The system of government in the UK

In theory, the constitution has three branches: Parliament, which makes laws, the government, which 'executes' laws i.e. puts them into effect, and the law courts, which interpret laws. Although the Queen is officially head of all three branches, she has little direct power.

Parliament has two parts: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The voters of 650 constituencies elect members of the House of Commons. They are known as MPs, or Members of Parliament. The Prime Minister, or leader of the Government, is also an MP, usually the leader of the political party with a majority in the House of Commons.

A Cabinet of about twenty other ministers advises the Prime Minister. The Cabinet includes the ministers in charge of major government departments or ministries. Civil servants, who are permanent officials, run departments and ministries. Even if the Government changes after an election, the same civil servants are employed.

Members of the House of Lords (peers) are not elected. About 70 per cent of them are 'hereditary peers' because their fathers were peers before them. The other 30 per cent are 'life peers', whose titles are not passed on to their children. They are officially appointed by the Queen, on the advice of the Government, for various services to the nation.

England had a monarch more than a thousand years ago, and the United Kingdom still has a monarch today. But there was one short break in this long tradition. King Charles I fought a war against Parliament. He lost the war, and in 1649 he had his head cut off. But in 1660 his son became King Charles II. So Britain was a republic for just eleven years.

Письменно ответьте на следующие вопросы по-английски или по-русски:

1). Which of these people are not elected: a peer, an MP, a civil servant, the Prime Minister?

2). What is the difference between a life peer and a hereditary peer?

3). What are civil servants?

4). Is the Prime minister also an MP?

5). Is the prime minister the leader of the political party with a minority in the House of Commons?

6. Переведите письменно на русский язык 2, 3, 4 и 5 абзацы.