IV Read the text and do the tasks that follow. The bill of rights

The constitution written in Philadelphia in 1787 could not go into effect until it was ratified by a majority of citizens in at least 9 of the 13 US states. During this ratification process, misgiving arose. Many citizens felt uneasy because the document failed to explicitly guarantee the rights of the individuals. The desired was added in 10 amendments to the Constitution, collectively known as the Bill of Rights.

The Bill of Rights guarantees Americans freedom of speech, of religion, and of press. They have the right to assemble in public places, to protest government actions, and to demand change. There is a right to own firearms. Because of the Bill of Rights, neither police officer nor soldiers can stop and search a person without good reason. Nor can they search a person’s home without permission of a court to do so. The Bill of Rights guarantees a speedy trial to anyone accused of a crime. The trial must be jury, if requested, and the accused person must be allowed representation by a lawyer and to call witnesses to speak for him or her. Cruel and unusual punishment is forbidden. With the addition of the Bill of Rights, the Constitution was ratified by all 13 states and went into effect in 1789.

Since then 17 other amendments have been added to the Constitution. Perhaps the most important of these are 13^th and 14^th, which outlaw slavery and guarantee all citizens equal protection of the laws, and the 19^th, which gives women the right to vote.

The Constitution can be amended in either two ways. Congress can propose amendment, provided that two-thirds of the members of both the House and the Senate vote in favor of it. Or the legislatures of two-thirds of the states can call a convention to propose amendments. (This second method has never been used) in either case a proposed amendment does not go into effect until ratified by three-fourth of the states.

IV. 1. Mark the statements as t (true) or f (false).

1. The Constitution of 1787 was ratified by the majority of citizens of the 13 US states.

2. The Bill of Rights guarantees the basic rights and freedoms for all American citizens.

3. A police officer or soldiers can stop and search a person with a good reason.

4. All in all there are 13 amendments to the Constitution in the Bill of Rights.

5. The Constitution can be amended on the initiative of the President on the USA.

Score 5

IV. 2. Choose the best alternative.

1. During the ratification of the Constitution many citizens got concerned …

   1. … that no regulations of the rights and freedoms were included in the document.

   2. … that the rights and freedoms were strongly restricted in the document.

   3. … that the regulations on rights and freedoms were guaranteed only for men.

2. The Bill of Rights is a set of amendments which …

1. … regulates the relationships between the legislative and executive branches.

2. … guarantees the basic rights and freedoms for the citizens.

3. … guarantees the observance of law by the Constitution.

3. One of the most important amendment to the Constitution after the first 10 was that one

1. … which outlaws slavery.

2. … which gave the right to own firearms.

3. … which guaranteed that no person could be searched with no good reason.

4. Women got the right to vote thanks to …

1. … the 17^th amendment to the Constitution.

2. … the 14^th amendment to the Constitution.

3. … the 19^th amendment to the Constitution.

5. Congress can propose amendment, provided that …

a) … two-thirds of the members the Senate vote in favor of it.

b) … two-thirds of the members of the House and the Senate vote in favor of it.

c) … two-thirds of the members of the House vote in favor of it.

Score 5

Total score 30

GRAMMAR REVIEW

MODALS

Review the following basic rules of the use of the modals in the English language.

The most commonly used modal verbs are can, may, must, should and have to. Most of the modals do not need any auxiliary to make a question or a negative form (except for have to). We normally do not use a particle ‘to’ after the modals before the verb (except for have to).

modal	usage	example
can	- to say that something is possible or that somebody has the ability to do something; - be able to is possible instead of can, but can is more usual; - sometimes could is the past of can.	- We can nominate him for this post. - Can you speak any foreign language? - I cannot (can’t) come to the meeting. - Very few people are able to reach this peak. - We were completely free. We could do what we wanted.
may might	- to say that something is a possibility; - usually you can say either may or might.	It may be true. or It might be true.
must have to	- to say that it is necessary to do something; - must is more personal; - have to is more impersonal; -you can use must to talk about the present or the future; - you can use have to in all forms.	- I must go. or I have to go. - She is a really nice person. You must meet her. - You can’t turn right here. You have to turn left.
should	- to say it is a good thing to do or the right thing to do something; - you can use should to give advice or to give an opinion; - should is not as strong as must	- The government should do more to help the homeless people. - You shouldn’t believe everything you read in the newspapers.

Task 1. Choose the best alternative a), b) or c).

