The UK Parliamentary election system

⇐ ПредыдущаяСтр 4 из 4

For electoral purposes Britain is divided into constituencies (изб округ), each of which returns one member to the House of Commons. Elections are secretly, Parliamentary Boundary Commissions kept it, electors have 1 vote, isn’t compulsory.

British citizens (citizens of Commonwealth countries, Irish Rep resident) vote when they’re 18 or +, and included in the annual register of electors for the constituency. They cant vote: - patients detained under mental health legislation; - sentenced prisoners and people convicted within the previous 5 y of corrupt or illegal election practices; - members of the House of Lords.

Candidate must deposit 500 pounds. They are elected if they’ve more votes.

British citizens (citizens of Commonwealth countries, Irish Rep resident) may stand for elections as MP’s they’re 21 y +, not disqualified. Disqualified: undischarged bankrupts, ppl sentenced to more than 1y imprisonment, Clergy of the Church of Eng, Scotl, Ireland, Roman Catholic Church.

Vietnam war

When Communist and nationalist rebels fought French colonialism in Indochina after World War II, President Truman sent military aid to France. After the French withdrew from Southeast Asia in 1954, Pr. Eisenhower dispatched American advisers and aid to help set up a democratic, pro-Western government in South V. Under Pr. Kennedy, 1000s of military officers trained South V-se soldiers and sometimes flew V-se warplanes into combat.

In Aug 1964, 2 Amer-n destroyers sailing in the Gulf of Tonkin reported attacks by North V-e torpedo boats. Pr. Johnson launched air strikes against North V-se. 1^st Amer-n combat soldiers were sent to V in March 1965. By 1968, 500, 000 Am-n troops had arrived.

Demonstrations protesting American involvement in this undeclared. In Oct 1967, 200, 000 dem-ors demanding peace marched on the Pentagon in Wash-n.

At the same time, younger black leaders were denouncing as ineffectual the nonviolent tactics of Martin Luther King. King's assassination in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968, triggered race riots in over 100 cities.

Lots of Am-s were against involvement of the US in the war in Indochina, in the 1968 election, Pr. Johnson faced strong challenges. He withdrew from the presidential race, offered to negotiate an end to the Vietnam War. Pr became Republican Richard Nixon. Nixon appealed to " Middle America" - the " great silent majority" who were unhappy with violence, protest at home.

In Indochina, Nixon pursued a policy of " Vietnamization, " gradually replacing Am-n soldiers with V-se. But heavy bombing of Communist bases continued, and in the spring of 1970 Nixon sent Am-n soldiers into Cambodia.

By 1973, Nixon had signed a peace treaty with North V, brought Am-n soldiers home, ended conscription. The fact that in - LA, WG, Detroit, Atlanta had elected black mayors contributed to the easing of urban tensions.

3. The meaning of “conurbation”

C – a region including towns and suburbs. (28стр)

#18

British schools, reforms and management

Сhildren in the UK have full time educ, educ is compulsory aged 5 to 16. After 16, around 70% stay in educ, others work. New measure od the government: to reduce infant class sizes, to raise standards in schools, local educ-l authorities, to enhance the status, quality of the teaching professions, others.

The 1870s Parliamentary Act established elementary sch-s, became the duty of local authorities, they were required to establish el sch-s, paid for by the local community, to compel attendance by all boys, girls up to the age of 13. By 1900 almost total attendance had been achieved. The 1944 Ed-n Act introduced free compulsory secondary ed-n. Almost all children attended 1 of 2 kinds of secondary s-l. Children took an “11 plus ”, taken on leaving primary s-l. 3/4 of pupils went to “ secondary modern ” sch-s where they had sufficient ed-n for manual, skilled and clerical employment, but where academic expectations were modest. Others went to grammar sch. After gr.sch they were expected to go uni. In the 1960s a new system of comprehensive educ had an aim of giving all children equality and opportunity.

1.Comprehensive sch were introduced in 1965. Now 85% secondary sch pupils go to c.sch. C.s provide a wide range of second educ. (11 to 16/18) there are 3 types of sch:

- Gr.sch (11-18) offer a mainly academic educ. Children enter it on the basis of their abilities, first setting “11 plus” or entrance exams.

- secondary modern sch provides general and technical educ. (11-16)

- non-fee playing independent sch (City Technology colleges) are set by the government with the help of sponsor, give a broad secondary educ with technological, business slant. 15 sch-s.

- specialist sch give a broad sec-y educ emphasis on technology, lang-s, art, sport. No fees.

