Reproduce the sentences from the article wherethese word-combinations are used
20. Answer the following questions:
1.Why do we speak about a host of images connected with Winston Churchill?
Учебное пособие для философов и политологов_________
2. When was Churchill exiled from the mainstream of
his party?
3. How was he branded by peace-loving Britons at that
time?
4. What did he do not to remain a passive spectator of
the political situation?
5. Who helped him to be in the center of all urgent
issues?
6. What helped Churchill to assume finally power?
7. Where did Churchill live being in exile?
8. What works did he write at that time?
9. How many of them did he write in 1931-1939?
10. What political cartoons appeared in press?
11. When did Winston Churchill become Prime Minister?
21. Find in the article the facts to prove that:
1.Winston Churchill was a man of legend.
2. For ten years Winston fought a lonely war of his
own.
3. Churchill was a man of action.
4. He had never been bored.
5. It was Winston's great foe - Adolf Hitler - who has
tened Churchill's return to power.
22. Read the following quotations by Churchill:
«Never give in, never, never, never, never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.»
«Politics is almost as exciting as war, and quite as dangerous. In war you can only be killed once, but in politics many times.»
Find in the article one more quotation. Read it out. In what way do these quotations characterize Churchill as a politician? What do you think?
Review the article.
| Political science |
Part I
UNIT 8
I. READ AND TRANSLATE THE TEXT:
POLITICS (by Gary Althen)
Americans are quite proud of their political system. Whether they are well informed about politics (most are not) or whether they participate actively in political matters (many do not), they believe their political system has advantages most other political systems lack. They believe it protects their individual freedom, which is a value of supreme importance to them. They believe their system is, or can be, responsive to their wishes in ways other systems cannot be.
Paradoxically, most Americans have a rather negative view of politics and politicians. The system might be very good, but the people who operate within it might not be. As a group, politicians are generally seen as relatively unintelligent, excessively talkative, and somewhat devious. Government employees, too, are suspect. Many Americans suppose that the government has too many workers, and only a few who are diligent and productive enough to deserve the pay they get. Paradoxically, again, Americans generally expect and receive competent service from government employees.
Perhaps because they fear that a government can become «too strong» and thereby endanger citizens' freedom, Americans tolerate a political system that seems utterly inefficient to many people from other countries. The American system was, indeed, originally established in such a way as to prevent it from taking quick, concerted action in any but the most extreme circumstances. There is a «division of power,» with various governmental responsibilities divided among the national, state, and local levels and, there is the «separation of powers» among the executive, legislative, and judicial branches - at both the national and state levels. There is the «two-party system,» with two large and
Учебное пособие для философов и политологов
Political science
Part I
ideologically ambiguous parties competing for positions in the government.
This structure results in extreme decentralization that people from many other countries have difficulty in understanding. The decentralization is most evident in the domestic realm, and somewhat less so in the conduct of foreign affairs. In both realms, though, the United States government has more internal impediments to action than most other governments do. American citizens tend to see that as an advantage, or at least as a price worth paying for the limits it puts on the government's ability to infringe on individual citizens' lives.
The administrative side of the government does not have the built-in «checks and balances» that keep the political side from acting decisively. Some administrative agencies are quite efficient. Others are less so. Among the least efficient, most observers would agree, is the Immigration and Naturalization Service, the one agency with which foreign visitors inevitably have dealings.
Americans feel very free to criticize their political leaders. The president, senators and congressmen, governors, mayors, and others are subject to public criticism so harsh that foreign visitors are sometimes shocked and embarrassed to see or hear it - even if they agree with it. But while they themselves feel free to criticize, Americans usually do not welcome criticisms that come from foreign visitors. «If you don't like it here, go back where you came from,» is the reaction foreigners sometimes get when they make negative comments about American politics (as well as other aspects of American Life).
Besides their pride in their systems of government and their propensity to criticize their leaders, Americans have three other general ideas about politics that foreigners will want to understand: they believe firmly in what they call the «rule of law,» they idealize compromise, and they conceive of politics as something separable from other aspects of life.
(from «AMERICAN WAYS»)
II. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
1.Americans are proud of their political system, aren't they?
2. What is their pride based on?
3. If they express a negative view of politics, what do
they mean?
4. What do they think of their politicians?
5. How was the American system established originally?
6. What are the main principles of division of power?
7. What can't people from other countries understand
in the government structure?
8. Do Americans feel free in criticizing their political
leaders?
9. Do they like their political leaders to be criticized by
foreign visitors?
10. What do they say when the others make negative
comments about American politics?
III. COMPLETE THE FOLLOWING SENTENCES:
1.Americans believe that their political system has ... .
2. But politicians are generally seen as ... .
3.They suppose that only a few government workers are ... .
4.The American system was established to prevent it from ....
5.The decentralization is most evident in ... .
6.The Immigration and Naturalization Service is the agency with which ... .
7.Foreign visitors are sometimes shocked and embarrassed to see ... .
8.Americans do not welcome criticism from ... .
IV. FIND IN THE TEXT THE FACTS TO PROVE THAT:
1. Americans are proud of their political system.
2. Many of them have a negative view of their politi
cians.
