Topic: «political system and parties of great britain» part II

Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. The King or the Queen is at the head of the state but does not play an important part in the political life of the country. The Queen’s powers are limited by the Parliament. It consists of 2 chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords has 850 inherited members and the House of Commons has 660 elected members. The Government is formed by the Prime Minister, usually the leader of the party that has the majority in the House of Commons. The highest executive power is the Cabinet. It consists of 18 ministers and the Prime Minister. The country is ruled by the Government in the name of the Queen.

At present there are 4 main political parties in the country. The Conservative Party and the Liberal Party were founded in the middle of the 19^th century and were supported by the rich people. The Labour Party was founded by the Trade Union Congress at the beginning of the 20^th century. The Communist Party is the only party that defends the interests of the working people. It was founded in 1920.

Unknown words:

to be limited – быть ограниченным;

to rule – править, управлять;

to defend – защищать;

to support – поддерживать;

to be founded – быть основанным;

monarchy – монархия;

at the head – во главе;

power(s) – власть;

chamber – палата;

in the name of – от имени;

majority – большинство;

parliamentary – парламентский;

executive – исполнительный;

elective – выборный;

inherited – унаследованный, наследственный;

the House of Lords – Палата Лордов;

the House of Commons – Палата Общин;

the Conservative Party – Консервативная партия;

the Liberal Party – Либеральная партия;

the Labour Party – Лейбористская партия;

the Trade Union Congress – съезд Тред-юнионов;

the Cabinet – Кабинет;

the Prime Minister – премьер-министр.

Topic: «industry and agriculture of great britain» part III

Great Britain is highly developed industrial capitalist country. It is a member of the Common Market. Before the Second World War the country was an old naval powerful state. After the war Great Britain has lost almost all its colonies, some of them fell under the influence of the USA, others obtained independence.

During the last decades there has been a great change in the structure of British industry. The main British exports were coal and textiles. But now British export of machinery, vehicles and electrical goods has greatly increased.

There is no variety of mineral resources in the country, but coal deposits take the 6^th place in the world. Coal-mining is one of the oldest industries together with ship-building and cotton industries.

Sheffield is the centre of steel industry. Manchester is a textile centre. Liverpool is an important port as well as London. Clydeside and Belfast are famous for their ship-building.

One-third of the budget has been devoted to arms expenditure. Military industry receives more state funds.

Four-fifth (4/5) of the land is devoted to agriculture. It provides employment for more than 1 million people. The main branch of British agriculture is dairy-farming. The main grain crops are wheat and barley.

Unknown words:

to obtain – получать;

the Common Market – Общий рынок;

to fall under the influence – попадать под влияние;

to increase – увеличивать;

to develop – развивать;

to be famous for – быть известным чем-либо;

to receive – получать;

to provide – обеспечивать;

production – производство;

variety – разнообразие;

deposit – месторождение;

vehicle – транспортное средство;

dairy-farming – животноводство;

grain crops – зерновые культуры;

barley – ячмень;

wheat – пшеница;

arms expenditure – военные расходы;

resources – ископаемые;

to manufacture – производить;

employment – занятость;

to devote – посвящать, отводить;

naval – морской;

coal-mining – добыча угля