The Legislative and the Executive Branches of Power in Russia.

Pre-reading tasks. Scan the text and answer the following questions:

1. What are two chambers of the Federal Assembly?

2. What are the functions of the Federation Council?

3. What are the functions of the State Duma?

4. What are the powers of the Government?

 

The Federal Assembly – the Parliament of the Russian Federation is the representative and legislative body of the Russian Federation. It consists of two chambers: the Federation Council and the State Duma. The Federation Council includes two representatives from each constituent entity of the Russian Federation and the State Duma consists of 450 deputies.

The State Duma adopts federal laws relating to the federal budget; federal taxes; financial, currency, credit and customs regulation; money emission; ratification and denunciation of international treaties of the RF; and war and peace. These laws must be compulsory examined by the Federation Council.

The Federation Council considers the following issues: it imposes the state of emergency and approves the use of military forces outside the country. It has the competence in such issues as the appointment and the dismissal of the Prosecutor General and judges of the supreme body of the judicial branch.

The executive power is exercised by the Government. It consists of the Chairman of the Government (the Prime Minister), Deputy Chairman and the federal ministers. The Government introduces a draft budget and provides its implementation. It also implements the financial policy of the country. It helps to ensure legality, rights and freedoms of the citizens; to protect property and public order and state security. The government ensures the implementation of a uniform social policy in the sphere of culture, science, education, health and ecology.

Ex. 18 a) Say if this is true or false:

1. The Federation Council doesn’t approve decisions on changes of borders between the constituent entities.

2. The Government consists only of the federal ministers.

3. The RF Parliament is the legislative organ of the Russian Federation.

4. The Federation Council introduces a draft budget.

5. The Government is the legislative body.

b) Make your own true or false statements.

 

Ex.19 Choose the best ending to these incomplete sentences:

1. The Parliament consists of … (one branch, two chambers, several committees).

2. Military forces cannot be used outside the country without the approval of … (the State Duma, the Federation Council, the President).

3. The executive power is exercised by … (the President, the Government, the Prime Minister).

4. The final decision on the President’s impeachment is taken by … (the Federation Council, the Government, the State Duma).

5. The Federation Council … (makes laws, imposes the state of emergency, introduces a draft budget).

Ex. 20 Grammar Focus 13. Word-building.

a) Одним из способов образования новых слов служит прибавление приставок (таких как dis-, pre- or co-) к словам, e.g: anti-social, disappear, supermarket.

В английском языке можно образовывать существительные от глаголов (to employ gives employer and employee), а также глаголы – от существительных и прилагательных: government gives to govern, modern gives to modernise and so on.

Наиболее встречающимися окончаниями являются:

1. Существительные:

a) -er /- or: a person who does something, eg: adviser / advisor, teacher, learner;

-ian, eg: optician, mathematician

b) -ment: result of action, eg: improvement, advancement

c) -ism: name of system or belief, eg: realism, optimism

d) –ion,eg:confusion, apparition

e) –ness, eg: happiness

f) –ship, eg: leadership

g) -ence / ance, eg: permanence, appearance

h) –age, eg: marriage

g) –y, eg: photography

i) –cy, eg: fluency

2.Глаголы:

a) –ify, eg: falsify, modify

b) –ise, eg: modernise

Ex. 21 a) Form adjectives from the nouns and find their derivatives in the text:

democracy, federation, republic, diplomat, execution.

b) Form nouns from the verbs and find their derivatives in the text:

to administrate, to approve, to adopt, to appoint, to elect,

to decide, to implement, to legislate, to represent.

 

Ex. 22 Grammar Focus 14. The Passive Voice (Revision). The Past Simple.

Positive	Negative	Question
I was invited to the party.	He wasn’t injured in the accident.	How was the window broken.

Open the brackets and remember what changes have taken place in the political system of the Russian Federation recently. Use the Passive Voice.

Model: The President (to be elected) for 4 years, now he (to be elected) for 6 years.

The President was elected for 4 years, now he is elected for 6 years.

1. The RF (to be composed) of 89 constituent entities, now it (to be composed) of 83 constituent entities.

2. The term of the State Duma (to be served) by its members for 4 years, now it (to be served) for 5 years.

3. The governors of the RF regions (to be appointed), now they (to be elected).

4. The Plenipotentiaries (полномочные представители) (not to be appointed), now they (to be appointed).

Ex. 23 Speaking

1. Compare the state power structure of Russia with that of Great Britain.

2. Find the information about the Chairman of the Federation Council and the State Duma and terms of their service. Make short reports.

 

APPENDIX

Additional texts

Text 1 First Impressions

Pre-reading task:

1. What do you think your first impressions about a person are based on?

2. How do you form first impressions about a person?

3. Read the text and compare the analysis of psychologists to your answer.

 

1. According to psychologists, people form first impressions based first on how to look then on how you sound and finally what you say.

