Домашнє завдання

Culture and Arts of Great Britain

10 Form. Attention!

Домашнє завдання з курсу на п'ятницю, 08.12.17: опрацювати тексти про політичну систему Великої Британії та британську монархію.

Political system: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a parliamentary monarchy. English Queen is the Head of the state. But her power is formal, it is limited by the Parliament. The Sovereign opens the Parliament and dissolves it. The Queen appoints The Prime Minister who is a real head of the state. The state system of the UK consists of three branches of power: the legislative power, the executive power, the judicial power.

The legislative power belongs to the Parliament. It consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Commons consists of 630 members. They are elected by popular vote and represent counties. The Head of the House of Commons is the Speaker. The House of Lords consists of lords who are not elected because they have a hereditary right. The Head of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor. Elections are held every five years. The Parliament of the UK controls the actions of the government, determines taxation and makes the laws.

The executive power belongs to the Prime Minister and the government. The Prime Minister is the Head of the government who is appointed by the Queen. He chooses other ministers. Twenty ministers form the Cabinet. The government is chosen from the major party. It determines the country’s policy and rules the kingdom. Every member of the Parliament has a right to introduce a bill. Every bill has three readings at first in the House of Commons. After the third reading the bill goes before the House of Lords. If the Lords agree to the bill, it will be placed before the Queen for signature. The UK is a country without the written Constitution. The Englishmen live according to the bills.

The judicial power belongs to the Supreme Court which consists of 12 justices including the court president and the deputy president. Its members have a great power because they are the ones who decide what the law actually implies in any given case. The power of judges in the UK is even higher because Great Britain does not have a written constitution and therefore there is no supreme set of laws collected in one place to be available for the citizens. Due to this enormous power judiciary has a large amount of checks and balances.

Words:

dissolve [dɪ'zɔlv] – розпускати,

припиняти діяльність

appoint [ə'pɔɪnt] – призначати

branch [brɑ͟:nʧ] – гілка

the legislative power ['ledʒɪslətɪv 'paʊə] – законодавча влада

the executive power [ɪg'zekjutɪv 'paʊə] – виконавча влада

the judicial power [dʒu:'dɪʃ(ə)l 'paʊə] – судова влада

chamber ['ʧeɪmbə] – палата

vote [vəut] – голосування

county ['kauntɪ] – графство

hereditary [hɪ'redɪt(ə)rɪ] – спадковий

chancellor ['tʃɑ͟ːnslə] – канслер

determine [dɪ'təːmɪn] – встановлювати, визначати

taxation [tæk'seɪʃ(ə)n] – розмір податку

government ['gʌvənm(ə)nt] – уряд

major ['meɪdʒə] – головний

rule [ru:l] – правити, управляти

justice ['dʒestɪs] – суддя

imply [ɪm'plaɪ] – означати

judge [ʤʌʤ] – суддя

available [ə'veɪləb(ə)l] – придатний, корисний

enormous [ɪ'nɔ:məs] – велечезний

amount [ə'maunt] – кількість

checks and balances [ʧeks ənd 'bælənsɪz]– система стримувань і противаг

British Monarchy: The British monarchy in this country has been for many centuries and it is known as a constitutional monarchy (or parliamentary monarchy). The Bill of Rights was the 1st legal step towards constitutional monarchy. This Bill prevented the monarch from making laws or having an army without Parliament’s approval. Since 1689 the power of parliament has grown, while the power of the monarch has become weaker. The UK is a constitutional monarchy: the head of the state is a king or a queen. The Monarch remains the head of the state but the power of Her Majesty the Queen of the UK is limited by the British Parliament. That is why they often say that the monarch in this country reigns but does not rule.

Although the British Sovereign no longer has a political or executive role, he or she continues to play an important part in the life of the nation. As the Head of the State, the Queen fulfils different state duties which have developed over a thousand years of history. She takes part in a number of special royal occasions every year.

First of all, it is, of course, the official birthday of the Monarch. It is remarkable that there is one Queen in the UK, but she has two birthdays. The Queen celebrates her actual birthday on April 21st, which is spent privately at Windsors’ with friends and family. She also celebrates her official birthday on either the first or the second, and sometimes the third, Saturday in June.

The official birthday is always marked in the same way with the Trooping of the Colour ceremony and a fly-past over Buckingham Palace. In addition to this, the Queen’s Birthday Honours List is announced, the Union Flag is flown from government buildings and gun salutes are fired at noon.

There is also such official ceremony as the State Opening of the Parliament, which takes place in October or November. On this occasion the Queen rides in a state carriage from Buckingham Palace to the Palace of Westminster (House of Lords) and reads her speech from the throne there.

The Remembrance Day is held in November. It is the service in the White Hall for the dead of World War II. In June the Queen is present at the Derby at Epsom and at the Royal Ascot in Windsor.

In addition to these state duties, the Queen has a less formal role as "the Head of the Nation". This role of the monarch is symbolic. She embodies national identity, unity and pride, gives a sense of stability and continuity.

Words:

prevent [prɪ'vent] – не допускати

approval [ə'pru:v(ə)l] – схвалення

reign [reɪn] – царювати

rule [ru:l] – правити

fulfil [ful'fɪl] – виконувати, здійснювати

occasion [ə'keɪʒ(ə)n] – подія

Trooping of the Colour ceremony [tru:pɪŋ əv ðə kʌlə 'serɪmənɪ] – парад військ

The Remembrance Day [rɪ'membrəns] – День пам’яті

Derby ['dɔ:bɪ] – змагання, перегони

Ascot ['æskət] – перегони

embody [ɪm'bɔdɪ] – втілювати

identity [aɪ'dentɪtɪ] – ідентичність

stability [stə'bɪlɪtɪ] – стійкість, стабільність

continuity [kɔntɪ'nju: ɪtɪ] – послідовність