93% is free educ 7% independent sch. 1988 Sept, baseline assessment (4-5y) within 7 weeks have skills of lang, maths, personal, social.

The main sch exam in Eng, Wales, N.Ir is called General Certificate of Secondary Educ (GCSE ).

At the of 16 exams is at the Ordinary Level

At the of 19 exams is at the advanced level.

The National Curriculum of 1988, assessment of children is carried out, when they are 7, 11, 14. NC assessment performs 3 functions: - to inform the government whether, at a national level, pupils are developing skills they’ll need as adults -to assess the performance of sch-s, teachers in helping children to leave a specific, standardized body of skills knowledge. -to identify directly particular strengths, weakness in individual pupils.

Public sch-s are famous for their ability to lay foundation of a successful future by giving their pupils’ self-confidence, a good academic background. (Eton, Harrow, Rugby, Gordonstoun)

Winston Churchill, the Br-sh Prime Min during WW I was educated at Harrow, Charles Prince of Wales in Gordonstoun Sch in 1968, David Cameron –Eton.

Cold War

After the war, tensions developed between the US and the Soviet Union. At the Yalta Conference of Febr1945, Roosevelt, Churchill and Josef Stalin promised free elections for all the liberated nations of Europe.

In 1947, Secretary of State George Marshall proposed a massive aid program to help rebuild destroyed Europe. Soviet Union rejected the offer. The Marshall Plan was a generous, successful. Over 4 y-s it paid out $12.5 thousand mln in aid, restored the economies of Western Eur.

In May 1947, the US began sending military aid to the Greek government, which was fighting Communist guerillas, and to Turkey, which was being pressured by the Soviets for territorial concessions. Germ and Berlin were divided in 2—a western zone under Am-n, Br-h and Fr-h occupation, an eastern zone under Soviet. the Soviets lifted the blockade in May 1949. A month earlier the US had allied with Canada, Britain, FR, Belgium, the Netherlands, Iceland, Portugal etc to form the North Atlantic Treaty Org-n (NATO).

On June 25, 1950 North Koreans invaded South Korea. Pr Truman sent Am-n troops into battle. (joined Br, Turkey, Aust, Fr). By sept 1950, the NK had conquered most of SK.

From 1945 until 1970, the US enjoyed a long period of economic growth, interrupted only by brief, fairly mild recessions. At the same time, the US was moving slowly in the direction of racial justice. In 1948, Pr Truman ended racial segregation in the armed forces, in all federal agencies.

1948, Am-s were jolted to learn that the Soviet Un had launched Sputnik, the Earth's first man-made satellite. This was a shock for the United States, they spent more money оn educ-n, esp-ly in the sciences.

In 1960, Democrat John F. Kennedy was elected president. Kennedy promised to " get the country moving again".

In October 1962, observation planes discovered that the SU was installing nuclear missiles in Cuba, crash Am-n cities in a minute. Kennedy imposed a blockade on Cuba. Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev finally agreed to remove the missiles, in return for an Am-n promise not to invade Cuba.

In April 1961, the Soviets scored another triumph in space: Yuri Gagarin became the first man to orbit the Earth. In February 1962, John Glenn made the first American orbital flight, and he was welcomed home as a hero. It took $24 thousand million and years of research but Kennedy's pledge was fulfilled in July 1969, when Neil Armstrong stepped out of the Apollo 11 spacecraft onto the surface of the moon.

In the 1960s, Martin Luther King, Jr. led a nonviolent campaign to desegregate southern restaurants, interstate buses theaters and hotels. The Kennedy administration tried to protect civil rights workers and secure voting rights for southern blacks. In 1963 Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas. His death was a terrible shock to the Am-s.

Danelaw (14)

Danelaw part in north-east and England proper in the south west. This is how place names in what was East Anglia and Mercia have the characteristic Scandinavian endings (Derby, Ashby, Norwich. Ipswich) belonged to the Danes

#19

Higher Education

Degree is an academic title granted by a uni or college to a student who completed a given course. A collge or uni degree is called B’s D after it M’s D.

In or der to go to the Uni it’s necessary to have A-level (advanced). Student at uni spends 3y (Eng, Wales, N.Ireland). In Scotl 4y. Medical, veterinary courses 7y.

A number of stud-s go on tp postgraduate studies. (M’s D). Many uni-s got the Uni charter beginning with 1900. (Redbrick Uni-s). Number of Uni-s got increased in 1922 when Polytechnics were allowed to take the Uni title.

