- •Vocabulary
- •1. Read text 1 and choose (a), (b) or (c) to answer the questions or complete the statements.
- •2. Read the text again. For each statement 1 to 5 below choose a) right, b) wrong or c) doesn’t say. Correct the false statements.
- •3. Find modal verb forms or their equivalents and translate the sentences into Russian.
- •4. Complete the sentences with can, could, may, must or have to.
- •5. Complete the sentences with appropriate word from the brackets.
- •6. Complete the sentences with the passive modal verb forms.
- •Text 2 The Branches of Government
- •Vocabulary
- •8. Read text 2. For each statement 1 to 10 below choose a) right, b) wrong or c) doesn’t say. Correct the false statements.
- •9. Read the text again. Match the functions with the right branch of power.
- •10. Rewrite the sentences, changing the active to the passive and adding by where necessary. Make any other necessary changes.
- •11. Complete the sentences with appropriate forms of the verbs in brackets (present or past simple active or passive, participle I or II).
- •12. Use the comparative or superlative forms of the adjectives in brackets where necessary.
- •Vocabulary Practice
- •13. Match the legal terms with their definitions.
- •14. In each line find the verb that does not go with the noun.
- •15. Match the adjectives 1 to 10 to the nouns that they go with. Make up 5 sentences with any of the collocations.
- •16. Give synonyms. Make up 7 sentences with any of them.
- •18. Translate the chains of words into Russian. Complete the sentences with appropriate words from each chain.
- •19. Choose a, b, c or d to complete the sentences.
- •20. Complete the following text with suitable words or phrases from the
- •21. Look again at Texts 1 and 2 and answer the questions.
- •22. Use Texts 1 and 2 to define the following terms.
- •23. Translate into English.
- •24. Speak on one of the following topics.
- •25. Discuss in groups.
6. Complete the sentences with the passive modal verb forms.
Model: A new legislation (must/ pass) by Parliament tomorrow.
A new legislation must be passed by Parliament tomorrow.
Governments decide what kinds of property (may/own) by the public.
An assembly of the people’s representatives (may/call) a council, a legislature, a congress, or a parliament.
This case (cannot/decide) by a magistrate.
Laws (can/classify) in many ways.
In order to become a law all bills (must/sign) by the President.
Certain rules (must/follow) by English judges.
Prices (can/increase) by the government next year.
Students and schoolchildren (should/provide) with free Internet service.
Laws that are unconstitutional (can/remove) by the highest courts.
More money (should/spend) to protect the environment.
7. Ask wh-questions to the underlined parts of the sentences.
1. Lawyers work in law firms, for the government, for companies, or by themselves. 2. Civil law is based on legislation passed by parliament. 3. Young people may vote at the age of 18. 4. In the year 2000, there were 955,300 practicing lawyers and judges in the United States. 5. Twenty-four of the forty-six signers1 of the Declaration of Independence were lawyers. 6. Japan modernised its legal system in the nineteenth century. 7. In 1154, Henry II institutionalized common law in England. 8. Modern democratic governments can be classified into two broad categories. 9. In the years following the Cuban Revolution, many lawyers left Cuba. 10. The government had to change its immigration policy.
Text 2 The Branches of Government
Separation of powers is a model for the governance of democratic states. Under this model the state is divided into branches, and each branch of the state has separate and independent powers and areas of responsibility. The normal division of branches is into the Legislative, the Executive, and the Judicial.
A legislature is a representative deliberative assembly with the power to adopt laws. Legislatures are known by many names, the most common are parliament and congress. In parliamentary systems of government, the legislature is formally supreme and appoints the executive. In presidential systems of government, the legislature is equal to, and independent of, the executive. In addition to enacting laws, legislatures usually have exclusive authority to raise taxes and adopt the budget and other money bills.
Although some countries – for example, Israel, Greece, Sweden and China – have unicameral legislatures, most legislatures are bicameral, usually comprising an upper house and a lower house, which may differ in duties, powers, and the methods used for the selection of members. To pass legislation, a majority of legislators must vote for a bill in each house. Normally there are several readings and amendments proposed by the different political factions.
In political science and constitutional law, the executive is the branch of government responsible for the day-to-day management of the state. The executive is identified by the Head of Government. In a presidential system, this person (the President) may also be the Head of State, whereas in a parliamentary system he or she is usually the leader of the largest party in the legislature and is most commonly termed the Prime Minister. The Head of Government is assisted by a number of ministers, who usually have responsibilities for particular areas (e.g. health, education, foreign affairs), and by a large number of government employees or civil servants.
The judiciary or judicial system is the system of courts which administer justice in the name of the state, a mechanism for the resolution of disputes. Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the judiciary is the branch of government primarily responsible for interpreting the law. It has sole power to interpret the law and to apply it to particular disputes.
Most countries have a system of appeals courts, up to a supreme authority. In the U.S., this is the Supreme Court; in Australia, the High Court; in the U.K., the House of Lords. Almost every country allows its highest judicial authority to strike down legislation or actions determined to be unconstitutional.
The Legislative Branch makes laws, the Executive branch executes them as instructed. And the Judiciary ensures compliance with the legislation passed by the Legislative Branch.
Each branch can place specified restraints on the powers of the other branches. To prevent one branch from becoming supreme, and to induce the branches to cooperate, a system of "checks and balances" may be created. Checks and balances refers to the various procedural rules that allow one branch to limit another, such as the authority of the president to veto legislation passed by Congress, or the power of Congress to alter the composition and jurisdiction of the federal courts. This balancing of power is intended to ensure that no one branch grows too powerful and dominates the national government.