英语国家社会与文化(英2价格2分版).ppt

1、The Government of the United Kingdom,Part I Warm-up questions,1. What is the oldest institution of government? the Monarch (rule by the king) 2. What is the name of the charter of liberty and political rights granted by King John in 1215? Magna Carta 3. When was the term parliament first used offici

2、ally? 1236 4. What do we call the group of important Parliamentarians? the House of Lords and the House of Commons,5. Which party forms the government and who becomes Prime Minister? the party with the most supporters in the Commons forms the government and the leader of that party becomes Prime Min

3、ister 6. What kind of monarchy is Britain today? the role of the monarch today is primarily to symbolise the tradition and unity of the British state,Part II Focal Points,1.Divine right of kings (君权神授) 2.The civil war (内战) 3.Magna Carta (大宪章) 4.The Great Council (大议会) 5.The Bill of Rights of 1689 (1

4、689年通过的权利法案) 6.The Cabinet (内阁) 7.The Prime Minister (首相) 8.The Constitution (宪法) 9.The power and the functions of the Parliament (议会的权利和职能) 10.The roles of the monarch (君主的角色) 11.The House of Lords (上议院) 12.The House of Commons (下议院),Part III Words Life Peers; bishops Elected lobbies, aye, no,What

5、Goes on in the House of Commons? (cont.),Question Time Four times a week; each 55 minutes Questions by MPs Short, oral answers by government ministers The PM: 30 minutes, once a week,The Executive,EXECUTIVE (political) PM, leader of majority party Ministers or Secretaries of State All MPs (front ben

6、chers + backbenchers Cabinet Junior Ministers,Civil Service (行政机构 non-political) Permanent officials mandarins 政界要人 (accountable to Parliament) Civil servants: servants of the Crown, no political or judicial office, paid with public money, not elected.,The Executive,The State Opening of Parliament:

7、Queens speech, drawn up by the Government and approved by the Cabinet An outline of the Governments policies and proposed legislative program for the new parliamentary session.,The State Opening of Parliament May, 2005,From Buckingham to Westminster,1). the Great Council (大议会) In medieval times, thi

8、s referred to a group of leading, wealthy barons who were summoned by the king several times a year to give the king some extra money. By the 13th C., representatives of counties, towns and cities were also included in order to raise more money. This was the beginning of what we know as Parliament t

9、oday. Two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons In 1407, Henry IV, decreed (颁布法令) that all money grants should be considered and approved by the Commons,2). William of Orange and the Bill of Rights of 1689 (权利法案) In 1688, King James IIs daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange w

10、ere invited by the politicians and church authorities to take the throne, on condition that they would respect the rights of Parliament. After this Glorious Revolution, the Bill of Rights was passed in 1689 to ensure that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament. 1688年, 英王詹姆斯二世因为置议会的权力于不顾而被

11、推翻，他的女儿玛丽和女婿威廉应政治家和教会权威们的邀请来英国登基执政，但条件是必须尊重议会的权力。这次光荣革命之后，于1689年通过了“权力法案”，以保证国王绝对不能忽视议会的存在。,William III the common laws (普通法,判例法), which are laws established through common practice in the courts; and conventions (习惯法), which are rules and practices not existing legally, but regarded as vital to the

12、 workings of government. 英国还没有一部成文的宪法。英国政体体现在成文法、判例法和习惯法中。成文法是由议会通过的法律；判例法是通过法庭中的一贯作法确立的；习惯法是指那些现存的规则和惯例，虽然不是法律上必须的，但是对于政府的运作来说是至关重要的。,The Judiciary (司法),The Constitutional Reform Act 2005: provision for the creation of a new Supreme Court for the UK The new Supreme Court: a UK body legally separate

13、 from the England and Wales Courts; also the Supreme Court of both Scotland and Northern Ireland The office of Lord Chancellor (大法官): no longer official head of judiciary,The Judiciary,The new, independent Supreme Court: independent appointments system, own staff and budget, own building Scheduled t

14、o be open: October 2009 12 judges: Justices of the Supreme Court; not allowed to sit as members of the House of Lords; the current Law LordsJustices, Lord Bingham President of the Supreme Court,Separation of Power, British Style,The Prime Minister: an active member of the legislative, the leading me

15、mber of the executive The Lord Chancellor: a member of the cabinet (the executive); head of the judiciary The House of Lords: part of the legislative (a right to vote on bills); the Law Lords: part of the judiciary Members of the Cabinet: members of the legislative (the right to vote on issues) , th

16、e executive,Local Government,County level: education and social services (full-time specialist officials) District councils: rubbish collection, disposal (full-time specialist officials) Community or parish councils: may affect decisions councillors representing wards (about 1200 people at county le

