Mark the sentences as T (true), F (false) or D (don’t know).

 

1. In the 18^th century the thirteen British colonies declared themselves independent. …………

2.The Revolutionary war continued until 1781. …………

3.The flag of the USA is called “Stars and Stripes and Old Glory”. ………

4. The new system of government was chosen. ……….

5. The first agreement called the Articles of Confederation was loose and didn’t work well.

6.The coat-of-arms of the US represents an eagle with wings outspread. ……..

7. Delegates from the states met to revise the Articles, but they did much more. ……..

8. The Constitution was officially adopted by the thirteen states by 1890. ……..

9. The Constitution states the powers and duties of each separate branch. …….

Vocabulary Exercises

 

Fill in the correct prepositions, then make sentences using the completed phrases.

1 to stand ….; 2 ….the consent …. the governed; 3 …. that time; 4 powers …. defence; 5 ….the people, …. the people, …. the people; 6 to be finished …. the same year; 7 to turn …. reality.

8. Find the words in the text above that mean:

 

…………………- a union of states or groups …………………..- ex-colonies

…………………- hard, difficult.………………….- feeble

…………………- to disrupt.………………….- to accept

…………………- to get …………………..- protection

…………………- actually, really …………………..- verification

 

Speaking

Speak about the first steps of the young republic using the following prompts.

 

The thirteen British colonies à a bitter six-year war à a new republic àa new system of government à the Articles of Confederation à a new document - the Constitution à the system of ‘checks and balances’.

Writing

Were there any important turning points in the history of Russia? Write an essay about the most famous dates in your country’s history.

Just for fun

Unscramble these cities, states or places. The first letter is capitalized. With the letters in squares, fill in the spaces to get the word combination below.

enTeenses

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gashonnWit

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necCoitucnt

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riDteto

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weN coxMei

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sanchAppalai

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sMsiiuro

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poCalit

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sipiipsMssi

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rokBonyl

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reClodrila

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rinoCafali

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oIsillni

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davaNe

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hhiPpilalade

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verDen

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lantatA

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lyoHlodow

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weN korY

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antanMhat

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gohicaC

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weN rOsalen

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T

THE USA (II)

Warm up Activities

 

1. Read the sentences and circle the correct item.

 

1. How many British colonies came together in America in 1776?

a) the fifteen; b) the thirteen; c) the eighteen.

2.The man who wrote the following “of the people, by the people, for the people” was

a) Jefferson; b) Washington; c) Lincoln.

3. The supreme law of the USA is

a) the Constitution; b) the Bill of Rights; c) the Articles of Confederation.

4. The ultimate power in the USA belongs to

a) the President; b) the people; c) the Supreme Court.

 

Reading

 

Read the article and translate it, using a dictionary. Decide what the underlined words are substitutes for. Choose the appropriate answer below. Then try to remember the words in bold.

The Constitution of the USA

The Constitution of the USA, the oldest still in force in the world, has been repeatedly amended to meet the changing needs of the nation, but it is still the “ supreme law of the land”. All governments and governmental groups, federal, state, and local, must operate within 1) its guidelines. The ultimate power under the Constitution is not given to the President (the executive branch), or to the Supreme Court (the judicial branch). Nor does 2) it rest, as in many other countries, with a political group or party. It belongs to “We the People” in fact and in spirit.

In this way, Americans first took for themselves the liberties and rights that elsewhere were the privileges of an elite few. 3) They are stated in the first ten Constitution Amendments, known together as the Bill of Rights, and considered to be the fundamental rightsof any American. Among these rights are the freedom of religion, speech, and the press,the right of peaceful assembly, and the right to petition the government to correct wrongs. Other rights guarded the citizens against unreasonable searches, arrests, and seizures of property, and established a system of justice guaranteeing legal procedures. 4) This included the right of trial by jury, 5) that is, being judged by one’s fellow citizens.

The great pride Americans have in their Constitution, their almost religious respect for it, comes from the knowledge that these ideals, freedoms, and rights were not given to 6) them by a small ruling class. Rather, there are seen as the natural “ unalienable ” rights of every American, which had been fought for and won. 7) They cannot be taken away by any government, court, official, or law.

The federal and state governments formed under the Constitution, therefore, were designed to serve the people and to carry out their majority wishes. One thing 8) they didn’t want their government to do is to rule them.

Americans expect their governments to serve them and tend to think of politicians and governmental officials as 9) their servants. This attitude remains very strong among Americans today.