The oldest Uni: Oxford (1167), Cambridge (1209). St.Andrew’s Uni of Scotl (1411), Uni of Wales (1873)

Oxf, Camb are unique uni-s, own teaching styles, the most peculiar is tutorials. Tutors work in a small group of stud-s. Colleges of O, C are residential institutions. In 1971 a new non residential uni is called the Open Uni. Teaching in the OU is a combination of specially produced printed texts, corresponding tuition, audio/video cassettes. The next degree is PhD. – Doctor of Philosophy. (3 y, thesis диссерт)

World War II and USA

In Sept 1939, war erupted in Europe. Roosevelt announced that the US would be neutral, but not indifferent. In September 1940, when Britain was threatened by a German invasion, the US gave the British 50 overage destroyers in return for naval bases in the western Atlantic. By early 1941 Britain could no longer afford to purchase Am-n goods, so Roosevelt persuaded Congress to enact a " lend-lease" bill. Through this program the US supplied $13.5 thousand mln in war supplies to Britain, $9 thousand mln to the Soviet Union.

In the Far East, Jap-se forces had invaded Manchuria (1931), China (1937), French Indochina (July 1941). Roosevelt responded to this aggression by banning Am-n exports of scrap iron, steel and oil to Japan, by freezing Jap-se credits in the US.

On December 7, 1941, carrier-based Japanese bombers struck at Pearl Harbor naval base in Hawaii. 4 days later, Japan's allies Germ and Italy, declared war on the US, the government spent $2 thousand mln on the top-secret Manhattan Project, which produced, tested an atomic bomb in 1945.

Am-n, British and Soviet war planners agreed to concentrate on defeating Germ first. British and American forces landed in North Africa in November 1942, then proceeded to Sicily and the Italian mainland in 1943, in 1944 June 6, " D-Day". A troops landed in Normandy. Finally, on April 25, 1945, the western Allied forces met advancing Soviet troops at the town of Torgau, Germany. The Germans surrendered May 5, 1945.

May 1942, Japanese had overrun the Philippines. In an atmosphere of war hysteria, 110, 000 Japanese-Americans living in America's western states were forced into relocation camps.

Over the next three years, American forces advanced toward Japan by " island-hopping" -capturing some strategic islands in the Pacific and bypassing others. In the hope of bringing the war to a swift end, President Harry Truman ordered the use of the atomic bomb against Hiroshima (August 6) and Nagasaki (August 9). Japan agreed to surrender on August 14. Nearly 200, 000 civilians died in the nuclear attacks, but military experts agree that the casualties, Japanese and American.

Ermine Street (12 page)

One of the Roman roads in England. Ermine S leading to Lincoln and York (for York a special road to Hadrian’s wall)

#20

Architecture in the UK

The art of designing and erecting buildings was the main art in the 11^th-14^th c. Architectural monuments of that time are churches, cathedrals in Oxf, Winchester, Lincoln, Canterbury, York, Tower. The castles had round or square towers rising above the whole length of the building. The towers had narrow windows that arrived as shooting apertures.

The majority of the cathedrals, monasteries (11-12c) were primarily by Fr architects, craftsmen in Romanesque style. R.S is a transitional style of Eur-n arch prevalent from the 9^th -12^th c. They were cast with a tall central part. The arches were round, with lots of brickwork, chevron design- a molding of continuous V-shaped patterns, common in Norman arch. They evoked mixed feelings of fear, admiration.

1 of the most pop of London’s historical sites is the Tower of L. (11c) by William the Conqueror. He raised the tower to overawe as well as defend city. Gundulf laid the foundations of the White tower about 1078. When W.Conq died the T. wasn’t finished, William II, son, continued the work, completed in 1097. The T of L was a prison. Thomas More, Henry VIII Chancellor, the King’s 2^nd wife Anne Boeyn, his 4^th wife were beheaded there. Today T is a home of Crown Jewels. There’s a prophesies form Charles II time, when there’re no longer ravens in the T both the T, British Commonwealth will fall. There’s a special person “ the raven master ” who feeds the ravens a daily diet of raw meat. The ceremony of the Keys take place near the T.

In the 13^th c Gothic arch was introduced again from Romanic countries, Fr first of all. It was a style of harmoniously blending arch, sculpture, pictorial art. The western faç ade of the cathedral building was in fact a sculptured surface, with symbolic biblical figures. 3 periods of G.arch in Eng,.Early English with pointed arches, arrow-like windows, tall tapering, pinnacles that seem to uplift the whole structure seem to make it look up aspire to Heaven. Salisbury Cathedral is an ex. An important ingredient of G.arch was stained glass with religious themes of saints.