Your physical appearance – how you look makes 55% of a first impression. This includes facial expressions, body language, and eye contact, as well as clothing and general appearance.

2. The way you sound makes 38% of the first impression. This includes how fast or slowly, loudly or softly you speak, and your tone of voice. People listen to your tone of voice and decide whether you sound friendly or unfriendly, interested or bored, and happy or sad. What you say- the actual words you use-counts only 7% of the message.

3. People form their first impressions, within 10 seconds of meeting you. And first impressions don’t change easily. If someone gets the wrong impression of you, it can take a long time to change his or her mind.

4. Sometimes it is hard to make sure that you always give a good first impression. One problem is that in different parts of the world, the same behavior may give people a different impression. In some countries, looking directly at someone is polite. It shows you are alert and confident. In other countries, looking directly at someone is considered aggressive. It is more polite to look away. Standing close to someone is considered friendly and supportive in some countries. In others you are expected to keep your distance.

5. Giving a good impression depends on many things. Everyone behaves in different ways, but when you are not sure you are giving a good impression, the best thing to do is to ask yourself “What would I think of someone who acted this way”

 

Text 2 The American Family

 

Most American families consist of a mother, a father, and three or four children living at home. This familiar structure is known as the “nuclear family”. It is unusual for members of the family other than the husband, wife, and children to live together. Occasionally an aging grandparent may live with the family, but it is considered undesirable. Visiting between parents and their married children and between married sisters and brothers is frequent when they live close to each other. If they live in different communities, they keep in touch by writing letters and by telephone.

In American family the husband and the wife usually make important decisions together. When the children are old enough, they participate as well. Children are often allowed to do what they wish without strict parent control. The father seldom expects his children to obey him without question, and children are encouraged to be independent at an early age. Young people break away from their parental families in their late teens or early twenties.

This pattern of independence often results in serious problems for the aging parents of a nuclear family. The job-retirement age is 65. The children have left home, married, and set up their own households. Elderly couples feel useless and lonely with neither an occupation nor a close family group. Many communities and church groups sponsor centers for “senior citizens”. At these centers older men and women can make friends and participate in a variety of planned activities, including games, trips, lectures, and discussion groups. These programs may help some old people, but they do not provide the complete solution to the problem of old age.

 

Ex.1 Answer the questions:

1. Do you think it’s easier to be a father or a mother?

2. Do you think you could put an aging parent into an old-age house?

3. Do you think grown-up children and parents should live together?

4. What problems face single-parent families?

5. What are the main reasons for the conflicts between different generations?

6. Did you or any of your family have to be away from each other for any length of time? Did you miss each other?

 

 

Text 3 My Aunt Emily

 

Of all my relatives, I like my Aunt Emily the best. She’s my mother’s youngest sister. She has never married, and she lives alone in a small village near Bath. She’s in her late fifties, but she’s still quite young in spirit. She has a kind face, and when you meet her, the first thing you noticed is her lovely, warm smile. Her face is a little wrinkled now, but I think she is still rather attractive. She is a sort of person you can always go to if you have a problem.

She likes reading and gardening, and she goes for long walks with her dog, Buster. She’s a very active person. Either she’s making something, or mending something, or doing something to help others. She does the shopping for some of the old people in the village. She’s extremely generous, but not very tolerant with people who don’t agree with her. I hope that I am a happy and contented as she is when I’m her age.

 

Ex. 1 Write a similar description of a member of your family in about 200 words.

Include the following:

your opinion of the person

physical description

his/her character, habits, likes and dislikes.

 

Text 4 The Family

 

The family is the most basic and ancient institutions, and it remains the fundamental social unit in every society.

There are many different views on family life. Some people could not do without the support and love of their families. Others say it is the source of most our problems.

Sociologists divide families into two general types: the nuclear family and the extended family, which may include three or more generations living together.

There are people who say that the family unit is in crisis, that traditional family life is the thing of the past, and the family is in decline. The number of one-parent families increases; the current divorce rate is high; there is a lack of discipline within the family. Some politicians blame social problems, such as drug taking and juvenile crime.

There is no definition of a “normal” family. Broadly speaking, the family is a group of people related by blood or law, living together or associating with one another for a common purpose. That purpose is usually to provide shelter and food, and to bring up children. Now there are a number of types of family that exist in a society at any one time.

What characteristics are common to all family forms?

First, the family consists of a group of people who are in some way related to one another. Second, its members live together for long periods. Third, the adults in the group assume responsibility for the children. And forth, the members of the family form an economic unit – often for producing and for consuming goods and services. We may say, then, that the family is a relatively permanent group of people related by ancestry, marriage, or adoption, who live together, form an economic unit, and take care of their young.