Exercise 7

Answer the following questions.

1.  Who does an MP represent?

2.  How many MPs are there in the House of Commons?

3.  What does the job of an MP consist of?

4. What is the equivalent of MPs in Ukraine? What does their work
  involve?

Exercise 8

Read the text and translate it into Ukrainian.

THE CROWN The head of the United Kingdom is the King, or as at present the Queen. But her power is very symbolic. Everything is done in Queen's name. But her power is not absolute; it is limited in many various ways. It is said that the Queen reigns, but does not rule. She personally does not decide what action the state will take .The hereditary principle still operates and the Crown is passed on to the sovereign's eldest son (or daughter if there are no sons). The Queen has a central role in state affairs, not only through her ceremonial functions, such as opening Parliament, but also because she meets the Prime Minister every week and receives copies of all Cabinet papers.

Functions of the Queen:

— opening and closing the Parliament;

— approving the appointment of the Prime Minister;

— giving her Royal Assent to bills;

— giving honours such as peerages, knighthoods and medals;

— Head of the Commonwealth;

— Head of the Church of England;

— Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces.

Exercise 9

Explain the meaning of the following words and expressions.

1.  the head of the state;

2.  to reign and to rule;

3 . the hereditary principle;

4.  the Crown;

5.  to approve the appointment of smb. Exercise 10

Work in pairs. Discussion.

1.  Imagine that you are a journalist from Ukraine asking a British
student about his feelings for the British monarchy. Discuss the following
points:

functions of the Sovereign:

—powers of the Queen in Government;

—the hereditary principle in the UK.

2.  Find four arguments for and against monarchy. In the discussion
use the following forms of agreement and disagreement:

—I quite agree with you.

—You are right.

—Certainly.

—That's right.

—I disagree with you.

—I am afraid you are mistaken.

—Nonsense.

—Nothing of the kind.

3.  Discuss the following problem.

Talking Point

Some people think that the monarchy should be abolished because it has no power and it costs the state a lot of money to maintain. How useful do you think the monarchy is in Britain today

Exercise 11

Read, translate and discuss the text.

THE CONGRESS AT WORK

A new Congress session begins on the 3rd of January each odd-numbered year and continues for two years. Many people think that nearly all the 435 Representatives are in the House chamber and the 100 Senators are in the Senate chamber most of the day. They imagine that heated arguments about bills are constantly going on. But a visitor who watches the House and the Senate in session loses these ideas quickly. Unless the Congressmen are called in to vote for or against a bill, most of them seldom appear on the floor. The visitor usually sees only a few Congressmen there — usually chatting, reading their mail, paying little attention to anyone making a speech. Congressmen do work long and hard. But most of their work is done in committee meetings. Here bills are studied, experts are consulted, and recommendations are made to the whole House or Senate. During a two-year term of Congress, as many as 20,000 bills may be introduced. Some may be important, some not, but Congressman could possibly know enough about 20,000 bills to vote intelligently on them. Here's where the committees come in. There are 16 "standing", or permanent, committees in the Senate and 22 in the House. Each Committee sits and sorts the bills it is responsible for. Because the Congressmen on a committee are ex-parts in that field, they accept and improve some bills, but reject of most them. Generally Congress goes along with the decisions of its committees. For a bill to become a law it must be passed by both the House and the Senate and signed by President. If President disapproves, he vetoes the bill by refusing to sign it and sends it back to Congress. President's objections are read and debated, then the bill is put to vote. To overcome President's veto the bill must get a two-thirds majority in each chamber. A Committee chairman is the member of the majority party who has served longest on the committee. His job makes him a real power in Congress. Among the standing committees are a Committee of Finance, of Foreign Relations, of Agriculture, of Aeronautical Space Science, of Armed Services, etc. President Woodrow Wilson summed up the importance of the committees when he said, "Congress in its committee rooms is Congress at work".

