Fill in the chart. Use the information from text 1 and the exercises. If necessary, consult maps and encyclopedias.

Translate into English.

Озерный край Англии расположен на северо-западе страны. Это очень романтичное место, известное своими долинами, горами, озерами и водопадами.

Долины и луга Шотландии всегда привлекают множество туристов.

Туристы со всего мира приезжают полюбоваться на красоту шотландских пейзажей.

4. Оксфорд – старый университетский город. Он расположен в Центральных графствах (The Midlands) Великобритании к северо-западу от Лондона.

Пролив Ламанш отделяет Великобританию от Континента. Пролив неширокий, не более 32 километров.

6. Великобритания ‒ одна из наиболее густонаселенных стран мира.

Северная Ирландия была первой колонией Англии.

Ask your friend,

· знает ли он официальное название Великобритании;

· знает ли он, почему страну часто называют Англией;

· знает ли он, из скольких частей состоит Объединенное Королевство;

· знает ли он, сколько островов относится к Британским островам;

· знает ли он самые большие из Британских островов;

· что он знает о климате Великобритании.

Do you know that:

· The British Isles haven't always been a separate part of Europe. Long time ago Britain was a part of the European continent. Then about ten thousand years ago during the end of the last Ice Age, when the climate grew warmer, new rivers and sees were formed Europe slowly moved into its present shape.

· The British Isles include 5000 small islands and some of them appear and disappear during ebbs and tides.

· The North Sea and the English Channel are also called the Narrow Seas because they are difficult for navigation as they are very shallow.

· The Straight of Dover, the narrowest part of the English Channel which is 32 kilometers wide, presents three obstacles for swimmers: strong currents, icy water and a lot of medusas, whose cuts are as cuts of a knife.

Review the information you’ve got from Lesson 1. Summarize it using the suggested words and word combinations.

To be separated from, to be washed by, to border on, to account for, to consists of, to be situated, a temperate climate, wet weather, mold winters, mountain chains, the main rivers.

LESSON 2. Government and politics

Grammar: Имя существительное. Род,число и падеж существительных. Артикль.

Phonetics: Понятие гласных и согласных звуков.

Before you read text 2 see if you know answers to the following questions.

1. What type of state is the UK?

2. Who is the Head of State?

3. Who appoints the Prime Minister?

4. What is the Commonwealth?

5. Who is the Head of the Commonwealth?

6. What is the role of the British Parliament?

7. What parts does British Parliament consist of?

8. Which of the chambers is elected?

9. What is the role of each chamber in law-making?

10. Who becomes the Prime Minister?

11. Who is the Speaker?

12. What is “Shadow Cabinet”?

13. What are the main political parties in the United Kingdom?

14. What are the powers of the Queen?

Read the text “POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE UK” and translate it into Russian.

POLITICAL SYSTEM OF THE UK

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with Queen Elizabeth II as head of state; the monarch of the UK also serves as head of state of fifteen other Commonwealth countries, putting the UK in a personal union with those other states. The Crown has sovereignty over the Isle of Man and the Bailiwicks of Jersey and Guernsey. Collectively, these three territories are known as the Crown Dependencies, lands owned by the British monarch but not part of the United Kingdom. They are not part of the European Union. However, the Parliament of the United Kingdom has the authority to legislate for the dependencies, and the British government manages their foreign affairs and defense.

The UK has fourteen overseas territories around the world, the last remaining territories of the British Empire. The overseas territories are not considered part of the UK, but in most cases the local populations have British citizenship and the right of abode in the UK. This has been the case since 2002.

The UK has a parliamentary government based on strong traditions: the Westminster system has been emulated around the world — a legacy of the British Empire.

The UK's constitution governs the legal framework of the country and consists mostly of written sources, including statutes, judge made case law, and international treaties. As there is no technical difference between ordinary statutes and law considered to be "constitutional law," the British Parliament can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing Acts of Parliament and thus has the power to change or abolish almost any written or unwritten element of the constitution. However, no Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change. The United Kingdom is one of the three countries in the world today that does not have a codified constitution (the other two being New Zealand and Israel).

The position of Prime Minister, the UK's head of government, belongs to the Member of Parliament who can obtain the confidence of a majority in the House of Commons, usually the current leader of the largest political party in that chamber. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are formally appointed by the Monarch to form Her Majesty's Government. Though the Prime Minister chooses the Cabinet, and by convention HM the Queen respects the Prime Minister's choices. The Cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the Prime Minister's party in both legislative houses, and mostly from the House of Commons, to which they are responsible. Executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and Cabinet, all of whom are sworn into Her Majesty's Most Honorable Privy Council, and become Ministers of the Crown. "The Rt Hon" Gordon Brown MP, leader of the Labor Party, has been Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service since 27 June 2007.

The Parliament of the United Kingdom that meets in the Palace of Westminster is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom. It has two houses: an elected House of Commons and an appointed House of Lords, and any Bill passed requires the assent of HM the Queen to become law. A devolved parliament in Scotland and devolved assemblies in Northern Ireland, and Wales were established following public approval as expressed in referenda, but these are not sovereign bodies and could be abolished by the UK parliament.

