Ireland and the Irish

Ireland consists of broad central lowland with a few hills and is surrounded by a rim of higher land. There are many lakes in Ireland. No part of the island is more than 70 miles from the sea. The island has a typical maritime climate with mild, damp winters and cool cloudy summers. Grass grows well in such a climate and it makes the island look green and beautiful. Irish poets called Ireland the “Emerald Isle”. Northern Ireland is the smallest part of the United Kingdom. It has been a part of the U.K. since 1922. Northern Ireland has a Governor and a Parliament. Belfast became the capital of Northern Ireland in 1920. It is the largest city and the principal seaport and industrial center in Ireland. The whole economy of Northern Ireland is closely integrated with that of the U.K. Agriculture, textiles and shipbuilding are developed in Ulster (Northern Ireland). Before 1921 Ulster was one of the four ancient kingdoms of Ireland comprising 9 counties. The first date is 1609 when thousands of Scots Presbyterians were brought over for the Plantation of Ulster. The hatred between colonized and colonizer was reinforced by the difference in their religion, and the Irish were persecuted not only for being the natives but on the basis of being Catholics as well. Since then they have never sorted out religion from politics. The march of the Orange Order, which was founded in 1795 to keep up the traditions of Protestantism in Ulster, takes place every year. It’s the same thing, but in reverse, when it comes round to the 1916 Commemoration day, or to August 15^th. The Nationalists, the Catholic Tories of Northern Ireland, keep it as their day and sing anti-Orange songs. Both the Protestant Unionists and the Catholic Nationalists deny the discrimination against each other, but both use religion to divide and rule the working class. Separated by this tactic into their religious sects and set against each other the ordinary people have not been able to combine and fight politically for their real interests. At the bottom of the social pyramid with nothing to lose, the Catholic workingman doesn’t really fear the Protestant. But the Protestant workingman, who has very little, fears the Catholic because he knows that any gain made by the Catholic minority will be his loss, for the businessman and the landowner are not going to suffer losses on anybody’s behalf. Where discrimination hurts most is in employment and housing. Little is heard about the main body of the Republican movement which continues the socialist, working-class-oriented traditions. However, Republicanism is a deep and strongly held tradition in Ireland, widely supported in both north and south.

a rim – обод maritime – морской emerald – изумруд; изумрудный Ulster – Ольстер (историческая область на севере Ирландии; в 1921 была включена в качестве провинции в состав Соединенного Королевства, получив название Северной Ирландии) a county – графство (административная единица) Presbyterians – пресвитериане (члены одного из отделений протестантской церкви, приверженцы любой христианской церкви, кроме римско-католической и православной) Plantation - поселение в другой стране или регионе; колония to reinforce – усиливать to persecute – преследовать, подвергать гонениям to sort out – отделять, разделять Orange Order – Оранжевый ордер (ультраправая тайная политическая организация, созданная в Северной Ирландии для поддержки Британского монарха и защиты протестантской религии, названная так в честь Уильяма Оранжского, короля Англии (1689-1702) Unionist – юнионист, член юнионистской группировка, выступающей за сохранение Северной Ирландии в составе Соединенного Королевства Commemoration day – день поминовения to fear – бояться gain – выгода, выигрыш to suffer losses – терпеть убытки on smb’s behalf – в интересах кого-либо

VII. Translate into English:

1. England является самой большой из трех стран eat Britain. 2. Scotland находится на севере от England. 3. Wales расположен на западе от England. 4. The English Channel, ширина которого составляет около 21 мили, отделяет the U. K. от континента. 5. Cardiff – столица Уэльса и крупный порт. 6. Belfast стал столицей Northern Ireland в 1920 году. 7. London, столица Соединенного Королевства, расположен на реке the Thames. 8. Northern Ireland делится на шесть counties. 9. Население London превышает 8 миллионов, а население Glasgow и Birmingham превысило миллионную отметку. 10. England, Scotland and Wales – три основные части Великобритании.

VIII. Can you answer these questions?

1. What is the official name of the country? What parts does it consist

of? What are their capitals?

2. Why is the U.K. also called Great Britain, England or the British

Isles?

3. What countries of the U. K. occupy the two main islands?

4. What is the largest and the most densely populated country of the

U. K.?

5) What languages are spoken in the U.K.?

6. Where is the country situated? What is it separated by from the continent?

7. Who inhabited the British Isles before the Roman invasion?

8. When and by whom was Christianity introduced?

9. Is Britain mountainous? Where are there mountains in Britain?

10. What British rivers do you know?

11. What can you say about British climate?

12. Why has the sea been important in the history of England?

X. Read the following text to get some additional information:

Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country. It is a great producer of coal and steel. Great Britain has shipbuilding, machine building, automobile industry, chemicals, textiles and others. The industries are concentrated in the central part of the country. This is the so-called “Black Country”. South-Eastern England has less rain, more sun and more fertile soil. This part of the country is an old commercial and agricultural region and it is called “Green England” for its fields.

