Vocabulary.

contradictory–противоречивый the Crown–королевская власть authority–власть chamber–палата wealth– благосостояние secular–мирской, светский a bishop–епископ hereditary– наследственный succession–преемственность an offspring–отпрыск confirmed– подтвержден executive– исполнительный judiciary– судебная власть a peer– пэр assent–королевская санкцияto merge with– соединиться с to remit–прощать, смягчать(наказание) entrepreneurial–предпринимательский socially aware– ориентированный на общество

sovereign–суверен, носитель верховной власти the House of Lords– Палата Лордов the House of Commons–Палата Общин the commander-in-chief–главнокомандующий the Labour party–Лейбористская партия constituency–избиратели, избирательный округ a Deputy Speaker–заместитель спикера to claim expenses–требовать возмещения расходов matters of great interest– дела особой важности Law Lords–«лорды закона» Lord Chancellor– лорд-канцлер Lords Spiritual–«духовные лорды» to confer honors–присуждать, даровать награды (звания)

Task 1. Read the text and match these heading to the passages:

The System of the Government / The House of Commons / The Party System / The House of Lords / The Crown

1. Britain is a democracy, yet the constitutional situation is a contradictory one. As a result of a historical process, the people of Britain are subjects of the Crown, accepting the Queen as the head of state. Yet the Queen is not sovereign in any substantial sense since she receives her authority from Parliament. In short, she “reigns” but does not rule. Technically the system of government consists of three elements of Parliament: the Crown and Parliament’s two chambers, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

This curious situation came about as a result of a long struggle for power between the Crown and Parliament during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. In 1689 Parliament won the struggle, because it controlled most of the national wealth. It agreed to allow the Crown to continue to function within certain limits, and subject to Parliament’s control.

2. The reigning monarch is not only the head of the state but also a symbol of the unity of the nation. The monarchy is Britain’s oldest secular institutions, its continuity for over 1,000 years broken only once by a republic that lasted 11 years (1649-60). The monarchy is hereditary, the succession passing automatically to the oldest male child, or in the absence of males, to the oldest female offspring of the monarch. By the act of Parliament, the monarch must be a protestant.

In the law the monarch is the head of the executive and of the judiciary, head of the Church of England, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces. However, since 1689, the monarch’s sovereign powers have been formally limited. The remaining powers of the monarch are: to give royal assent to legislation passed by Parliament; to appoint government ministers, judges, officers of the armed forces, governors, diplomats and bishops of the Church; to confer honors, such as peerages and knighthoods; to remit sentences passed on convicted criminals; and finally to declare war or to make peace with an enemy power. In practice, of course, with an exception of few honors she is free to decide herself, the monarch discharges all these functions on the direction of government.

Away from public gaze, the monarch plays a more practical role. The Queen is visited regularly by her Prime Minister to receive an account of Cabinet decisions and to be consulted on matters of national life. Since 1952 the Queen has given weekly audience, as it is called, to 11 Prime Ministers.

3. The main political parties of the UK are the Conservative Party (the “Tory”, the party of business) and the Liberal Party (“Whig”), the Labour party.

The Conservative Party is the party of the Right, identified with the idea of economic freedom. In the nineteenth century with the support of the wealthier classes it gives emphasis to the importance of law and order, and the maintenance of strong armed forces to protect British interests.

Labour is the party of “social justice”. It tends to give the collective well-being of society slightly more importance than to individual freedom. It now favors an entrepreneurial but socially aware economy.

The Liberal Party, which traces its origin to the eighteenth century “Whigs”, merged with the new Social Democratic Party in 1988 to become the Liberal Democrats. It seeks to attract the votes of the middle ground between Labour and the Conservatives. This party is for the constitutional and electoral reform. It also prides itself less tied to either capitalist or union interests, and being free to offer more radical policies.

4. The dynamic power of Parliament lies in the House of Commons. Its 659 members represent 529 constituencies in England, 40 in Wales, 72 in Scotland and 18 in Northern Ireland.

The members of the House of Commons are elected every 5 years. The chairman of the House of Commons is the Speaker, he is chosen by a vote of the entire House, although in practice the party leaders consult their supporters in order to achieve informal agreement beforehand.

5. The upper chamber of Parliament, the House of Lords, is not democratic in any sense at all. It consists of peers, totaling 1,197 members. The majority are hereditary peers, currently about 750, of whom only about half take an active interest in the affairs of state. A smaller number, about 400, are “life” peers. Only one-quarter of these life peers are women. All life peers are created on the recommendation of the Prime Minister of the day. Nine of the most senior judges, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (commonly known as the “Law Lords”), are also entitled to sit in the Lords. Finally alongside these secular peers, the Lords Temporal, are 26 most senior bishops and archbishops of the Church of England, the Lords Spiritual. The Law Lords and the Lords Spiritual are the ancient non-hereditary component of the Lords.

The House is presided over by a Lord Chancellor, the senior law officer of the state. He or she is responsible for the administration of justice and is also an automatic member of the Cabinet.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-17