Gothic building is Westminster Abbey, stands opposite the House of Parliament. The oldest part was a monastery – West Minster. In 1065 Edward the Confessor after years spent in Fr, founded the great Norman Abbey 200y later it was rebuilt by Henry III. Since 1066 in WA from Edward V. Edward VIII has been crowned, was a burial place of Kings, Q-s, princes.

The greatest architects of the 17-18^th c were Inigo Jones (brought the Italian Renaissance to Brit), Christopher Wren.

Arch of 15-16^th c was characterized by eclecticism. E. – style made of components selected from diverse styles.

Inigo Jones lived in a period of hybrid styles, broke with the established tradition in arch, protested against eclecticism. In 1615 he began to design royal houses. His masterpiece – Banqueting House in Whitehall, London, the Queen’s House at Greenwich.

Christopher Wren used the classic forms with purity and correctness. Classicism is style aesthetic attitudes, principles of which are based on the culture, art, literature of ancient Greece, Rome, characterized by simplicity, proportion. After the Great fire in Lond of 1666 he rebuilt churches. St Paul’s was built by him between 1675-1710. St P’s structure of classical style with great dome over the central area. Cathedral for the Diocese of London.

In the 18^th c, the Adam brothers followed traditions of Wren. That time ppl interested in furniture, decorative art heightened. The Chippendale chairs became popular. Thomas Chippendale was a celebrated cabinet maker, produced elegant, comf furniture. The style arch characteristic of the reigns of 4 Georges who ruled GB from 1714-1830 is called Georgian

In the 19^th c became Victorian. It’s highly ornamented massive style of arch, furnishing. Charles Barry was a leading arch, rebuilt Westminster Palace. He interior it to be a “sculptured memorial to Br’s national history”

John Nash produced Gothic country mansions. His project was Regent Street, regent’s Park in London, designed Trafalgar Square in L.

America of 1865 -1939

After the Civil War much was destroyed. Despite 13^th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865 Southern blacks were considered “second class citizens”. There was racial segregation in hospitals, schools. Between 1865 and 1900 Am became an industrially developed country. Am began its policy of territorial expansion. In Eur there were ideas of redrawing the map of the world, Am followed them.

When the WW I started in Europe America decided to pursue the policy of neutrality. In April 1917, Pr Wilson asked Congress to declare war on Germ, which belonged to the Triple Alliance, became a member of the Entente.

Lake District

On the northwest side of the Pennine system lies the Lake District, containing the beautiful lakes, which give it its name. Although it is quite compact – it is only 50 km from east to west – it has some of the most spectacular and varied scenery in Britain. It has Windermere, at 16.4 kms the longest lake in England, and Scafell Pike, at 1, 000 m the highest mountain in Engl. Also in the Lake District is Sty Head, the wettest place in Britain This district is widely known for its association with the history of English literature and especially with the name of William Wordsworth (1770—1859), the founder of the Lake School⁸of poets.

Music

Music in the UK has a long history'. The 15^th century was the period when folk music (народная) flourished. In the 15^th century a new type of music with 2 or more independent melodic parts that sounded together came into being. It was called polyphonic music. Polyphony emerged in folk music, in carols (рождество em/елещ рождественский гимн). Since the 15^th century in England there has also been a tradition of choral singing. Choral singingandpolyphony influenced the creative activity of John Dunstable ['d/uistsbsl] who was a conspicuous English composer of the 15^th century. John Dunstable enjoyed European reputation f°^r his enuren music. Music was very popular in England, so that in the 15^th century in Cambridge and Oxford the degree of the Bachelor of music was introduced.

