UK Political System
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy. This means that Great Britain is governed by the Parliament and the Queen is Head of State.
The legislative power in the country is exercised by the Houses of Parliament. The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords is composed of hereditary and life peers and peeresses The members of the House of Commons are elected by the people They are elected from the constituencies in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The House of Commons is the real governing body of the United Kingdom.
The executive power is exercised by Prime Minister and his Cabinet. The government is usually formed by the political party which is supported by the majority in the House of Commons. Prime Minister is the majority party leader and is appointed by the Queen. Prime Minister chooses a team of ministers; twenty of the ministers are in the Cabinet.
The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and the Shadow Cabinet. The two leading parties in Great Britain are the Conservative Party (the Tories) and the Labour Party.
The judiciary branch of the government determines common law and is independent of both the legislative and the executive branches.
There is no written constitution in Great Britain, only precedents and traditions.
Topical Vocabulary
a constitutional monarchy - конституционная монархия
the Queen - королева
Head of State – глава государства
the legislative power - законодательная власть
to be exercised by – осуществляться чем-либо
the Houses of Parliament - парламент
the House of Lords – палата лордов
the House of Commons - палата общин
to be composed of – состоять из
hereditary and life peers – наследственные и пожизненные лорды, пэры
a peeress - пэресса
a member of – член (чего-либо)
to be elected by the people – избираться народом
to be elected from a constituency – избираться от избирательного округа
the real governing body – реальный правящий орган
the executive power –исполнительная власть
Prime Minister - премьер-министр
the Cabinet - кабинет
to be formed by smth. – образовываться, формироваться чем-либо
to be supported by the majority – поддерживаться большинством
the majority party leader – лидер партии большинства
to be appointed by – назначаться (кем-либо)
to choose a team of ministers – создавать команду министров
the official opposition - официальная оппозиция
the Shadow Cabinet – теневой кабинет
the judiciary branch of the government - судебная власть
to determine common law - определять гражданское право
to be independent of smth. – не зависеть от чего-либо
a written constitution - «письменная» конституция
a precedent – прецедент
Answer the questions:
l. What does the term «constitutional monarchy» mean?
2. What body exercises the legislative power in the country?
3. How are the chambers of the Parliament composed?
4. What body exercises the executive power?
5. How is the executive branch of the government formed?
6. What is the official opposition?
7. What does the judiciary branch of the government do?
8. Is there a written Constitution in Great Britain?
Translate into English:
1. Термин «конституционная монархия» означает, что Великобритания управляется парламентом, а главой государства является королева.
2. Законодательная власть принадлежит парламенту, состоящему из двух палат.
3. Члены палаты общин, реального органа управления страной, избираются народом.
4. Премьер-министр назначается королевой и сам назначает кабинет.
5. Исполнительная власть в стране осуществляется премьер-министром и его кабинетом.
6. Партия, имеющая большинство в палате общин, формирует правительство.
7. Члены палаты общин избираются от округов в Англии, Шотландии, Уэльсе и Северной Ирландии.
8. Официальная оппозиция формирует свой теневой кабинет.
9. Судебная власть определяет гражданское право.
10. В Англии вместо письменной конституции существуют прецеденты и традиции.
London
London is the capital of the United Kingdom, its economic, political and cultural centre. It is one of the world's most important ports and one of the largest cities in the world. London with its suburbs has a population of about 11 million people.
London has been a capital for nearly a thousand years. Many of its ancient buildings still stand. The most famous of them are the Tower of London, where the crown jewels are kept, Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral. Most visitors also want to see the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace (the Queen's home with its Changing of the Guards) and the many magnificent museums.
Different areas of London seem like different cities. The West End is a rich man's world of shops, offices and theatres. The City of London is the district where most offices and banks are concentrated; the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England are here, too. The East End is the district where mostly working people live. The old port area is now called «Docklands». Now there are new office buildings in Docklands, and thousands of new flats and houses.
By the day the whole of London is busy. At night offices are quiet and empty, but the West End stays alive, because this is where Londoners come to enjoy themselves. There are two Opera Houses here, several concert halls and many theatres, as well as cinemas.
Like all big cities, London has streets and concrete buildings, but it also has many big parks, full of trees, flowers and grass. In the middle of Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens you will think that you are in the country, miles away.
Many people live outside the centre of London in the suburbs, and they travel to work in shops and offices by train, bus or underground (“The Tube”).
Topical Vocabulary
an economic, political and cultural centre – экономический, политический и культурный центр
a suburb - пригород
to have a population of – иметь население (количество)
an ancient building – древнее здание
the crown jewels – королевские драгоценности
Changing of the Guards – смена караула
a magnificent museum – великолепный музей
on the north bank of the Thames – на северном берегу Темзы
one of the world’s major cities – один из крупнейших городов мира
an area of – район чего-либо
a rich man’s world – мир богатых
a district – район (города)
to be concentrated – быть сконцентрированным
the Royal Exchange – Лондонская биржа
the Bank of England – Банк Англии
working people – рабочий класс
a port area – портовый район
to be quiet and empty – быть тихим и пустынным
to stay alive – быть оживленным
to come to enjoy oneself – приходить отдыхать, развлекаться
an opera house – оперный театр
a pub – кабачок, пивная
a restaurant - ресторан
a night club – ночной клуб
a concrete building – бетонное здание
to be full of trees, flowers and grass – быть полным деревьев, цветов и травы
to live outside the centre - жить вне центра
to travel to work by train, bus or underground - ездить на работу на поезде, автобусе или метро
Answer the questions:
1. What part does London play in the life of the United Kingdom?
2. What are the most famous ancient buildings of London?
3. What are different districts of London famous for?
4. Why do some districts of London stay alive at night?
5. What has London except concrete buildings?
6. Where do many people live?
Translate into English:
1. Лондон - экономический, политический и культурный центр, один из крупнейших портов страны и один из крупнейших городов в мире.
