Тема 6. 5. Контроль знаний. Коллоквиум

1. How can you explain the term “ecology”?
2. Does the term “ecological problem” exist in our country? Prove your point of view.
3. What are the most pressing ecological problems facing the mankind?
4. What are the deterioration reasons of ecological situation in the world?
5. What can you do to protect the nature?
6. What way can you stop the air pollution/ soil pollution/ water pollution etc.?
7. What can you say about the renewable energy resources?
8. Name all the ecological catastrophes you know.
9. What does the term “ecologically poor region” mean? What are they?
10. Do you know any nature protection organization in your region/ country/ world? Name them if you can.
11. Are there any regions free from ecological problems? What are they?
12. Do you know a lot about the ecological situation in the world? Where do you get your information from?
13. What do you think about the nuclear power station erection in Belarus?
14. What is more preferable to you: either to live in a city or in the country?
15. How can you explain that most of the greatest masterpieces of art, literature and music are written in the country but not in the cities? (Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Pushkin, Mikhail Shishkin etc.)
16. Do you believe that city-livers are affected stress more than country dwellers?
17. What factors make the living in the city/ country unbearable?
18. Why do you consider you place good for living?
19. Why do young people leave villages?
20. Name the merits and demerits of Internet.
21. When was the Internet “established”? Who was “the Edison” of Internet?
22. Is it possible to get education with the help of Internet?
23. Why do parents against Internet?
24. Are you an active Internet user? Can you say that you are internet addicted?

 

Раздел 3. Социально-политическое общение

Тема 7. Социально-политический профиль Великобритании

Цель: развитие навыков и умений монологической и диалогической речи с элементами рассуждения.

Задачи:

- способствовать развитию коммуникативных навыков на базе специализированной лексики,

- систематизировать имеющиеся знания по грамматике,

- совершенствовать умения просмотрового чтения,

- способствовать межпредметным связям в рамках учебной программы.

Учащийся должен знать:

- терминологию темы и использовать ее в речи;

- полную фактическую информацию, содержащуюся в текстах лексической темы;

- правила употребления модальных глаголов.

Учащийся должен уметь:

- понимать содержание представленных текстов,

- аргументировано представлять свое высказывание по текстам лексической темы,

- оперировать различными видами речевой деятельности (монолог, диалог)

 

 

Тема 7.1.Законодательные и исполнительные ветви власти.

Грамматическая тема: Модальные глаголы.

Study the words and the word-combinations.

rules of law — правила, подтвержденные законом

rules of custom — правила, подтвержденные традицией

Magna Charta — Великая хартия вольностей

the Bill of Rights — билль о правах

majority — большинство

pass on act — принять закон

be subjected to the law — подчиняться закону

approve — одобрять

the franchise — право голосовать

govern — управлять

deprive of smth. – лишить чего-либо

the common law — общее право

liberties — свободы

the Commonwealth — Содружество (наций)

reign — царствовать

veto — налагать вето

summon — созывать

appoint — назначать

a judge — судья

declare — объявлять

international affairs — международные дела

an account — отчет

judiciary — судоустройство, правосудие

defence force — оборонные силы

the maintenance of peace — сохранение мира

security — безопасность

exchange — обмениваться

legal — юридический, правовой

adopt — принимать

a representative — представитель

an authority — власть, полномочие

sovereignty — господство

legislative — законодательный

executive — исполнительный

judicial — судебный

responsibility — ответственность

constituency — избирательный округ

preside over — председательствовать

a bill — законопроект

Lords Spiritual — лорды-епископы

Lords Temporal — светские члены палаты лордов

survive — выжить

power — власть, полномочие

legislation — законодательство

introduce — представить

a merit — заслуга

a clause — (зд.) статья

vote on/for — голосовать

submit — представлять на рассмотрение

a rival — соперник

a source — источник

proclaim — провозглашать

inherit — унаследовать

property — собственность

a measure –—мера

protect — защищать

issue — выпускать

distinguish — различать

a split — раскол

an alliance — союз

be charged with — отвечать за

exercise a supervision — осуществлять контроль

determine — определять

 

I. Make the following sentences complete by translating the words and phrases in brackets.

1) The King (подчиняется закону) and not above the law.

