5.3. Answer the following questions:

1. How many universities are there in Great Britain?

2. What are the oldest British universities?

3. What can you say about Cambridge and Oxford?

4. What are Oxford and Cambridge famous for?

5. When was the University of London created?

6. What does British university consist of?

7. What does an undergraduate programme consist of?

8. How many hours a week do lectures, seminars, tutorials and laboratory

classes account for?

9. What are the duties of a tutor?

10. How large are the groups of students for lectures?

11. Where does the majority of students live?

12. How many terms are there in the academic year?

13. When does formal teaching take place?

14. How is the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Science awarded?

15. When is a Master degree awarded?

16. What is the highest degree?

17. May British students receive grants?

5.4. Complete the sentences using information from the text:

1. There are about a hundred …

2. … were given university status in 1992.

3. They differ greatly from one another ….

4. Oxford and Cambridge are the oldest unique universities founded in ….

5. … is a federation of 20 colleges.

6. Every student has a ….

7. … are famous for their academic excellence.

8. An undergraduate programme consists of a series of ….

9. Lectures, seminars and tutorials are all….

10. The majority of students live ….

11. Most degree courses at universities ….

12. The Doctor’s degree is awarded for ….

5.5. Translate the following sentences from Russian into English:

1. В Великобритании около 100 университетов.

2. Университеты Оксфорда и Кембриджа являются старейшими уни- верситетами страны.

3. Оксфорд и Кембридж известны великолепным качеством обучения.

4. Университет состоит обычно из колледжей.

5. Университетская программа включает лекции, семинары, практи- ческие занятия и лабораторные работы.

6. По окончании обучения студент получает степень бакалавра гума- нитарных и естественных наук.

7. Степень магистра присуждается за исследования в области гумани- тарных и естественных наук.

8. Студенты могут получать стипендии от местных органов власти.

5.6. Speak about Oxford and Cambridge.

5.7. Say some words about the undergraduate programme.

5.8. Summerize the text.

Topic 6. The British Political System

6.1. Read and translate the text:

Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy and the King (or the Queen) is the formal Head of the Government, his (her) power was transformed from an active force in politics to a ceremonial head of state.

The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The House of Lords consists of the whole body of English peers, a number of elected Irish and Scottish peers and a certain number of the Bishops of the church of England. The House of Lords became a place not only for hereditary peers but also for elderly and retired politicians. The House of Commons consists of 650 members elected by popular vote. The election is held every five years and at this election every person at the age of twenty-one has a vote. The House of Commons elects its own president who is called the Speaker. The House of Commons is the real governing body of the United Kingdom. In order to become a law, a new bill proposed by the Cabinet must be approved by both Houses of the Parliament. The Lords cannot veto a bill, but they can delay it for a maximum of one year. Financial bills cannot be delayed by the House of Lords.

Practically only two political parties are represented in Parliament – the Conservative party and the Labour party. The party, which has the largest number of members in Parliament, takes office and is called the Government; the party (or parties) in the minority is called the Opposition. The Government sits on the right of the Speaker’s chair, the Opposition on the left.

When it is known which Parliamentary party has the majority in a newly elected House of Commons, the Queen calls the leader of that party to become Prime Minister. The Prime Minister forms a new Government. He chooses from the Lords and Commons the men numbering about sixty to fill the principal offices and they form Ministries. From these are chosen fifteen to twenty to form the Cabinet of Ministers. The Act of 1937 limited the number of the Cabinet members to 17 of whom not more than 14 may be members of the House of Commons and not less than 3 members of the House of Lords.

These 17 are the holders of the most important offices, for example the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Home Secretary, the Secretary for Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Defense, the Minister of Health, the President of the Board of Trade.