EXERCISES. Answer the following questions:

Answer the following questions:

1. What kind of a state is the United Kingdom?

2. What kind of a constitution does it have?

3. Who can change the rules of the constitution in Great Britain?

4. What is the supreme legislative body and the highest authority in the United Kingdom?

5. What body exercises the executive power in Great Britain?

6. What is the full title of the Queen?

7. Who is the formal head of the State?

8. What does the constitutional doctrine read of the Queen?

9. What functions does the Queen perform as the symbolic head of the nation?

10. What are the duties of other members of the royal family?

11. What are the functions of the Queen in law?

12. Why are her functions purely of a symbolic nature?

13. What does the Queen do as the symbolic head of the executive?

14. On whose advice does the Queen act?

15. What role does she play in the national legislature?

16. What is Royal Assent nowadays?

17. How is the Sovereign’s power of veto defined?

18. In what case can the Queen make a real choice of the Prime Minister?

19. What do her sympathies lie with?

20. Who is the heir to the throne?

Give Russian equivalents:

Constitutional monarchy, powers limited, not written in any single document, set of rules, customs and conventions, formally enacted, office and powers, laws passed by the Parliament, supreme legislative body, the highest authority, functions intermingle and overlap, executive power, symbolic head of the nation, social and ceremonial functions, hold receptions, industrial and charitable works, assisted by other members, royal family, undertake tours, pay official and private visits, nowhere exactly defined, the personification of the State, head of the judiciary, commander-in-chief, the armed forces, purely of a symbolic nature, summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament, Church of England, make appointments, confer peerages, an integral part, Royal Assent, power of veto, not clearly defined, an established tradition, clear majority, House of Commons, make a real choice, to lead to a constitutional crisis, to be impartial in politics, Queen’s Speech, programme for the session, to keep informed, Cabinet decisions, to be consulted, to encourage and to warn, the heir, to succeed to the throne.

Fill in the blanks with articles where necessary:

1. … United Kingdom is … constitutional monarchy.

2. … official head of State is … monarch but her or his powers are limited by … constitution.

3. Only some of these rules are written down in … form of ordinary laws passed by … Parliament.

4. Parliament is … supreme legislative body and … authority in … United Kingdom.

5. As … symbolic head of … nation she performs … range of social and ceremonial functions.

6. She is often assisted by … other members of … royal family.

7. She gives … audiences to … Prime Minister and … other important persons.

8. Other members of … royal family pay official and private visits overseas.

9. … powers of … Queen are nowhere exactly defined.

10. She is … personification of … State.

11. In law, she is … head of … executive, … part of … legislature.

12. But in reality, … Queen acts only on … advice of her ministers.

13. Thus most of her functions are purely of … symbolic nature.

14. Royal Assent is also … pure formality.

15. It has become … tradition that … royal power of veto does not really exist at all.

16. In appointing … Prime Minister … Queen is bound to appoint … leader of … political party which has … majority in … House of Commons.

17. Only if none of … parties had … clear majority and … leading representatives of each party gave her different advice, she might make … real choice, but such situation might lead to … constitutional crisis.

18. … Constitution requires … Queen to be impartial in politics.

19. … eldest son of … Queen Prince Charles is … heir to … throne.

20. … daughter succeeds only if there are no sons in … royal family.

Give English equivalents:

Конституционная монархия, законодательный орган, верховная власть, исполнительная власть, формальный глава правительства, конституционная доктрина, широкий круг обязанностей, наносить визиты, олицетворение государства, глава исполнительной власти, главнокомандующий вооруженными силами, светский глава англиканской церкви, даровать титул (пэра), неотъемлемая часть, королевская санкция (согласие), назначать премьер-министра, конституционный кризис, открывать сессию парламента, тронная речь, решение кабинета (министров), наследовать трон.

Test 1

Choose the most suitable word for each space:

1. The official head of the State is the monarch but her powers are … by the Constitution.

2. Parliament is the supreme … body and the highest authority in the United Kingdom.

3. As the symbolic head of the nation she performs a wide range of … functions.

4. In all these functions she is often assisted by other members of … .

5. She gives … to the Prime Minister and other important persons.

6. She … state visits, often accompanied by other members of the royal family to foreign governments.

7. The powers of the Queen are nowhere are clearly … .

8. She is the … of the State and theoretically every act of State is done in her name.

9. In law, she is the head of executive, an integral part of the legislature, the head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces, the … head of the established Church of England.

10. But in reality, the Queen acts only on advice of her ministers, who are politically … for what she does.

1) A) enhanced B) authorized C) limited D) supported

2) A) political B) legislative C) judicial D) administrative

3) A) executive B) legislative C) judicial D) social and ceremonial

4) A) cabinet B) government C) civil service D) royal family

5) A) presents B) honours C) audiencies D) dinner parties

6) A) pays B) makes C) does D) returns

7) A) written B) published C) enacted D) defined

8) A) symbol B) personification C) ruler D) monarch

9) A) spiritual B) temporal C) acting D) symbolic

10) A) loyal B) efficient C) responsible D) independent

Test 2

Match the words and phrases:

1. Thus most of her functions are purely of a … nature.

2. All constitutional functions of the Queen are in reality the functions of the …, who is the effective head of the executive.

3. Laws … by Parliament do not become effective until the Queen has given her … .

4. It has become an established tradition that the royal power of … does not exist at all.

5. In appointing the Prime Minister the Queen is bound to appoint the leader of the political party which has a majority in the … .

6. Only if none of the parties had a … and the leading representatives of each party gave her different advice she might have to make a … .

7. But such situation might lead to a … crisis.

8. The Constitution requires the Queen to be … in politics.

9. Thus the ‘Queen’s Speech’ (the ‘address from the throne’) is prepared by the Government and … by the Queen.

10. According to the constitutional …, the Sovereign has the right ‘to be consulted, to encourage and to warn’.

a) Prime Minister, b) doctrine, c) symbolic, d) passed, e) read, f) veto,

g) House of Commons, h) constitutional, i) real choice, j) impartial