Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. Britain is administered from the Palace of Westminster in London. This is also known as the Houses of Parliament which is made up of two chambers (палаты) — the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The House of Commons has 651 seats which are occupied by Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected by the British public in general elections which are held every five years. The country is divided into 650 constituencies (избирательные округа) each of which elects one Member of Parliament (MP). The party which wins the elections gets the most seats in the House of Commons and forms the Government. Its leader becomes the Prime Minister.

Britain does not have a written constitution, but a set of laws. Most legislation (законодательство) originates in the Commons. Besides legislation the functions of Commons are security of government activities. The House of Commons is presided over by the Speaker. The government party sits on the Speaker's right while on his left sit the members of the Opposition.

The House of Lords comprises about 1 200 members. The members of the House of Lords are not elected: they sit in the House because they are aristocrats who have inherited their seats from their fathers, people with titles and bishops (эпископы) of the Church of England.

This House has no real power but acts as an advisory council for the House of Commons. The House of Lords may take a part in legislation, but it cannot permanently block a bill (законопроект) passed by the Commons.

The House of Lords is presided over by the Lord Chancellor (Лорд канцлер или председатель суда) and is the highest court of appeal.

Technically British Parliament is made up of three parts: the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch (at the moment the Queen Elizabeth 11 who has been n power since 1953).

The Queen, who is the Head of State, opens and closes the sessions of the Parliament. All new laws are debated (discussed) by MPs in the Commons, then debated in the Lords, and finally signed by the Queen.

The English monarchy has been interrupted only once during the Revolution and the Cromwell republic. Succession (наследование) to the throne is hereditary (наследственное). Formally the monarch has a number of roles. The monarch is expected to be politically neutral, and should not make political decisions. Nevertheless (тем не менее), Queen Elizabeth 11 still performs some important executive and legislative duties (исполнительные и законодательные обязанности) including opening and dissolving Parliament, signing bills (законопроекты) passed by both Houses and fulfilling international duties, visits to foreign countries, and especially those to the Commonwealth (Содружество наций), whose interests and welfare (благосостояние) are very important to her. She started the tradition of the "walkabouts", when she walks among the public crowds and stops to talk to some people. The annual Christmas broadcast made by the Queen on radio and television has become a traditional. The Queen's husband is Duke of Edinburgh and her heir (наследник) is Charles, Prince of Wales, who was born in 1948, married Lady Diana Spencer who died in a car accident in August, 1997, and has two children, Prince William and Prince Harry. August, 1997. The Queen's other children are Princess Anne, Prince Andrew and Prince Edward .

Government

Two main parties in the UK are the Conservative party, descended from the old Tory party, and the Labour party, which was organized in 1906 and is moderately socialist. The Liberal Democrats, which is a weaker third party, was formed by the merger (слияние) of the Liberal party and the Social Democratic party.

Both Scotland and Wales have nationalist parties whose goal is the independence.

The party which wins the most seats in the General Election forms the government in Britain. The leader of the winning party becomes Prime Minister(PM). The PM chooses a committee of ministers called the Cabinet (about 15-25 members or ministers). This is made up of a selection of senior MPs (members of parliament) from the House of Commons and some members of the House of Lords.

Each member of the Cabinet is a minister responsible for a government department such as Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and the Exchequer (treasury). The Secretary of State for Education and Science is responsible for all the schools, universities and teachers in Britain. The Cabinet of ministers runs the country (управляет страной). The Cabinet meets at the Prime Minister's house 10 Downing Street. Cabinet meetings are held in private and the details must remain secret for at least 30 years. Cabinet ministers cannot, however, do as they please! They are responsible to Parliament and must answer their questions. Even the Prime Minister must answer questions every Tuesday and Thursday in the Commons — this is called Prime Minister's Question Time. At the moment the UK is governed by the Conservative Party headed by Mr. David Cameron.

Answer the questions:

1. Which political parties in the UK do you know?

2. How do elections take place?

3. How many Chambers (Houses) are there in the British Parliament? What is the difference between them?

4. Who is the head of the Government?

5. What is a cabinet?

6. Call any great political figures in the UK who you remember.

Translate from Russian into English:

Британский парламент состоит из двух палат

Проводить выборы

Выигрывать выборы

Образовывать правительство

Свод законов

Наследовать, наследники

Не иметь реально власти

Совещательный Совет

Принимать участие

Заблокировать законопроект

Высший Аппеляционный суд

Принимать политические решения

Исполнительные и законодательные обязанности

Открытие и роспуск парламента

Выполнение обязанностей

Благосостояние

Быть ответственным

Управлять страной

Education in Britain

School education.

