Words, words, words...
There is a text which helps to understand how the British Parliament Parliament works. Put each of the following words or phrases from the box in its correct place in the passage below.
Cabinet backbenchers Prime Minister ministers debates benches Budget Speaker front bench Opposition Foreign Secretary Shadow Cabinet Home Secretary Leader of the Opposition Chancellor of the Exchequer |
This is the House of Commons, where Members of Parliament take their seats on the green leather (a)__________according to their party and position. One of them is chosen to be the (b)__________, who acts as a kind of chairman of the (c)__________which take place in the House. In front of him on his right sit the MPs of the biggest party, which forms the government, and facing them sit the MPs of the parties who oppose them, the (d)___________. The leaders of these two groups sit at the front on each side. MPs without special positions in their parties sit behind their leaders at the back. They are called (e)___________. The leader of the government, the (f)_______, sits on the government (g)__________, of course, next to his or her (h)___________. The most important of these form the (i)____________. The minister responsible for relations with other countries is called the (j)___________. The one responsible for law and security is called the (k)_______ . The one who deals with financial matters and prepares the annual (1)___________speech on the economic state of the country is called the (m)___________. Opposite this group sits the (n)____________(the main person in the largest party opposing the government) and the (o)____________, each member of which specializes in a particular area of government.
TIME TO SPEAK
Work in pairs:
What is the difference between Parliament and the Government?
List some similarities and differences between the British and the Russian parliamentary systems.
Unit VI. TWO BRITISH FIRSTS
QUESTION TIME
1. You are going to read about the lives of Margaret Thatcher and Gordon Brown. Work in small group and discuss these questions:
Why are they famous?
What century were they born in?
Do you know anything about their lives?
The notes below present some facts about the lives of Margaret Thatcher and Gordon Brown. Try to guess which facts go with which person. Write B for Brown and T for Thatcher.
Who:
studied chemistry at Oxford?
served as the Chancellor of the Exchequer?
was appointed to the post without having won a general election?
became the leader of the Conservative Party?
worked as a journalist at television?
TIME FOR READING
Divide into two groups.
Group A Read about Margaret Thatcher
Group B Read about Gordon Brown
Work with other students in your group and check your answers to the pre-reading exercise.
Student A
MARGARET THATCHER
M
argaret
Thatcher was the first woman prime minister in Europe. She became the
leader of a major Western democracy in 1979 and served as British
Prime Minister for more than eleven years (1979-1990). It is a record
in the twentieth century.
Early life and education
Margaret Thatcher was born above a shop in the small English town Grantham. Her parents, Alfred and Beatrice Roberts, were Methodists. The social life of the family was bounded by strong traditions of self-help, charitable work, and personal truthfulness.
The Roberts family ran a grocery business; they worked very hard for little money. Margaret Roberts also worked hard; she studied chemistry at Somerville College at Oxford (1943-47). While she was studying at Somerville College, she was elected president of the student Conservative Association at Oxford and met many famous politicians, making herself known to the leadership of the Conservative Party.
Later life and political career
She first ran for Parliament in 1950 but lost and continued to work as a research chemist. At that time she was the youngest ever female Conservative candidate. The following year she married Dennis Thatcher, who was a rich businessman. They had twins, Carol and Mark. However the love of her life was politics. She became a politician in 1959, leader of the Conservative Party in 1975 and after the Conservatives won the May 1979 elections, Thatcher became the first woman Prime Minister of Britain.
Her first years in office were not easy. Unemployment was very high, but the economy gradually improved. She brought more of her supporters into the Cabinet, and the government followed a radical programme of privatisation and deregulation, reform of the Trade Unions, tax cuts and the introduction of market mechanisms into health and education. The aim was to reduce the role of government and increase individual self-reliance.
She won three successive General Elections and served as Prime Minister for more than eleven years. She finally resigned in 1990, but she didn’t want to, and she was in tears when she left 10 Downing Street (the Prime Minister’s London residence).
Student B