The text is divided into 6 passages. Choose the best title to each passage. Prove your answer.
a) agriculture of the UK;
b) parts Great Britain;
c) industries of the country;
d) one country-many names;
e) London;
f) political system of Great Britain.
4. Find the equivalents for:официальное название, общая площадь, конституционная монархия, править страной, портовый город, высоко развитый, кораблестроение, отрасль экономики, умеренный климат, овощеводство, пахотные культуры, скотоводство.
Find in the text all the proper names. Fill the table. Read all the proper names correctly. Use the dictionary if necessary.
| cities/countries | water reservoirs | others |
6. Say in English:
a) Великобритания находится на Британских островах.
b) На юге Британия омывается Ла-Маншем.
c) Лондон-столица Великобритании. Он находится на реке Темза.
d) Великобритания - высокоразвитая промышленная страна.
e) Великобритания состоит из Англии, Шотландии, Уэльса и Северной Ирландии.
f)Умеренный климат благоприятен для овощеводства.
g)Британские фермеры выращивают овощи, фрукты, пахотные культуры.
h)Экономика Великобритании является высокопроизводительной.
7. Review the topic “The Russian Federation”. Compare two countries – Great Britain and Russia. Divide into 2 groups. Find as many differences between these two countries as you can (5 minutes). Think of which ones are not mentioned in the text.
Example: The official language of Russia is Russian.
The official language of the UK is English.
8. Say what you like and don’t like about Great Britain.
STATE SYSTEM OF GREAT BRITAIN
1. Read the words using a dictionary:Kingdom, monarchy/ a monarch, a sovereign, to reign, to execute/executive, authority, constituency, a majority, to inherit/ hereditary, judicial/judiciary,
VOCABULARY
| the House of Lords | Палата Лордов |
| the House of Commons | Палата Общин |
| Lords Temporal | Светские Лорды |
| Lords Spiritual [’spɪrɪtʃuəl] | Лорды духовенства |
| Archbishop [ˌɑːtʃˈbɪʃəp] of York | Архиепископ Йоркский |
| Archbishop of Canterbury [’kæntəberɪ] | Архиепископ Кентерберийский |
| a bishop | Епископ |
| Church of England | Англиканская церковь |
| Lords of Appeal [ə’pi:l]/(Law Lords) | Судебные Лорды (члены Палаты Лордов, составляющие высший суд Великобритании) |
| life peers[pɪə] | Пожизненные пэры |
| Lord Chancellor [’tʃ ɑːnsələ] | Лорд Канцлер |
| Westminster Abbey | Вестминстерское Аббатство |
| an MP/MPs (a member of Parliament) | член парламента |
| a majority (majority party) | большинство (партия большинства) |
| hereditary peers [hɪ’redɪtrɪ] | наследные пэры |
| appeal court [kɔ:t] | апелляционный суд |
| to appoint/an appointment | назначать/назначение |
| a constituency [kənˈstɪtjʊənsi] | избирательный округ |
| i.e.(читается “that is”) | то есть |
3.Read and translate the text:
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy. Constitutional monarchy is a form of government that has a monarch, but his powers are limited by law or by a formal constitution. It means that in Great Britain sovereign reigns but does not rule.
Britain does not have a written constitution, but a set of laws. In theory, the constitution has three branches: Parliament, which makes laws, the government, which “executes” laws, i.e. puts them into effect, and the law courts, which interpret laws. Although the Queen is officially head of all three branches, she has little direct power.
Parliament is the most important authority in Britain. Technically Parliament is made up of three parts: the Monarch, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. In reality the House of Commons is the only one of the three which has true power. Members of the House of Commons are elected by the voters of 650 constituencies. They are known as Members of Parliament, or MPs. The Prime Minister, or leader of the Government, is also an MP, usually the leader of the political party with a majority in the House of Commons.
The House of Lords consists of the Lords Temporal and the Lords Spiritual. The Lords Spiritual are the Archbishops of York and Canterbury together with twenty- four senior bishops of the Church of England.
The Lords Temporal consist of hereditary peers, life peers and the Lords of Appeal (Law Lords). Hereditary peers are those who have inherited their titles. Life peers are appointed by the Queen for various services to the nation. The Lords of Appeal become life peers on their judicial appointments. They serve the House of Lords as the ultimate court of appeal. This appeal court consist ------------------------------------of nine Law Lords presided over by the Lord Chancellor.
The monarch serves formally as head of state. But the monarch is usually politically neutral and should not make political decisions.
The present sovereign is Queen Elizabeth II. She was crowned in Westminster Abbey in 1953.
4.Give English equivalents to Russian words and phrases:конституционная монархия, форма правления, писанная конституция, свод законов, три ветви власти, непосредственная власть, самый важный орган власти, избиратель, политическая партия с большинством, унаследовать титул, заслуги перед страной, юридические назначения, окончательный апелляционный суд, принимать политические решения.
5. Give definitions to the following words from the text:
- a constitutional monarchy is…;
- Parliament is…;
- the government is…;
- the law courts are…;
- the House of Commons is…;
- the House of Lords is…;
-a majority party is…;
6. Say who these people are:
- the Prime Minister is…;
- Members of Parliament are…;
- the Lords Temporal are…;
- the Lords Spiritual are…;
- hereditary peers are…;
- life peers are…;
- the Lords of Appeal are….
Who of these people are not elected?