3. There is a separation of powers in the political system.
4. Americans feel free to criticize their political leaders.
_____ Учебное пособие для философов и политологов_________
V. SPEAK ON THE TEXT.
VI. READ THE TEXT AND FIND THE KEY POINTS
TO GIVE A GENERAL IDEA OF THE TEXT:
THE RULE OF LAW
The idea behind the «rule of law» is that impartial laws, not human beings with their irrational and arbitrary tastes and judgments, should govern the formal aspects of social interaction. «We live under a rule of law, not of men,» American teachers tell their students. The students accept the idea. They believe that «no man is above the law,» that laws equally apply to all people regardless of their wealth, personal connections, or station in life.
Their faith in the rule of law explains the conviction many Americans held, and many foreigners could not understand, that President Richard Nixon should be removed from office as a result of his behavior in connection with what was called the «Watergate scandal.» Nixon had broken the law and therefore should be punished, Americans believed, even if he was the president.
The belief in the rule of law goes beyond the realm of politics to other areas of life that are governed by formal rules and procedures. Getting a job with a government agency, for example, or getting a government grant for a research project, entails following published procedures and demonstrating that one meets the published requirements. Personal connections are not supposed to matter under the rule of law.
This is not to say that personal contacts,,wealth, and social influence do not matter where laws and rules are concerned. They may. What is said above describes the ideal to which Americans subscribe. In reality, connections can sometimes go unpunished for illegal behavior that poor people would be likely to be punished for. But in general the rule of law prevails, and Americans are proud that it does.
| Part |
Political science
VII. COULD YOU GIVE ANY EXAMPLES FROM HISTORY OR YOUR PERSONAL EXPERIENCE WHEN «THE RULE OF LAW» WORKS? DO YOU SUPPORT THE IDEA THAT «THE LAW IS THE HIGHEST JUDGE»?
VIII. READ THE following ITEM AND RENDER ITS IDEA IN RUSSIAN:
THE IDEAL OF COMPROMISE
Acompromise is a settlement of differences in which both (or all) parties make some concessions to the other side. Both sides «give in» somewhat for the sake of reaching agreement. Americans are taught that compromise is a good thing. Mature people, in the general American view, resolve their differences through discussion and compromise. There are of course different ideas about what constitutes an acceptable level of compromise, but in general a political agreement that results from a compromise among contending parties is, by definition, a good thing.
Others may not share the American assumption that it is good to compromise. Compromise may be seen as abandoning one's principles, one's correct viewpoint. People who see compromise in that light are likely to take a negative view of those aspects of the American system that Americans themselves think are so positive.
IX. READ AND TRANSLATE THE TEXT:
Americans, perhaps more than people in any other country, believe that politics can be separated from other aspects of life. «Let's keep politics out of this,» they will say, making the assumption that matters of official power do not enter into economic dealings, family structure, the efficiency of government services, and other aspects of life that do not involve the direct participation of politicians and government bodies.
They will relate to other people without regard to their political opinions. They would generally rather not «talk politics.» This approach seems quite naive to most Latins,
Учебное пособие для философов и политологов_________
Europeans, Arabs, and Africans, who tend to suppose that «politics is everything, and everything is politics.»
Given their conception of politics as separate from other aspects of life, and their image of politicians as less as worthy people, it is not surprising that the portion of American citizens who actively participate in politics is rather small. Many American citizens have not gone through the simple procedure of registering to vote. Once they have registered they have the right to vote in national, state, and local elections, but Americans participate in elections at a lower rate than citizens of any other democratic country.
Beyond voting, other means of participating in politics are open to Americans. Those who have relatively strong opinions or convictions on political matters may volunteer to work in a candidate's election campaign or work on behalf of one or another political party. They may join organizations that seek to mobilize support on one side or the other of any controversial question. They may even run for elective office themselves.
Americans who do not want to get involved in politics but who need some information or decision from a government body are likely to turn to their elected representatives for help. Senators and congressmen maintain staffs whose job it is to respond to «constituents» who have asked for assistance of some kind. Americans believe it is their right to get such aid from the politicians who have been elected to represent them.
In sum, Americans tend to embody what to many is a curious combination of admiration for their political system in general and disdain for its particular operations. They criticize their leaders, but do not want foreigners to do so. They strongly believe in the value of the rule of law and of compromise. They think about politics as a separate aspect of life, one they can choose to ignore. Their low level of participation in politics, not to mention their general lack of interest in political affairs, seems inexplicable if not irresponsible to many visitors from abroad.
| Part I |
Political science
X. ANSWER THE FOLLOWING QUESTIONS:
1. Do Americans separate politics from other aspects of life?
2. Does it seem rather strange to other nationalities?
3. What is the image of a politician like for most Ameri
cans?
4. How do Americans participate in political life of the
country?
5. What organizations do they join?
6. What is the job of senators and congressmen?
XL AGREE OR DISAGREE WITH THE FOLLOWING STATEMENTS:
1.Americans 'talk politics' rather eagerly.
2. They say that «politics is everything, and everything
is politics.»
3. But their image of politicians is less than worthy people.
4. The portion of Americans who actively participate in
politics is quite big.
5. They volunteer to work in a candidate's election cam
paign.
6. They may run for elective office themselves.
7. They do not criticize their leaders and do not want
foreigners to do it as well.
8. They strongly believe in the value of the rule of the law.
9. They think about politics as an inseparable aspect of
life.