Word list

odd-numbered — непарний

to appear on the floor — з'являтися на засіданнях

Wilson, Thomas Woodrow (1856—1924) — 28-й президент США в 1913—1922рр. від демократичної партії.

Exercise 12

I. Reread the first three paragraphs and complete the sentences according to the contents of the text.

1.    A new Congress ... begins on January 3rd.

2.    Most of the Congressmen seldom ... on the floor.

3.    As many as 20,000 ... are introduced during every Congress session.

4. Both chambers of the Congress have a number of... committees which are composed of specialists in different fields.

II.  Find the sentences speaking about what happens to a bill after
it has been accepted by a standing committee.

III.   Using the information of the text explain the meaning of
  President Wilson's statement about the work of the Congress.

Exercise 13

Read, translate the text into Ukrainian and retell the topic.

THE POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE USA

There are now 50 states in the USA. Under the Constitution, the states delegated by many of their sovereign powers to the central government in Washington. But they kept many important powers for themselves. Each of the states, for example, retains the right to run its own public school system, to decide on the qualifications of its voters, to license its doctors and other professionals, to provide police protection for its citizens and to maintain its roads. Under the Constitution, the federal government is divided into three branches, each chosen in a different manner, each able to check and balance the others. The Executive Branch is headed by the President, who, together with the Vice-President, is chosen in nation-wide elections every four years. Americans vote for the states of professional electors equal to the number of Senators and Representatives each state has in Congress (a total of 535 persons). The candidate with the highest number of votes in each state wins all the electoral votes of that state. The presidential candidate needs 270 electoral votes. Any natural-born American who is 35 years old or older may be elected to this office. The President proposes bills to Congress, enforces federal laws, serves as Commander­in-Chief of the Armed Forces and, with the approval of the Senate, makes treaties and appoints federal judges, ambassadors and other members of the Executive Departments. Each Cabinet head holds the title of Secretary and together they form a council called the Cabinet.The Vice-President, elected from the same political party as the President, acts as chairman of the Senate. The Legislative Branch is made up of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The 435' Seats in the House of Representatives are allocated on the basis of population, although every state has at least one representative. Each state elects two members of the 100-member Senate, a Senator's term of office is six years. Both two Houses must approve a bill for it to become law, but the President may veto or refuse to sign it. If so, Congress reconsiders the bill. If two-thirds of the members of both houses then approve it, the bill becomes law even without the President's signature. The Judicial Branch is made up of Federal District Court, 11 Federal Courts of Appeals and at the top the Supreme Court. In order to amend the Constitution, Congress must pass the proposed amendments by a two-third majority vote in each Houses and three-fourths of the states must concur.

Word list

to delegate — репрезентувати, делегувати

sovereign power — верховна влада

to run smth. — керувати чимось

to retain — підтримувати, утримувати, зберігати

qualification — кваліфікація, характеристика, виборчий ценз

to license — дозволяти, надавати право

to provide — вживати заходи, передбачати

to maintain — підтримувати, тримати у справному стані,

обслуговувати

to divide into — розділятися на

executive — виконавчий

elections — вибори

equal — рівний, однаковий

natural-born American — уродженець Америки

to propose a bill — пропонувати законопроект

Congress — конгрес, з'їзд

to enforce — справляти тиск, втілювати в життя (закони)

Commander-in-Chief — головнокомандуючий

the Armed Forces — збройні сили

approval — схвалення, розгляд

the Senate — Сенат

to make a treaty — укласти угоду

to appoint — призначати (на посаду)

judge — суддя

ambassador — посол

council — рада

legislative — законодавчий

the House of Representatives — Палата представників

to allocate — розподіляти, розміщувати

to approve a bill — затверджувати законопроект

to veto — накладати вето на щось

to refuse to sign — відмовлятися підписувати

signature — підпис

judicial — судовий, законний

Exercise 14

Read, translate the text into Ukrainian and retell the topic.