3. Дайте ответы на следующие вопросы по содержанию текста:

1. What do the changes of the British Parliament reflect?

2. What is the British Parliament in the legislative sense?

3. How many chambers are there in the British Parliament?

4. Which is more important the House of Lords or the House of Commons?

5. What is the House of Lords in the legal sense of the word?

6. What are the main functions of Parliament?

7. What is its principal duty?

4. Изложите краткое содержание текста на русском языке (5-7 предложений).

5. Перепишите следующие предложения, употребив глаголы в нужной форме (Simple Past, Present Perfect, Past Perfect):

1. In 1215 King Henry III (to refuse) to accept Magna Carta.

2. The British Parliament (to pass) just a new Bill.

3. In the middle of the last century the House of Commons (to be) a center of real political power.

4. The Labour Party (to replace) the Conservatives some two years ago.

5. Since 1924 the Conservatives and the Liberals (to dominate) the political scene.

6. The Queen (to sign) the Bill yet?

7. The Magna Carta (to establish) the principle of limited Government many centuries ago.

8. They (not to debate) this issue yet.

9. The Prime Minister formed the Cabinet, after his party (to win) the elections.

10. Parliament passed the Bill after they (to read) it for three times.

11. By 6 p.m. every elector in the constituency (to vote).

6. Перепишите следующие предложения, употребив глагол в нужной временной форме (Present Perfect Continuous ­– have/has been doing, Past Perfect Continuous – had been doing, или Past Continuous – was/were doing):

1. They haven’t passed the Bill yet. They (to debate) it for two weeks.

2. When the Queen arrived, people (to wait) for her to greet. They (to wait) for her for two hours.

3. While Mr. Brown (to make) a speech, everybody (to listen) to him with great attention

4. The jurors haven’t returned a verdict yet. They (to discuss) it since 11 o’clock.

5. It’s the limit! You (to talk) over the phone for 40 minutes.

6. It’s 2 p.m. now MPs (to discuss) this important issue for two hours already.

7. The Queen (to give) audience to her ministers yesterday at 3 p.m..

8. I (to work) here for 30 years and I know who’s who.

9. A private detective (to walk) near Mr. Smith’s house since morning.

7. Напишите сравнительную и превосходную степень следующих прилагательных:

old, wonderful, heavy, interesting, near, bad, good, rich, beautiful, poor, famous, great, happy, narrow.

7. Переведите следующие предложения на английский язык, обращая внимание на использование временной формы Future Simple:

1. В следующем году я приму участие в выборах.

2. Через пять лет мы станем юристами.

3. Президент не будет выступать перед избирателями (electors, voters) завтра.

4. Кто будет представлять (to represent) кандидата на собрании?

5. Большинство граждан будут голосовать за этого кандидата.

6. Члены парламента примут этот закон через две недели.

7. Когда премьер-министр назначит (to nominate) членов правительства?

8. Когда кабинет рассмотрит (to consider) свою будущую политику?

7. Прочитайте текст и переведите его письменно:

Elections

The Parliamentary electoral system of Great Britain encourages the domination of two major political parties. According to the number of members in the House of Commons there are 651 electoral districts in the United Kingdom. Each district has on an average about 60 000 people and each elects one member to the House of Commons. A general election usually takes place every five years.

Different parties may nominate the candidates, but the real contest is between two big parties the Conservative Party and the Labour party.

Elections are held by secret ballot. British citizens may vote provided they are aged 18 or over.

Voting is on the same day (usually a Thursday), and the voting stations are open from seven in the morning till nine at night. In a British election they elect a candidate who wins the most votes, even if he or she does not get as many as all the votes of the other candidates taken together. This is the simple majority electoral system.

As soon as the results of the general election become known, it is clear which party will form the government. The leader of the majority party becomes Prime Minister and the new House of Commons meets.