Данные тексты послужат для развития умения поискового чтения, в процессе которого обучающиеся будут иметь возможность приобрести дополнительную страноведческую информацию по изучаемой теме "Политическая система Объединенного Королевства Великобритании".
The British Monarchy Today.
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. This means that it has a monarch (a king or a queen) as it’s Head of State. The monarch reigns with the agreement of Parliament. The powers of the monarch are not defined precisely. Everything today is done in the Queen’s name. It is “Her Majesty’s” government, “Her Majesty’s” armed forces, “Her Majesty’s” law courts and so on. She officially appoints all the Ministers, including the Prime Minister. Everything is done, however, on the advice of the elected Government, and the monarch takes no part in the decision-making process.
Once the British Empire included a large number of countries all over the world ruled by Britain. Now there is no longer an empire. But the British ruling classes tried not to lose influence over the former colonies. An association of former members of the British Empire and Britain was founded in 1949. It is called the Commonwealth. It includes many countries such as Ireland, Burma, the Sudan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others. The Queen of Great Britain is also the Head of the Commonwealth, and so the Queen of Canada, Australia. New Zealand. The Queen is very rich, as are other members of the Royal Family. In addition the government pays for her expenses as Head of State, for a royal yacht, train and aircraft, as well as for the upkeep of several palaces. The Queen’s image appears on stamps, notes and coins.
Answer the questions.
- What kind of state is the UK?
- Who does the real power in the UK belong to?
- Is the Queen of the UK also the Queen of some other countries?
- What is the name of free association of independent states, members of the former British Empire?
Some Additional Facts About The British Monarchy.
The Commonwealth is a free association of 50 sovereign independent states which were once part of the British Empire.
The British Monarchy is one of the world’s oldest monarchies, with an almost unbroken line of kings and queens stretching back to at least the ninth century.
Since the ninth century there has been only one short interruption in the history of the monarchy. In 1642, a Civil War began in England, and in 1649 King Charles I was defeated by a parliamentary army led by Oliver Cromwell and was executed. Britain remained a republic only 11 years, however,. In 1660 the son of the executed Charles I, Charles II, was restored to the throne and Britain has remained a monarchy ever since.
Queen Elizabeth II was born on 21 April, 1926. She came to the throne on 6 February, 1952. Her coronation took place I Westminster Abby on 2 June, 1953 and was the first coronation to be televised throughout the world.
Queen Elizabeth II has four children. The eldest child is Prince Charles, who qualified as a Royal Air Force pilot and is now Prince of Wales and heir to the throne; Princess Anne, now the Princess Royal, represented Britain in horse-riding at the Olympic Games and is a member of the international Olympic Committee; Prince Andrew, now the Duke of York, is serving naval officer; Prince Edward has worked in the theatre.
Most of Europe’s other ruling families were related to queen Victoria. Alexandra, wife of the last Tsar, Nicholas II, was a granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Tsar Nicholas’s aunt, his mother’s sister, Grand Duchess Maria Alexandrovna, married Queen Victoria’s son. Queen Elizabeth and her husband, Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, are both great-great grandchildren of Queen Victoria.
There are seven Royal Palaces. The names of the Royal Palaces are: Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle, St. James’s Palace, Hampton Court Palace, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace and the palace of Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh. The Queen also has private residence at Balmoral in Scotland and Sandringham in Norfolk.
Answer the questions.
- Do you know how many states the Commonwealth consists of?
- Do you know which the world’s oldest monarchy is?
- Do you know how many interruptions there were in the history of the British monarchy?
- Do you know when Elizabeth II was born and when her coronation took place?
- How many Royal Palaces do you know? Can you name any of them?
- Which of the Queen’s children: a) represented Britain in the Olympic Games?
b) qualified as a Royal Air Force pilot?
c) is a serving naval officer?
d) has worked in the theatre?
7. How was the last Russian Tsar, Nicholas II’s family related to the British Royal family?
