How britain is governed: british parliament.

(Part I).

This is the supreme legislative body in the country. Parliament consists of two Houses - the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The House of Commons. The members of the House of Commons (called Members of Parliament or MPs for short) are chosen by the electors. They are elected at a general election.

There must be a general election every five years, but the Government can "go to the country", i.e. order a general election at any time within that period if it sо wishes.

Each session of the House of Commons lasts for about 16O - 175 days. Parliament has intervals during its work. By present custom, a session is divided into five periods: from November (when the session is opened) till Christmas, from January till Easter, from Easter till Whitsun, from Whitsun till the end of July, and 10 days in October.

Members of Parliament are paid for their parliamentary work and have to attend the sittings. WhenParliament is not meeting, these MPs spend much of their time visiting the constituencies which have elected them.

The opening of Parliament is an occasion of very picturesque ceremony. The Queen goes to the House of Lords (according to an old tradition no King or Queen is allowed to enter the House of Соmmоns) and reads a speech which tells what laws the Government intends to make. The members of the House of Commons listen to the Queen standing at the entrance to the Ноusе of Lords.

After the Queen's speech, MPs go back to the House of Commons. There they carry on the work of government partly by debates, in which all members can take part, and partly by committee meetings which fewer members attend.

The party that has won the general election makes up the majority in the House of Commons and forms the Government. The party with the next largest number of members in the House, or sometimes a combination of other parties, forms the official opposition, and Leader of the Opposition is a recognized post in the House of Commons.

The sittings usually begin at 10 a.m. People who visit the House of Parliament may sit in the Strangers' Gallery looking down into the House of Commons and listen to the debates. The central entrance hall is usually busy with people coming and going to see the buildings, and others wanting to see their Members of Parliament.

There are 650 members in the House of Commons (most of them are professional politicians, lawyers, etc.). If the number present in the House drops below 40, the House is "counted out" and the debate suspended. During many of the debates, MPs come and go because they are often wanted on business in other parts of the building, but during important debates they remain in the House, and the sitting may go on until late at night.

G.D. Tomakhin.

Пояснения к тексту

Sovereign - монарх

the House of Commons - палата Общин

the House of Lords - палата Лордов

Christmas - рождество /25 декабря/

Easter - пасха

Whitsun - Whit - троицин день

Strangers` Gallery - галерея для публики /в палате лордов или в палате общин/

Commonwealth - см. пояснения текст №2

to count out - отложить заседание из-за отсутствия кворума

Слева и выражения для активного усвоения

supreme - верховный , высший

legislative - законодательный

to consist of - состоять из

to elect - выбирать

to dissolve - распускать

to summon - созывать

due to - благодаря

resignation - уход в отставку

to last- продолжаться

to pay - платить

occasion - случай

to intend - намереваться

member - член

to carry on - продолжать

to attend - посещать

to make up - составлять

to рrороsе - предлагать

Questions to the text.

1. How many Houses does the Parliament consist of?

2. There is a general election every five years, isn`t there?

3. How long does each session of the House of Commons last?

4. Are Members of Parliament paid for their work?

Text 4

HOW BHITAIN IS GOVERNED.

(Part II)

The main stages of the bill's progress in each House are still known аs "readings".

Nowadays the first reading is a formality. Only the title of the bill is mentioned, and it is then printed in full for members of the House of Commons to read and think about before the second reading.

On the second reading, a discussion takes place. Тhe House may be unanimous in favor of the bill: on many occasions it is clear from the debates what the wishes of the majority of members are; but at other times some members may shout "Aye" (Yes) and other "Nay" (No), in which case a vote has to be taken. A bell is rung so that all members mау come and vote. The members leave their benches and walk out into two lobbies. This they do by passing through corridors behind the Speaker's chair, the "Ayes" ("for") on one side and the "Nays" ("against") on the other. As they walk out, they are counted by four tellers - two for each side - and it may take ten or fifteen minutes before the figures are announced.

The largest number of votes "for" or "against" decides whether the bill is passed or not. If the bill is defeated at this stage, it can go no further.

The next stage is called the report stage: the House has before it the new text of the bill, incorporating the committee's amendments. Further speeches and amendments are made.

The bill is now ready for its third reading. Again it is fully discussed in the House of Commons.

If the majority of MPs still votes for the bill, it is sent to the House of Lords for discussion. When the Lords accept it, the bill is taken to the Queen for the Royal Assent.

The Queen signs and the Great Seal is fixed. Тhe bill becomes an Act of Parliament.

The House of Lords. This House consists of hereditary and life peers and peeresses, a certain number of Irish and Scottish peers, the archbishops of Canterbury and York, and some bishops of the Established Church of England.

The House of Lords sits on average for about 140 days in each session. The Lord Chancellor is chairman and sits on a special seat called the Woolsack.

The House of Lords cannot deal with a Money Bill, and if they disagree on any other bill, the most they can do is to delay it for a year, if the House of Commons passes it. Members in the House of Lords may introduce new bills, but these have to be sent to the House of Commons for the usual three readings.

G.D. Tomakhin. Иностранные языки в школе № 4, 1988г.

Пояснения к тексту:

Speaker - спикер - член парламента, который председательствует впалате общин

Canterbury- Кантербери /город в Англии/

Established-Church - государственная церковь

Lord Chancellor - лорд Канцлер

Woolsack - мешок с шерстью

Standing committee - постоянная комиссия в парламенте

Слова и выражениядля активного усвоения

to mention - упоминать

unanimous – единодушный

occasion- случай, возможность