Срсп 4 great britain The British Monarchy today

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. This means that it has a monarch ( a keen or a queen) as its Head of State. The monarch reigns with the support of Parliament. The powers of the monarch are not defined precisely. Everything today is done in the Queen’s name. It is her Government, her armed forces, her law courts and so on. She appoints all the Ministers, including the Prime Minister. Everything is done however on the advice of the elected Government, and the monarch takes no part in the decision making process.

The Queen is very rich as other members of the royal family. In addition, the Government pays for expenses as Head of State, for a royal yacht, train and aircraft as well as for the upkeep of several palaces. The Queen’s image appears on stamps, notes and coins.

Parliament consists of two chambers known as the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Parliament and the monarch have different roles in the Government of the country, and they only meet together on symbolic occasions such as the coronation of a new monarch or the opening of Parliament. In reality, the House of Commons is the only one of the three which has true power. It is here that new bills are introduced and debated. If the majority of the members are in favor of a bill it goes to the House of Lords to be debated and finally to the monarch to be signed. Only then it becomes law. Although a bill must be supported by all three bodies, the House of Lords only has limited powers, and the monarch has not refused to sign one since the modern political system began over 200 years ago.

16. London Museums and Art Galleries

London is visited by millions of tourists every year. They come there to see the sights of London and to visit London’s museums. There is quite a number of museums and art galleries in London which are world-famous.

The National Gallery is situated in Trafalgar Square and is one of the best known art galleries in the world. It was founded in 1824 and houses one of the most important collections of Italian paintings outside Italy. It is also famous for its Dutch collection, particularly for paintings by Rembrandt.

The national Portrait Gallery is situated near the National Gallery. It is Britain’s leading art gallery of portraits of famous people in British history. The National Portrait Gallery is noted for representing various kinds of portraits – from traditional on paintings to photographs. Founded in 1856, in 1984 it contained over 8 00 original portraits and more than 500 000 photographs.

The famous Tate Gallery was opened in 1897 with the financial support of Sir Henry Tate. He also gave a collection of 65 paintings. The gallery contains a unique collection of British painting from the 16^th century to the present day. Turner and Blake are particularly well represented in the collections. The gallery also has many drawings and modern sculpture.

Victoria and Albert Museum is a collection of find and applied arts. It contains a great collection of miniature, too. It was opened in 1857 and was named after Queen Victoria and her husband, Prince Albert.

The British Museum was founded in 1753, it contains one of the world’s richest collections of antiquities. It also houses in main collection covering the history of plants, minerals, and the animal world. There is also Reading Room of the British Library in the museum.

There is number of museums in London which are neither museums or galleries. Nevertheless, they attract tourists from different parts of Great Britain and of the world. You are sure to know about Madame Tusseau’s Museum. It contains hundreds of works figures which are sculpture portraits of famous personalities – political figures, painters, musicians, sportsmen and even criminals. The Museum of London represents the history of the city from its foundation to its present day. The Museum of Moving Image illustrates the history of cinema.

In other words, any visitor can find a museum to his taste in London.

Ex.1. Answer the questions.

1. What do you know about the Government in Great Britain?

2. What is political life in Great Britain? Explain and bring out the essence of British Political State.

3. Speak about the famous politicians.

4. In most Parliaments in the Western world, the place where representatives debate is in the form of a semi-circle. But in Britain there are two sets of rows facing each other. Why is the British Parliament different in this respect?

5. How does the role of political parties in Britain differ from their role in your country?

6. Why do Britain not have a written Constitution? Does it need one?

7. What collection does the National Gallery house?

8. What is the National Portrait Gallery noted for?

9. What painters are particularly well represented in the Tate Gallery?

10. What kind of museums is Victoria and Albert Museum? Why is it named so?

11. What are the to departments of the British Museum?

12. What museums besides art museums and galleries can you find in London?

Ex.2. Paraphrase the words and word combinations in italics.

1. The monarch reigns with the support of Parliament.

2. Everything today is done in the Queen’s name.

3. The Queen is very rich as other members of the royal family.

4. The Queen’s image appears on stamps, notes and coins.

5. Parliament and the monarch have different roles in the Government of the country, and they only meet together on symbolic occasions such as the coronation of a new monarch or the opening of Parliament.

6. There is quite a number of museums and art galleries in London which are world-famous.

7. It is Britain’s leading art gallery of portraits of famous people in British history.

8. It contains a great collection of miniature, too.

9. Nevertheless, they attract tourists from different parts of Great Britain and of the world.

10. The Museum of London represents the history of the city from its foundation to its present day.

Ex.3. Have a talk a with your group mates, using the following questions.

1. What country is Great Britain?

2. Where is Great Britain situated?

3. By what channel is Great Britain separated from France?

4. The surface of the country is much varied, isn’t it?

5. What parts of the country are mountainous and hilly?

6. Which is the highest mountain?

7. Where is the capital of Great Britain situated?

8. What is the climate like in Britain?

9. There are many foggy and rainy days in Britain, aren’t there?

10. Is Britain rich in natural resources?

11. Is it highly developed industrial country?

12. Is Britain a republic or a monarchy?

13. What are the powers of the Queen limited by?

14. How many chambers are there in the British Parliament?

15. What is the population of the country.

Ex.4. Make up questions using the words given in brackets.

1. What is the capital of Russia?

The capital of Russia is Moscow.

(Washington, London, Paris, Berlin, Warsaw, Tokyo, Edinburgh, Stockholm, Madrid, Dublin, Oslo, Copenhagen, Rome, Pekin, Amsterdam, Sofia, Prague, Bucharest, Budapest).

2. What do you call people who live in Italy?

We call them Italians.

(Russia, Japan, China, Norway, Sweden, Spain, Denmark, Holland, Ireland, Scotland, Bulgaria).

3. Where is France situated?

It is situated in Europe.

(Melbourne, Zambia, Korea, Canada, Switzerland).

4. Which is highest mountain in the world (in this country)?

(largest, longest, shortest, deepest, biggest, most beautiful, oldest, most southern).

Ex.5. Pick up from the text all the sentences containing dates and write them chronologically.

Ex.6. Write a report.

1. The traditions and customs in Britain?

2. The holidays in Britain?

3. The May day and May day bank holidays.

4. People in my country are more or less enthusiastic about celebration of holidays than they are in Britain?