Read the text and entitle its parts. Choose the headings from the list

2. Put up questions to these sentences : a)a general question

b) 2-3 special questions

1) They were drawn from the various groups of senior and influential nobility

2) There are only 92 peers who sit by virtue of hereditary peerage.

3) The Government has been consulting on proposals and attempting to legislate for further reform of the Lords.

4) Members of the Lords do not represent constituencies, and are not involved in matters of taxation and finance.

5) The House of Lords acts as a revising chamber for many of the more important and controversial bills.

6) The Lords can amend all legislation, with the exception of bills to raise taxation.

7) Government's manifesto commitments, in the form of Government Bills, are not voted down by the House of Lords at second reading.

8) The Lords of Appeal employed full-time take part in judicial proceedings.

9) Lords business is expected to be conducted in an orderly and polite fashion without the need for an active Speaker.

10) It is to him, and not the Lord Chancellor, that members have turned for advice and leadership on points of order and procedure.

11) All members of the House of Lords except Law Lords are unpaid, but they are entitled to reimbursement of their expenses.

12) About two thirds of the Lords align themselves with a political party.

13) Some Lords have been elevated to the Lords from Commons in recognition of distinguished service in politics.

14) The number of spiritual peers is now reduced to 26.

15) Law Lords are appointed for life to discharge the judicial functions of the House.

16) The Queen exercises the prerogative to grant non-hereditary titles or life peerages on the advice of the Prime Minister

Give definitions for the following .Translate the names of the titles marked with asterisk into Russian.

Lords Spiritual*

Lords Temporal

Law Lords

Royal Assent

Lords of Appeal*

Lord Chancellor

Chief Whip*

The Leader of the House

The Clerk of the Parliaments*

The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod*

Check yourself and fill in the gaps without looking into the text. See how much you have coped with.

1) Only 92 peers sit in the Upper House__ ____of ______________ _______________. 2) The majority of members are now _________ ________.3) Normally, the_________ of the Lords is required before Acts of Parliament can be passed, and the Lords can _______all ____________, with the exception of bills to_________ _________, long seen as the responsibility of the Commons. 4)A________of_________was_______________, which was further ___________ by the Parliament Act of 1949. 5) Government's_________ _________, in the form of Government Bills, are not __________ _______by the House of Lords __ __________ __________.6) Lords business is expected to be conducted __an______and polite_________ without the need for an active Speaker. 7) All other members of the House of Lords are ____________, but they are _____________ ___ __________________________of their expenses.8) About two thirds of the Lords _________ ______________with a political party. 9) Some Lords are former Members of the House of Commons who have been _____________ _______the Lords __ _________ __distinguished service in politics. 10) Law Lords are appointed for life to____________ the___________ ____________of the House). 11) The Queen grants ____________titlesorlife peeragesto both men and women. 12) The Queen ____________thisprerogative ____the _______________of Prime Minister.

Reading for Vocabulary 2.6.

US legislative branch of power

Before you read. Think over the following questions:

-What is the main legislative body of the USA? What are the names of its two chambers?

- What are the main stages for the bill to become a law in the USA?

Read the following text.

The legislative branch is made up of elected representatives from all of the states and is the only branch that can make federal laws, levy federal taxes, declare war or put foreign treaties into effect. It consists of a Congress that is divided into two groups, called houses.

The House of Representatives comprises lawmakers who serve two-year terms.Each House member represents a district in his or her home state. The number of districts in a state is determined by a count of the populationtaken every ten years. The most heavily populated have more districts and, therefore, more representatives than the smaller states, some of which have only one.

The Senate comprises lawmakers who serve six-year terms. Each state, regardless of population, has two senators. That assures that the small states have an equal voice in one of the houses of Congress. The terms of the senators are staggered, so that only one third of the Senate is elected every two years. That ensures that there are some experienced senators in Congress after each election. The main duty of the Congress is to make laws, including those which levy taxes that pay for the work of the federal government. A law begins as a proposal called a “bill”. It is read, studied in committees, commented on and amended in the chamber in which it was introduced. It is then voted upon. If it passes, it is sent to the other house where a similar procedure occurs. Members of both houses work together in “conference committees” if the chambers have passed different versions of the same bill. Groups that try to persuade congressmen to vote for or against a bill are known as “lobbies”. When both houses of Congress pass a bill on which they agree it is sent to the president for his signature. Only after it is signed does the bill become a law.

Exercises

1. Give equivalents of the following:

Состоит из..; взимать федеральные налоги.., приводить в исполнение договоры с иностранными державами; законодатели; штаты с большим количеством населения; независимо от; обеспечивает равное право голоса; сроки полномочий сенаторов…. устанавливаются в «шахматном порядке»; происходит практически то же самое; согласительный комитет, комитет по согласованию расхождений; на подпись

2. Find as many synonyms as you can:

made up of; levy taxes; put treaties into effect; comprise; lawmakers; serve a term; a count of the population; heavily populated; regardless of; assures; terms of the senators are staggered; occur

3. Translate into English:

1) Конгресс состоит из Палаты представителей и Сената. 2) Как орган законодательной власти Конгресс имеет право принимать законы, взимать федеральные налоги, объявлять войну и давать силу договорам, заключенным с иностранными державами. 3)Количество избирательных округов штата определяется по числу населения, подсчет которого, проводится каждый год. 4) Сенаторы исполняют обязанности шесть лет. Каждый штат имеет двух представителей в Сенате, что обеспечивает штатам с немногочисленным населением равное право голоса при принятии законов. 5) Сроки службы сенаторов определены таким образом, что только одна третья Сената переизбирается каждые два года. Это делается с той целью, чтобы обеспечить присутствие опытных законодателей в Сенате. 6) Для того чтобы стать законом, законопроект представляется на рассмотрение Палаты. Его читают, изучают, в него вносят поправки и затем выносят на голосование. Затем он направляется в другую палату, где проходит он проходит те же этапы. 7) Если существует несколько версий законопроекта, тогда члены обеих палат работают над ним в комитетах по согласованию расхождений. Только после того, когда законопроект проходит в обеих платах, он направляется на подпись президента.