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Politics and Public institutions

ffi Types of government
president (e'g' usA' France)
republic: ,or" governecl by representatives. and, usually a
"
monarchy: , ,,,i. ruled by a king or queen (e'g' UK' Sweden)
central government (e'g' USA)
federation: a union of political ,-,iit. 1e.g, prorir.es) ,nder a
democracy: government of, by and for the people
dictatorshiplsystem of government run by a dictator
independence: freedom?rom outside control; self-governing

ffiPresidentialandparliamentarY8overnment(USandUK)
United Stotes
(Congress) are
government: The powers of the President and the legislature
_'.|,i".".fh.,.branchesofgou.'.*entareelectedseparately.
Presidential
nominate high officials irr
The President is elected for a four-year term and can appoint or
The President
government, i".f"ai"g ."Uinet members (who advise)-and federal iudges'
Ieads a major parry, u-sually, but not always, the maiority
parfy in Congress'
House of Represen-tatives and the Senate'
coogr.r, .orr.irt., of rwo houses, the
congressmen or womcn and senators are elected for flxed tefirrs.
court' cttn overrulgthg
The judiciary is a ,.p".ra. branch. The Supreme Court, the \ighest
President and Congress.

United Kngdom
(Parliament) and a
Pailiamentary government: The government consists of a legislature
Cabinet olMinisters from the maiority party in Parliament.
The Prime Minister is the head of the government and the leader
of the majorit! parry
'n
the House of co*-ois, holding ofiice while the party holds a maiority' The Prime
Minister selects high officials and heads the Cabinet'
parliament consists ;i;. chambers, the House of Commons and the Flouse of
Lords'
arealto
MPs are *"-f.r, oifrrfr-.rr, elected from each constitudncy fgeographical
the House of Commons.
ffr. ;*ai"iiry is indfen"dent but it cannot overrule the Prime Minister or Parliament'
The Highest Couri consists of a group of Lords'

Parliamentary elections .!
politician 11 N$ i[S
During a general election each constituency has to choose which 'e'2n15
from. These candidates are
representativ". ur""[v ,rr.r. ur..r.u.ral candidates to choose
that they represent' 0n
all standing (or running) for Parliam.".. itt.y present-the policies
Yote by marking a crgss oh
polling dai.r.h .itir.i'go., to the polling station and casts a
wins the seat' If thevote
their ballot paper. ihe clndid*t. *f,o g.tf th" maiority of votes
is very close, the *".y may be referred to as a marginal seat. If an MP dies in
"."rii
office, then there 1125;; b. a'by(ei-election to replace him or
her' The public canalso
,ot. ir, ,-r"f"r"rdo* - a direct vot; by the people on an important Publiq
occasionally
issue.

Probably the most useful political words be the ones that relate to your own cotrr'ft;y
foryou will
Highlight the words on thi, page that could be used about your countryt political system'

i
.Fr,

I'[l,rr i rrr I 1.,- II ll'1",r rIl.',rrr,-,li,ll,') if...

..ll'r
.jh....
 ffxere ises

60.1 Choose the correct word from the choices offered.

1 India gained republic/independence/democracy from the UK in 1948.
2 Our MP's just died and so we'll soon need to have a vote/referendum/by-election.
3 She's running/sitting/walking for Parliament in the next election.
4' His father was voted/stood/elected MP for Cambridge City.
5 '!7hat is your country's economic politicsipolicy/politician?
5 The USA is a legislaturelf.ederationliudiciary of fifty states.
60.2 Look at this text about politics in the UK. Fill in the missing words.
Parliament in the UK consists of two ...(1): the House of Commons and
the House qf Lords. In the House of Commons there are 650 ..(2), each
I l.(' representing one .........................(3). The ruling parry in the Commons is the one
which gains a ..(a) of seats. The main figure in that parry is called the
ltl: r',
itl, irt ;h;p;i;;MlkIl'-:;Tf,ff :;:[T:T:l*::,',f ;lff 'l,*"'ff J,fli#'Hli]
60.3 Make some more words based on those you studied opposite.

lc t l', abstroct noun person noun verb odjeaive

revolution revolutionary revolutionise revolutionary

rePresentation
election
la dictatorship
presidency
:y irr
l
60.4 'fry this political quiz.
ls. 1 |'Tame three monarchie:,.
Ito 2 Which is the oldest parliament in the world?
3 Name the President and the Vice-President of the USA.
4 !7ho is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom?
5 '!7hat politicians represent you in local and national government?
6 !7hat are the main political parties in the country where you now are?
7 '!7hat are the main political issues in that country and what are the policies of the
S ItS different parties on those issues?
'S7hat
are 8 do these political abbreviations stand for - MP, PM, UN, EU, NATO, OPEC?
.On
;s on 60.5 Using the words on the left-hand page, write a paragraph about the political system in
vote your country.
Follow-up: Find a newspaper article in English relating to a political issue that interests you. Note
down any further useful vocabulary in it.
ic

ty.

English'/ocobulary in Use (Upper-intermediote) 123