Great britain is a monarchy but the power of the queen
The Royal Family’s money comes from two sources: government funds and their own personal wealth, which is considerable. On the one hand the Queen is certainly one of the richest women in the world, while on the other her power is limited by the fact that so many of her expenses are paid for by government money. Parliament has had effective control of the monarch’s finances since the seventeenth century.
Task 2. Look at the chart.
The Royal Family.
Numbers show order of succession to the Crown.
A. The Queen - Prince Philip (The duke of Edinburgh) B. Princess Margaret 11.
a. Prince Charles (The prince of Wales)1. - Princess Diana
a.a. Prince William 2., Prince Henry 3.
b. Princess Anne (The princess Royal) 8. - Captain Mark Philips
b.b. Peter Philips 9., Zara Philips 10.
c. Prince Andrew (The Duke of York) 4. - Sarah (Duchess of York)
c.c. Princess Beatrice 5., Princess Eugenie 6.
Task 3. Answer the Questions.
1. Who is next in line to the British crown after Prince Charles?
2. How can Parliament control the Royal family?
3. Which member of the Royal Family has the highest number of public engagements?
Task 4. Read the text.
The Queen is really a figurehead representing the country, but she has the power to prevent any politician from establishing a dictatorship. The Queen and her family are a symbol that people can identify with. The British public is obsessed with the details of the royal family life, and when people feel that the Queen has problems with her children, or her sister, they see her as a “real person” with the same worries and anxieties as themselves.
The monarchy has not always been popular. During the late 19 th century there was a growing republican sentiment, but the personality and family image of the Queen, her father and grandfather have removed that feeling. The Queen is probably the wealthiest woman in the world, most of the money coming from family investments rather than the state. Her state salary (the Civil List) pays for her servants and transport. In recent years the Queen has become a roving ambassador for Britain, and if we calculate the increase in trade after a royal visit abroad, the nation probably makes a profit from her activities , and that does not take into account the income from tourism in Britain generated by the monarchy and great state events such as royal weddings.
Just how popular is she? In the late 1980s a newspaper conducted an opinion poll. People were asked, “If there were no monarchy who would you vote for as president?”. More than 80 per cent chose the Queen. Prince Charles came second, closely followed by his father, Prince Philip. The prime minister of the day was the fourth- with 2 per cent of the votes.
Task 5. Explain the meanings of the following words and expressions.
a growing republican sentiment;
a roving ambassador;
an opinion poll.
Task 6. a) List four countries which have monarchies. b) Which of these adjectives do you associate with the British monarch: ostentatious; greedy; modest; vulgar; hard-working; lazy; wealthy; dignified; popular.
Task 7. Read the text and answer the questions.
Political Parties of Great Britain
Britain has a two- party system. From 1832 to 1918 the dominant parties were the Conservatives on the one hand and the Whigs or Liberals on the other. Later the Labour party backed by the trade unions replaced the Liberals as the main party of reform, and since 1924 the political scene has been dominated by the Conservative and Labour parties.
The Conservative party or the Tories is the party supported traditionally by the rich and the privileged- the monopolists and landowners. It expresses the interests and views of the propertied class.
The formation of the Labour party at the beginning of the century was a victory of the labour movement. But Labour Government showed no radical change in policy from the Tories. From the very beginning there were two main trends within the party- the left socialist trend represented by the party’s rank - and - file members and the right- wing trend represented by the party’s top leadership. In fact, it’s sometimes extremely difficult to tell the difference between the Labour and the Conservative policies.
The present day political scene is a combination of various political parties: the Conservatives, the Labour, the Liberal- Democratic party. The membership and parliamentary representation of the Liberal-Democratic party today is almost insignificant, although it does play a certain role in tipping the scales between the two largest parties: the Labour and the Conservatives.
The main way in which people exert influence over government is through political parties. These parties organize opinion on national issues, formulating policies which they feel will meet the wishes of as many people as possible.
1. What are the main political parties in Great Britain?
2. What are the dominant parties in modern Britain?
3. Is the role of the Liberal party today insignifant?
4. There is little difference between the Labour and the Conservative policies, isn’t there?
5. What is the ruling party in Great Britain now?
Task 8. Learn and remember the following phrasal verbs.
TO BRING - әкелу, әкеп беру, іс қозғау, дәлел келтіру; приносить, доставлять, возбуждать дело, предъявлять доказательство.
to bring an action, syn. to b. a case before the court; to b. a charge against smb. – қылмыстық іс қозғау, возбуждать уголовное дело
to bring an accusation against – айыптау, обвинять
to bring before the bar, syn.to b. to justice (trial) – сотқа беру, предавать суду
to bring the charge - айып тағу, предъявлять обвинение
to bring forth a confession – шындықты айту, делать признание
to bring forward a proof – дәлел ұсыну, представлять доказательства
to bring in a bill – заң жобасын енгізу, вносить законопроект
to bring in a verdict вердикт шығару, выносить вердикт
to bring an indictment – айыптау шешімін ұсыну, предъявлять обвинительное заключение
to bring into account – жауапқа тарту, призывать к ответу
to bring to the light – ашу, раскрывать
to bring to terms – келісімге әкелу, приводить к соглашению
Task 9. Give the English equivalents from the task above.
айыптау, обвинять; айып тағу, предъявлять обвинение; шындықты айту, делать признание; жауапқа тарту, призывать к ответу; заң жобасын енгізу, вносить законопроект; дәлел ұсыну, представлять доказательства; вердикт шығару, выносить вердикт; ашу, раскрывать; келісімге әкелу, приводить к соглашению; сотқа беру, предавать суду; айыптау шешімін ұсыну, предъявлять обвинительное заключение; қылмыстық іс қозғау, возбуждать уголовное дело;
Task 10. Give 5-6 sentences with words given in ex. 8.
Английский язык 25 кадр