1. The supporters of the necessity of written constitution in Britain believe that it … be organized in such a way that the public as whole has access to it.

a) can; b) should; c) has to

2. The Commonwealth of Nations … be listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the largest political alliance comprising 54 countries located in various parts of the world.

a) can; b) cannot; c) have to

3. It is accepted that a department minister … resigns, if he / she looses confidence of the House of Commons.

a) can; b) has to; c) must

4. Voting to the House of Commons is on the same day in all constituencies, and the voting stations … be kept open from seven in the morning until nine at night.

a) may; b) cannot; c) should

5. The Parliament Act 1911 fixed the life of a Parliament (the House of Commons) at five years, although it … be dissolved before the fixed term.

a) should; b) may; c) must

6. The need for cooperation among the early American colonists strengthened the belief that, in New World, people … be on an equal footing, with nobody having special privileges.

a) should; b) could; c) might

7. Americans do not … join a political party to vote or to be a candidate for public office.

a) must; b) can; c) have to

8. At the national level, elections in the USA … be held every two years, in even-numbered years, on the first Tuesday following the first Monday of November.

a) must; b) can; c) have to

9. People …actively participate in the election process by working as volunteers for a candidate.

a) must; b) should; c) may

10. Before the new government could become a reality, a majority of citizens in nine of 13 states … approve the Constitution of 1787.

a) must; b) could; c) had to

11. Any citizen of the Republic of Belarus who has reached the age of 21…become a deputy of the House of Representatives.

a) may; b) must; c) should

12. The heads of different central bodies of state administration …be members of the Government of the Republic of Belarus.

a) could; b) should; c) may

13. According to the Constitution elections of deputies …be direct and voting is secret.

a) can; b) must; c) may

14. A citizen … reach the age of 30 and be a resident of a region in Belarus, if he / she wants to become a member of the Council of Republic.

a) could; b) might; c) should

15. The powers of Parliament …be extended by law only in case of war.

a) have to; b) must; c) may

REPORTED SPEECH

Study the table and review the general rules of changing direct speech into indirect or reported.

direct speech	indirect / reported speech
Commands
Keep quiet! Don’t make noise!	He told me to keep quiet. He asked me not to make noise.
Affirmative statements
His friend is a politician. He works as a volunteer.	He said (that) his friend was a politician. He mentioned that he worked as a volunteer.
I met him at the anti globalization demonstration yesterday.	He confirmed that he had met him at the anti globalization demonstration the day before.
Ann will work as a volunteer in the election campaign.	We learned that Ann would work as a volunteer in the election campaign.
Questions
Are you participating in the elections?	She asked if I was participating in the elections.
Did you watch TV yesterday?	He was interested whether I had watched TV the day before.
Who will be elected president?	I wondered who would be elected president.
When are the new parliamentary elections planned?	They wanted to know when the new parliamentary elections were planned.

Remember you should change the adverbial modifier of time while making statements reported. The following table will help you.

direct speech	indirect / reported speech
today	that day
yesterday	the day before
tomorrow	the next day
… ago	… before
this …	that …
these …	those …
here	there
last year	the year before
last month	the month before
last …	the … before …
next …	the following …

Task 1. Change the following extracts from different interviews of famous politicians into reported speech. You can use the following words to introduce the reported sentence “said, affirmed, expressed, approved, agreed, noted, stated, etc.”

1. Mr. Lukashenko said: “I am sure, mutual turnover could exceed $30bn”.

2. President Medvedev noted, recalling South Ossetia situation: “There are challenges in our modern world. I’d like to discuss how our cooperation with the CSTO should develop”.

3. The Belarusian President gave his own assessment of the Russian actions; “This was a calm, composed reaction which has resulted in peace being established in the region. I think it will be long lasting”.

4. “We are proud of having close relations with such huge, successful country as China”, noted President Lukashenko during the meeting with the Chinese delegation.

5. “I’m confident that our countries (Belarus and the South African Republic) can play a key role in strengthening the Non-Aligned Movement Organization, particularly against the background of contemporary challenges”, assets Mr. Lukashenko.

6. In her message at the end of the presidential bid Hillary Rodham Clinton advised; “Never listen to anyone who says you can’t or shouldn’t go on”.

7. Hillary Clinton stressed: “Children today will grow up taking for granted that an African-American or a woman can become the president of the United States”.

(from “The Minsk Times” August 28, 208, September 18, 2008,

“The Moscow News” June 19, 2008)

Task 2. Organize the following text in the form of an interview.

Parliamentary election campaign enters its most interesting and intense stage. The central Election Commission has registered the first international observers. Lidia Yermoshina, Chair of the Central Election Commission, made some comments in the interview. On the question about the number of the registered initiative groups she mentioned 455 applications which were submitted, but 23 of them were refused and 8 candidates withdrew independently. She was asked why political parties had chosen the procedure of collecting signatures. Lidia Yermoshina explained that such decision could mean that a party was badly structured. The Chair of the Commission was also asked if she had met and what her impressions were about the heads of the CIS observer delegation and the OSCE experts. She explained that they had issued the first 12 certificates to international observers – all from the CIS. She underlined that the Commonwealth representatives had great experience of working with election campaigns. The same was true of the OSCE mission. She remarked that everything depends on the positioning from the ideological point of view.

(from “The Minsk Times” August 7, 2008)

SELF – ASSESSMENT GRAMMAR TEST