II. Answer the following questions. Give extensive answers.

1. What is Britain’s legislature made of?

2. Which of the three constituent parts of it has the true power?

3. How many members are there in the House of Commons?

4. What MPs are called “front-benchers” and “back-benchers”?

5. Who are “life peers”?

6. Whom is the House of Lords presided over?

7. What is the procedure of making laws?

8. Who is head of the judiciary in England and Wales?

9. Who approves bills before they become Acts of Parliament?

10. What are the main functions of British Parliament today?

11. What do you know about the life of the British Parliament?

III. Read the sentences and say if they are true or false. Correct the false ones.

1. Parliament and the monarch have identical roles in the government of the country.

2. In reality, the Queen is the only one who has true power.

3. The most important function of the Queen is ceremonial.

4. The House of Commons is the most powerful and decides national policy.

5. Members of the House of Lords are not elected.

6. New bills are introduced and debated in the House of Lords.

7. The bills pass 5 readings in the House of Commons.

8. The members of the House of Lords debate a bill after it has been passed by the House of Commons.

9. Although a bill must be supported by all three bodies, the House of Commons has limited powers.

10. The main function of the British Parliament is to interpret laws.

IV. Talking point. Choose a topic and give your arguments for and against.

• The House of Lords is the only non-elected second chamber in the parliament in the world and should be abolished.

• The making of treaties is a royal prerogative and is not a subject to parliamentary approval.

• Bills which have not been passed by the end of Parliament session are lost, and new session begins with a clean slate.

Reading_________________________________________________________ Read the text and say if the British electoral system is complicated or not. British Parliament and Parliamentary Elections

A Parliament has a maximum duration of five years, but it is not fixed, and the government of the day may dissolve it and call for a general election at any time during the term. This is done by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. A by-election is called if an individual MP dies, resigns or is given peerage and Parliament as a whole is not dissolved. The minimum voting age is 18, and the voting is taken by secret ballot.

The election campaign lasts about three weeks. The election is decided on a simple majority - the candidate with the most votes wins. An MP who wins by a small number of votes may have more votes against him (that is, for the other candidates) than for him. Many people think that it is unfair because the wishes of those who voted for the unsuccessful candidates are not represented at all. The British parliamentary system depends on political parties. The political parties choose candidates in elections. The party which wins the majority of seats forms the Government and its leader usually becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister chooses about 20 MPs from his or her party to become the Cabinet of Ministers. Each minister is responsible for a particular area of the government. The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and "Shadow Cabinet". Leader of the opposition is a recognized post in the House of Commons.

Comprehension___________________________________________________

I. Match the phrases in English with their Russian equivalents. Find the sentences with them in the text and read them out.

leader of the opposition	всеобщие выборы
a recognized post	«теневой кабинет» министров
a particular area of the government	дополнительные выборы
secret ballot	лидер оппозиции
is decided on a simple majority	тайное голосование
"Shadow cabinet"	признанная должность
general election	определенная сфера деятельности правительства
by-election	решается простым большинством голосов