1. its

a) the Constitution b) the nation

 

2. it

a) the judicial branch b) the power

 

3. they

a) the rights b) Americans

4. this

a) a system of justice b) legal procedures

 

5. that

a) trial by jury b) jury

 

6. them

a) the rights b) Americans

 

7. they

a) the rights b) Americans

 

8. they

a) the people b) the wishes

 

9. their

a) politicians and officials’ b) Americans’

Vocabulary Exercises

 

Fill in the appropriate word(s) from the list, then make sentences using the completed phrases.

operate, Bill, meet, correct, guard the citizens, unreasonable, guarantee, right, carry out, serve

 

to ……………… the changing needs to………………. against smth.

to ……………… wrongs to………………. legal procedures

the …………….. of Rights the………………of trial by jury

………………… searches to………………. within one’s guidelines

to………………. majority wishes to……………….. the people

 

4. a) Match the English and Russian equivalents.

in force	свободa			in spirit	гордость
elsewhere	неоднократно			supreme	считать
unalienable	отношение			to rest	мирный
repeatedly	где-то еще			peaceful	сограждане
liberty	в действии, в силе			pride	по духу
attitude	улучшить, вносить поправки			to consider	верховный
to amend	неотчуждаемый, неотемлемый			fellow citizens	опираться, основываться

 

4. b) Fill in the correct word(s) from the list.

fundamental, property, ultimate, Assembly, Amendments

1. The Bill of Rights consists of ten ……………………….. (corrections, improvements)

2. The right of trial by jury is one of the ………………………. rights of the man. (essential)

3. The power of Stalin was ……………………. (highest, supreme)

4. They’re going to take part in the International …………………….. (meeting)

5. If you’ve lost something go to the lost…………………office. (something owned)

 

Speaking

 

Read the text again, then make notes under these headings. Use your notes to talk about the Constitution of the United States of America.

· The Constitution as the “supreme law of the land”

· The Bill of Rights

· The fundamental rights of any American

· The attitude of Americans to their governments

 

Reading

You are going to read a text about US Congress. Five sentences have been removed from the text. Choose the sentence (A - E), which fits each gap.

A. Each can also vote against legislation passed by the other.

B. In foreign affairs, he is also strongly limited.

C. One third of the Senators are elected every two years for six-year terms of office.

D. Congress, in its turn, can override a veto by a two-thirds vote in each house.

E. They represent the population of “congressional districts” into which each state is divided.

Congress

Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 Senators, two from each state. The Senators represent all of the people in a state and their interests.

The House of Representatives has 435 members. They are elected every two years for two-year terms. The number of Representatives from each state is based upon its population. For instance, California, the state with the largest population, has 45 Representatives, while Delaware has only one. All election districts must have about the same number of residents. So one of the basic principles, which are found at all levels of American government is the “one person, one vote” principle which says that legislators are elected from geographical districts directly by the voters. There is no limit to the number of terms a Senator or a Representative may serve.

Almost all elections in the United States follow the “winner-take-all” principle: the candidate who wins the largest number of votes in a congressional district is the winner.

Congress makes all laws, and each House of Congress has the power to introduce legislation.

Because legislation only becomes law if both Houses agree, compromise between them is necessary. Congress decides upon taxes and how money is spent. In addition, it regulates commerce among the states and with foreign countries. It also sets rules for the naturalization of foreign citizens.

Congress has the power to make laws, but the President may veto any act of Congress.

Congress can also refuse to provide funds requested by the President.

The President has the power to name all federal judges, but they must be approved by the Senate. The courts have the power to determine the constitutionality of all acts of Congress and of presidential actions, and to strike down those they find unconstitutional.

The House of Representatives controls spending and finance, so the President must have its agreement for his proposals and programs. The President cannot declare war, either, without the approval of Congress. Any treaty must first be approved by the Senate. If there is no approval, there is no treaty. The rule is “the President proposes, but Congress disposes”.

Vocabulary Exercises

 

7.a) Find the English equivalents of the following words and phrases in the text, then make sentences using them.

например, законодательная власть, договор, жители, зарубежные страны, предложения, одобрять, уровень, победитель, торговля, избирательный участок, определять, налоги, представлять, избиратель, количество сроков полномочий, внести законопроект, установить правила, отказать, расходы.

7.b). Underline the correct words in bold.

 

1. Multimedia web pages with photographs, music and video make downloading slow and boring. In addition/in its turn, there is too much advertising instead of real information.

2.Village members/residents still prefer to get up early.

3. The new manager worked hard to provide/to strike down better workingconditions in the hotel.

4.The thirteen American states were divided/declared independent in 1776.

5. If you want to have a happy family affairs/compromises should always be found.

6.He represents/disposes the election district in California.

8. Match a) the synonyms b) the antonyms.

to be made up	commerce	override	spending
for example	consist	foreign	a looser
a sum of money	override	to limit	to accept
a bill	an elector	a winner	for
trade	for instance	to refuse	domestic
veto	legislation	against	approve
a voter	funds	savings	to widen

Speaking