- •1) Describe the geographical position of the British Isles offering an explanation for its advantages and disadvantages. Define the term “continental shelf”, its importance for the economy.
- •3)Examine the main stages in the formation of the population of Great Britain (Ancient Britain, The Celts, Romans, Anglo-Saxons) their contribution.
- •4)Describe the Danish raids on England. The struggle of Alfred the Great and its results. Scandinavian borrowings in England.
- •6)Give the main characteristics of the modern population of Great Britain (size, destiny) Immigration and its effects: the visible minority and it’s role.
- •7) Analyse some national traits of the British people and character. How did geography and history affect the British character? How different are they from other nations?
- •8) Describe Great Britain as a constitutional monarchy, its role and social influence.
- •9)Describe the structure and composition of the British Parliament. The House of Lords, main functions and recent changes. The House of Commons: fuctions and role. Devolution.
- •10)Discuss the Electoral system. The majority electoral system and its peculiarities.
- •11)The composition of the Britih Government. The role of the British Prime Minister and the Cabinet. Explain the term “Shadow Cabinet” and its significance.
- •12) Expand on the formation, development and role of the Commonwealth of Nations in the contemporary world and of Britain’s contributions to this organization.
- •13)Discuss the British in their private life, their love of gardens. Leisure and sports in their lives.
- •14)The conflict in Nothern Ireland, its solution.
- •Riots of August 1969
- •Violence peaks and Stormont collapses
- •Sunningdale Agreement and uwc strike
- •[Edit]Late 1970s
- •[Edit]Hunger strikes and the emergence of Sinn Féin
- •Paramilitary ceasefires and peace process
- •First ceasefire
- •Second ceasefire
- •15)Give a general assessment of the role of Britain in the present world. The main issues of the home and foreign policy of the present government.
- •16)Сharacterize the major political parties in the uk (Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats and other)
- •17) The role of the church in Britain today. The established churches in the country. Decline of church attendance, reasons.
- •1)Give an account of the geographical position of the United States, its advantages and disadvantages. The size of the country, its composition.
- •Intermontane Plateaus and Basins
- •2)Outline the physical features of the us. The chief mountain ranges and plains the main rivers and lakes. The climatic regions. The main mineral resources and their role.
- •Illegal Immigration
- •6) Discuss the reasons, development and consequences of the War of Independence (1775-1783).
- •7) Expand on the basic values of the American nation. Explain their importance. The "frontier heritage*, the heroes. What is political correctness? Refer to examples in language.
- •9) The prelude, chief events of the Civil War (1861-1865) and its major consequences.
- •10) The development of the usa after the Civil War. The Monroe doctrine. American expansionism at the end of the 19th century.
- •11) Describe how and when the American Constitution was adopted. The structure of the Constitution and its principles. The Bill of Rights and its role.
- •12) The role and the structure of the Congress - the supreme legislative body. Its main functions (the Senate, the House of Representatives).
- •13) Examine the institution of the American presidency, its power and functions. Give a motivated criticism of the home and foreign policy of the present administration.
- •14) Describe the process of presidential elections, their indirect character. What is meant by an "electoral college". Comment on the results of the presidential elections of the year 2008.
- •15) Explain what is meant by a "strict division and separation of powers" between the Congress, the President, the Supreme Court and the system of checks and balances under the Constitution,
- •16) Characterize the main political parties in the usa (the Republicans, the Democrats history, political platform and role today).
- •17) Describe the national Symbols of the usa: the flag, the Great Seal, the National Anthem and the 10 federal holidays.
- •Independence Day
- •Veterans' Day
- •Valentine's Day
14)The conflict in Nothern Ireland, its solution.
On 20 June 1968, Austin Currie, a Nationalist MP staged a symbolic protest against housing discrimination when he squatted in a house in the village of Caledon, in County Tyrone, which a local Unionist party official had allocated to a Protestant 19 year old single woman over two homeless Catholic families. Catholics in Northern Ireland had long complained that religion and political views were more important than need when it came to the allocation of state-built houses and this was just one of the many unjust example of such discrimination. When the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) showed up to remove Currie from the house, one of the members was the girl's brother, who would later move in with her. Prior to Currie's protest, the two Catholic families had been squatting in a nearby house but were evicted by the police, while the local news cameras filmed, when the Protestant girl, also the secretary of a Unionist parliamentary candidate, moved in to her new house. Currie had brought their grievance to the local council and Stormont and in both cases, he was asked to leave. He then chose to highlight the issue with an act of civil disobedience which became a "cause celebre" thereby helping in rallying thousands for the first ever civil right protest march in Northern Ireland and has been referred to by some scholars as the spark which ignited the Troubles. In 1968, the marches of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association (NICRA) were met with a violent backlash by police and civil authorities. This group had launched a peaceful civil rights campaign in 1967, which borrowed the language and symbolism of the civil rights movement of Martin Luther King in the United States. NICRA was seeking a redress of Catholic and nationalist grievances within Northern Ireland. Specifically, it wanted an end to the gerrymandering of electoral boundaries that produced unrepresentative local councils (particularly in Derry city) by putting virtually all Catholics in a limited number of electoral wards; the abolition of the rate-payer franchise in local government elections, which gave Protestants disproportionate voting power; an end to unfair allocation of jobs and housing; and an end to the Special Powers Act which allowed for internment from 1971 to 1975 and other repressive measures and which was seen as being aimed at the nationalist community.
Initially, Terence O'Neill, the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland, reacted favourably to this moderate-seeming campaign and promised reforms of Northern Ireland. However, he was opposed by many unionists, including William Craig and Ian Paisley, who accused him of being a "sell-out". Some unionists immediately mistrusted the NICRA, seeing it as an IRA "Trojan horse".
Violence broke out at several civil rights marches when Protestant loyalists attacked civil rights demonstrators with clubs. The Royal Ulster Constabulary, almost entirely Protestant, was widely viewed by nationalists as supporting the loyalists and of allowing the violence to occur. On 5 October 1968, a civil rights march in Derry was banned by the Northern Ireland government. When civil rights activists defied the ban, they were attacked by the RUC, leading to three days of rioting. On 4 January 1969, a People's Democracy march between Belfast and Derry through Catholic and Protestant areas was repeatedly attacked by loyalists and off-duty police. At Burntollet Bridge it was ambushed by ~200 loyalists armed with iron bars, bricks and bottles. The police did little to protect the march. Subsequently, barricades were erected in nationalist areas of Belfast and Derry to prevent police incursions. Many regard these events as the beginning of the Troubles.