For elections to the House of Commons, the UK is currently divided into 646 constituencies, with 529 in England, 18 in Northern Ireland, 59 in Scotland and 40 in Wales, though this number will rise to 650 at the next General Election. Each constituency elects one Member of Parliament by simple plurality. General Elections are called by the Monarch when the Prime Minister so advises. Though there is no minimum term for a Parliament, a new election must be called within five years of the previous general election.

The UK's three major political parties are the Labor Party, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Democrats, winning between them 616 out of the 646 seats available in the House of Commons at the 2005 general election. Most of the remaining seats were won by parties that only contest elections in one part of the UK such as the Scottish National Party (Scotland only), Plaid Cymru (Wales only), and the Democratic Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labor Party, Ulster Unionist Party.

Vocabulary on the text

abode,n‒пребывание, проживание (Syn: stay); place of abode ‒ местожительство, место жительства

abolish,v‒аннулировать, отменять, упразднять

approval,n‒одобрение; благоприятное мнение; public approval — общественное одобрение (Syn: approbation); (Ant: disapprobation, disapproval)

assembly,n‒(Assembly) Ассамблея (наименование законодательного органа в ряде штатов) legislative assembly — законодательное собрание; National assembly — национальное собрание

belong,v‒1) (to) а) быть членом (клуба, организации, группы) б) быть частью (чего-л.) 2) (to/under/with) иметь отношение к (чему-л.), принадлежать к (какому-л. классу)

citizenship,n‒гражданство (Syn: nationality)

codify,v‒систематизировать, приводить в систему (Syn: systematize, classify)

constituency, n‒избирательный округ (представлен в палате общин одним депутатом)

contest,v‒состязаться, соревноваться; соперничать; оспаривать (приз, награду) (Syn: compete)

convention,n‒обычай, традиция, правила поведения (Syn: tradition, custom, usage)

dependency,n‒зависимая страна, зависимая территория; колония (Syn: colony) overseas,adj.‒заморский, заокеанский; заграничный

devolve,v‒1) передавать (права, полномочия) 2) переходить к другому лицу (о должности, обязанностях, имуществе)

elect,v‒1) избирать (голосованием) (Syn: choose) 2) выбрать (из некоторого числа)

emulate,v‒имитировать, копировать, подражать (Syn: imitate, copy)

executive ‒1.n1) а) (the executive) исполнительная власть б) орган исполнительной власти (Syn: performer) 2) лицо, занимающее руководящий пост в структурах исполнительной власти; (Executive) глава исполнительной власти.

2. adj. исполнительный

exercise,v‒использовать, осуществлять, проявлять, применять

framework,n‒структура, строение (Syn: structure)

judge, n‒судья

legacy,n‒наследство; наследие

legal,adj.‒правовой, юридический; судебный legal system — законодательство (Syn: lawful, juridical, juristic)

legislative,adj.‒1) законодательный 2) введённый законом, назначенный законом

majority,n‒1) большинство to get/receive/carry/gain/win the/a majority — получить большинство; to have/hold the/a majority — иметь большинство; to win by an overwhelming majority — победить подавляющим большинством голосов (Ant: minority) 2) партия или политическая группировка, составляющая большинство в парламенте

privy,adj.‒(to) посвящённый (во что-л. секретное), осведомлённый (о чём-л. тайном); причастный (к чему-л.) Privy Council ‒ Тайный совет

referendum,n‒ (pl. referenda); референдум, всенародный опрос to conduct/hold a referendum — проводить референдум

serve,v‒служить, работать, состоять на службе.

sovereignity,n‒суверенитет

statute, n‒закон, законодательный акт парламента; статут (Syn: law, decree)

swear,v‒ (into) присягать, давать присягу

term,n‒срок, определённый период; длительность, продолжительность term of office — срок полномочий (президента, сенатора и т. п.) (Syn: period, duration, length of time)

treaty, n‒договор, соглашение, конвенция (Syn: contract, agreement, pact)

ultimate,adj.‒первичный, первоначальный, исходный, основной (Syn: basic)

be appointed ‒назначаться

be drawn from ‒избираться из

be responsible for ‒1) быть ответственным за что-л. 2) быть инициатором, ав

become law ‒становиться законом

case law ‒прецедентное право

have the authority ‒иметь полномочия

obtain the confidence ‒приобретать доверие

personal union ‒личная уния

require the assent ‒требовать одобрения (санкции)

тором чего-л.

Phonetic exercises

2. Pronounce the following verbs. Mind the pronunciation of endings a) –(e)s; b) –ed.

a) [z] [s] [iz]

to serve – serves to emulate – emulates to rise – rises

to own – owns to consist – consists to establish – establishes

to belong – belongs to drop – drops to manage – manages

to require – requires to pass – passes

b) [d] [t][id]

to own – owned to abolish – abolished to appoint – appointed

to obtain – obtained to force – forced to divide – divided

to base - based to finance – financed to support – supported