2) The constitutional history of Great Britain shows growth of individual (прав и свобод) based not only on law but on the ideas of traditional freedoms and practices.

3) Although the Queen (лишена реальной власти), she has retained many important functions.

4) Parliament has unlimited power in the (законодательной и исполнительной) spheres.

5) In a British (выборах) the candidate who wins most votes is elected.

6) The main function of Parliament is (принимать законы).

7) Finally (законопроект представлен на рассмотрение) for a Third Reading.

8) (Полномочия) of the House of Lords are now strictly limited.

9) One of the characteristic concepts of the Conservatives is that the State must (защищать собственность).

10) It is the Prime Minister’s duty (осуществлять контроль) over departments.

 

ІI. Match the synonyms.

 

1) franchise a) to defend

2) to protect b) to rule

3) to be responsible for c) a power

4) to govern d) the right to vote

5) an authority e) to be charged with

6) a rival f) to make laws

7) to pass acts g) an opponent

8) a constituency h) an electoral district

 

III. Read and translate the text.

 

 

Mother of Parliaments

 

Great Britain is known as mother of parliaments. This is because in the Western world since the downfall of Rome, she was the first to introduce a workable body, an assembly of elected representatives of the people with the authority to resolve social and economic problems by free debate leading to the making of law. The Parliament, consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, is the centre of British politics.

One of the fundamental principles of the unwritten constitution is the sovereignty of Parliament. It means that Parliament has unlimited power in the legislative and the executive spheres and that there is no institution that can declare its acts unconstitutional (unlike in the United States where the Supreme Court can declare acts of Congress unconstitutional). It means that Parliament can act as it pleases: to make, unmake, or change any law; to destroy established conventions or turn a convention into binding law. It can prolong its own life beyond the normal period without consulting the electorate. But in practice, however, Parliament does not make use of its supremacy in this way. Its members bear in mind its responsibility to the electorate.

The supreme legislative authority in Great Britain, Parliament, resides in Westminster Palace, and all its power is concentrated in the House of Commons, which is elected by the adult population of the country.

The parliamentary electoral system of Great Britain encourages the domination of two major political parties. For electoral purposes the United Kingdom is divided into 651 electoral districts, or constituencies (according to the number of members in the House of Commons). Each constituency has on an average about 60,000 people and each elects one member to the House of Commons. Members of Parliament are elected at a general election which is usually held every five years.

The candidates may be nominated by different parties, but the real contest is between the two big parties — the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. In every constituency each of these two parties has a local organization, whose first task is to choose the candidate and then to help him to conduct his election campaign.

All Britain’s main political parties publish manifestos during general election campaigns. Such publications are the result of a considerable amount of work by senior party members in the period before elections are anounced. They are intended to tell the electorate what the party would do if it formed the next government; they, therefore, cover party policy on a range of matters. If elected, parties can claim a popular mandate from the voters for policies contained in their manifestos.

Manifestos are usually launched by each of the parties at press conferences in the first week or so of the campaign. They have titles which are in the form of slogans, designed to sum up the parties' messages.

Manifestos normally open with forewards by the respective party leaders. They cover party policies in varying degrees of detail, but may also set out the parties' past achievements and attack the policies of their opponents.

Although in practice few people read copies of the parties' manifestos, those of the major parties receive extensive publicity in the newspapers and on television and radio. Their themes are also taken up in individual candidates' election addresses. Manifestos thus provide the basis for much of the general election campaign debate.

Elections are by secret ballot. British citizens may vote provided they are aged 18 or over, registered in the annual register of electors for the constituency and not subject to any disqualification. Voting is on the same day (usually a Thursday) in all constituencies, and the voting stations are kept open from seven in the morning until nine at night.

In a British election the candidate who wins most votes is elected, even if he or she does not get as many as all the votes of the other candidates taken together. The practice is known as the simple majority electoral system.

As soon as the results of a general election are known, it is clear which party will form the government. The leader of the majority party becomes Prime Minister and the new House of Commons meets.

The chief officer of the House of Commons is the Speaker. He is elected by the House at the beginning of each Parliament. His chief function is to preside over the House in its debate. When elected the Speaker must not belong to any party.