X. Make up your own topic about Great Britain in accordance with the following outline:

1) Land 2) Climate 3) Population 4) Ethnic Groups 5) Economy

Lesson Two. Parliamentary System

I. Study the following vocabulary list:

abbreviate – to make short

be in favour of – to approve

bill – special name for the proposal before it becomes law (законопроект)

reign – to rule

sign – to write one’s name as a signature to a document

debate – to discuss

constituency – a division of a country that elects a representative to a

parliament (избирательный округ)

peer – someone who is from a high social class in the UK and has a title such as

“Lord”

hereditary peer – a lord who can pass his/her title to his/her children

life peer – a lord whose family cannot keep the title after she/he dies.

vote - to show your choice of a person in an election

II. Read the texts:

Text 1. The Political System

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. This means that it has a monarch as its head of state. But the monarch’s power is limited by Constitution so that he/she can only reign with the support of Parliament. Parliament consists of two chambers known as the House of Commons and the House of Lords. In reality, the House of Commons is the only one from the three which has true power. It is here that new bills are introduced and debated. If the majority of the members are in favour of a bill it goes to the House of Lords to be debated and finally to the monarch to be signed. Only then it does it become law.

Text 2. The House of Commons and the Electoral System

The House of Commons is made up of 650 elected members known as Members of Parliament (abbreviated to MPs), each of whom represents an area (or constituency) of the United Kingdom. The election campaign usually lasts about three weeks. Everyone over the age of 18can vote in an election, which is decided on a simple majority – the candidate with the most voices wins. Parliamentary elections must be held every five years.

Text 3. The House of Lords

The House of Lords has more than 1,000 members, although only about 250take an active part in the work of the House. There are 26 Anglican bishops, 950 hereditary peers, 11 judges and 185 life peers, and unlike MPs they don’t receive a salary. They debate a bill after it has been passed by the House of Commons. Changes may be recommended, and agreement between the two Houses is reached by negotiations.

III. Match the parts of these sentences correctly:

1. The Houses of parliament is the place where	a) the people of Britain can choose a new government
2. Each Prime Minister has a private home	b) at the Opening of parliament
3. After a period of five years (or sooner)	c) the political life of Britain is organized
4. The Government tells the Monarch which plans to announce	d) until they are 18 years old
5. To win the election, a candidate has to	e) as well as the residence in Downing Street
6. People are not allowed to vote	f) get more votes than any other single candidate

IV. Can you answer these questions?

1. What kind of state is Great Britain?

2. Who rules Britain officially? And unofficially?

3. Is the Queen’s power hereditary or elective?

4. What is the difference between the House of Lords and the House of Commons?

5. Which body has more powers: Parliament or the Government?

6. How many stages a bill must pass to become an Act of Parliament?

7. How often is the general election held in Great Britain?

8. What is the Government normally formed by?

V. Read the text paying attention to comments. Answer the questions that follow it in writing:

Political Parties of Great Britain

Britain has a two party system. From 1832 to 1918 the dominant parties were the Conservatives, or the Tories, on the one hand, and the Whigs, or Liberals, on the other. These opposing parties had commanded equal support since 1679. They called each other Whigs and Tories, both rude names, which they nevertheless readily adopted. The word “whig” comes from the word “whiggam” which was used by certain Scotsmen when driving their horses. The word “Tory” comes from the Irish language and means a lawless person, usually an Irish Catholic plunderer (of English property in occupied Ireland). The Whigs were the great landowners and wealthy merchants. They were committed to the idea of Parliament’s supremacy over the Crown. The Tories represented to a great extent the smaller landowners and the country squires. In 1827-1832 the two leading parties themselves went through a period of radical reform and adopted new names: Conservative Party and Liberal Party. The difference between Whigs and Tories was demonstrated by their attitude towards the reigning house; that between Liberals and Conservatives by their attitude towards domestic reforms. The formation of the Labour Party at the beginning of the 20^thcentury was a victory of the labour movement. But Labour Government showed no radical change in policy from Tories. From the very beginning there were two main trends within the party - the left socialist trend represented by party’s rank-and-file members, and the right-wing trend represented by the party’s top leadership. In fact, it is sometimes difficult to tell the difference between the Labour and the Conservative parties. The Labour Party backed by trade unions replaced the Liberals, and since 1924 the political scene has been dominated by the Conservative and the Labour parties. The present day political scene is a combination of various political parties: the Conservatives, the Labour, the Social-Democratic Party, the Liberals and the Communists. The membership and parliamentary representation of the Liberal Party today is almost insignificant, although it does play a certain role in tipping the scales³ between the two largest parties: the Labour and the Conservative.The main way in which people exert influence over government is through political parties. These parties organize opinion on national issues, formulating policies which they feel will meet the wishes of as many people as possible.

to command equal support - пользоваться равной (одинаковой) поддержкой rude – грубый lawless (person) – человек, находящийся вне закона plunderer – вор, грабитель be committed (to the idea) – посвятить себя; быть приверженцем supremacy – превосходство squire – a man who owned land in England in the past and had a high status in the local area (сквайр) rank-and-file – рядовой (член организации) trade unions – тред-юнионы; профсоюзы to tip the scale(s) – склонить чашу весов; решить исход дела to exert influence over = to influence

1. What are the main political parties in Great Britain?

2. What are the dominant parties in modern Britain?

3. What is the role of the Liberal party today?

4. There is little difference between the Labour and the Conservative policies, isn’t there?

5. What is the ruling party in Great Britain now?

VI. Read the text with a dictionary: