The Queen and Parliament

It is rather difficult to understand the British way of rul­ing the country. In Britain the Queen is the Head of State, but in fact she doesn't rule the country as she has no power. The Queen is the symbol of the country, its history and its tradi­tions. She is very rich. She travels about the United Kingdom, meets different people and visits schools, hospitals and other special places. So do all the members of the Royal Family: the Queen's husband, her son Prince Charles, the Queen's daugh­ter Princess Anne and Princess Margaret, the Queen's sister.

At the beginning of the 20th century many countries all over the world were ruled by Britain. Among them were the British colonies and they were all part of the British Empire. India, Pakistan and Ceylon, for example, were also part of the Empire. Now these countries are independent states. But in 1949 Britain and the former colonies founded the Commonwealth. The Commonwealth includes many countries such as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others. The Queen of Great Britain is also the Head of the Commonwealth and the Queen of Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

The real power in the country belongs to the British Parliament and to the British Government. The British Parliament has two houses: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Lords does not have much power but it is very important as it can discuss and change laws, it can delay laws too. The House of Commons makes laws about the policy of the country, taxes and many other things.

The members of the House of Lords are not elected, they are selected. These members are permanent. They are often aristocrats, people of the church, lawyers and former politicians or life peers.

The members of the House of Commons are elected. The British people elect 650 members of the House of Commons every five years. During your four years of English classes you have already learnt a lot about the language and the people who speak it. Here are some facts about the British way if you want to com­pare it with life on the continent.

In England many things are the other way round. On the continent people seldom speak about the weather. If they do, it usually means they have no other topics to discuss. In England, if you don't repeat the phrase "It's a nice day today, isn't it?" two hundred times a day people are surprised and think that you are very dull. On the continent Sunday papers appear on Monday; in England (the country is really hard to understand) they appear on Sunday. On the continent, some people like cats, others don't but in England cats are very special animals. Everyone loves them and takes care of them.

On the continent people are proud of the things they know. They try to show off their knowledge and often quote Greek and Latin writers. In England only those who don't know them or who haven't read them do it.

You can offend people on the continent in many ways, for example, if you laugh at them or make jokes about their life and work.

But the English accept everything with a sense of humour. You can offend them only if you tell them they have no sense of humour.

People on the continent either tell you the truth or lie, in England they hardly ever lie, but they don't tell you the truth either.

On Sundays on the continent even the poorest person puts on his best suit and tries to look nice and respectable. In England even the richest man dresses in some old clothes and doesn't shave.

Many continentals think life is a game; the English think cricket is a game. On the continent people have good food. In England people have good table manners.

Дата добавления: 2015-11-16