Seminar 3

I. Mind the pronunciation of the following words and phrases:

Legislative, executive, judicial, incumbent, Senate, commerce, veto, interior, two-tier.

II. Give the Russian equivalents to the following terms:

Tie, Department of State, Central Intelligence Agency, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Department of the
Interior, Department of Commerce, Department of Labor, Department of Health and Human Services,
Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Energy, Electoral College, elector, face
off, swing state, “kitchen cabinet”, court of appeal, chief justice, Associate Justice, trial court, two-tier,
legislative court, speedy trial .

III. Discuss the following questions:

1. Present the brief news from the USA.
2. The political system of the USA.
a) The Constitution. Bill of Rights. When was the Constitution written? What did it establish? Dual
system of government. Three branches of the power.
b) Legislative branch. The Congress. The House of Representatives. The Senate. The specific status
of Washington, DC. Officers of Congress. The Committees. The bills. “Overriding a veto”, “the
pocket veto”. Powers of investigation. Lobbies.
c) Executive branch. The President: requirements to hold office; powers. The incumbent President
and Vice President. Presidential elections. Inauguration Ceremony. The President’s Cabinet.
d) The Judicial branch. The Supreme Court. Courts of appeal. Federal courts. District courts. Special
courts.
3. The party system. The history of the parties.

Literature

1. Михайлов Н.Н., Михайлов М.Н. Лингвострановедение США=American Cultural Studies: учеб.

пособие.- 288 с.- М.,2008.

2. Новик, Н.А. Страноведение. США: география, история, экономика, культура = Country

Studies. USA: geography, history, economy, culture : учеб. пособие : (с электрон. прил.) / Н.А. Новик.
– Минск : Вышэйшая школа, 2015. – 245 с.

3. О.А.Леонович: страна и люди. Panorama of the USA. Материалы к практическим занятиям

по страноведению США: учебное пособие. – М.: «КДУ», «Добросвет», 2018. -264 с.