Match the words with the definition.

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1) homicide	a) belonging to a class of society that bears hereditary titles of rank or status; aristocratic.
2) evil	b) pertaining to the social or cultural aspects of mankind.
3) noble	c) the act of killing another person; murder.
4) human	d) a spiritually or morally corrupt and destructive force; absence of good.
5) contribution	e) the basis for belief; that which constitutes proof of something.
6) dictatorship	f) a country or government under dictatorial rule.
7) civil	g) the act of contributing.
8) evidence	h) of or concerning citizens or the general population.

Complete these sentences using the words on this list.

civil	evidence	homicide	solution
social	noble	evil

1. Scientists have not yet found ____________ of life on distant planets.

2. Serving on a jury is a _______________ duty.

3. For running away from her husband, she was considered an _____________ woman.

4. He wants to repent for his _______________ ways.

5. The police still have no solid _______________ to back up their theory.

6. In a _______________ war, citizens of the same country take sides and fight against each other.

7. Now that the shooting victim has died, the suspect is accused of ___________.

8. When she married a duke, she became part of a _______________ family.

9. The _______________ of the mystery took the police several months.

10. The illegal drugs will be used as _______________ in court.

11. Discrimination against immigrants is a _______________ problem.

12. It is against one's _______________ rights to be barred from voting.

Complete the sentences.

1. Solon introduced a new and more..................................................................

2. Solon first became prominent in about........................

3. Society was dominated by an.....................................................

4. Solon's solution was not revolution but.......................

5. Solon's new code of laws was a great........................ to the future good of Athens.

6. The first written codeat Athens, that of Draco, was still in......................

7. The penalty for almost all criminal offenses was.............................

Unit 3 THE FOUNDATION OF BRITISH LAW

Text A

The Magna Carta

At the heart of the English system are two principles of government – limited government and representative government. The idea that government was not all-powerful first appeared in the Magna Carta, or Great Charter, that King John signedin 1215 under the threat of civil war. Earlier kings of England had issued charters, making promises to their barons. But these were granted by, not exacted from the king and were very generally phrased. Later the tension between the Kings and the nobility increased. Since 1199 John's barons had to be promised their rights. It is, therefore, not surprising that Stephen Langton, archbishop of Canterbury, directed baronial unrest into a demand for a solemn grant of liberties by the king. The document known as the Articles of the Barons was at last agreed upon and became the text from which the final versionof the charter was drafted and sealed by John on June 15, 1215.

The Magna Carta established the principle of limited government, in which the power of the monarch, or government, was limited, not absolute. This document provided for protection against unjust punishment and the loss of life, liberty, and property except according to law. It stipulatedthat no citizen could be punished or kept in prison without a fair trial. Under the Magna Carta, the king agreed that certain taxes could not be levied without popular consent.

Althoughthe Magna Carta was originallyintended to protect aristocracy and not the ordinary citizens, it came in time to be regarded as a cornerstone of British liberties. It is one of the oldest written constitutional papers.

Complete these sentences using the words on this list.

absolute	citizen	citizens
limits	powerful	property

1. The poor man's _______________ included some clothing and little else.

2. Her passport shows that she is a U.S. _______________.

3. The city police patrol only within the city _______________.

4. Only a _______________ leader can bring about the needed reforms.

5. The general had _______________ authority to make this kind of decision.

6. _______________ of this community should band together to combat the problem of crime.

2. Match the following English expressions with their Russian equivalents:

1) arbitrary government 2) authoritarian government 3) colonial form of government 4) government investigation 5) government of the day 6) government offices 7) government official 8) government party 9) government(al) department 10) government(al) regulation 11) government's term of office 12) Her Majesty's Government 13) local government 14) military government 15) mixed government 16) organs of government 17) parliamentary government 18) presidential government 19) provisional government 20) representative government 21) to dissolve the government

a) действующее правительство b) местное самоуправление c) военная администрация d) смешанная форма правления e) парламентское правление f) правительство Её Величества g) правящая партия h) правительственные учреждения i) представительная форма правления j) временное правительство k) распустить /расформировать правительство 1) органы государственного управления m) автократия n) президентская власть о) авторитарная форма правления р) правительственное ведомство q) правительственное расследование r) колониальная форма государственного устройства s) постановление правительства t) правительственный чиновник u) срок полномочий правительства

3. Answer the following questions:

1. What were the two basic principles of the English system of government at the beginning of the 13th century? How do you understand these principles?

2. What political situation necessitated the granting of the Magna Carta?

3. What provisions did the Magna Carta contain?

4. Who enjoyed the rights granted by the Magna Carta?

Text B

The Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights (1689) is one of the basic instruments of the British constitution, the result of the long 17th-century struggle between the Stuart kings and the English people and Parliament. The Bill of Rights provided the foundation on which the government rested after the Revolution of 1688. The Revolution settlement made monarchy clearly conditional on the will of Parliament and provided a freedom from arbitrary government of which most Englishmen were notably proudduring the 18th century.

The main purpose of the act was to declare illegal various practices of James II. Among such practices proscribed were the royal prerogative of dispensing with the law in certain cases, the complete suspension of laws without the consent of Parliament, and the levying of taxes and the maintenance of a standing army in peacetime without specific parliamentary authorization. A number of clauses sought to eliminate royal interference in parliamentary matters, stressing that elections must be free and that members of Parliament must have complete freedom of speech. Certain forms of interference in the course of justice were also proscribed. The act also dealt with the proximate succession to the throne, provided the heirs were Protestants. It is the constitutional paper of great importance, which prevented the sovereign from abusing his authority.

Write the correct word in the space before its definition. There may be more than one definition for each word.

constitution	declare	freedom
royal	sovereign	tax
parliament	heir	justice

1).............................	a sum of money levied by government on income, property, or sales and used for its services and administration.
2)..............................	a person who receives or has the right to receive, upon another's death, that person's rank or property.
3)..............................	a monarch or other royal ruler.
4).............................	a national lawmaking body composed of representatives.
5).............................	to proclaim or formally announce.
6).............................	the set of basic laws and principles by which a nation, state, or other organization is governed.
7).............................	the implementation of law through the judicial system.
8).............................	of or pertaining to a king, queen, or other sovereign or monarch.
9)..............................	the state of being unconstrained by a tyrannical government; civil liberty.

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