In England, in spite of the Day's symbolic significance, it has never ranked as high as a popular holiday as it does in Scotland and most other countries of the world.

an immediate answer; a wild look; a quiet walk; a gentle look; a free speech; a general approach; an independent thinking; national cooperation

2. Дайте ответы на следующие вопросы, начиная каждый ответ сло­вами / didn't know. Помните о согласовании времен.

Model: Where is he? —> I didn't know where he was.

1. Where is the library? 2. Which direction is it? 3. How long will it take you to get there? 4. When is he coming? 5. Why is she doing that? 6. Where is the railway station? 7. How far is it? 8. Where have they been? 9. When are they coming? 10. Why did they leave the place? 11. When will they return? 12. How long will they stay?

Переведите на английский язык.

1. Я спросил юношу, когда он поступил в институт. 2. Он сказал, что поступил в институт год назад (a year before). 3. Он сказал, что (он) успешно (successfully) сдал вступительные экзамены. 4. Я спро­сил его, на каком он курсе. 5. Он ответил, что на первом (курсе). 6. Я спросил его, какой областью физики он интересуется. 7. Он ответил, что его будущая работа будет связана с молекулярной фи­зикой. 8. Он сказал, что он надеется стать (что будет) хорошим спе­циалистом в этой области.

4. Ответьте на вопросы.

1. Have you got a family? 2. Have you got a large family? 3. Do you live with your parents or apart? 4. How old are you? 5. What does your father do? 6. Is your mother a housewife? 7. What is your mother's job? 8. Has your family got a self-contained flat? 9. What town does your family live in?

The British State Organization

Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy and the King (or the Queen) is the formal Head of the Government, however his (her) power was transformed from an active force in politics to a ceremonial head of state.

Strange though it may seem there is no single document defining the British constitution. It's rather a structure based on a number of statutes, laws, traditions, and customs assembled over a long period of time.

The British Parliament consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The House of Lords consists of the whole body of English peers, a number of elected Irish and Scottish peers and a certain number of the Bishops (eriHCKon) of the church (uepKOBb) of England.

The House of Commons consists of 635 members elected by popu­lar vote.

The election is held every five years and at this election every per­son above the age of twenty has a vote.

The House of Commons elects its own president who is called the Speaker. Since 1707 the House of Commons was unquestiona­bly the major element in the British Parliament. Without its confi­dence no ministry could exist. Its debates were those that really mattered and the House of Lords became a place not only for he­reditary peers but also for elderly (iio> khjioh, noHTeHHbiH) and re­tired politicians. The Commons was from the early 18th century onwards the true theatre of politics, but practically only two polit­ical parties are represented in Parliament — the Conservatives and the Labour Party.

The party which has the largest number of members returned to Parliament takes office and is called the Government; the party (or parties) in the minority is called the Opposition. The Government sits on the right of the Speakers chair, the Opposition on the left.

Forming of the Government. When it is known which Parliamenta­ry party has a majority in a newly elected House of Commons, the Queen calls the leader of that party to become Prime Minister (or Premier). The Premier forms a new Government. He chooses from the Lords and Commons the men numbering about sixty to fill the principal offices and they form Ministries. From these are chosen fif­teen to twenty to form the Cabinet of Ministers. The act of 1937 lim­ited the number of the Cabinet members to 17 of whom not more than 14 may be members of the House of Commons and not less than 3 members of the House of Lords.

These 17 are the holders of the most important offices, e.g. (for example) the Chancellor of the Exchequer (mhhhctp (JmnaHCOB), the Home Secretary, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Defence, the Minister of Health, the President of the Board of Trade, etc.

ЗАДАНИЯ К ТЕКСТУ

• Выпишите из текста английские эквиваленты следующих русских фраз и словосочетаний:

в отсутствие; назначает лидера; главные ведомства; министерства; выборы проходят каждые пять лет; документ, определяющий...; структура, основанная на...; приходит к власти; как это ни странно

• Употребите подходящие по смыслу слова из предлагаемых в скоб­ках вариантов:

1. There is no single document (deciding/'devoting/'defining! 'decreasing) the British Constitution. 2. The members of the House of Commons are elected by popular (view/voice/vote). 3. The Speaker of the House of Commons is chosen by the (Queen/House of Commons/Premier). 4. Lord Chancellor is the Speaker of (House of CommonslHouse of Lords). 5. The Party which returned to Parliament in majority is called the (Government/'Opposition). 6. The Party in the minority sits on the (right/ left) of the Speaker's chair. 7. The Opposition returns to Parliament in the (majority/minority). 8. The Premier of Great Britain is appointed by the (House of Lords/House of Commons/Queen). 9. A new Government is formed by the (Queen/Premier/Lord Chancellor/Speaker of the House of Commons). 10. The leader of the Government Party becomes the (Speaker/Lord Chancellor/Premier).

Reading 24B

Внимательно прочитайте текст и скажите, в каком районе Лондона иностранные туристы могут ознакомиться: а) с промышленными предприятиями, жизнью и бытом лондонских рабочих; б) с истори­ческим прошлым города и правительственными и деловыми учреж­дениями; в) с культурным центром и купить сувениры.

The population of Great Britain is about 60 million people. More than 80 per cent of the population live in towns and cities. The greatest concentration of the population is in the London area.

London is the capital of Great Britain. It is a great area covering several hundred square miles, the oldest part of which is with a history of almost two thousand years.

Modern London stretches for nearly 30 miles from north to south and the same distance from west to east. This is the area known as " Greater London" with a population of about seven million. But we can hardly think of London as one great city, it is rather a number of cities, towns

and villages that have during the past centuries grown together to make one very great town area. That's why London has many faces.

First, there is the City of London, the financial and business centre of Great Britain. It's only about one square mile in area and not more than five thousand people live there, but on a working day its population increases to half a million. The City is concerned with finance [Tamasns], but it is also a market for goods of almost every kind from all parts of the world. Those who come to learn about London's history will find much to interest them in the City.

There is the West End — a fashionable popular shopping and entertaining centre to the west of the City. Here you will find the finest theatres, cinemas and concert halls, large museums and the best hotels, the largest department stores and famous shops. The name " West End" is associated with riches, and goods of high quality.

Working class London is centred in the East End. It is a great area running eastwards from the City. The Port of London is here in the East End. Today you will find here miles and miles of docks and great industrial areas that depend upon shipping. The East End of London is not as attractive in appearance with miles of narrow streets sometimes grey and black with smoke but very important to the country's commerce.

• Ответьте на вопросы.

1. Why and how much does the population of the City increase on a working day? 2. What is each part of London concerned with?

• Объясните, как вы понимаете выделенные в тексте слова.

(5) Home Exercises

1. Образуйте существительные с суффиксом -ness от следующих прилагательных и переведите их на русский язык.

helpless, happy, lawless, meaningless, useful, thoughtful, watchful, great, thin, rich, strange, slow

2. Напишите вопросы к выделенным членам предложения.

One morning in 1934 a young woman looked out of the window of her house. Her house was about 300 yards away from the Loch Ness. The word " loch" means " lake" in the Scottish language. She saw the " largest animal I have ever seen. " She took binoculars. She watched the animal for 25 minutes. That was the first news about Loch Ness Monster (чудо­вище).