Text a. State System of Great Britain

Read and translate the text.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is sometimes called the United Kingdom, the U.K., Great Britain, Britain or England.

The country is made of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (sometimes known as Ulster).

46 million people live in England, 5 mln. in Scotland, 2.8 mln. in Wales and 1.5 mln. in Northern Ireland.

The United Kingdom is one of the few developed countries of the world where a constitutional monarchy has survived with its ages – old customs, traditions and ceremonies. So Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. It means that the powers of the Monarch (the King or the Queen) are limited by Parliament.

You’ll be greatly surprised but there is no written constitution in Great Britain. The main principles of British legislation are expressed in other documents like “Magna Charta¹”, “Habeas Corpus Act²”, “Bill of Rights³”, “Parliamentary Act”, etc. There are two basic principles of the British Constitution and they are: “Rule of Law” and “Supremacy of Parliament”.

The state system of Great Britain consists of the legislative branch which makes laws, the executive branch which puts the laws into effect and plans policy; the judicial branch which decides on cases that arise out of the laws.

The legislative branch is Parliament where the laws are passed. Parliament in Great Britain has existed since 1265 and is the oldest Parliament in the world. It consists of two chambers – the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The House of Lords consists of 1000 peers who are not elected by people. They are hereditary peers, Law Lords, life peers and top church officials. The House of Lords has now lost most of its powers and cannot influence the decision making process in Parliament.

The House of Commons is a nation-wide representative body which is elected by people at general elections once in 5 years. It consists of 635 elected members of Parliament (MPs) each representing an area in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The executive (power) branch in Great Britain is represented by the Government which is headed by the Prime Minister. As a rule the Prime Minister is the leader of the party that has won the elections and has the majority in the House of Commons.

The Prime Minister appoints the ministers to compose the government. The Government consists of about a hundred politicians. The Prime Minister nominates the Cabinet of Ministers which consists of 16 to 24 senior ministers. The Cabinet meets once a week in No 10 Downing Street, the official residence of the British Prime Minister. The Cabinet formulates foreign and home policy, makes decisions on important day-to-day issues. The policy decided upon by the Cabinet is implemented by different departments of state. The Cabinet is also the Court of Appeal. This is presided over by the Lord Chief Justice of Appeal and three judges. There is Ministry of Justice in the United Kingdom. The judicial system is divided between the Courts, the Lord Chancellor and the Home Secretary.

Exercise I. Match English and Russian equivalents.

1. to make appointments

2. leader of the party

3. to pass laws

4. a developed country

5. a constitutional monarchy

6. decision – making process

7. general elections

8. nationwide representative body

9. foreign policy

10. official residence

11. on important day-to-day issues

12. to put the laws into effect

a) конституционная монархия

b) принимать законы

с) делать назначения

d) развитая страна

e) проводить законы в жизнь

f) лидер партии

g) всеобщие выборы

h) официальная резиденция

i) по важным повседневным вопросам

j) всенародный представительный орган

k) процесс принятия решения

l) международная политика.

Exercise II. Choose the right word or word combination.

1. The Queen’s power is … .

a) elective; b) hereditary; c) unlimited.

2. The legislative branch in Great Britain is represented by …

a) Parliament; b) Cabinet of Ministers; c) Courts.

3. The Prime Minister appoints …

a) members of Parliament; b) ministers; c) judges.

4. The executive power in Great Britain belongs to …

a) Parliament; b) The Prime Minister and his Cabinet; c) the Queen.

Exercise III. Complete the sentences according to the text.

1. The Queen’s power in the United Kingdom is … .

2. The Prime Minister is the leader of the party that … .

3. The British Parliament consists of … .

4. The executive branch in Great Britain is represented by … .

5. The Cabinet of Ministers formulates … .

6. The House of Lords consists of … .

Exercise IV. Answer the questions on the text.

