Post-Text Exercises
7.2.1 Your friend is studying English and he wants to know as
much as possible about England and Englishmen. Answer his
questions
1 What's the official name for the main country of the English language?
2 What parts does the United Kingdom consist of?
3 What other countries - members of the British Commonwealth of Nations - do you know where English is spoken?
4 What's the population of the United Kingdom?
5 What is the supreme legislative authority in Britain?
6 What chambers (houses) does the British Parliament consist of?
7 What are the main political parties in Britain now?
8 What party has the majority of seats in the House of Commons today?
9 What are the most important industrial centers in Britain?
10 What items of British export (import) do you know?
7.2.2 Memorize these dialogues. Practise them in pairs changing
the text
1 Parliamentary Monarchy
Student: As far as I know Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. How's that?
Teacher: It's simple: there's the King, or the Queen, and there's a parliament enjoying the right to pass laws and elect the government.
Student: I see. And speaking about the British Parliament, how many chambers are there in it?
Teacher: There are two of them - the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
2 Are the Seats Hereditary?
Student: The seats in the parliament are hereditary, aren't they?
Teacher: Not exactly. The seats are hereditary in the House of Lords, but as to the members of the House of Commons, they are elected every five years.
Student: Which chamber is more important and how many members are there in each of them?
Teacher: The House of Commons is surely considered more important. As to the members, it's like this. There are 630 MPs in the House of Commons (as far as I remember). But the number of peers is considerably greater.
7.2.3 Tell the class everything you know about Great Britain. Here is some information to help you
Great Britain.
(Situated оn two islands; consists of four parts: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (Ulster); capital - London, on the river Thames; many industrial towns: Manchester, Sheffield, Bristol, York, Glasgow, etc.; produces and exports many machines; a capitalist country.)
7.2.4 Read the following text and choose the words and expressions you need to speak about
1) London as a capital;
2) the parts of London;
3) the places of interest.
More about London
London is the capital of Great Britain. It is the largest city in Europe and one of the oldest towns in the world.
The central part of London is full of historical remains. Nearly every building, every bridge, every street, palace, house and stone - each of them has its own story, its own past. In London past and present are so mixed together that they cannot be easily separated and when you are in London you see the past in the present and the present in the past.
The oldest part of London is the City. In the City the streets and pavements are very narrow and the traffic is very heavy on week-days. That is because the most important London firms and banks have offices there. But at week-ends the City is almost dead.
The most fashionable and the most expensive part to live in is West End. It is situated between the City and Hyde Park. The City and the West End are the heart of London; they are the parts which everybody who comes to London must see and wants to see, because they are more interesting than any other part of London. All the most interesting buildings, shops and offices are situated here.
The Tower of London, the Bank of England, the Mansion House where the Lord Mayor lives, the Law Court, and many interesting old churches are in the City. The Houses of Parliament with Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, the National Gallery and many Theatres and good shops are in the West End.
The East End of London includes the port, docks and factories.
Notes:
1) narrow - узкий;
2) traffic - движение, транспорт;
3) expensive - дорогой.
Conversations
1) - Which are the most notable picture galleries in London?
- Well, the National Gallery, to begin with, then comes the National Portrait Gallery, then the Tate Gallery.
- Yes, but what about the British Museum? I've heard a lot of it.
- Oh, surely, you ought to go there, but the British Museum is not a museum of Fine Arts. In the first place it's a museum of history, archaeology and ethnography. It's also one of the largest libraries in the world.
2) - I suppose you've been to Covent Garden?
- Covent Garden? I'm afraid not. I have only been to Green Park, Regent's Park and Kensington Gardens.
- Dear me! Don't you know what Covent Garden is? It's the Royal Opera House. I was just pulling your leg. ( to pull smb's leg - разг. разыгрывать кого-либо)
3) - I think we'll get off the bus near the Circus.
- Do you mean to invite me to a circus show? I'd love to see one in London.
- Oh, no, I mean Piccadilly Circus, it's just a square.
- I see. Why, is it called that? Is it round or what?
- Well, it isn't exactly round. As a matter of fact, any open space where a number of streets meet can be called a circus. You can come across them all over England. But when a Londoner speaks of the Circus he means Piccadilly Circus.
7.2.5 Disagree with the statements avoiding a single negation
Model: - The British Prime Minister lives in Buckingham Palace.
