Part III. Population. Nations and Nationalities. Government. Religion. Lifestyles.

Pronounce and transcribe the following words.

Nation, power, nationality, Islam, monarchy, multinational, republic, prince-consort, population, tyranny, royal, queen, Muslim, parliament, government, administrative, Orthodox, nationalistic, sovereignty, chauvinism, segregation, Catholicism, invasion, conqueror, majority, legislative, executive, predecessor, globalization, authority, majority, resign, coalition, autonomous, neutrality, 

Read aloud and give Russian equivalents of the following.

Multinational, kingdom, mononational, state, republic, coat-of-arms, banner, nation, national, densely populated, colony, thinly / sparsely populated, population control, dominion, power, commonwealth of states, population at large, region, frontier, administration division, urbanization, area, population explosion, to settle, settlement, district, county, anthem, rate of mortality, rate of birth, citizen, to inhabit, inhabitant, folk, folk-lore, folk art, mankind, to colonise, temples, humanity, race, Parliament, Senate, Chamber, government, prime-minister, speaker, chairman, poverty-stricken, wealthy, apartheid, society, religion, Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, chauvinism, aborigine, metropolitan, tolerant, immigration, beliefs, emigration, refugee, descendant, ethnically, citizenship, sovereignty, decree, vote of no confidence, everlasting neutrality, absolutist state, amendment, to retain a consensus, life expectancy, native speakers, moribund

 

What does it mean?

1. A design or a shield that is a special emblem of a family, clan, city, organisation, country.	Flag
2. A song that has a special importance for a country or an organisation and it is sung on special occasions.	Royalty
3. A piece of fabric with a special coloured design on it that may be a symbol of a particular country.	Nation
4. The traditions and stories of a country or a community.	Coat-of-arms
5. All human beings thought as one large group.	Urbanization
6. A country considered as a group of people with the same culture and history, usually with the same language, who live under one government in a particular area.	Prince-consort
7. One of the main groups that humans can be divided into according to their physical differences.	Folk-lore
8. One or more members of a royal family.	Anthem
9. A title sometimes given to a husband of a queen who is himself a prince.	Race
10. Having a lot of towns, cities, factories ect, rather than countryside; of people – living and working in towns and cities rather than in in the country	Mankind

Explain in English the meaning of the following words.

Republic; kingdom; neutrality; tyranny; coalition; immigration; emigration; refugee; sovereignty; colony; empire; dominion; metropolitan; chauvinism; segregation; tolerance.

 

I. Political systems of different countries

Read these texts and retell them. Find the meaning of all the words printed in bald. Use them in your stories. Which of these words can we use when telling about the political system of Russia?

Political system of Denmark

The Kingdom of Denmark, literally meaning "the land of Danes" is the smallest and southernmost of the Nordic countries, two of which are monarchies too – Norway and Sweden.

Denmark became a constitutional monarchy in 1849 after having been an absolutist state since 1660 and has been a parliamentary democracy since 1901. Having existed for more than 1,000 years, the Danish monarchy is the second oldest in the world, right after the Japanese. Denmark is a part of the European Union. The Kingdom of Denmark also encompasses two off-shore territories, Greenland and the Faeroe islands, both of which enjoy wide-ranging home rule. Since the mid-20th century, Danish society has been partly defined by the “Scandinavian Model” of public services. According to a study published by UNESCO and the CIA, Denmark ranks as the "happiest" nation on earth.

The Kingdom of Denmark is a constitutional monarchy, with executive power with Queen Margrethe II as head of state. This executive power is exercised on behalf of the monarch by the prime minister and other cabinet ministers who head departments. The cabinet, including the prime minister, and other ministers collectively make up the government. These ministers are responsible to Parliament, the legislative body, which is traditionally considered to be supreme.

While the monarch is head of state and theoretically holds all executive power, it is the prime minister who is head of government. The government is answerable chiefly to Parliament; however, ministers do not have to come from Parliament, though it is mostly the case.

The Folketing is the national legislature. It has the ultimate legislative authority according to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty; however questions over sovereignty have been brought forward because of Denmark’s entry into the European Union. In theory however, the doctrine prevails. Parliament consists of 179 members elected by proportional majority. Parliamentary elections are held at least every four years, but it is within the powers of the prime minister to call one sooner. On a vote of no confidence the parliament may force the entire government to resign.

Compared to most other Western European countries, the Danish political system has traditionally emphasised coalitions. In some cases this has been in the form of majority coalitions, although most Danish post-war governments have been minority coalitions, ruling with more or less stable parliamentary support.

Since November 2001, the Danish Prime Minister has been Anders Fogh Rasmussen from the party Venstre, a centre-right liberal party. Apart from a 10 year period defined by economic reform and change of foreign policy during the 1980s, historically, the Social Democrats have led most post-war Danish governments, although the Social Democratic influence has never been as strong as in Sweden.

Greenland and the Faeroe islands are also parts of the Kingdom of Denmark, but have autonomous status and are largely self-governing, and are each represented by two seats in the parliament.

 

Political system of Austria

Austria is a parliamentary representative democracy consisting of nine federal states and is one of six European countries that have declared permanent neutrality and one of the few countries that includes the concept of everlasting neutrality in their constitution. Austria has been a member of the United Nations since 1955 and joined the European Union in 1995.

The Parliament of Austria is located in Vienna, the nation's largest city and capital. Austria became a federal, parliamentarian, democratic republic through the Federal Constitution of 1920. It was reintroduced in 1945 to the nine states of the Federal Republic. The head of state is the Federal President, who is directly elected. The chairman of the Federal Government is the Federal Chancellor, who is appointed by the president. The government can be removed from office by either a presidential decree or by vote of no confidence in the lower chamber of parliament, the Nationalrat.

The Parliament of Austria consists of two chambers. The composition of the Nationalrat is determined every four years by a free general election in which every citizen is allowed to vote to fill its 183 seats. A " Four Percent Hurdle " prevents a large splintering of the political landscape in the Nationalrat by awarding seats only to political parties that have obtained at least a four percent threshold of the general vote, or alternatively, have won a direct seat in one of the 43 regional election districts. The Nationalrat is the dominant chamber in the formation of legislation in Austria. However, the upper house of parliament, the Bundesrat has a limited right of veto (the Nationalrat can — in most cases — pass the respective bill a second time bypassing the Bundesrat altogether). A convention was convened in June 30, 2003 to decide upon suggestions to reform the constitution, but has failed to produce a proposal that would receive the two thirds of votes in the Nationalrat necessary for constitutional amendments and/or reform. However, some important parts of the final report were generally agreed upon and are still expected to be implemented.