The first half of the 17^th century was a peculiar period in terms of attitude of English people to music. Puritans thought that any music except hymn-singing[him] (церковный гимн) was the very thing of the Devil and persecuted it. Charles II, on the contrary, supported musicians and sent them to Italy and France to learn music. The situation changed in second half of the 17^th century. The demand for music was great especially at Court. The most famous composer of the 17^th century was Henry Purcell ['psisal]. He wrote music for plays, cantatas, church and chamber music ( камерная музыка), keyboard music (— для клавишных инструментов) and operas [’эрэгэ]. He composed the first English opera “Dido and Aeneas” ['daidau and ii'niiss].Thegreatest musician of the 20^th century is Benjamin Britten. He composed the opera “A Midsummer Night’s Dream ”. English people are fond of music; concerts of the leading symphony orchestras, folk groups and pop music are popular. Regular seasons of opera and ballet are given at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden [kDvant’ga: dn]. The most popular are Promenade concerts. Besides there are special annual celebrations of the outstanding people in the Arts and different competitions the aim of which is to preserve traditional culture. They are the Edinburgh International Festival of music and drama and the Royal National Eisteddfods (ежегодный фестиваль бардов в Уэльсе).There is also a tradition connected with the Queen. Every morning at 9 a.m., the Queen’s musician inflates (— надувать) his bagpipes [’basgpaips] (музыкальный инструмент) and plays beneath her windows for 15 minutes.Englandin world was famous for its literature, architecture and for its theatre, but not for its great composers until the 20^th century. In the 20^th century the world’s most successful pop group was from England and was called the Beatles ['birtlzj. One of the prominent composers of today is Elton John. His musical tribute to Princess Diana [prin’ses dai'aens] has become the biggest sellingsingle. The Theatre appeared in England in the 14-15* centuries. The 2^nd half of thecentury was the age of theatre. In 1576 the first theatre was built in London. Queen Elizabeth surrounded herself with a brilliant constellation of Poets, playwrights. During her reign (1552-1599) the first professional theatres were opened. The Globe [glsub] was opened to the public in 1599. It stated the golden age of the theatre in England. Great playwrights of that period were Shakespeare ['Jeikspia], University Wits. Theyresorted to the genre of tragedy and comedy. But the acting at that time was bad. in Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” we may find how Hamlet teaches actors to act realistically. The Great Actor who contributed much to the natural realistic acting was David Garrik. In the first half of the 17^th century puritans forbade performances because they were against them and this marked the defeat of the theatre in its fight with Puritanism.Great playwrights of the 18^th century are Sheridan, Oliver Goldsmith, H. Fielding and in 19-20* centuries — are Bernard Shaw, Oscar Wilde. Nowadays dramatic training is provided by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, the Central School of Speech and Drama, and others. The greatest actors of the XX century are Vivian Leigh ['vivian ’li: ], Vanessa Redgrave, John Giilgud, Lawrence Oliver ['brans bliva], Paul Scoffield and others.

The Civil War

The Jacksonian era of optimism was clouded by the existence in the United States of a social contradiction — slavery. The words of the Declaration of Independence — “that all men are created equal” — were meaningless for the 1.5 million black people who were slaves. Thomas Jefferson, himself a slave owner, recognized that the system was inhumane and wrote an attack on slavery into the Declaration, but Southern [’sA6sn] delegates to the Continental Congress forced him to remove the passage. The importation of slaves was outlawed in 1808, and many Northern states moved to abolish slavery', but the Southern economy was based on large plantations, which used slave workers to grow cotton, rice, tobacco and sugar. Still, in several Southern states, small populations of free blacks also worked as artisans or traders.In 1820, Southern and Northern politicians disputed the question of whether slavery would be legal in the western territories. Congress agreed on a compromise: Slavery was permitted in the new state of Missouri and the Arkansas territory, and it was barred everywhere west and north of Missouri. But the issue would not go away; some organized themselves into abolitionist societies, primarily in the North, Southern whites defended slavery with increasing ardor. The nation was also split over the issue of high tariff, which protected Northern industries but raised prices for Southern consumers.Meanwhile, thousands of Americans had been settling in Texas, then a part of Mexico. The Texans [’teksans] found Mexican rule increasingly oppressive, and in 1835 they rebelled, defeated a Mexican army and set up the independent Republic of Texas. In 1845, the United States annexed Texas, and Mexico suspended diplomatic relations. President James Knox Polk ['d3eimz 'noks 'paukl ordered American troops into disputed territory on the Texas border. After a battle between Mexican and American soldiers in May 1846, Congress declared war onMexico. An Americanarmy landed near Vera in March 1847 and captured Mexico city in September. In return for $15 million, Mexico was forced to surrender an enormous expanse of territory — most of what is today California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico and Colorado. In 1846, by settling a long-standing border dispute with British Canada, the United States had acquired clear title to the southern half of theOregon Country (Орегонские земли) — the present states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho. Thus America became a truly continental power, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific.The acquisition of these new territories revived a troubling question: Would newly acquired territories be open to slavery? In 1850, Congress voted another compromise: California was admitted as a free state, and the inhabitants of the Utah and New Mexico territories were allowed to decide the issue for themselve s. Congress also passed the Fugitive Slave Act ['fju: d39tiv] (Закон о беглых рабах), which helped Southerners [’sAdanaz] to recapture slaves who had escaped to the free states. Some Northern states did not enforce this law, however, and abolitionists continued to assist fleeing blacks. Harriet Beecher Stowe ['haeriat 'bi: tjb ’stsu] of Massachusetts wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin ['kaebin], a sentimental but powerful anti-slavery novel which converted many readers to the abolitionist [aeba'lijbmst] cause. The issue of slavery became, in American politics, economics and cultural life, the central point of contention.