1. What is the official name of Great Britain?

2. What kind of monarchy is Great Britain?

3. Is the Queen’s power hereditary or elective?

4. Is there a written constitution in Great Britain?

5. What branches of powers does the British state system consist of?

6. Who is the head of the British Government?

7. When does the Queen appoint the Prime Minister?

8. Are members of the House of Lords elected?

9. How often are general elections in Great Britain held?

Exercise V. Think and answer:

1. Who is the constitutional monarch of Great Britain now?

2. What are the relations between the Queen and the Parliament in Britain?

3. Who may be the member of the House of Commons?

4. Is the Prime Minister elected? Who is usually appointed as the Prime Minister?

5. How is the Cabinet of Ministers formed? What is it responsible for?

Section II. State System of the Republic of Belarus

Vocabulary Study

1. to proclaim [prə´kleım] – провозглашать, объявлять.

2. unitary [´ju:nıt(ə)rı] – унитарный, единый.

3. legal [´li:g(ə)l] – правовой, юридический.

4. to vote [vəut] – голосовать, баллотироваться.

5. responsible [ris´pɔnsəbl] – ответственный.

6. a field [fi:ld] – область, сфера деятельности.

7. foreign policy [´fɔrɪn ´pɔlɪsɪ] – внешняя политика.

8. defence [dı´fens] – защита, оборона.

9. security [sı´kju(ə)rıtı] – безопасность.

10. a sphere [sfıə] – сфера, круг, поле, область (деятельности).

11. a commander-in-chief [kə´mɑ:ndər ɪn ´tʃi:f ] – главнокомандующий.

12. armed forces [´ɑ:md ´fɔ:sız] – вооруженные силы.

13. a treaty [´tri:tı] – договор (международный).

14. to enforce [ɪn´fɔ:s] (a law) – проводить в жизнь (закон).

15. ambassador [æm´bæsədə] – посол.

16. to grant [gra:nt] – даровать, жаловать, дарить.

17. citizenship [´sɪtɪznʃɪp] – гражданство.

18. to pardon [´pa:dn] – прощать, извинять, помиловать.

19. to adopt [ə´dɔpt] – принимать.

20. a branch [brɑ:ntʃ] – ветвь (власти).

21. legislative power [´ledʒɪslətɪv ´pauə] – законодательная власть.

22. judicial power [dʒu:´dɪʃəl] – судебная власть.

23. foreign affairs [ə´feəz] – международные отношения; область внешней политики.

24. employment [ɪm´plɔɪmənt] – работа, служба, занятость.

25. a bill [bɪl] – законопроект.

26. a deputy [´depju:tı] – депутат, заместитель, помощник.

27. to dismiss [dıs´mıs] – распускать, увольнять, освобождать.

28. in accordance with [ə´kɔ:dəns] – в соответствии с.

29. body [´bɔdɪ] – орган, общество.

30. to solve [sɔlv] – решать, разрешать.

31. framework [´freımwə:k] – рамки, пределы.

Exercise I. Read the following international words and guess their meaning. Mind the stress.

o´fficial, re´public, ֽpresi´dential, ֽconsti´tutional, ´unitary, ´legal, ֽorgani´zation, e´conomy, ´policy, ´sphere, a´ssembly, ´speaker, co´mission, ´budget, fi´nance, in´dustrial, ´veto, e´ffective, ´social, ֽsitu´ation, ´local.

Exercise II. Memorize the following pairs of derivatives.

to elect – election

to employ – employment

to approve – approval

to develop – development

to represent – representation

to solve – solution

to adopt – adoption

to organize – organization

president – presidential

constitution – constitutional

legislation – legislative

execution – executive

responsibility – responsible

national – nationality

judicial – judiciary

local – locality

independent – independence.

Exercise III. Transform as in the models.

Model 1: to proclaim an independent state – the proclamation of an independent state

to adopt the constitution; to elect the President; to enforce laws; to appoint ambassadors; to approve a bill; to solve local problems.

Model 2: a local government – to govern locally

effective development; an official visit; an independent decision; a judicial ground; a secret election.

Text Study