- No, I don't think that's correct (exact, logical, etc.) The Prime Minister lives at 10 Downing Street. Buckingham Palace is the London residence of the English Kings.
1 The members of the House of Lords are elected by the people.
2 The population of Great Britain is about eight million.
3 Manchester is a sea-port in Scotland.
4 The English Channel separates the British Isles from Scandinavia.
5 Britain never joined the European Economic Community. (the Common Market).
7.2.6 Read and translate the following text
Political System of Great Britain
Britain is a constitutional monarchy in which the crown is hereditary.
The legislative power resides in Parliament which consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The Sovereign has the title of King (or Queen) of England.
The executive power belongs to the Sovereign but it is entrusted to the Cabinet Ministers who are called Ministers of the Crown. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party that has a majority in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister (or Premier) is the principal Statesman in the British Parliament and he chooses from the Lords or the Commons the men numbering about 60 to fill the principal offices. He obtains the King's permission for their appointment and they form the Ministry, from these are chosen from fifteen to twenty ministers to form the Cabinet, whose meetings are always secret.
That party which obtains the majority in the House of Commons is called the Government and the others the Opposition. There are many political parties in Britain. But only two of them are strong. They are the Conservative Party (the Tory) and the Labour one. Traditionally the Tory Party is the businessmen's party and Tory rules their rule. In fact, however, the Labour Government also administers the country in the interests of big business. It functions as the second party of capitalism in the so-called traditional British two-party system.
Notes:
| 1) hereditary 2) to reside 3) Sovereign 4) to entrust 5) appointment | - наследственный - находиться - монарх - возлагать - назначение |
7.2.7 Memorize these dialogues
Pavlov: Why, it's No. 10 Downing Street. I often come across this address while reading newspapers.
Brown: That's right. This is where the Prime Minister of Britain lives.
Pavlov: I see. And where's the residence of the Queen?
Brown: The London residence of the British monarch is Buckingham Palace. When the Queen is in residence the Royal Standard is flown at the mast-head. (флагшток)
- What's "Trooping the Colour"? I often heard of it but I never know what it means.
- Oh, it's one of the most colourful spectacles of the year. It's the ceremony which celebrates the birthday of the Queen. It's performed by troops of the Household Brigade in full dress uniform.
- When and where is it held?
- It's held near St. James Park in June.
7.2.8 Topical Vocabulary
1) the House - палата (парламента)
Syn. chamber
2) the House of Commons - палата Общин
The House of Commons has 630 members elected by ballot in the various constituencies of Great Britain. В палате Общин заседает 630 членов парламента, избираемых тайным голосованием в различных избирательных округах.
3) the House of Lords - палата лордов
lord - 1- лорд, пэр; 2 - член палаты лордов
Syn. peer
4) Lord Chancellor - лорд канцлер (председатель палаты лордов и верховный судья Англии)
5) the Speaker - спикер (председатель палаты общин)
6) bill - законопроект, билль
to pass a bill- принять законопроект
to reject a bill - отклонить законопроект
The Lords can reject a bill only оnсе. - Палата лордов может отклонить какой-либо законопроект только один раз.
7) Division - парл. разделение голосов во время голосования; голосование.
to call for a division - объявить голосование
to divide - парл. голосовать
Divide! Divide! - возгласы, требующие прекращения прений и перехода к голосованию.
8) show - зрелище, спектакль, выставка
Syn. pageant - пышное зрелище; инсценировка, карнавальное шествие
Lord Mayor's show - пышная процессия в честь вступления в должность лондонского лорд-мэра.
Lord Mayor's Show has been annually held on the 9th of November since 1215. - Ежегодно 9 ноября, начиная с 1215 г., проводятся пышные процессии в честь нового лондонского лорд-мэра.
9) ceremony - церемония
The ceremony of coronation of English kings takes place in Westminster Abbey. - Церемония коронации английских королей происходит в Вестминстерском аббатстве.
10) service - служба (церковная), церемония
The Cenotaph Commemoration Service - церемония возложения венков и почтения памяти солдат, погибших в I и II мировых войнах, у Кенотафия (ул. Уайтхолл), происходящая ежегодно в ближайшее к 2 ноября воскресенье, обычно в присутствии королевы.