In 1854, Senator Stephen Douglas ['sti: vgn ’dAgbs] of Illinois [ili'nru] persuaded Congress to allow the inhabitants of the Kansas and Nebraska territories to resolve the question of slavery within their own borders — which voided the Missouri Compromise ['kijmpramaiz] (Миссури мэмшес1/кел1а> ш — Миссурийский компромисс) of 1820. In Kansas, the result was a violent feud between pro-slavery and anti-slavery settlers. In 1857, the Supreme Court handed down the Dred Scott ['dred 'skDt] decision, which held that blacks had no rights as American citizens and that Congress had no authority to bar slavery in the Western territories. In 1858 Lincoln ['linkan] demanded a halt to the spread of slavery.

By 1860 the tension between North and South was extreme. In 1859, John Brown, an abolitionist zealot ['zelat] (фанатический приверженец; фанатик), had tried to begin a slave rebellion in Vi gmia by attacking an army munitions depot. Brown was quickly captured, and hanged, whereupon many Northerners [*пэ: бэпэ] hailed (|возглашать) him as a martyr. Southern whites, however, now believed that ^e North waspreparing to end slavery by bloody warfare. Douglas urged Southern Democrats to remain in the Union, but they nominated their own separate presidential candidate and threatened to secede if the Republicans were victorious. In 1860 Lincoln [’ligkan] ran for presidential elections (президентские выборы). The majority in every Southern and border state voted against Lincoln, but the North supported him and he won the election. A few weeks later, South Carolina voted to leave the Union. It was soon joined by Mississippi, Florida, Alabama [aela'baema], Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee and North Carolina. These 11 states proclaimed themselves an independent nation — the Confederate [kan'fedarat] States of America — and the American Civil War began.Southerners proclaimed that they were fighting not just for slavery; after all, most Confederate soldiers were too poor to own slaves. The South was waging a war for independence — a second American Revolution. The Confederates usually had the advantage of fighting on their home territory, and their morale was excellent. They had superb soldiers, cavalrymen and generals, but they were greatly outnumbered by Union (Northern) forces. The Southern railroad network and industrial base could not support a modem war effort. The Union navy quickly imposed a blockade, which created serious shortages of war materiel and consumer goods in the Confederacy. To fight the war, both sides suspended some civil liberties, printed mountains of paper money and resorted to conscription. Lincoln’s two priorities were to keep the United States one country and to rid the nation of slavery. Indeed, he realized that by making the war a battle against slavery he could win support for the Union at home and abroad. Accordingly, on January 1, 1863, he issued the Emancipation Proclamation [imaensi'peijn pnkla'meijn] (Босатылу туралы ундеу — Прокламация об освобождении), which granted freedom to all slaves in areas still controlled by the Confederacy [kan'fedarasi].The Southern army (Confederates [kan'fedarats]) won some victories in the early part of the war, but in the summer of 1863 their commander, General Robert E. Lee ['robat 'li: j, marched north into Pennsylvania. He met a Union army at Gettysburg [’getizbaig], and the largest battle ever fought on American soil ensued. After three days of desperate fighting, the Confederates were defeated. At the same time, on the Mississippi River, Union General Ulysses S. Grant ['ju: lisi: z ’gra: nt] captured the important city of Vicksburg [’viksba: g]- Union forces now controlled the entire Mississippi Valley, splitting the Confederacy in two. In 1864, a Union army under General William T. Sherman ['wiljam ‘Jarman] marched across Georgia, destroying the countryside. Meanwhile, General Grant relentlessly battled Lee's forces in Virginia. On April 2, 1865, Lee was forced to abandon Richmond ['ritfmand], the Confederate capital. A week later he surrendered to Grant at Appomattox [apa'mataks] Court House, and all other Confederate forces soon surrendered. On April 14, Lincoln was assassinated by the actor John Wilkes Booth [cfcpn 'wilks ’bu: 0].The Civil War was the most traumatic [to: 'maetik] episode in American. _t Even today, the scars have not entirely healed. All of America's later wars would be fought well beyond the boundaries of the United States, but this confli^ct devastated the South and subjected that region to military occupation. America lost more soldiers in this war than in any other — a total of 635, 000 dead on both sides.The war resolved two fundamental questions that had divided the United States since 1776. It put an end to slavery, which was completely abolished by the 13^th Amendment to the Constitution in 1865. It also decided, once and for all that America was not a collection of semi-independent states, but a single indivisible nation.

