Text B. The monarch

Text A. THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

КОНТРОЛЬНАЯ РАБОТА №1

Вариант №1

Выполните следующие задания:

1. Образуйте форму множественного числа следующих существительных: a monarchy, a law, a person, a body, a unity, a speech, a bench, a salary.

2. Поставьте все личные местоимения в объектном падеже и напишите соответствующие им формы притяжательных местоимений.

3. Образуйте степени сравнения следующих прилагательных: big, rich, old, high, near, easy, important, different.

4. Прочтите и переведите тексты. Текст А переведите письменно.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional (or parliamentary) monarchy, without a written constitution. The British constitution is based on Acts of Parlia­ment (also called «laws» or «statutes») and «conventions», which are commonly accepted assumptions about the way things should be done. The country has a monarch (a king or a queen) as its Head of State. The monarch has very little power and can only reign with the support of parliament. Parliament consists of two chambers known as the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Parliament and the monarch have different roles in the government of the country, and they only meet together on symbolic occasions such as the coronation of a new monarch or the opening of Parliament. In reality, the House of Commons is the only one of the three which has true power. It is here that new bills are introduced and debated. If the majority of the members are in favour of a bill it goes to the House of Lords to be debated and finally to the monarch to be signed. Only then does it become law. Although a bill must be supported by all three bodies, the House of Lords only has limited powers, and the monarch has not refused to sign one since the modern political system began over 200 years ago.

«Her Most Excellent Majesty Elizabeth the Second by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith» is the official Head of State and, for many people, a symbol of the unity of the nation. For a thousand years England (and later the whole of the United Kingdom) has been united under one sovereign. The hereditary principle still operates and the Crown is passed on to the sovereign’s eldest son (or daughter if there are no sons).

The Queen has a certain role in state affairs, not only through her ceremonial functions, such as opening Parliament, but also because she meets the Prime Minister every week and receives copies of all Cabinet papers.

Functions of the Sovereign are as follows:

- opening and closing Parliament;

- approving of the appointment of the Prime Minister;

- giving her Royal Assent to bills;

- giving honoures such as peerages, knighthoods and medals;

- Head of the Commonwealth;

- Head of the Church of England;

- Commander-in-Chief of the armed Forces.

The powers of the monarch are not defined precisely, however. Theoretically every act of government is done in the Queen’s name – every letter sent out by a government department is marked «On Her Majesty’s Service»- and she appoints all the Ministers, including the Prime Minister. In reality, every­thing is done on the advice of the elected Government, and the Monarch takes no part in the decision-making process. Many members of the Royal Family undertake official duties in Britain and abroad. Their various responsibilities reflect tradition, their own personal interests and Britain’s former imperial status. For example, among her many titles the Princess Royal (Princess Anne) is Chancellor of the University of London, Colonel-in-Chief of eleven Army regiments, and President of the Save the Children Fund.

The Royal Family’s money comes from two sources: government funds and their own personal wealth, which is considerable. On the one hand the Queen is certainly one of the richest women in the world, while on the other her power is limited by the fact that so many of her expenses are paid for by government money. Parliament has had control of the monarch’s finances since the seventeenth century.

A survey in 1989 found that 71 per cent of people in Britain thought that the Royal Family offered value for money. As many as 74 per cent thought the younger Royals should «get proper jobs».

Дата добавления: 2015-05-26