Today there are a great number of schools in Britain. All state schools in Britain are free, and schools provide their pupils with books and equipment for their studies. Education is compulsory ( обязательное) from 5 till 16 years. Children start primer school at 5 and continue until they are 11.

At 11 most pupils go to secondary schools called comprehensives (общеобразовтельные школы) which accept a wide range of children from all backgrounds.90% of secondary schools in England, Scotland and Wales are co-educational.

At 16 pupils take a national exam called "GCSE" (General Certificate of Secondary Education) and then they can leave school if they wish. This is the end of compulsory education. Some 16-year-olds continue their studies in the sixth form at school or at a sixth form college. The sixth form prepares pupils for a national exam called "A" level (advanced level) at 18. They need "A" level to enter a university. Other 16-year-olds choose to go to a college of further education to study for more practical (vocational) diplomas relating to the world of work, such as hairdressing, typing or mechanics.

7% of British schoolchildren go to private schools called independent schools. There are 2.400 independent schools and they have been growing in number and popularity since the mid-1980s. Parents pay for these schools, and fees vary from about 2.000 pounds a term to 3.000 pounds a term or more for a secondary boarding school. Most independent schools are called prep (preparatory) schools because they prepare the children for the Common Entrance Exam which they take at the age of 11. This exam is for entry into the best schools. The most famous schools are called "public schools" and they have a long history and traditions. Children of wealthy or aristocratic families often go to the same public school as their parents and their grandparents. Eton is the best known of these schools. The majority of independent secondary schools, including public schools, are single-sex, although in recent years girls have been allowed to join the sixth forms of boys' schools. Independent schools also include religious schools (Jewish, Catholic. Muslim, etc.) and schools for ethnic minorities.

Higher education

Students normally enter University from 18 and study for an Academic Degree. Apart from a single private university, all undergraduate education is largely state financed (with tuition fees set at a maximum index-linked £3,225 per year).

The typical first degree offered at British universities is the Bachelor's degree (Bachelor of Arts or of Science BA or Bess (typically three years). During the first degree students are known as undergraduates. Many institutions now offer an undergraduate Master's degree (Master of Arts or of Science (MA or MSc ) as a first degree, typically lasting four years. Some universities offer a vocationally-based Foundation degree, typically two years in length for those students who hope to continue to take a first degree but wish to remain to work.

Some students continue to complete a three-year period of original research for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Oxford and Cambridge, founded in the 13 and 14 centuries, are the most famous of Britain’s universities. Today “Oxbridge”, continue to attract many of the best brains thanks to their prestige and the beauty of many buildings and surroundings.

Besides Oxbridge there are a lot of newer universities built in the 19^th century as a result of the Industrial Revolution and the expansion of Britain’s overseas empire. With the expansion of higher education in the 1960s so-called “plate-glass” universities were established. Over 50 polytechnics and similar higher education institutes acquired university status in 1992.

1 Answer the following questions:

I. At what age do British children go to school?

2. What types of school exist in Britain?

3. What age do British pupils normally take exams?

4. How can they enter Universities and colleges?

5. Which types of British universities do you know?

6. What degrees do British students receive on leaving universities?

2.Translate from Russian into English:

Обязательное школьное образование

Государственнные , общеобразовательные, средние школы

Профессиональное образование

Оплата за учебу

Поступить в университет,

семестр.

Science and technology in the United Kingdom

A Watt steam engine, which powered the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom and played a key role in it becoming the world's first industrialised nation.

Science and technology in the United Kingdom has a long history, producing many important figures and developments in the field. England and Scotland were leading centres of the Scientific Revolution from the 17th century and the United Kingdom led the Industrial Revolution from the 18th century, and has continued to produce scientists and engineers credited with important advances. Some of the major theories, discoveries and applications advanced by people from the UK are given below.

Major theorists from the UK include Isaac Newton (1643-1727), physicist, mathematician, astronomer, natural philosopher, whose laws of motion and illumination of gravity have been seen as a keystone of modern science

and Charles Darwin (1809–82) whose theory of evolution by natural selection was fundamental to the development of modern biology.

^[Major scientific discoveries include hydrogen by Henry Cavendish (1731-1810),

Major engineering projects and applications pursued by people from the UK include the steam locomotive developed by Richard Trevithick (1771-1833) and Andrew Vivian(1759-1842),

The electric motor, by Michael Faraday (1771–1867), who largely made electricity viable for use in technology.

The theory of aerodynamics, by Sir George Cayley (1773–1857).

The first public steam railway, by George Stephenson (1781–1848).

The first commercial electrical telegraph, co-invented by Sir William Fothergill Cooke (1806–79) and Charles Wheatstone (1802–75).

First tunnel under a navigable river, first all iron ship and first railway to run express services, contributed to by Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806–59).