Glossary
violation – нарушение
сrowded – переполненный
perfunctory – поверхностный, формальный
to levy – налагать, взыскивать
to boost – повышать, способствовать росту
windshield – лобовое стекло автомобиля
wipers – “дворники”
abuse – нарушение, злоупотребление
Task 1. Render the text.
Listening Comprehension
Task 1.
The House of Lords
A. Listen to the first part of a dialogue between an American student (A) and an English lawyer (B) and fill in the blanks in their conversation. Each blank may correspond to one or more missing words.
B: Come in.
A: Hi ! Do you have a minute?
B: Well, I've got to leave in ten minutes. What's the problem?
A: Well, I've got this paper to do on a comparison between the American (1)... and the British House of Lords - you know, how the elections are organised, what sort of work they do, that sort of thing. Problem is, I don't know a thing about the House of Lords and the library's closed today, and...
B: O.K. Well, It'll have to be brief.
A: No problem. Do you mind if I record this?
B: No, of course not. Go ahead.
A: Great. O.K. It's recording.
B: Well, the first thing is to forget about the idea that there is any sort of election to
the House of Lords. There are only two ways you can get a seat in the Lords. The first is by birth - by (2)... - and the second is by (3)..., so to speak.
A: I guess the hereditary peers go right back to... William the (4)... , is that right?
B: Well, actually, the vast majority don't go back any further than the (5)... century.
A: Uh huh. How many hereditary (6)... are there?
B: About (7)... at the moment.
A: And to become a hereditary peer, it's the monarch who... er... gives it to you?
B: That's right. The creation of hereditary peerage is one of the (8)... 's prerogatives.
A: That means the monarch can make anyone a peer of the realm?
B: Not quite. In fact, what happens is that the monarch will (9)... a peerage on the basis of advice from the Prime Minister who is in turn advised by a Political Honours (10)... .
A: I see. And is it the same procedure for the other category?
B: For the (11)...? Yes. The same rules apply.
A: About how many life peers are there?
B: Roughly (12)... .
A: And they just hold the title for life, right?
B: Exactly. A life peer can't transmit the title to one of his children on his death.
A: O.K. Is there anything else I should know?
B: Well, yes. You really ought to look at how the House is made up in terms of the Lords (13)... or the Lords (14)... .
A: Sorry. I have no idea what that means.
B: It's quite simple. The term 'the Lords spiritual' covers the 26 high-ranking members of the Church of England - the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, plus 24 senior bishops who have the right to sit in the House. The term 'the Lords temporal' covers everyone else.
A: O.K. B: Then, among the Lords temporal, there are the (15)... .
A: And what do they do?
B: Well, they make up the final (16)... in the land for both civil and criminal matters. Obviously there are specific criteria which have to be met before a case can be heard in the House of Lords, but the idea is that a case must raise a point of law of general public interest. Once leave for appeal has been granted, the case will go before one of the (17)... of the House of Lords, each of which is made up of either (18)... or 3 Law Lords. There has to be an (19)... number so that a majority decision can emerge.
A: So the appeal isn't heard by the whole House?
B: No. This sort of appeal involves highly technical judicial work. There's no point asking ordinary (20)... peers to take part in decisions of this sort.
A: And these (21)... are appointed?
B: That's right.
A: From? I mean -who can become a (22)...?
B: They are chosen from among the most respected judges or (23)... or from those who've held some high judicial office in the country.
A: Now, what about the way the House of Lords acts as part of the legislature?
B: Oh yes. Well, although the theory is that, with the exception of course of (24)... , any (25)... can start its life in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords.
A: But most bills start in the (26)... .
B: Yes. This is for the obvious reason that the bills introduced in the Commons form part of a government's (27)... and obviously have priority.
B. Now listen to the second half of the dialogue and decide whether the following statements are true or false. Give reasons for your choice.
1. The Lords can study and approve legislation but not amend it.
2. The Lords occasionally introduce their own Bills, being careful to avoid controversial issues.
3. The British system of an upper house that is not elected is unique.
4. Life peers are elected.
5. Life peers may not sit or vote in the House of Lords.
6. No women sat in the House of Lords before the Life Peerages Act of 1958.
7. A life peeress is called a 'peeress in her own right'.
8. According to the Peerage Act of 1963, a peer cannot vote in an election or be elected as an M.P.
9. Anthony Wedgwood-Benn renounced his life peerage.
10. If Wedgwood-Benn had a daughter but no sons, this daughter could, if she wished, become a 'peeress in her own right' on her father's death.
С. Make up a vocabulary story using the following terms
1. life peer
2. hereditary peer
3. Political Honours Scrutiny Committee
4. Lords spiritual
5. Lords temporal
6. Lords of Appeal in Ordinary
7. bi-cameral assembly
8. a 'peeress in her own right'
Task 2. Listen to the interview with the American lawyer and fill in the blanks.
Interviewer: Could you say a little about the role of the Supreme Court? Is it a … body?
Lawyer: Well, the idea behind the Supreme Court is to create a balance. There is the … branch - the President and his ability to veto; then there's the … role of the two Houses, and finally the … role of the Supreme Court. It wouldn't be right to say that the Supreme Court was political. Their job is to be experts on … law. When cases are brought to them, they check that legal decisions in question conform to constitutional law. It's the final court of appeal, if you like.
Interviewer: How many members of the Supreme Court are there?
Lawyer: There are … . This means that there is always a majority. Five to four is enough to pass a decision.
Interviewer: And how are they appointed?
Lawyer: They're appointed by the … . During Ronald Reagan's presidency, quite a few members of the Supreme Court retired, which gave him the opportunity to name several new … . He made some rather controversial choices.
Interviewer: So the Supreme Court is not free from controversy then?
Lawyer: By no means. You see, you can usually work out how each member is going to vote on any particular issue, because of their background and so on. So any new member is immediately the centre of attention for a while. The 'unknown factor' at the moment is Sandra Day O'Connor. She's a sort of wild card. No one knows for sure how she's going to … on any particular issue.
Interviewer: What about the other courts in the US?
Lawyer: Well, in each State there's a microcosm of the national system. Apart from Supreme Courts there are … courts, … courts and … courts. Even private courts.
Interviewer: … courts? Isn't that rather dangerous?
Lawyer: Yes, I would think so. But in the business world it's quite common for retired judges to be hired to arbitrate in industrial or commercial matters.
Interviewer: A sort of independent … .
Lawyer: That's right.
Interviewer: But isn't any … judicial system very open to corruption?
Lawyer: I think any system where power is involved is open to … . Remember the expression 'power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely.' At least no one in the American system has … power!