How Britain is governed: British Parliament

(Part I).

This is the supreme legislative body in the country. Parliament consists of two Houses - the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The House of Commons. The members of the House of Commons (called Members of Parliament or MPs for short) are chosen by the electors. They are elected at a general election.

There must be a general election every five years, but the Government can "go to the country", i.e. order a general election at any time within that period if it sо wishes.

Each session of the House of Commons lasts for about 16O - 175 days. Parliament has intervals during its work. By present custom, a session is divided into five periods: from November (when the session is opened) till Christmas, from January till Easter, from Easter till Whitsun, from Whitsun till the end of July, and 10 days in October.

Members of Parliament are paid for their parliamentary work and have to attend the sittings. When Parliament is not meeting, these MPs spend much of their time visiting the constituencies which have elected them.

The opening of Parliament is an occasion of very picturesque ceremony. The Queen goes to the House of Lords (according to an old tradition no King or Queen is allowed to enter the House of Соmmоns) and reads a speech which tells what laws the Government intends to make. The members of the House of Commons listen to the Queen standing at the entrance to the Ноusе of Lords.

After the Queen's speech, MPs go back to the House of Commons. There they carry on the work of government partly by debates, in which all members can take part, and partly by committee meetings which fewer members attend.

The party that has won the general election makes up the majority in the House of Commons and forms the Government. The party with the next largest number of members in the House, or sometimes a combination of other parties, forms the official opposition, and Leader of the Opposition is a recognized post in the House of Commons.

The sittings usually begin at 10 a.m. People who visit the House of Parliament may sit in the Strangers' Gallery looking down into the House of Commons and listen to the debates. The central entrance hall is usually busy with people coming and going to see the buildings, and others wanting to see their Members of Parliament.

There are 650 members in the House of Commons (most of them are professional politicians, lawyers, etc.). If the number present in the House drops below 40, the House is "counted out" and the debate suspended. During many of the debates, MPs come and go because they are often wanted on business in other parts of the building, but during important debates they remain in the House, and the sitting may go on until late at night.

G.D. Tomakhin.

П ояснения к тексту

Sovereign - монарх

the House of Commons - палата Общин

the House of Lords - палата Лордов

Christmas - рождество /25 декабря/

Easter - пасха

Whitsun - Whit - троицин день

Strangers` Gallery - галерея для публики /в палате лордов или в палате общин/

Commonwealth - см. пояснения текст №2

to count out - отложить заседание из-за отсутствия кворума

Слева и выражения для активного усвоения

supreme - верховный, высший

legislative - законодательный

to consist of - состоять из

to elect - выбирать

to dissolve - распускать

to summon - созывать

due to - благодаря

resignation - уход в отставку

to last- продолжаться

to pay - платить

occasion - случай

to intend - намереваться

member - член

to carry on - продолжать

to attend - посещать

to make up - составлять

to рrороsе - предлагать

Questions to the text.

1. How many Houses does the Parliament consist of?

2. There is a general election every five years, isn`t there?

3. How long does each session of the House of Commons last?

4. Are Members of Parliament paid for their work?

Text 4