Language practice and comprehension check

Notes:

to give it teeth – to put smth into effect.

“winner-take-all” system – the system of election when candidates gain the state’s total electoral vote in the electoral college, no matter how small the margin.

TASK I useful vocabulary:

suit — v. 1. meet the demands or requirements of; satisfy; agree with. 2 make fitting; accommodate; adapt. 3. (as suited adj.) appropriate; well-fitted (not suited to be a nurse). suitable adj. (usu. foll. by to, for) well-fitted; appropriate.  suitability n. suitably adv.

visualize v. (also -ise) (-zing or -sing) imagine visually.  visualization n.

vision n. 1 mental picture . 2 imaginative insight.

envision v. – to picture to oneself <envisions a career dedicated to promoting peace> syn. think

insidious adj. – 1 proceeding inconspicuously but harmfully. 2 crafty.  insidiously adv. insidiousness n.

amenable adj. – 1 responsive, docile. 2 (often foll. by to) answerable to law etc. amenability, n

homogeneous adj. – 1 of the same kind. 2 consisting of parts all of the same kind; uniform.  homogeneity n. homogeneously adv.

heterogeneous adj. – 1 diverse in character. 2 varied in content.  heterogeneity n.

TASK II A. Match the words on the left to their synonyms on the right.

forebear	a. picture
posit	b. ancestor
visualize	c. isolate
insulate	d. postulate
figure	e. fit
suit	f. imagine
envision	g. consider
intertwine	h. release
subject	i. connect
exempt	j. subordinate

B. Match the adjectives and the nouns.

representative	a. protection
unusual	democracy
effective	ability
political	theory
republican	correctness
social	concern
homogenous	treatment
unreasonable	group

C. Make up sentences with the words above.

TASK III A. Make up sentences with the following phrases.

to seek a solution; the body of the ruled; to shield smb from the rigors (of the law); to treat smb unreasonably; to pursue the interests of smb; to range from … to …; to guard against smth.

B. Connectors. Make up sentences with the following connectors.

nonetheless – however, despite that

actually – really, in fact

in addition – besides, as well

in particular – in detail, exactly

thus far – until now,

at least – if nothing else,

but rather – more exactly, more truly

indeed – really, certainly

TASK IV Grammar review.

Make up nouns with the suffix –ty and give their Russian equivalents.

homogenous – homogeneity, heterogeneous, equal, amenable, minor, major, particular, continuous, secure, responsible.

TASK V Notions to define.

representative democracy; pre-Revolutionary rhetoric; protection of minorities; a frequently mentioned republican concern; homogenous group; heterogeneity of interests.

TASK VI Express the same ideas in your own words.

1. The principal force envisioned was the ballot: the people in their self-interest would choose representatives whose interests intertwined with theirs and by critical reelection decision ensure that they stayed that way, in particular that the representatives did not shield themselves from the rigors of the laws they passed.

2. If most of us feel we are being subjected to unreasonable treatment by our representatives, we retain the ability-irrespective of whether they are formally or informally insulating themselves – to turn them out of office.

3. Though most often articulated as if it were an existing reality, this was at best an ideal, and the fact that wealth redistribution of some form – ranging from fairly extreme to fairly modest proposals – figured in so much early republican, while doubtless partly explainable simply in terms of the perceived desirability of such a change, also was quite consciously connected to republicanism’s political theory.

TASK VII Answer the following questions:

1. What kind of system is representative democracy?

2. What conflict existed in the pre-Revolutionary rhetoric?

3. How was the solution found?

4. Where would “the rulers” return upon conclusion of their service?

5. Should the representatives live according to the laws they passed? Why?

6. What was the principal force to oppose the insidious tendency of power to separate?

7. Why do the representatives treat themselves better that the rest of the people?

8. In which case can the people turn the representatives out of office?

9. Whose interests were not protected under this system?

10. What drawbacks of the representative democracy were not envisioned by the framers of the Constitution?

11. What prominent rights were all citizens entitled to in the Declaration of Independence?

12. Why was the concern for equality not given explicit attention in the Constitution?

13. Was the assumption of “pure” republican and social theory brushed or stressed in the Constitution?

14. How was the idea of the people visualized in the Constitution?

15. Was the concept of the people as a homogenous group an ideal or an existing reality?

16. Why should legislation be in the interest of all?

TASK VIII Issues to discuss.

1. The concept of representation and representative democracy.

2. The danger of unfair treatment of the representative system.

3. The problem of equality of the majority and the minority.

1 IP – intellectual property

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