The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch. A king or queen is the head of state, and a prime minister is the head of Government. The people…

The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch. A king or queen is the head of state, and a prime minister is the head of Government. The people vote in elections for Members of Parliament (MPs) to represent them. The United Kingdom doesn't have a single, written constitution. The British Constitution is formed from both written and unwritten sources such as statutes, precedents, parliamentary conventions" and royal prerogatives**. The Prime Minister and the Government are formally appointed by the monarch. They are responsible to him, but are politically accountable to Parliament. In legal theory, Parliament refers to the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Crown. In practice, the Crown plays a ceremonial role as head of state, and the legislative function is exercised by the two Houses of Parliament. The House of Commons is the lower chamber. It is made up of 650 MPs, each elected in one of 650 constituencies throughout the UK, Almost all MPs are elected as members of a political party, The key functions of the House of Commons are to make laws, to scrutinize the work of the executive branch, and to debate important issues. At present, the House of Lords (the upper chamber) has about 700 members. They are appointed by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister or the Appointments Commission. The House of Lords shares many of the functions of the lower House and its main role is to revise legislation introduced in the House of Commons. The UK Government consists of the Cabinet and other ministers. Its responsibility is the formulation and execution of policy, The Cabinet usually includes about 20 heads of the government departments.Prime Minister hires and fires Cabinet ministers, directs and co-ordinates the work of the Government, and represents the country in international relations. Notes: *parliamentary conventions (парламенtские обычаи) - an informal and uncodified procedural agreement that is followed by the institutions of a state **royal prerogatives (королевские прерoraтивы) - a series of historic powers formally exercised by the monarch, but which in reality are exercised by government ministers. Formally, the Queen appoints and dismisses ministers, calls elections, grants mercy, etc. Задание13 Выберите правильный ответ: 1) В чем заключается основная идея текста ? a. The UK has an unwritten constitution based on various sources. b. The House of Commons shares its functions with the House of Lords. c. A central feature of the UK political system is parliamentary government under a constitutional monarchy. d. The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. 2) Какое утверждение соответствует тексту ? a. Prime Minister has a ceremonial role as head of the Government. b. British citizens are represented by MPs in the Parliament. c. The Government is headed by the Appointments Commission. d. Each minister is chosen and appointed by the Queen. 3) Какое утверждение противоречит тексту ? a. Parliament refers to the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Queen. b. MPs are elected in their constituencies. c. The House of Commons revises the legislation initiated in the upper House. d. The House of Commons is the most powerful chamber of the British Par- liament. lowand translate them Задание 14. Найдите в тексте производные от приведенных ниже слов и переведите их на русский : parliament, constitution, to write, to formulate, responsibility, accountabil- ity, ceremony, power Задание 15 Найдите слово или словосочетание, схожное по смыслу со следующими : sovereign, basic law, officially, principal, problematic points, to examine, to dismiss