Vocabulary Practice

Ex. 1. Read the international words and guess their meaning. Mind the stress.

'nation	i'dea	decla'ration
'articles	a'nnounce	demo'cratic
'federal	a'rrest	confede'ration
'natural		funda'mental
'dominate
'problem
'group
'president

Ex. 2. Complete the list of derivatives. Use a dictionary if necessary.

verb	noun (agent)	noun (concept)
to announce
to find
to divide
to form
to serve
to follow	follower	the following
to make

Ex. 3. Pair the words in column A with the ones from column B.

A	B
a.  freedom	1.  history
b.  a system	2.  ideas
c.  citizen’s	3.  liberty
d.  American	4.  of speech
e.  the branch	5.  of property
f.  key	6.  of checks and balances
g.  seizure	7.  of government

Ex. 4. Decide which of the verbs you would use with the noun phrases you have identified in ex.3.

1. to compare with; 2. to find; 3. to sustain; 4. to state; 5. to protect (against); 6. to ensure; 7. to form

Ex. 5. Add adjectives to the following nouns to form noun phrases.

Nouns: searches, announcement, condition, people, elections, authority, state, responsibilities, rights, lines, pride;

Adjectives: direct, natural, great, loud, clear, local, new, unreasonable, free, federal, fundamental.

Ex. 6. How are the following ideas expressed in the text?

1. a paper that gives information, proof or support of something else;

2. habitually taking decisions alone;

3. freedom from control, service, being shut up, etc;

4. a written statement containing a record of something;

5. a change, made in or suggested for a rule, law, statement, etc.;

6. of or formed into a political federation;

7. a person owned in law by another;

8. the right to vote in national elections;

9. the head of government in many modern states that do not have a king or queen;

10. the choosing of representatives to fill a position, a political office, by vote.

Ex. 7. Match English and Russian equivalents.

1.  to compare	a. вдохновлять
2.  key ideas	b. закладывать основу
3.  to sustain order and liberty	c. право рассмотрения дела с участием присяжных
4.  to lay the foundation	d. конфискация имущества
5.  to inspire	e. сравнивать
6.  freedom of worship	f. разделение властей
7.  the right of trial by jury	g. поддерживать порядок и свободу
8.  seizure of property	h. предвидеть каждую проблему
9.  legislative, executive, judicial branches	i. ключевые идеи
10. separation of powers	j. система сдержек и противовесов
11. system of checks and balances	k. расширять демократическую сущность
12. to foresee every problem	l. выбор вероисповедания
13. to expand the democratic nature	m. законодательная, исполнительная, судебная власти
14. to abolish slavery	n. расширять избирательное право
15. to widen the suffrage	o. отменить рабство
16. direct elections	p. прямые выборы

Ex. 8. Choose the best alternative to complete the following sentences.

1. The Declaration of Independence is more than the announcement of the upheaval / birth of a new nation.

2. The Declaration laid / marked the foundations for the Articles of Confederation.

3. The Constitution was adopted in Philadelphia / Washington.

4. The first ten amendments stated / clarified fundamental rights of any American.

5. The most striking / unusual feature of the Constitution is the separation of powers.

6. A great deal of power is in the hands of the President / Congress.

7. The Constitution has been repeatedly amended / interpreted to meet the needs of the nation.

8. Under the American Constitution all power prevails / belongs to the people.

9. The Constitution has served / influenced people for over 200 years.

10. Other amendments / considerations have expanded / protected the democratic nature of American society.