21.3 Hadrian’s Wall was built in 122-138 by Romans to ensure the safety of the zone occupied by them from Scots.

Painting

It is usual to regard English painting as beginning with the Tudor period. When Henry the VIII abolished Papal authority in England in 1534 and ordered the dissolution of the monasteries in 1536 he automatically brought to an end the tradition of religious art as it had been practiced in the Middle Ages. Medieval painting was not national. When the monasteries were dissolved, religious painting disappeared.

Secular patronage (светская клиентура) insisted on portraiture (портретная живопись), and the habit grew up of using foreign painters. Thus Hans Holbein the Younger arrived at the age of 29 with a recommendation to Sir Thomas More from Erasmus. He became the official court painter to Henry the VIII and died in London in 1543. Portrait of Henry the VIII by Hans Holbein is the only surviving of the King.In the 17^th century King Charles I induced the Flemish painter Van Dyck to settle in England in 1632. That was of greatest significance for English painting. Van Dyck was 33, at the height of his ability. He died in 1641. He had a very good background. He had studies the great Venetians [vs'niijan] and especially Titian ['tijbn]. He had acquired all the resource of Baroque [Ьэ'гэк] art in arrangement and variety of pose and gesture. In Englandhe was knighted [naitj (— посвяшать s рыцари) and honoured by King. V. Dyck was the source of inspiration to English portraiture. His portraits were a classic example of the grace and refinement of detail and colour.The main genre in painting in the 17^th century was portraiture and V. Dyck was really the father of the English portrait school. Both Holbein and V.Dyck are inseparable from an account of English painting though they were not English. The first truly English painter is William Hogarth ['hauga: 0] (1697- 1764). W. Hogath was one of the greatest of English artists and a man of remarkably individual character and thought. He produced portraits which brought a fresh vitality and truth into the jaded profession. He observed both high life and i°^w with a kin and critical eye and his range of observation was accompanied by an exceptional capacity for dramatic composition; and in painting by a technical quality which adds beauty to pictures containing an element of satire or caricature. The famous set of pictures, W. Hogath’s masterpiece is called “Marriage-a-la-Mode” ['maendj a: la: ’msudj. It consists of 6 story series. It is a series of pictures that show the negotiations between the daughter of a rich citizen and a young dissipated nobleman. Actually it is a bargain. Other pictures by W. Hogath are “The Rake’s Progress”, “The Shrimp Girl”. Joshua Reynolds (1723-1792) was a conspicuous painter, the leader of the English school of portrait painting of the 18^th century. Reynolds lived in high style and collected Old Master paintings as a part of the role of being successful and fashionable. He moved in the highest aristocratic circles and in 1784 became principal painter to the king. His sitters included socially prominent people of the time such as Sterne [sta: n], Mrs Siddons f'sidanz], Lord Heathfield [Tii: 0fi: ld] and other celebrities. When the Royal Academy of Arts was founded in 1768 Reynolds became its first President. His other paintings are “Portrait of Nelly O’Brien”, “Selfportrait”. Reynolds wanted to raise the status of English art by superiority of knowledge and ambition. Thomas Gainsborough (1727-1788) is in striking contrast with Hogath and Reynolds. They were townsmen, Gainsborough was a countryman. Gainsborough was most original both in portraits and landscapes. In portraits Gainsborough is an out-of-door painter, the backgrounds are well- observedcountry scenes. Gainsborough was talented; his insight into the phases of childhood and womanhood made him a poetic successful painter. And Reynolds wascompared with prose writers of the 18^th century, Gainsborough was compared with poets and musicians. His colours were light blue, yellow, opaque (матовый, без блеска) and transparent. His famous pictures are “The Painter’s Daughters with a Cat”,

