I. Major political parties

1. Read and translate the text:

The United States began as a one-party political system. George Washington and many others among the Revolutionary leaders wanted it to stay that way. In 1787, when the Constitution was written, the people were divided over whether to ratify it, although they were not yet organized into definite political parties.

The question is about who should be the new President began to divide people into political organizations. On one hand there were the Federalists, representing business, finance and the middle classes of city folk. On the other hand there were the “Republicans” led by Thomas Jefferson. They represented mainly the country folk from Virginia. Thus by 1800 the one-party Revolutionary government of the United States quickly split up into a two-party system.

The parties chose their own names, Republican and Democratic, but not their party emblems. The cartoonist Thomas Nast invented the Republican elephant and the Democratic donkey in the early 1870s, and they soon became fixed types.

The differences between these two parties are so small that a voter will see no intellectual inconsistency in voting for a Republican President, a Democratic state governor, a Republican Senator and a Democratic member of the House.

How is an individual’s party affiliation determined, or how does a person choose sides in the game of party politics? The first and perhaps the most important determinant is family tradition. Most voters take the party of their parents. Recently there has been an increasing tendency for the well-to-do to vote the Republican Party and for the less fortunate to vote the Democratic Party. National origin plays the role too; descendants of northern Europeans tend to the Republican Party, while those of southern and eastern Europeans prefer the Democratic Party.

The traditional bipartisan system is highly cherished by Big Business, for it creates a sort of illusion that voters are free to choose between the candidates of these two parties, whereas both of them faithfully serve Big Business interests.

Many people say that there is not much difference between the Republican and Democratic Parties. “Liberal” politicians usually favor reforms and progress. “Conservative” politicians usually oppose changes. Both liberal and conservative members belong to the two major political parties, and their ideas are often changed with the times and the issues.

Vocabulary:

one-party system- однопартийная система

bipartisan system- двухпартийная система

city folk- городское население

country folk- сельское население

inconsistency- несовместимость; противоречие

affiliation- присоединение

to cherish- лелеять

2. Give the English equivalents for:

- ратифицировать;

- средний класс;

- потомок;

- на партийном уровне.

3. Match each word on the left with the right definition on the right:

1) leader	a) someone who works in politics, especially an elected member of the government
2) party	b) ideas and activities relating to the gaining and using power in a country, city, etc.
3) voter	c) the person who directs or controls a team, organization, country etc.
4) politician	d) an organization of people with the same political aims that you can vote for in elections
5) politics	e) someone who votes or has the right to vote

4. Answer the questions:

1. What kind of system was characteristic of the United States at the time of George Washington?

2. What were the first reasons of people’s division into political parties?

3. Whom did the Federalists represent?

4. Who were the Republicans?

5. What are the party emblems and who invented them?

6. What distinguishes the two parties?

6. Read the text without a dictionary. Try to catch the main idea:

The Democratic Party is the oldest party in the United States. In 1829, Andrew Jackson became the first Democratic President. Since that time, the issues of the nation and the ideas of the party have changed. Both the major parties have liberal and conservative members but in general people consider the Democrats today more liberal than the Republicans.

Democrats often want the government to establish social programs for people in need, such as the poor, the unemployed, and the elderly. They usually say they believe in equal rights for women and minorities and they oppose nuclear weapon and too much military spending. The symbol of the Democratic Party is the donkey.

The Republican Party, sometimes called the G.O.P. (the Grand Old Party), began in 1854 over the issue of slavery. Republicans oppose slavery. The first Republican candidate to become President was Abraham Lincoln. After the Civil War, Republicans got interested in farm, land, and business issues. In general, Republicans vote more conservatively than Democrats. They want government to support big business but not to control the lives of citizens. They often oppose government spending for social programs but support military spending. The party symbol is the elephant.

Vocabulary:

nuclear weapon- ядерное оружие

military spending- расходы на вооружение

Notes to the text:

G.O.P. (the Grand Old Party) - великая старая партия (неофициальное название Республиканской партии США)

6. Say what party is spoken about in each sentence:

1. It is the oldest political party in the United States.

2. It is sometimes called the G.O.P.

3. Its first President was Abraham Lincoln.

4. Its first President was Andrew Jackson.

5. It is generally more liberal than the other party.

6. Its members usually prefer to spend tax money for military purposes rather than for social programs.

7. Its members do not want the government to control the lives of individuals.

8. The party symbol is the donkey.

7. Speak on:

1. The political parties in your country.

Russia elects a president as head of state and a legislature, one of the two chambers of the Federal Assembly. The president is elected for a six-years term by the people. The Federal Assembly has two chambers. The State Duma has 450 members, elected for five-year terms all of them by proportional representation. The Federation Council is not directly elected; each of the 83 federal subjects of Russia sends 2 delegates to the Federal Council, for a total of 166 members.

Since 1990, there have been six elections for the presidency and seven for parliament.

In the six presidential elections, only once, in 1996, has a second round been needed. There have been three presidents, with Boris Yeltsin elected in 1991 and 1996, Vladimir Putin in 2000, 2004 and 2012 and Dmitry Medvedev in 2008.

In the parliamentary elections, the Communist Party was the largest party in the 1995 and 1999 elections, with 35% and 24% of the votes respectively. The Liberal Democratic Party of Russia has ranged from 5 to 15% of the votes, and Yabloko won 10% of the votes in 1995 and around 5% in the other three elections. United Russia, an alliance of Unity and Fatherland – All Russia, became the biggest party with 38% in 2003.

II. ELECTIONS

1. Read and translate the text: