- •Министерство Финансов Российской Федерации Всероссийская государственная налоговая академия Legal English - 1
- •Unit 2 What Law Is
- •Vocabulary
- •Chapter II sources of law Unit 3 Sources of English Law
- •The Sources of English Law
- •The Principal Sources
- •Legislation
- •Judicial precedent
- •The Subsidiary Sources
- •Customs
- •Books of authority
- •Vocabulary
- •Unit 4 Sources of Modern Law
- •Text a Historical and Political Background
- •Text b Common Law Systems
- •Vocabulary
- •Vocabulary tasks
- •For You to Know
- •Text d Sources of American law
- •Vocabulary
- •Text e Continental Systems
- •For You to Remember
- •Vocabulary
- •Chapter III constitutions Unit 5 The History of Constitution
- •Vocabulary
- •Text b Characteristics of Constitutions
- •Vocabulary
- •Unit 6 British Constitution
- •The Nature of the Constitution
- •Vocabulary
- •Vocabulary tasks
- •Unit 7 us Constitution
- •Founding of the United States
- •Vocabulary
- •13 States convention written constitution
- •Vocabulary tasks
- •Chapter IV the system of government Unit 9 The British Government of Today
- •Text a The Governmental Model
- •Vocabulary
- •Vocabulary tasks
- •Text b The British Parliament
- •Vocabulary
- •The System of Government
- •Stages of a Government Bill
- •The House of Commons
- •The House of Lords
- •Making New Law
- •Text d The Prime Minister and the Cabinet
- •Vocabulary
- •Unit 10 The American Government of Today
- •System of Government in the United States
- •Vocabulary
- •Vocabulary tasks
- •Unit 11 The System of Checks and Balances
- •Vocabulary
- •Vocabulary tasks
- •Checks and Balances
- •Unit 12 Law-making Process in the usa
- •Text a The Concept of Bicameral Legislature
- •How Congress Makes Laws
- •Vocabulary
- •Federalism
- •State and Local Government
- •Three Branches of Government
- •Unit 13 The State System of Russia. The Parliament of the Russian Federation
- •Text a The State System of Russia
- •Vocabulary
- •Text b The Parliament of the Russian Federation
- •Vocabulary
brief
document 26 amendments Founding Fathers
checks
and balances branches War of Independence13 States convention written constitution
1 A good example of a __________ is the Constitution of the Unites States.
2 It is a relatively __________ of some 12 pages.
3 The constitutional __________ which was to adopt a new constitution, officially opened on May 25, 1787, in Philadelphia.
4 The 55 delegates who drafted the Constitution included most of the outstanding leaders or __________.
5 George Washington, the Military hero of the __________, was the presiding officer.
6 Under the Constitution power was further divided among the three __________ of the national government.
7 These three powers established a so-called system of __________.
8 When the Constitution was written in 1787, there were only __________.
9 Over the past 200 years __________ have been adopted.
C Fill in the gaps with one of the modal verbs: can, may, must, cannot, may not.
Under the Constitution, no member of one branch of government 1) _____ be a member of the two others. The President of the United States is not and 2) _______ be, a member of Congress (the legislative branch). Any member of Congress who wishes to become President of the United States 3) _____ resign from that body before accepting the Presidency (Gerald Ford resigned from Congress in 1975 on becoming President). At the same time the President 4) _____ or 5) ______ be, a member of the political party with a majority in Congress. No member of the Government (the executive branch) with the exception of the Vice President (who presides over the Senate) 6) ____ also be a member of Congress.
Vocabulary tasks
A Find in the text the English equivalents for the following expressions.
1 принять конституцию
2 добавить поправки
3 ветви государственной власти
4 обеспечить права и свободы
5 обвиненный в нарушении закона
6 съезд делегатов
7 структура государственной власти
8 гарантировать права жителей
9 достичь чрезмерной власти
10 не дело правительства
B Match the terms with their definitions.
1 |
system of checks and balances |
a |
a system or body of fundamental principles to which a nation or state is constituted and governed by |
2 |
convention |
b |
constitutional amendments of 1791 |
3 |
constitution |
c |
general conference devoted to a special object |
4 |
preamble |
d |
a preliminary copy of a document |
5 |
amendment |
e |
a mechanism to control the abuse of power |
6 |
the Bill of Rights |
f |
body of persons sworn to render verdict on question submitted to them in court of justice |
7 |
jury |
g |
added article in the US Constitution |
8 |
draft |
h |
the introductory part of a document |
C Complete the sentence with the best answer (a, b, or c) according to the information in the text.
1 Adopted in 1787, the Constitution was finally ratified and came into force
a in 1788
b in 1789
c in 1790.
2 Many people contributed to writing the Constitution, though one of the three great is regarded as the father of the Constitution:
a George Washington
b James Madison
c Alexander Hamilton.
3 The Constitution provided that federal laws would be made only by
a the Government
b the Supreme Court
c the Congress.
4 The drafters of the Constitution saw that the future might bring a need for changes, that’s why they provided
a a method of adding amendments
b the power to veto acts passed by the Congress
c the evolution of governmental institutions.
5 The system of checks and balances was established in order
a to check whether all the bills become law
b to balance the political forces during elections
c to give each branch of government the means to restrain the other two.
Over to you.
For discussion:
1 Compare the Bill of Rights in England and the Bill of Rights in the USA.
2 Speak on the adaptability of the American Constitution to new conditions, its stability and the role it played in the history of the USA and some other countries.