Portrait of the Duchess of Beaufort” ['dAtfis av ’baufst] and “The Blue boy • Gainsborough was a remarkable portrait painter, he basked in the light of success, but he loved landscape. He found his greatest satissfaction in landscape composition in which the figures were, in his ’ “such as fill a place or to create a little business for the Eye to be drawn from the Trees in order to return to them with more glee”. Gainsborough’s other pictures are “Mr. and Mrs. Robert Andrew”, “The Morning Walk”, “Cornard Wood” and others. In his painting portraiture, landscape and the art of imaginative composition, are uniquely found together. Gainsborough was most original technically both in portraits and landscape. When he died in 1788 the entrance hall of the house, where he lived, was lined up with unsold landscapes. This is a fact which shows that he was unappreciated in his life time.In the 18^th century there was George Romney (1734-1802) — one more very talented portrait painter. In fact the 18^th centuiy was the great age of British portraiture. The portraits were different: single figure portraits, two — figures portraits, group-portraits, half-length portraits and full length portraits. George Romney was a contemporary of Reynolds and Gainsborough. At one time he seemed the third of a great triumvirate [trai'/vmvirat] with Reynolds and Gainsborough, for a while rivaling Reynolds in popularity after he settled in London. Romney was successful in single figures of children, women. His painting are “The Lady in a Brown Dress”, “The Portrait of Elizabeth, Countess [’kauntis] of Derby ”. One of Romney’s best works is his painting of the 5 children the son-in-law “ The Beaumont Family”. In the 19^th centuiy the leading genre was the landscape and John Constable (1776-1837) was the leading landscape painter. He was fond of painting luxurious meadows, distant horizons, picturesque villages and the ever- changing sky with constantly moving clouds. He could render the placidity of water meadows and the mild variation of English spring and summer and this made him different from his contemp oraries. Constable’s famous paintings are “The Valley Farm”, “The Hay Wain”, “The Leaping Horse”, “The Flatford Mill”. In 1824 J.Constable showed a number of his landscapes at the Paris Salon [’saebin]. And for his “Hay Wain” he was awarded the gold medal.Joseph Mallord William Turner [’tains] (1775-1851) was Constable’s brilliant contemporary. Turner was born a year before Constable. Constable was a home-keeping artist, Turner travelled widely. Both were talented, each had his unique aesthetic achievement. Turner was at heart a sailor, he had a long-life passion for the sea and to him a ship was a living creature, courageous and loyal, resourceful and in need of help. He painted the ship in such paintings as “Snowstorm: Steamboat off a Harbour Mouth”, “Fire at Sea”, “The Calais Pier”, “Snowstorm: Hannibal ['haembalj and His Army Crossing the Alps”. These painting are an interpretation of land, sea, air and fire. He painted nature in all its moods. That was why John Ruskin, an outstanding critic, appreciated his paintings and grouped them. under the heading “Flood and fire and wreck and battle and pestilence”. Turner had a splendid visual memory, he observed the sea, the waves which are always moving. He knew forms and the rules that they obey.In 1848 three young artists Hunt [hAnt], Millais [’milei] and Rossetti [rs'zeti] formed themselves into a brotherhood called “The Pre-Raphaelites” [pri: 'raef3laits]. Their paintings were a return to the simplicity of the primitives. The brotherhood emerged as a revolt against the reign of academic painting. Their conception was far from being revolutionary, their ideal was the medieval art, they glorified the Italian art of the 19^th century.The most famous paintings of European and English are to be found in the National Gallery, which was built in 1838 in Trafalgar Square.

22.2 Это надо рассказать про книг этих авторов. Проанализировать книги («Шпион», »Песнь о Гайавате», «Хижина дяди Тома», «Унесенные ветром».

The political Party System.

The party' system is an essential element in the working of constitution. For over 150 years Britain’s system of parliamentary democracy has been based on organized political parties competing to form the government.For the last 150 years a predominantly two-party system has existed in Britain. Since 1945 either the Conservative Party, whose origins go back to the Tories of the late 17^th century, or the Labour ] Party, which emerged in the last decade of the 19^th century, has held power.

There are other parties as well. They are:

· Liberal Democrats party;

· Scottish National party;

· Plaid Cymru [plaid ’клпш] (Welsh Nationalist) party;

· Ulster Unionist [’Alsts ’ju: njanist] party;

· Ulster Democratic Unionist party;

· UK Unionist party;

· Social Democratic party and Labour party'.

The ruling party since 2010 is Conservative Party and it has at present 306 people elected to the House of Commons, Political parties are neither registered nor formally recognized in law, but the system depends on the existence of at least 2 parties in the House of Commons, each of which is capable of forming government.The effectiveness of the party system in Parliament rests on the relationship between the Government and the Opposition parties. Depending on the relative strength of the parties in the House of Commons, the Opposition may seek to overthrow the government. The aims of the Opposition Party are: to contribute to formulation of policy and legislation by constructive criticism;

· to oppose government proposals it considers objectionable;

· to seek amendments to government Bills;

· to put forward its own policies on order to improve its chances of winning the next general election. Parties usually hold annual conferences which serve as channels of communication between the leading members of the party in Parliament and their supporters in the country. Inside Parliament, party control in exercised by whips. Outside Parliament, party control is exercised by the national and local

organizations.

⇐ Предыдущая 1 2 34