platforms, which state the direction that party members want the government to take. Parties have traditionally played a crucial role in educating Americans about issues and in getting out the vote.

For most of America’s history, a competitive two-party system has prevailed, and third parties have been the exception. This is a result of the U.S. electoral system in which the winner takes all. Since there is no proportional representation, losers get nothing. Thus a vote for a third party is usually a lost vote.

Since the mid-1850s, when the Republican Party was formed, the two major parties in the United States have been the Republican and the Democratic parties. The Democratic Party traces its beginnings to the Jeffersonian Democratic-Republicans.

In the 19th century, political parties were powerful enough that they could often motivate voting turnouts of over 80 percent. Today, parties are less important.

Democrats and Republicans face significant challenges in the future. Traditional means of campaigning have been changed drastically by technology and by increasing media coverage. Politicians spend less time on grassroots campaigning, such as visiting neighbourhoods. Instead they employ several elements to enhance their chances of election; some of these elements were unheard of as recently as the 1950s. These include short television advertisements that cost as much as $100,000 for a minute, poll, direct mail, and political consultants who offer advice on how to shape a campaign.

Proposed policies have been reduced to slogans

Because they see little difference among candidates, voters often fail to cast a ballot, and election turnouts have declined.

. 8. THE COMMONWEALTH

Beyond its immediate foreign policy priorities, its ties with Europe and the United States, Britain has important relations across the rest of the world, primarily through the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of members of the former British Empire and Colonies, which allows for a new relationship between Britain and its former possessions. Its purpose is the promotion of international understanding and cooperation by working in partnership with each other. It is as much an association of peoples as of states, with a plethora of informal non-governmental links. There were only 11 members in 1960, which grew to 21 by 1965, when Britain resigned the permanent chairmanship in favour of an international secretariat, and then 53 in 1998. Some have resigned, for example Ireland, others have been suspended, like Fiji and Nigeria, while others which withdrew to avoid expulsion have returned to the fold, like Pakistan and South Africa. Recent admissions have included countries with no previous connection with Britain, for example in 1995 the ex-Portuguese territory of Mozambique. Yemen and the Embryo State of Palestine have both expressed interests in membership. The Queen is titular head of the Commonwealth, even though half the member states are republics. She remains an ardent supporter of the Commonwealth idea.

Why is the Commonwealth so popular? A chief reason is that it is an international forum that lacks the formality and pomposity of the United Nations. It is a comfortable form of international cooperation where people can talk confidentially without feeling threatened. It hasn’t got a centre or periphery. All have equal status. One of the major attractions for the Prime ministers of the member states is that at the conferences they have direct personal contact with each other, frequently without any officials present. The Commonwealth also operates by consensus rather than by voting. This allows for a more gradualist approach to problems than is possible in the United Nations. The heads of government of member states meet every two years to consider current issues, and sometimes to make declarations on agreed principles.

The larger the Commonwealth becomes, the harder it is to ensure it remains a place for the uninhibited exchange of views and to achieve consensus.