Топики по английскому языку

Political system of Great Britain

The UK is a constitutional monarchy. The Queen is head of the State, but she has little direct power.

The constitution has 3 branches: Parliament, which makes laws, the government, which “executes” laws and the courts, which interprets laws.

The Parliament consists of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Queen.

The House of Lords has very little power and consists of more than 1000 hereditary lords and peers.

The function of the House of Lords is debating a bill after the House of Commons.

Members are not elected, they sit there because of their rank and the chairman of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor (he sits in special sit, called Woolsack).

The House of Commons has true power. It is made up of 650 Members of Parliament. Members are elected by the people.

The function of the House of Commons is introducing and debating the Bills.

The chairman of the House of Commons is the Speaker.

Parliament has a maximum duration of 5 year. The election campaign lasts about 3 weeks; the British parliamentary system depends on political parties. The party which wins the majority of seats forms the government and its leader usually becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister chooses about 20 Members of Parliament from his party and forms his cabinet of ministers. The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and “shadow cabinet”.

The session is opened by the Queen. Each session lasts for 160-175 days.

There are 2 leading parties in GB: the Conservative Party (the Tories) and the Labour Party. (The Liberal and the Social-Democratic party)

(The Green Party, the Communist Party, the Nation Front)

Tony Blair is the leader of the labour Party and Britain’s Prime Minister.

The Palace of Westminster.

Mass media (newspapers)

The mass media plays the important role in reflecting the life of society and in building opinions. It can draw the publics’ attention to the most serious political, economic, social and ecological problems. The mass media include newspapers, magazines, radio, television and internet. The earliest kind of mass media was newspaper. The first newspaper was Roman handwritten newssheet called “Acta Diurna” started in 59 B.C. Most newspapers come out daily, besides there are some weekly, monthly, yearly newspapers too. Many newspapers have traditional columns such as "Letters to the Editor», "Contacts and Information", "Events: Details and Analysis". The edition board of a newspaper usually deals with the topical issues of the day. The reader’s questions, opinions and suggestions which they send in letters the editor help to improve the newspaper and make it more interesting.

There are two main types of national paper - the "popular" papers and the "quality" papers. The popular papers are smaller in size (they are tabloid size), with lots of pictures, big headlines and short articles. They usually have "human interest" stories - stories about ordinary people and events.

"Quality" papers appeal to the more serious reader, who wants to read about politics and foreign affairs. These papers are bigger in size (they are called "broad-sheets"), with longer articles and a wider coverage of events. They have different pages for home news, foreign affairs, features articles, fashion, business, sport and so on.

Practically all newspapers also give radio and TV programs, weather forecasts. Every newspaper has its readers. One can find newspapers of all kinds: national and local, official and private, quality and popular, newspapers issued for children, teenagers, older age, for all kind of fans: sport-fans, car-fans, music fans, etc. The freedom of press has become actual and real today. Most of the newspapers can boast their independence, their individual styles, and their peculiarities.

Education in the USA

Americans view their public school system as an educational ladder, rising from elementary school to high school and finally college undergraduate and graduate programmes.

Schools in the USA can be divided into state, or public schools, and private schools. State schools are free, and private schools are fee-paying.

Elementary education begins at the age of 6 with the first grade and continues through to the eighth grade. The programme of studies in the elementary school is different in different schools. It includes English, arithmetic, geography, history of the USA and elementary natural science. The elementary school is followed by high school as it is called. It consists of 2 parts: Junior high is for the children aged 12 until they are 15 and Senior high school is attended by students until they are 18.

During the school year the students study 4 or 5 subjects. They must complete a certain number of courses to receive a diploma or certificate of graduation.

After graduating the most of Americans go on to higher education.

The most common types of higher education are the colleges and universities. During the first two years the students follow a basic program. It means that every student must select at least one course from each of the basic fields of study: English, Natural sciences, Modern languages, History or Physical education. After the first two years every student can select subjects according to his professional interest.

The 4-year undergraduate studies lead to a bachelor’s degree or “college diploma”. The bachelor’s degree can be followed by professional studies. 2-year graduate studies lead to a master’s degree.

Environment

Our planet Earth is only a tiny part of the universe, but nowadays it’s the only place where we can live.

People always polluted their surroundings. But until now pollution was not such a serious problem. Men have polluted the air, water and land; used most of the Earth’s oil, gas and coal; completely killed more than 500 kinds of animals, birds and plants; made and used atomic bombs. It’s a disaster and it’s still happening.

Many animals and birds are disappearing nowadays. This is because man hunts them, destroys and pollutes their habitat. There is only one way to save wild animals and wild habitats – conservation. That means protecting animals in danger by low, opening more national parks, building fewer new roads, planting more new forests, cutting pollution.

Water pollution. Most big cities pour their waste into seas and rivers. They are filled with poison: industrial and nuclear wastes, pesticides. Polluted water kills fish and other marine life.

Air pollution. Fume from the chimneys of factories, gases which are in refrigerators and sprays pollute the air. They damage the ozone layer that covers the earth; also they are the main reason for the greenhouse effect and acid rains. It can cause illness, and even death. The rainwater mixes with the gases in the air, and then the air pollution also becomes land and water pollution.

Land pollution. The main problem is making large piles of trash. Trash is made of boxes, bags, paper, plastics, bottles and others.

Today, many scientists and world leaders realize that the Earth is in danger. It’s really very simple. We have the time, the money and even the technology to make our planet a better, cleaner and safer place.

The following radical measures must be taken:
1. The replanting of trees that have been cut down;
2. Nuclear tests should be stopped;
3. Purification systems must be installed at plants and factories;
4. Natural resources should be used more rationally;
5.Rare and dying out birds, animals and plant's should be protected;
6.Precaution measures should be taken against the destruction of the ozone layer.