The house of lords

The House of Lords is the second chamber of the U.K. Hou­ses of Parliament. Members of the House of Lords are also known as 'peers' and consist of Lords Spiritual (senior bishops) and Lords Temporal (lay peers). Law Lords (senior judges) also sit as Lords Temporal. Members of the House of Lords are not elected.

In general, the functions of the House of Lords are similar to those of the House of Commons. There are two important exceptions: members of the Lords do not represent constitu­encies and are not involved in matters of taxation and finance. The role of the Lords is generally recognised to be complemen­tary to that of the Commons and it acts as a revising chamber for many of the more important and controversial bills. All bills go through both Houses before becoming Acts, and may start in either House.

The House of Lords is also the final court of appeal for ci­vil cases in the United Kingdom and for criminal cases in Eng­land, Wales and Northern Ireland. Only the Lords of Appeal (Law Lords) - of whom there are 12 employed full-time - take part in judicial proceedings.

The Speakership of the House of Lords has traditionally been performed by the Lord Chancellor. The Lord Chancellor's powers as Speaker have been very limited compared with those of the Speaker of the House of Commons

Following the House of Lords Act 1999, there are only 92 peers. The majority of members are now life peers and the Government has been consulting on proposals for further reform of the Lords.

There were 689 peers in total in 2003. Members of the House of Lords, as I said before, are not elected and, with the exception of bishops who leave the House on retirement, they retain their seats for life.

1. What is the second chamber of the British Parliament?

2. How are the members of the House of Lords also called?

3. What are the functions of the House of Lords?

4. Do the Lords represent constituencies?

5. What is the final court of appeal for civil cases in the United Kingdom?

6. Who traditionally performs the Speakership of the House of Lords?

7. How many peers were there in the Parliament in total in 2003?

6. Match the words on the left with their definitions on the right.

1. electorate	A a rich and powerful person in industry or business
2. supremacy	B an area of a state or country that has its own government to deal with local matters
3. to stipulate	C a man who is in charge of a monastery
4. shire	D all the people in a country who have the right to vote
5. prelate	E a space between two rows of seats in a theatre, bus, or train
6. bishop	F a man with a high social rank
7. abbot	H an old British coin or unit of money.
8. magnate	I a man who is a member of a low rank of the British nobility or of a rank of European nobility
9. earl	J a bishop, cardinal, or other important priest in the Christian church
10. baron	K the position in which you are more powerful or advanced than anyone else
11. clergy	L a town, or part of a large city, that is responsible for managing its own schools, hospitals, roads etc
12. gangway	M if an agreement, law, or rule stipulates something, it must be done
13. constituency (voting districts)	N.counties in England that mostly consist of country areas
14. county	O an area of a country that elects a representative to a parliament
15. borough	P a priest with a high rank in some Christian religions, who is the head of all the churches and priests in a large area
16. shilling	Q the official leaders of religious activities in organized religions, such as priests, rabbis, and mullahs