2. Самые знаменитые древние здания - Лондонский Тауэр, Вестминстерское аббатство, собор Святого Павла, Парламент, Букингемский дворец.
3. Лондон был небольшим римским городом.
4. Вест-Энд - район магазинов, офисов и театров, район богатых людей.
5. В Сити сконцентрированы банки, офисы, в том числе Лондонская биржа и Банк Англии.
6. В Ист-Энде живут рабочие.
7. В Докланде, бывшем районе портов, сейчас много новых офисов.
8. В Вест-Энд лондонцы приезжают развлекаться.
9. London’s Places of Interest
London is not only the political, economic and cultural centre of the United Kingdom. It is the main tourist attraction of the country. There are a lot of places of interest in London which attract thousands of tourists every year. They usually want to see Westminster Abbey, the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tower of London.
Westminster is now the political centre of London. In the 11th century King Edward the Confessor decided to build a great abbey church there. There are many royal tombs in the Abbey, like the tomb of Edward the Confessor himself, and memorials to famous men and women. The most popular ones are those to writers, poets and musicians in the Poet's Corner. William the Conqueror was crowned there, and since then all the coronations have taken place in the Abbey.
During the reign of Edward the Confessor the Palace of Westminster was built, too. It was the royal residence and also the country's main court. The Parliament met here since the 16th till the 19th century. The present Houses of Parliament were built after the fire in the Palace of Westminster in 1834. There are two houses in the Parliament, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. St. Stephen's Tower of the Houses of Parliament contains the famous Big Ben.
Buckingham Palace is the Queen's official London residence. Londoners usually watch the Changing of the Guards in the forecourt of the palace. It lasts about 30 minutes.
St Paul's Cathedral is Sir Christopher Wren's masterpiece. It was built since 1675 until 1709. It is crowned with a huge dome. Inside the dome there is the famous Whispering Gallery. There are many memorials in the Cathedral, including memorials to Wellington and Nelson.
The Tower of London is associated with many important events in the British history. It has been a fortress, a palace, a prison, a mint. The Tower of London is famous for its prisoners, like Sir Thomas More and Guy Fawkes. The White Tower was built by William the Conqueror to protect the city. The Tower is guarded by «Beefeaters», the Yeomen Guards.
London is noted for its museums and art galleries. Among them are the National Gallery, the National Portrait Gallery, the Tate, the Museum of London, the Museum of Moving Image, Madame Tussau's Museum and many others.
Topical Vocabulary
the main tourist attraction – главный предмет интереса туристов
to attract thousands of tourists – привлекать тысячи туристов
King Edward the Confessor - король Эдуард Исповедник
an abbey church – церковь аббатства
aroyal tomb – гробница короля или королевы
memorials to famous men and women - мемориалы известных людей
the Poet's Corner - Уголок поэтов
William the Conqueror - Вильгельм Завоеватель
to be crowned - короноваться
a coronation - коронация
during the reign of smb. – во время правления кого-либо
the royal residence – королевская резиденция
the country's main court – верховный суд страны
to contain smth – содержать что-либо
the Queen's official residence – официальная резиденция королевы
the Changing of the Guards - смена караула
in the forecourt of the palace - перед дворцом
a masterpiece - шедевр
to be crowned with a huge dome – быть увенчанным огромным куполом
the Whispering Gallery – Галерея шепота
to be associated with smth. – быть связанным с чем-либо
an event - событие
a fortress - крепость
a mint – монетный двор
to protect smth. – защищать что-либо
to be guarded by smb. – охраняться кем-либо
a Beefeater - бифитер
a Yeoman Guard – стражник-йомен
to be noted for smth. – быть знаменитым чем-либо
an art gallery – художественная галерея
the Museum of Moving Image – Музей кино
Answer the questions:
1. What are the main tourist attractions in London?
2. What is Westminster Abbey noted for?
3. What is the history of the Houses of Parliament?
4. What is Buckingham Palace?
5. What is St. Paul's Cathedral famous for?
6. What is the Tower of London associated with?
7. What world-famous museums are there in London?
Translate into English:
1. Предметами интереса туристов в Лондоне являются Вестминстерское аббатство, Парламент, Букингемский дворец, собор Святого Павла.
2. В Вестминстерском аббатстве, построенном Эдуардом Исповедником, находятся гробницы королей и мемориалы известных людей.
3. Все коронации проводятся в Вестминстерском аббатстве.
4. Во время правления Эдуарда Исповедника дворец был королевской резиденцией; там также располагался верховный суд.
5. Букингемский дворец - официальная лондонская резиденция английской королевы; он известен также сменой караула.
6. Шедевр сэра Кристофера Рена, собор Святого Павла, увенчан огромным куполом.
7. Лондонский Тауэр, построенный для защиты Лондона, был крепостью, дворцом, тюрьмой и монетным двором.
8. Тауэр известен также стражниками - иоменами, или бифитерами.
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