Government in the Middle Ages

 

The period of the Middle Ages began with the fall of the Roman Empire in the 5th century AD and lasted for about 1,000 years. During this time, the Roman Catholic church ruled much of Europe. In some cases, the church would work with kings and queens, and they might even appoint them. When Charlemagne became the king of the Franks in 800, he was crowned by the leader of the church. The religion of Islam became equally powerful in the Middle East and parts of Asia and Africa during the Middle Ages. A government that is led by religious leaders is known as a theocracy.

The period of the Middle Ages was also marked in Europe by feudalism, a system of rights and obligations involving the ownership of land. Feudalism also refers to the way of life of this period. People lived in walled castles, and knights in armor protected the castles and fought in wars to expand the king's territory.

 

Constitutional monarchy

 

With its combination of kings and knights, feudalism was a mixture of monarchy and aristocracy. The government did not represent most of the people. Instead, it benefited the wealth of a very few. In addition, many kings were very greedy, and they were not concerned about the well-being of their subjects. In 1215, a group of landowners in England forced King John to sign a document promising certain rights. This document, known as the Magna Carta, put a limit on taxes, allowed people to travel freely, and protected the people from unjust imprisonment. The Magna Carta was the first modern example of a constitution, a document that spells out the rights of a country's citizens and the powers of their government.

 

Europe soon gave rise to a mixed form of government known as a constitutional monarchy. People demanded to be represented by their leaders, and their leaders found themselves managing nations that were increasingly larger. As a result, monarchs shared some of their power with groups that could help them govern. By the 13th century, a body of government called Parliament emerged in England. Parliament was a legislature, a group that oversaw the creation of the nation's laws. The king or queen still ruled the country, but the day-to-day business of government increasingly transferred to Parliament.

 

2. Выберите правильный вариант:

1. During the Middle Ages, the Roman Catholic church ruled much of ….

 

2. The religion of … became equally powerful in the Middle East and parts of Asia and Africa during the Middle Ages.

 

	A. Islam	B. Buddhism	C. Judaism
3.	A government that is led by religious leaders is known as a ….
	A. aristocracy B. theocracy	C. democracy
4. Feudalism was a mixture of ….
	A. monarchy and aristocracy	B. monarchy and oligarchy	C.
theocracy and aristocracy
5.	Magna Carta was signed in …
	A. 1557	B. 1228 C. 1215
6.	Magna Carta put a limit on ….
	A. freedom B. taxes	C. rights
7.	Europe gave rise to a mixed form of government known as ….
	A. a constitutional monarchy	B. democracy C. republic

8. By the … century Parliament emerged in England.

 

A. 13^th B. 14^th C. 12^th

 

3. Замените подчеркнутые слова синонимами из текста:

1. The region is governed by the head of the country.

 

2. Recent events are a strong argument for gun control.

3. The firm has a duty to its customers.

4. Thousands of young men entered the city to defend their country.

 

5. It’s too late to invite any more people. Besides, you know how your brother doesn’t like parties.

 

6. The current trends in fashion are quite extravagant.

 

7. Soon you’ll see the full might of the new leader.

8. This happened when the latest personal computer appeared on the market.

 

4. Найдите синонимы:

1. a fall

2. rule

 

3. powerful

4. to expand

5. mixture

6. well-being

7. greedy

8. to mark

 

A wanting more

B strong

 

C being healthy, safe and having money

D govern

E to label

F to increase in size

G a loss of power

H combination

 

 

 

Text 4

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Democracy

The birth of democracy

 

As people grew dissatisfied with their rulers, a new type of government was born: democracy. The word democracy means “rule by the people.” The earliest form of democracy was in ancient Greece. In some cases, Greek towns were so small that the entire population would gather together to decide on issues of government. But in the large Greek city-states, the people were ruled by a small group who represented them in the affairs of government. This type of government is known as a representative democracy. It is similar to the modern government in the United States, where senators, congressmen, and other leaders represent large groups of people from their home states and regions.

 

Representative democracy may seem like aristocracy, because only a few people manage the government. However, in a democracy the people choose their leaders, and if they feel they are not being represented, they can elect new representatives. On the other hand, the earliest form of democracy in ancient Greece was not entirely democratic, because it did not represent all the people. Only the rich landowners could vote, and women and slaves were not considered citizens.