VII. Match the words and their definitions.

1. judge 2. circuit 3. service 4. suit 5. review

a) the work of a public servant; employment in or performance of work for another; b) judicial re-examination of a case, esp by a superior court; c) one of the areas into which a country is divided for the administration of justice; d) a public official with authority to hear cases in a court of law and pronounce judgment upon them; e) e) a civil proceeding; the act or process of suing in a court of law.

 

 

Text B. US GOVERNMENT

 

By the Constitution of 1787 the government of the USA is composed of three branches: the executive one, the legislative one, and the judicial one.

The highest executive power in the United States is with the President of the US, who is elected for a term of 4 yearsby electors of each state. The President of the USA must be a native-born citizen, resident in thecountry for 14 years and at least 35 years old.

The President is to carry out the programmes of the Government, to recommend much of the legislation to the Congress. The President is also responsible for

• carrying out and enforcing laws made by Congress;

• nominating people for federal offices;

• negotiating treaties with other nations;

• conducting wars.

In addition, the president is given the power

• to pardon people convicted of crimes

• to send and receive ambassadors to and from other countries.

Veto. The president shares in the legislative power through the veto. Although the president can veto a bill passed by Congress, the bill can still become a law if two-thirds of both houses of Congress vote to override the veto.

Appointments. The power to appoint executive branch officials and federal judges is shared with Congress. The president has the power to nominate persons to fill those positions, but the Senate has the right to approve or disapprove of the persons nominated. To prevent corruption of Congress, members of Congress are not allowed to hold another federal office.

The legislative power belongs to the Congress of the United States consisting of two chambers: the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of two members from each state elected for a term of 6 years, one third being elected every two years. The number of representatives from each state to the House of Representatives depends on the number of people in each particular state.

In order to become a law all bills and resolutions must pass both the Houses and must be signed by the President.

The Supreme Court is the highest judicial organ of the United States and the head of the judicial branch of power. The Supreme Court consists of the Chief Justice of the USA and a number of Associate Justices.

There are about 90 district courts in different parts of the United States. The district courts are the lowest ones in the Federal court system. Most of the criminal and civil cases are tried by these courts.

Each state has a constitution similar to the Constitution of the USA and all the power in each state is divided into executive, legislative, and judicial. The head of each state is the governor of the state.

Each state has its own system of courts similar to that of the Federal courts.

Vocabulary Notes

electors – выборщики

to carry out- выполнять

to enforce a law — проводить закон в жизнь

to negotiate – вести переговоры

to pardon - помиловать

to override — не принимать во внимание

to (dis)approve ~ (нe) одобрять

a chamber – палата

in order to — для того, чтобы

similar (to) — подобный

to try a case – рассматривать дело

 

Прочитайте и переведите Text B. Выявите информацию, которой не было в Text A. (в том, который читали на предыдущем занятии).

Составьте предложения с новыми словами.

 

US POLITICAL SYSTEM

The USA is a presidential republic. Supreme legislative power lies with Congress which consists of the Senate or the upper House and the House of Representatives. The Senate is composed of 100 members, 2 from each state who are elected for a term of 6 years. One-third of the Senate is elected every 2 years. The House of Representatives has representatives from each state depending on population, but every state no matter how small it is, has at least one representative in the chamber.

Both Senators and Representatives must be residents of the State from which they were chosen. In addition, a Senator must be at least 30 years old and a citizen of the USA for at least 9 years, a Representative accordingly – 25 years and 7 years.

The presiding officer of the Senate isthe Vice-President of the USA. The presiding officer of the House of Representatives, the Speaker, is elected by the house. The work of preparing and considering laws is done by the committees of both Houses. There are 15 standing committees in the Senate and 19 in the House of Representatives,

The Congress assembles at least once a year.

The executive branch of the government consists of the President, the Vice-President and the Cabinet. The President's term of office is four years, together with the Vice-President, chosen for the same term. The President is the head of the executive branch of the government; he appoints the members of the Cabinet. The Cabinet advises the President on many matters and is composed of the heads of ten executive departments: Secretary of State, Secretary of the Treasury, Secretary of Defence and others.

The judicial branch of the government is headed by the Supreme Court which settles disputes between the states. The Supreme Court may veto any law passed by the Congress if it contradicts the Constitution of the USA.

The United States is a federal Union, and the President is the head of the Federal government which deals with international problems and national matters. But every state has its own constitution and the state government headed by the Governor managing its local affairs. Their laws and decisions must not contradict the Constitution of the USA.

Vocabulary Notes

to be composed – состоять

no matter how… – как бы... не

the presiding officer – председатель (чего-л.)

a standing committee – постоянно действующий комитет

to advise – давать рекомендации

Secretary of State — государственный секретарь

Secretary of the Treasury – министр финансов

Secretary of Defence – министр обороны

to settle disputes – решать спорные вопросы

to contradict – противоречить

to manage local affairs – заниматься, решать вопросы местного значения