This text is about ……………………………………………………………
The British Parliament has two houses, or chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons is the most powerful and decides national policy, but the House of Lords can ask the House of Commons to rewrite certain parts of a bill before it becomes a new law.
The House of Commons consists of Members of Parliament, MPs. Each MP is elected by voters in one constituency (region). There are 651 MPs, or seats, in the House of Commons. The 1234 members of the House of Lords are not elected. Some are life peers: they are members of the House of Lords, but their sons or daughters cannot be members. Life peers are usually former members of the House of Commons. There are also a number of judges or bishops. The majority, however, are hereditary peers, the heads of aristocratic families. This means that most members of the House of Lords are there because of something their ancestors did. The head of both Houses of Parliament is the Queen, but she has very little power.
The party with most MPs forms the government. The leader of the winning party automatically becomes the Prime Minister and appoints the Cabinet. The members of the Cabinet are the leading government ministers. The Prime Minister is the most important person in Parliament. The party who comes second is the Opposition and forms its own Shadow Cabinet.
British Prime Ministers have lived at 10 Downing Street since 1731.
B) Answer the questions.
1. How many chambers are there in the British Parliament and how are they called?
2. How many members of Parliament are there in the House of Commons?
3. Who can be members of the House of Lords?
4. Who forms the government?
5. Who becomes the Prime Minister?
6. Who are the members of the Cabinet?
C) Retell the text using the words in bold type.
A) Read and translate the text.
The Royal Family
For more than a thousand years Britain has always had kings or queens except for the ten years between 1649 and 1659. In the past, kings had great power and they really helped to make history. They started wars, made laws, and did things in their own way. But gradually more and more power went to Parliament. What does the Queen do now? Why does Britain need monarchy? And does it?
Elizabeth II calls the Windsor family a ‘Firm’. She thinks of it as a business rather than a family. And the main business of the royal family is … well, probably being royal. And they are paid for it. The Queen is one of the richest women in the world and yet she gets about 8 million pounds a year to be Queen. But many people agree that she does her job well and she deserves her salary.
Being Queen is a really busy job. Elizabeth II gets up early and begins the day by looking through the newspapers. Then she reads letters from the public (she gets more than 1000 each week), and tells her staff how she would like them to be answered. The Queen has daily meetings with her Private Secretary who helps her to go through her paperwork, and lots of meetings with ambassadors, new judges, and bishops.
In the afternoon Elizabeth II often goes out on public engagements – she gets thousands of invitations each year. She opens new hospitals, bridges and factories.
Once a week, the Queen has a meeting with the Prime Minister and they discuss government business and important things that are happening in the country.
In the evening the Queen reads the report of the day from Parliament. She isn’t a politician, and in modern Britain the power belongs to the government, but she must agree to every new law. It’s a formal agreement: no king or queen has refused a new law since 1701!
Being a Queen is not a 9 to 5 job, and Elizabeth II has to work from early in the morning until late at night. And people watch her all the time.
Of course, she has some free time, and some private life, but less than most people.
In her spare time Elizabeth II enjoys horse racing, fishing, and walking in the countryside. She also enjoys photography and likes taking photos on her travels.
Many people think that the Royals are useless and monarchy is outdated. But… the British people seem to like them that way. They like to read about the royal family, royal scandals and shocking secrets. They like to watch royal ceremonies, they are proud of the tradition of monarchy. Britain has had kings and queens for a thousand years – probably they’ll have them for another thousand.
b) Write an outline of the text made of Wh- questions (When? Where? Who? Why?) Use the outline to retell the text.
