Political life and law
Britain is almost alone among modern states in that it doesn’t have ‘a constitution’ at all. Of course, there are rules, regulations, principles and procedures for the running of the country – all the things that political scientists and legal experts study and which are known collectively as ‘a constitution’. But there isn’t any single document which can be applied to as the highest law of the land and the final arbiter of any matter of dispute. Nobody can refer to ‘article 6’ or ‘the first amendment’ or anything like that, because nothing like that exists. Instead, the principles and procedures by which the country is governed and people’s rights are derived come from a number of different sources. They have been built up over the centuries. Some of them are written down in laws agreed by Parliament, some of them have been spoken and then written down (judgments made in a court) and some have never been written down at all: there is no written law in Britain that says anything about who can be the Prime Minister or what the powers of him/ her are.
Britain is one of the very few European countries whose citizens don’t have identity cards. Moreover they aren’t obliged to carry any identification with them. You don’t even have to have your driving license with you in your car. If the police ask to see it, you have 24 hours to take it to them. There is no national service (military or otherwise); people aren’t obliged to vote at elections if they can’t be bothered; people don’t have to register their change of address with any government authority when they move house. On the other hand, Britain is the only country in Europe without a Freedom of Information Act. There is no law which obliges a government authority to show you what information it has collected about you.
The monarchy
Britain is a constitutional monarchy, but what is the real role of monarchy nowadays? There are three widespread opinions. First, it is the personal embodiment of the government of the country: people can be as critical as they like about the real government, and can argue that it should be thrown out, without being accused of being unpatriotic. Because of the clear separation between the symbol of government and the actual government, changing the government doesn’t threaten the stability of the country as a whole. Second, it is argued that monarch could act as a final check on a government that was becoming dictatorial. If the government ever managed to pass a bill through Parliament which was obviously terribly bad and very unpopular, the monarch could refuse the royal assent and the bill would not become law. Similarly, it is possible that if a Prime Minister who had been defeated at a general election were to ask immediately for another dissolution of Parliament, the monarch could refuse the request and dismiss the Prime Minister. Third, the monarch has a very particular role to play. By being a figurehead and representing the country, Queen Elisabeth II can perform the ceremonial duties which heads of state often have to spend their time on. This way, the real government has more time to get on with the actual job of running the country.
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The economy
The economic system in Britain is a mixture of private and public enterprise. From 1945 until 1980 the general trend was for the state to have more and more control. Various industries became nationalized, especially those concerned with the production of energy. So too did the various forms of transport and communication services. From 1980 the trend changed. A major part of the philosophy of the government was to let ‘market forces’ rule and to turn state-owned companies into companies owned by individuals. As a result, nowadays private enterprises prevail public ones, so there are more shareholders in the country than members of unions.
There is a statement: “The one thing the English will never forgive the Germans for is working too hard.” Of course, it’s not literally true, but it reflects a certain lack of enthusiasm for work in general. Perhaps it is the reason why the working day, in comparison with most countries, starts rather late (usually at 8 o’clock for manual workers and around 9 for non-manual ones). However measured by the number of hours worked in a week, the British reputation for not working hard enough appears to be false. The normal lunch break is an hour or less, and most people continue working until 5 or later. Many people often work several hours overtime a week. Moreover the normal retiring age for most people is 65 (60 for some, including a greater proportion for women).
There exists an interesting irony with regard to the two sexes. The decline of heavy industry means fewer jobs in stereotypical ‘men’s work’, while the rise in service occupations means an increase of stereotypical ‘women’s work’. In 1970 around 65% of all those in work in Britain were men. In 1993 men made up only 51% of the workforce. When the law against sex discrimination in employment was passed in 1975, it was intended to protect women. However, in 1994 nearly half of the complaints came from men. That year there were two-and-a-half times as many unemployed men as there were unemployed women. Many men looked for employment as nurses, child carers, shop assistants and secretaries.
Although it’s illegal for women to be paid less than men for the same job, the average full-time male employee earns about 50% more than the average female worker.
People and nature
Most of the British live in towns and cities. But they have an idealized vision of the countryside. To the British, the countryside has almost none negative associations which it has in some countries, such as poor facilities, lack of educational opportunities, unemployment and poverty. To them, the countryside means peace and quiet, beauty, good health and no crime. Most of them would live in a country village if they thought that they could find a way of earning of living there. Ideally, this village would consist of thatched cottages built around an area of grass known as a ‘village green’. Nearby, there would be a pond with ducks on it. Nowadays such village is not so common, but it is stereotypical picture that is well-known to the British. Even if they cannot get into the countryside, many British people still spend a lot of their time with ‘nature’. They grow plants. Gardening is one of the most popular hobbies in the country. Even those unlikely people who do not have a garden can participate. Each local authority owns several areas of land which it rents very cheaply to these people in small parcels. On these ‘allotments’, people grow mainly vegetables.
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As for the love of animals, it is said that the British often treat their animals as if they were people. Moreover they have a sentimental attitude to any animals. Nearly half of the households in Britain keep at least one domestic pet. The status of pets is taken seriously. It is, for example, illegal to run over a dog in your car and then keep on driving. You have to stop and inform the owner. If their pets die many British people are prepared to pay quite large sums of money to give their pets a decent burial. So, there are some official animal graveyards in Britain. But the love of animals goes beyond sentimental attachment to domestic pets. Wildlife programs are by far the most popular kind of television documentary. Millions of families have ‘bird-tables’ in their gardens. These are raised platforms on which birds can feed, safe from local cats, during the winter months. There is even a special hospital which treats injured wild animals. Perhaps this overall concern for animals is part of the British love of nature.
