2. Answer the questions:

1. What does the term "constitutional monarchy" mean?

2. What are the functions of the sovereign?

3. Who are the members of the House of Lords?

4. What are the functions of the houses?

5. What are the functions of Prime Minister and the Cabinet of Ministers?

6. What are the major political parties in Great Britain?

3. Translate into English:

1. Соединенное Королевство управляется (is governed by) монархом, выборной палатой общин, а также частично наследственной палатой лордов.

2. Монарх имеет титул короля (королевы) и является арбитром последней инстанции в некоторых вопросах, таких как роспуск правительства или его формирование.

3. Высшая законодательная власть осуществляется парламентом, состоящим из палаты лордов и палаты общин.

4. Палата лордов состоит из наследственных пэров, пожиз­ненных пэров и пэресс, епископов — членов парламента.

5. Палата общин, состоящая из всенародно избираемых членов, — реальный правящий орган Соединенного Королевства.

6. Кабинет министров вносит законопроект; парламент может одобрить его или отложить его рассмотрение.

7. Исполнительная власть осуществляется кабинетом министров, который вносит на рассмотрение законопроекты и организует деятельность правительства.

Dying for the Vote Topical Vocabulary

vote	голосование голосовать (for – за), (against - против)
suffrage	избирательное право
suffragette	суфражистка
opposition	оппозиция
petitions	петиция
publicity	гласность
cause	дело
break the law	нарушить закон
prison	тюрьма
martyr	мученица
opinion	мнение

1. You are going to read an article about the time when women in Britain fought for the right to vote.

Pre-reading task. Read the introduction to the article.

On 6 February 1918, the British Parliament passed an important law. This law gave women in Britain the right to vote for the first time. The right to vote is sometimes called suffrage. The women who fought for this right were called suffragettes. In many countries the women’s fight was long and hard.

2. Reading and vocabulary

1. Read the article quickly and find the words that you don't know, and check them in the dictionary.

2. Compare with a partner the words you looked up.

3. Why is the title of the article 'Dying for the vote'?

3. Read the text. Dying for the Vote

The suffragette move­ment started in the middle of the 19th century. Women demanded not only the right to vote, but also better education for girls. However, there was strong opposition. Many men argued that women were less intelligent and more emotional than men, and therefore could not make important decisions. The first suffragettes believed in being legal and peaceful. They used to write letters to Parliament and organize petitions. Nothing happened. Nobody noticed them. By 1903, a woman called Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters Christabel and Sylvia decided they needed publicity for their cause. They encouraged women to break the law. Soon the newspapers were full of shocking stories about these new-style suffragettes.

What did they do? They marched through the streets. They used to paint VOTES FOR WOMEN on walls, and break shop windows. Some women chained themselves to the railings outside Parliament and 10 Downing Street. They had to be very courageous, because angry crowds came and threw tomatoes, eggs, and flour at them. Many women went to prison. There they refused to eat, and so prison officers used rubber tubes to force food into them. The most shocking event was on Derby Day in June 1913. A suffragette called Emily Davidson ran in front of the King's horse and was killed. She was the first martyr for the cause.

Gradually, opinion changed. Many members of Parliament: now wanted votes for women, but still nothing happened. During the First World War, women had to do men's jobs, and they did them well. It was only after this that women aged thirty and over got the vote. Ten more years passed before, in 1928, women of twenty-one could vote.