Reading drills. Practise the pronunciation of the following words:

Practise the pronunciation of the following words:

1) stress the first syllable: monarchy, reign, reigning, wield, cabinet, leader, common, parliament, bishop, swear, annual, legislative, draw, neutral, separately, constitute.

2) stress the second syllable: hereditary, executive, responsible, majority, allegiance, legitimize, accepted, assembly, entirely.

3) stress the third syllable: ceremonial, integrating, representative, parliamentary.

Text B

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional hereditary monarchy. The head of state is the reigning monarch. Executive power, however, is wielded by a prime minister, who is head of government, and a committee of ministers called the cabinet. The prime minister is usually the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons. By custom, cabinet ministers are selected from among the members of the houses of Parliament. The King or Queen is responsible for appointing Bishops to the Church of England, the Chief Justice and the highest-ranking members of the armed forces, who all swear allegiance to the Crown.

The monarch performs a representative, ceremonial and integrating role. The present Queen, Elizabeth II, has been on the throne since 1952 and represents Great Britain at home and abroad, as well as being, the head of the Anglican Church. The Queen carries out and legitimizes acts of state such as the annual opening of Parliament during which the Queen reads out a speech drawn up by the Prime Minister, which marks out the government's intended legislative program for the coming Parliament (Queens Speech). The monarch's neutral position makes him/her a generally accepted figure of national integration even in times of war and crisis.

The UK Parliament is one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world. Since the 14th Century, parliamentary government in the United Kingdom has been based on a two-chamber system. The House of Lords (the upper house) and the House of Commons (the lower house) sit separately and are constituted on entirely different principles.

The relationship between the two Houses is governed largely by convention but is in part defined by the Parliament Acts. The legislative process involves both Houses of Parliament and the Monarch.