- •«Political Systems of different countries»
- •Us legislative branch of power
- •Exercises
- •1. Give equivalents of the following:
- •2. Find as many synonyms as you can:
- •3. Translate into English:
- •4. Translate the underlined passage into Russian.
- •Uk Legislative Branch of Power: Law-making in theory and practice
- •Exercises
- •1. Find the equivalents for the following:
- •2. Give as many synonyms as you can:
- •3. Translate into English:
- •4. Translate the underlined passage into Russian.
- •Listen, read and discuss Exercises
- •Describe the procedure of legislating in the British Parliament.
- •Listen to the text and consider this particular case.Say what other factors should be taken into consideration for a bill to become a law. Listening I.
- •Read the article and discuss it. Before you read,
- •David Steel attacks Nick Clegg's reform of the House of Lords
- •Disscussion Point 1
- •Executive Branch of Power of the usa
- •Exercises
- •1. Give the equivalents to the following:
- •2. Give as many synonyms as you can:
- •3. Translate into English:
- •4. Translate the underlined passage into Russian.
- •The British Government: The Structure of Her Majesty's Government
- •Exercises
- •1. Read the text and complete these sentences:
- •2. Speak about these appointments and their responsibilities. Translate the names of the titles into Russian.
- •3. What is the difference between Ministers of State, Junior Ministers and Non-Departmental Ministers? The Cabinet
- •1. Find equivalents of the following:
- •2. Give as many synonyms as you can:
- •3. Translate into English
- •4. Translate the underlined passage into Russian.
- •Listen, read and discuss
- •Speak about Presidential powers and the ones of a Prime Minister.
- •Listen to the text and consider this particular case. Say what powers are exercised by the Monarch and by the British Prime Minister. Listening II
- •Read the article and discuss it. Before you read,
- •Us legal system
- •Exercises
- •1. Find equivalents of the following.
- •2. Give as many synonyms as you can.
- •3. Translate into English
- •4. Translate the underlined passage. Lesson 10. Uk legal system
- •Exercises
- •1. Answer the following questions.
- •Speak about criminals which should be sentenced to death penalty. Do you think there have been more or less hard criminals recently?
- •Read the article and discuss it. Before you read,
- •Miscarriages of justice are slipping off the public radar
- •Judicial systems of different countries
- •Elections in the usa
- •1. Find equivalents of the following:
- •2. Continue the following phrase as you wish:
- •3. Translate into English
- •4. Translate the underlined passage into Russian.
- •General elections in the United Kingdom
- •Polling Day
- •Exercises
- •Speak about Barack Obama’s electoral campaign. Which party does he represent? Who were his main rivals? What do you know about their political careers?
- •Listen to the text and answer the following questions. Listening IV.
- •Read the article and discuss it. Before you read,
- •Analysis: European elections can bring a cash bonanza for the far Right
1. Find equivalents of the following:
electoral system, the House of Representatives, mid-term elections, legal requirements,qualifications, in the ballot, qualified under state law.
primary elections, popular election, electors, on several grounds, carries a state by a handful of votes, the ‘winner-takes-all’, to distort the popular vote, warrant, irrespective of, populous states, voting blocs, bound to vote, ostensibly, pledge, single electors, newly elected
2. Continue the following phrase as you wish:
Should this occur....
e.g.
Should this occur the local authorities will have to resign.
3. Translate into English
«победитель получает все», коллегия выборщиков, избирательная система, Палата представителей, голоса избирателей или прямое голосование, избирательный ценз, независимо от, якобы, по-видимости; служить основанием для ч.-л., промежуточные выборы; первичные выборы; небольшое количество голосов (горстка); подсчитывать голоса, вновь избранный
4. Translate the underlined passage into Russian.
Lesson 11.
General elections in the United Kingdom
Before you read. Think over the following questions:
-Have you ever participated in the elections? What kind of elections were those?
- Do you think there is any difference between general elections in the
UK and the RF? What is it?
Read the following text.
Elections to the House of Commons, known as parliamentary (or general) elections, form the basis of Britain's democratic system. Britain is divided into 650 areas, called constituencies. Each constituency is a one-member constituency, as it is represented by one Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons. The leader of the party which has the most MPs in Parliament becomes the Prime Minister.
General elections take place at least every five years. In practice, elections are held before the end of the five-year term. In exceptional circumstances, such as during the two world wars, the life of a Parliament has been extended beyond the five-year term.
The decision on when to hold a general election is made by the Prime Minister. The procedure involves the Queen, acting on the Prime Minister's advice, dissolving Parliament and calling a “new” Parliament. The Prime Minister usually announces the dissolution and calls the general election. Voting takes place within 17 days of the dissolution, not including Saturday and Sundays and public holidays: therefore, election campaigns last for three to four weeks.
All British citizens may vote provided they are aged 18 years or over and are not legally barred from voting. All voters must be registered as resident in a constituency on a specified date. Voting in elections is voluntary. On average about 75 per cent of the electorate votes. People who are not allowed to vote include:
- peers, and peeresses in their own right, who are members of the House of Lords
- foreign nationals ;
- people kept in mental hospital;
- people serving prison sentences;
- people convicted within the previous five years of corrupt or illegal election
practices.
Anybody over 21 can stand for election, providing they are not disqualified. Those disqualified include:
- people who are bankrupt
- people sentenced to more than one year's imprisonment
- clergy of the Church of England, Church of Scotland, Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church
- members of the House of Lords; and
- a range of public servants and officials, specified by law. They include judges, civil servants, some local government officers, full-time members of the armed forces and police officers.
Candidates do not have to live in the constituencies for which they stand. Most candidates in elections and almost all winning candidates belong to one of the main political parties. Candidates who are members of smaller political parties or groups, or who do not belong to any party, may also stand. Since the Second World War the great majority of MPs have belonged to either the Conservative or the Labour party. There is also an influential centre party called the Liberal Democrats, and another much smaller centre party known as the Social Democratic Party (SDP). There are also nationalist parties from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.