II. Answer the questions in written form.

1. What other powers, apart executive, does the President have?

2. What are the chief Constitutional requirements for the Presidency?

3. Who is in line of succession to the Presidency, if a President dies or is unable to carry on his duties?

4. What are the main functions of the President as the head of the government?

5. What should be understood by “a constitutional protection” against misused executive power?

6. Where does the President live and work?

7. How should people address the President?

8. What is the term of presidency and for how many terms can he serve?

9. What is the “Cabinet” and who appoints its members?

10. Who elects the President?

III. Translate in written form the last two paragraphs of the text.

IV. Divide text into logically connected parts, entitle each part and give a short summary of the text according to your plan.

V. Write t for true and f for false. Correct the false sentences and translate them.

1. Constitutional qualifications for the Presidency are relatively simple: the President must be at least 30 years old, a resident of the country for at least 12 years and a national born citizen.

2. The people of each state do not vote directly for the President.

3. The presidential term of four years begins in November, immediately after the election.

4. The electors (of the Electoral College) are selected exclusively by the Governors of all states.

5. The President starts his official duties before an inauguration ceremony, traditionally held on the steps of the White House on January 20 after the election.

6. With the Secretary of State, the President manages all official contracts with foreign governments, concludes treaties with other countries.

7. The President always belong to the party which has the majority in Congress.

8. The President, whether he likes it or not, is the trendsetter in his country, and when he speaks in superlatives it is no surprise that everyone starts picking up the habit.

9. If no candidate wins the majority of the electoral votes, the House of Representatives chooses the new President.

10. The qualifications for Vice President are the same as the qualifications for President.

11. The President travels a lot, but he or she lives and works at the White House in Washington D. C.

12. Voters choose the President and Vice President of the United States directly through the popular vote.

13. The executive branch makes laws but does not enforce them.

14. There are 14 government departments, and their heads are usually called Secretaries.

15. It is the responsibility of the Department of State to advise the President.

VI. Recall the information and fill in the gaps with the words and phrases from the box, using them in the appropriate form:

constitution, structure, voter, national, to name, federal, government, to vote, responsibility, violation, law, to govern, to be elected (2), to be appointed, to removed from office

The United States is a (a) ___ union of 50 states, with District of Columbia as the seat of the (b) ___ government. The Constitution outlines (c) ___ of the national government and specifies its powers and activities. Other government activities are the (d) ___ of the individual states, which have their own (e) ___ and (f) ___. Within each state there are counties, townships, cities and villages, each of which has its own elective (g) ___.

All government in the United states is “of, by and for the people”. Members of Congress, the President, state officials and those who (h) ___ counties and cities (i) ____ by popular vote. The President (j) ___ the heads of federal departments while judges are either (k) ___ directly by the people or (l) ___ by elected officials. (m) ___ mark unsigned ballots in private booths, so that no one else can find out for whom a citizen (n) ___. Public officials may (o) ___ for failing to perform their duties properly, as well as for serious (p) ___of law.