Tasks
1. Read the text for detailed understanding. Translate the 8th paragraph of the text.
2. Give the summary of the text.
3. Retell the text as if you were:
1) Ordinary citizen of Britain;
2) British politician;
3) British historian;
4) Representative of the government;
5) Economist.
Vocabulary
Part 1
1) to be attributed with – характеризоваться, определяться
2) to lag behind – отставать, запаздывать
3) to regard as – считать
4) to derive smth. from smth. -- получать/извлекать что-либо от/из чего-либо, to derive profit – извлекать прибыль, to be derived from – происходить;
5) annual – ежегодный, ~ceremony – ежегодная церемония
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6) likewise – также, более того, подобно
7) to be inclined to – быть расположенным к
8) to follow – следовать, идти за, придерживаться
9) the majority – большинство, Ant. – minority – меньшинство
10) genuine – истинный, подлинный, настоящий
11) to be individualistic for – иметь индивидуальное отношение (подход) к
12) pastime – времяпрепровождение
13) bowler hat – шляпа-котелок
14) to be preceded by – предшествовать, идти перед
15) to wash down – запивать
16) to cut out – исключать
17) to be out of date – устареть
18) to draw the conclusion from – сделать вывод из
19) to conform to/with – согласоваться/соответствовать/подчиняться
20) a queue – очередь, Am. – line, to queue up – стоять в ~, Am. – to line up
21) patience/tolerance – терпимость/терпеливость, patient/tolerant – терпимый
22) to have an attachment to – иметь привязанность к
23) to depict – изображать, Syn. – to portray
24) stubborn – упрямый, неподатливый, упорный
25) token – признак/знак/символ
26) suspicious – подозрительный, suspicion – подозрение
27) hostility – враждебность, hostile – враждебный
28) system of measurement – система измерения
29) to promote – выдвигать/продвигать/повышать в чине, promotion – продвижение по службе, to get a promotion – получить повышение
30) attitudes towards – отношение к …
31) afford – позволять (по средствам)
32) a good indication – хороший знак
33) to criticize smb for – критиковать кого-то за …
34) income – доход(ы), to spend ~ on – тратить доход(ы) на …
35) to be embarrassed – быть смущенным, приведенным в замешательство
36) to shake hands – пожимать руку
37) to make a request – просить
38) to put a distance between smb – устанавливать дистанцию
39) reserved – сдержанный, необщительный
40) affection – привязанность, любовь
41) conventional – обычный, общепринятый
42) casual – случайный/нерегулярный/неформальный, to wear ~ clothes – носить/одеваться в повседневную одежду, casually – неформально
43) to break down – разваливаться, рассыпаться
Part 2
1) regulations – предписание, правило, устав
2) to apply to smth./smb. – обратиться/прибегнуть, to apply smth. – применять/использовать
3) to refer to – сослаться/прибегнуть
4) to derive smth. from smth./doing smth. – устанавливать/выводить/ извлекать
5) dispute – диспут/дебаты/полемика/спор, to dispute – спорить
6) amendment – поправка
7) identity card – удостоверение личности, identification – документ (любой), удостоверяющий личность/опознавание/отождествление
8) to be obliged to do smth., to be obliged to smb. – быть обязанным делать что-либо, быть обязанным кому-либо
9) driving license – водительское удостоверение
10) to bother smb. – беспокоить/надоедать, to be bothered – беспокоиться/утруждать себя
11) to vote at elections – голосовать на выборах; vote – (избирательный) голос, voter – избиратель
12) to move house – переезжать
13) to be accused of – быть обвиненным
14) to argue with smb. – спорить, to argue – аргументировать/ утверждать/ настаивать
15) to throw smth. out – выбрасывать, избавляться
16) to threaten – угрожать
17) dictatorial – диктаторский, властный
18) to pass a bill – принять законопроект
19) royal assent – королевская санкция/одобрение
20) to defeat – наносить поражение, to be defeated – потерпеть поражение
21) to dismiss – распускать, увольнять
22) figurehead – первое лицо
23) dissolution – расторжение, отмена, роспуск
24) enterprise – предприятие, entrepreneur – предприниматель
25) to prevail – преобладать/доминировать
26) discrimination – дискриминация/неодинаковое/неравное отношение, discriminate – относиться по-разному/пристрастно
27) shareholder/stockholder – акционер
28) manual – физический, ~worker – работник физического труда, ~ labor – физический труд, Ant. – sophisticated/intellectual labor – интеллектуальный труд
29) to work overtime – работать сверхурочно
30) retiring age – пенсионный возраст
31) decline – падение, to decline – падать
32) to complain – жаловаться/подавать жалобу, complaint – жалоба
33) employee – работник, employer – работодатель
34) legal – законный, illegal – незаконный
35) to make up – составлять
36) to intend to – намереваться, иметь в виду
37) child carer – няня
38) thatched cottage – коттедж с соломенной крышей
39) unlikely – здесь: редкий
40) allotment – надел, Syn. – parcel
41) household – семья, домашнее хозяйство
42) to run over a dog – задавить собаку
43) to go beyond – повышать что-то, выходить за пределы
44) to give smb a decent burial – похоронить должным образом
45) by far – намного
46) overall concern – всеобщая забота/глобальная проблема