The House of Lords is composed of about 1,200 members. They are the Lords Spiritual (2 Archbishops and 24 Bishops of the Church of England), and the Lords Temporal, consisting of all hereditary peers (about 800), all life peers (about 350, appointed for life), and 21 law lords, to assist the House in its judicial duties, because for a long time the House of Lords was the highest court of law in the land, and it still is the supreme court of appeal.

The procedure of the House of Lords is rather informal and is comparable to that of the House of Commons. The Lord Chancellor presides over the House as its Speaker and is sitting on a large couch known as the Woolsack, a symbol surviving from the fourteenth century when wool was England's staple trade. There is no Minister of Justice, in Britain, but the Lord Chancellor performs some of the functions which would normally belong to a Minister of Justice if there was one.

The powers of the House of Lords are now strictly limited. The main Bills are introduced first in the Commons, and the Lords can only hold up them for one year, and they cannot do even this to money Bills. The House of Lords is characterized as an anachronistic body of aristocracy in a modern, progressive democracy. Law effectiveness of its work caused a popular criticism and brought to a question: is the House of Lords as a second chamber necessary?

The main functions of Parliament are as follows: to pass laws, to provide the means of carrying on the work of Government, to control the Government policy and administration, to debate the most important political issues of the day.

Nevertheless, the principal duty of Parliament, as we have noted, is legislation, making laws.

In the past, legislation was initiated from both sides of the House: from the Government and from the Opposition. But in present-day practice almost all Bills are brought forward by the Government in power.

Bills may be introduced in either House: the House of Commons or the House of Lords, unless they deal with finance or representation, when they are always introduced in the Commons.

The process of passing a Bill is the same in the House of Lords as in the House of Commons. On introduction the Bill receives a formal First Reading. The Bill is not yet printed. The Clerk of the House reads out only the short title of the Bill and the Minister responsible for it names a day for a Second Reading. It is then printed and published.

After a period of time, which varies between one and several weeks, depending on the nature of the Bill, it may be given a Second Reading as the result of a debate on its general merits or principles. It is then referred to one of the Standing Committees, or, if necessary, to the whole House sitting in Committee (if the House so decides), where each clause in the Bill is considered and voted on. When this stage is finished the Bill is formally reported to the House by the Chairman of the Committee, and a further debate takes place.

Finally the Bill is submitted for a Third Reading. At this purely formal stage the Bill is reviewed in its final form which includes the amendments made at earlier stages and, if passed, it is sent on from the Commons to the Lords or from the Lords to the Commons, depending on its place of origin, where it enters on the same course again.

All Bills which have passed through their various parliamentary stages are sent to the Sovereign for Royal Assent (approval), which is automatically given by Royal Commission. After this the Bill becomes law and is known as an Act of Parliament. The Royal Assent has not been refused since the time of Queen Anne (1702-14).

The arrangement of seating in both Houses of Parliament reflects the nature of the party system. Both debating chambers are rectangular in shape and have at one end the seat of the Speaker, in front of which stands the Table of the House. The benches for members run the length of the chamber on both sides. Five rows of benches on each side face each other across a broad area known as the “floor of the House”. This arrangement expresses a fact which is fundamental to the British parliamentary system. The benches to the right of the Speaker are used by the Government and its supporters, those to the left are occupied by the Opposition and members of any other parties. As a rule, the front benches are occupied by the leaders of the Government and the Opposition.

A typically British institution in the House of Commons is Question Time. It is a period when for an hour (from 2.30 until 3.30 p.m.) each afternoon on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday members of Parliament may question any minister on the work of his department and the Prime Minister on general national policy.

IV. Answer the questions.

1. Why is Great Britain known as Mother of Parliaments?

2. What does the term “the sovereignty of Parliament” mean?

3. Examine the main functions of Parliament.

4. Describe the parliamentary electoral system, electoral districts or constituencies and nomination of candidates.

5. What practice in a British election is known as a “simple majority electoral system”?

6. Describe the structure of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

7. Compare the powers of the House of Commons and the House of Lords in legislation (making laws).

8. How are Bills introduced in Parliament?

9. Examine the process of passing a Bill in Parliament.

10. Describe the arrangement of seating in both Houses of Parliament.