17、vel),4. the Monarchy today - the roles of it 1) symbolize the tradition and unity of the British State 2) legally head of the executive (行政部) 3) an integral part of the legislature (立法机关) 4) head of the judiciary (司法部) 5) commander in chief of the armed forces 6) “supreme governor” of the Church of

18、England - most Britons felt the Queens important jobs were: 1) represent Britain at home and abroad 2) set standards of good citizenship and family life 3) a confidante (知己的女友) to the Prime Minister, offering valuable observations on the running of government,5. the House of Lords It consists of the

19、 Lords Spiritual (上议院的神职议员), who are the Archbishops and most prominent bishops of the Church of England; and the Lords Temporal (上议院的世俗议员), which refers to those lords who either have inherited the seat from their forefathers (called hereditary peers) or they have been appointed (by the sovereign,

20、at the suggestion of the Prime Minister and were called life peers (终身贵族). The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests of the public. 上议院由上议院神职议员和世俗议员组成, 神职议员包括英国教会的大主教和最杰出的主教, 世俗议员包括世袭贵族和终身贵族。世袭贵族指那些从祖辈那里继承席位的贵族, 称为世袭贵族, 终身贵族是由首相推荐，君主任命的贵族。,6. the House of Commons It is the real

21、center of British political life which consists of about 659 Members of Parliament (MPs) elected by the people to represent them. These MPs are elected in the General Elections and should make and debate policy in the interests of the people who vote for them. 下议院是英国政治生活的中心所在，是在大选中由人民选举出来的659个国会议员制定

22、和议论国策的地方。这些国会议员应该代表投票选他们的人民的利益。 * Most MPs belong to political parties - Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats,(T / F)Answer:,(T / F)Answer:,(T / F)Answer:,(T / F)Answer:,(T / F)Answer:,(T / F)Answer:,(T / F)Answer:,Exercises I. Decide whether the following statements are true or false

23、 It is no doubt that Britain is the oldest representative democracy in the world. ( ) 2. In Britain, the process of state-building has been one of evolution rather than revolution, in contrast to France and the U.S. ( ) 3. The oldest institution of government according to the text is the Monarchy. (

24、 ) 4. The divine right of kings means the sovereign derived his authority from his subjects. ( ),F,T,T,F,5. While the King in theory had God on his side, it was thought that he should exercise absolute power. ( ) 6. The term parliament was first officially used in 1066 to describe the gathering of f

25、eudal barons and representatives from counties and towns. ( ) 7. Britain is both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. ( ) 8. Britain, like Israel, has a written constitutions of the sort which most countries have. ( ) 9. Common laws are laws which have been established through co

26、mmon practice in the courts. ( ),F,F,T,F,T,II. Choose the correct answer to each of the following. 1. Which of the following is not characteristic of British government? (a) It offers the Queen high political status and supreme power. (b) It is both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional mon

27、archy. (c) It is the oldest representative democracy in the world. (d) It has no written form of Constitution. 2. Which of the following king was executed in the civil war? (a). James I (b). James II (c). Charles I (d). Charles II 3. What happened in 1215? It was the year of Norman Conquest in Briti

28、sh history. (b) Forced by barons, King John signed the Magna Carta. (c) Henry IV granted the Commons the power to review money grants. (d) King Egbert united England under his rule.,4. Which of the following is not true about the Great Council? (a) They included barons and representatives from count

29、ies and towns. (b) They were sometimes summoned by the kings to contribute money. (c) They later developed into what we now know as the Cabinet. (d) They represented the aristocrats as well as the communities. 5. Under whose reign was the Bill of Rights passed? (a). James II (b). William of Orange (

30、c). Oliver Cromwell (d). George I 6. Which of the following is not true about the Constitution? (a) It is a document which lists out the basic principles for government. (b) It is the foundation of British governance today. (c) Conventions and Laws passed by Parliament are part of the Constitution.

31、(d) The common laws are part of the Constitution.,7. Which of the following about the Parliament is not true? There are no legal restraints upon Parliament. (b) Strictly speaking, the Queen is part of the Parliament. (c) Parliament has the supreme power of passing laws. (d) Parliament has no power t

32、o change the terms of the Constitution. 8. Which of the following about the Queen is not true? The Queen selects the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. (b) The Queen symbolizes the tradition and unity of the British state. (c) The Queen acts as a confidante to the Prime Minister. (d) The Queen is the t

33、emporal head of the Church of England. 9. Which of the following about the House of Lords is not true? Lords do not receive salaries and many do not attend Parliament sittings. (b) It consists of the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal. (c) The lords are expected to represent the interests of the public. (d) Most of the lords in the House of Lords are males.,10. Which of the following about the House of Commons is not true? (a) Member