1. The largest administrative divisions in England are called …..
a) communities.
b) counties.
2. In Scotland, the largest divisions are …………………………
a) regions.
b) districts.
3. A system of local government was first established in ………
a) the 15th century.
b) the 19th century.
4. Councilors are elected by local people for a period of ……….
a) four years.
b) six years.
5. Councils make policies for …………………………………..
a) the whole country.
b) their area.
6. Now councils often give contracts to ………………………...
a) private firms.
b) individuals.
7. Central government provides a lot of money spent by councils
in the form of …………………………………………………
a) taxes.
b) grants.
8. Money is shared between the local authorities according to ….
a) the size of the territory.
b) their population.
9. The council tax is based on ……………………………………
a) the value of a person’s house.
b) the value of the income.
VOCABULARY PRACTICE
D Match the verbs and the nouns as they occur together in the text.
| verbs | take establish elect belong to make collect provide carry out share |
| nouns | services a political party decisions political power a system of local councils taxes representatives the money policy |
E Give the Russian equivalents for the following words and word combinations.
to divide into; to elect representatives; to be run by; to belong to; to provide services; to take the power; counties; a two-tier structure; unitary authorities; a chair person; to establish; to attend meetings; to make policies; to carry out policy; to be responsible for; to employ the staff; according to; to charge a tax.
F Open the brackets. Use the correct word forms and word combinations from Exercise E.
1. For administrative purposes Britain (делиться на) small geographical areas.
2. The largest divisions in England and Wales are called (округа).
3. Councils and districts (управляться) by councils.
4. A system of local councils first (создавать) in the 19th century.
5. Councils have (двухуровневая структура).
6. Councils consist of (избираемые представители), called councilors.
7. Most councilors (принадлежать) a political party.
8. Local authorities (отвечать за) education, social services, town planning, transport.
9. Central government shares the money between local authorities (в зависимости от) their population.
G Learn the active vocabulary.
a local authority budget to collect taxes; a local government officer to provide services; a two-tier structure to employ staff; to divide into to make decisions; to be responsible for to make policies
H Make a summary of the text.
UNIT 7
FORMS OF GOVERNMENT
Forms of Government
A form of government is a term that refers to the set of political institutions by which a government of a state is organized in order to exert its powers over a community politics. Synonyms include “regime type” and “system of government”. This definition holds valid even if the government is unsuccessful in exerting its power. But a failed government is still considered a form of government. Churches, corporations, clubs, and other subnational entities also have “government” forms. Beyond official typologies it is important to think about regime types by looking at the general attributes of the forms of
government: traditional or modern; autocracy (totalitarianism or authoritarianism), oligarchy, or democracy; direct or indirect elections; republic or monarchy; constitutional monarchy or absolute monarchy; majority government or coalition government; parliamentary, presidential, or semi-presidential; confederation, federation, or unitary.
Nineteen states in the world do not explicitly name their government forms in their official names (the official name of Jamaica, for instance, is simply “Jamaica”), but most have an official name which identifies their form of government, or at least the form of government toward which they are striving:
Australia, the Bahamas, and Dominica are each officially a commonwealth. Luxemburg is a grand duchy. Russia and Switzerland are each a federation. There are 33 kingdoms in the world, but only 18 named as such. The other 15 are known as realms. Jordan is specifically titled the “Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,” while Britain is formally the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Andorra, Liechtenstein, and Monaco are each a principality. The word “republic” is used by 132 nations in their
official names. Many specify a type of republic: China is titled a “people’s republic; North Korea- a “democratic people’s republic”, Egypt and Syria-“Arab republics”; Algeria is a “democratic and popular republic”; Vietnam-a socialist republic. States that wish to emphasize that their provinces have a
fair amount of autonomy from central government may specifically state this: Germany and Nigeria are each a federal republic, Ethiopia is a federal democratic republic, the Comoros is a federal Islamic republic, and Brazil is a federative republic. Besides the Comoros, four other nations dictate that they are Islamic republics. Eleven nations simply refer to themselves as states, but a handful specify what kind of state. Papua New Guinea and Samoa emphasize that they are independent states, while the United States of America and the United Mexican States are made up of constituent states. Brunei and Oman are sultanates.
READING PRACTICE
A Scan Text 7.1 and answer the questions:
a) What do figures 33 and 132 stand for?
b) How many states do not use the name of their government form in their official names?