6. 6 Under the Constitution of the USA the federal and state governments were designed to serve the people and carry out their majority wishes. One thing they did not want their government to do is to rale them. Americans expect their governments to serve them and tend to think of politicians and governmental officials as their servants. This attitude remains very strong among Americans today.
I.. Прочитайте и устно переведите весь текст. Перепишите и письменно переведите абзацы 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
II. Выпишите из абзаца 6 предложение с инфинитивным оборотом «Сложное дополнение».
III. Прочитайте еще раз весь текст. Перепишите и закончите следующие предложения.
1. Over the past two centuries, the Constitution of the USA...
2. One foreign expert complaints...
3. There are several basic principles of the American government:...
4. The President of the USA must...
5. Americans expect...
IV. Напишите ответы на следующие вопросы:
1. Why has the Constitution of the USA had considerable influence outside the United States over the past two centuries?
2. Has the Constitution of the USA had influence upon the Constitution of Russia?
3. Is it quite easy to understand the governmental systems in the United States of America? Why?
4. What are the basic principles of the American government?
5. What does it mean: «the President proposes, but Congress disposes»?
Text 9
The United States of America
1. Congress, the legislative branch of the federal government, is made up of the Senate and the House of Representatives. There are 100 Senators, two from each state. One third of the Senators are elected every two years for six-year terms of office. The Senators represent all of the people in a state and their interests.
2. The House of Representatives has 435 members. They are elected every two years for two-year terms. They represent the population of «congressional districts» into which each state is divided. The number of Representatives from each state is based upon its population. For instance, California, the state with the largest population, has 45 Representatives, while Delaware has only one. There is no limit to the number of terms a Senator or a Representative may serve.
3. Almost all elections in the United States follow the «winner-take-all» principle: the candidate who wins the largest number of votes in a Congressional district is the winner.
4. Congress makes all laws, and each House of Congress has the power to introduce legislation. Each can also vote against legislation passed by the other. Because legislation only becomes law if both Houses agree, compromise between them is necessary. Congress decides upon taxes and how money is spent. In addition, it regulates commerce among the states and with foreign countries. It also sets rules for the naturalization of foreign citizens.
5. Congress has the power to make laws, but the President may veto any act of Congress. Congress, in its turn, can override a veto by a two-thirds vote in each house. Congress can also refuse to provide funds requested by the President. President can appoint important officials of his administration, but they must be approved by the Senate.
6. The President also has the power to name all federal judges; they, too, must be approved by the Senate. The courts have the power to determine the constitutionality of all acts of Congress and of presidential actions, and to strike down those they find unconstitutional.
7. The House of Representatives controls spending and finance, so the President must have its agreement for his proposals and programs. The President cannot declare war, either, without the approval of Congress. In foreign affairs, he is also strongly limited. Any treaty must first be approved by the Senate. If there is no approval, there is no treaty. The rule is “the President proposes, but Congress disposes”.
I.. Прочитайте и устно переведите весь текст. Перепишите и письменно переведите абзацы 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
II. Выпишите из абзаца 6 предложение, в котором имеется бессоюзное придаточное определительное предложение. Переведите письменно всё предложение.
III. Прочитайте еще раз весь текст. Перепишите и закончите следующие предложения:
1. The legislative branch of the federal government of the USA is...
2. The USA Congress consists ...
3. The Senate...
4. The House of Representatives...
5. The President has...
IV. Дайте письменные ответы на следующие вопросы.
1. What is the legislative branch of the Federal Government of the USA?
2. How many members does the Senate consist of?
3. How many members does the House of Representatives consist of?
4. What power does the Senate have?
5. What does the House of Representatives control?
Text 10
The United States of America
1. The President of the United States is elected every four years to a four-year term of office, with no more than two full terms allowed. As is true with Senators and Representatives, the President is elected directly by the voters (through state electors). In other words, the political party with the most Senators and Representatives does not choose the President. This means that the President can be from one party, and the majority of those in the House of Representatives or Senate (or both) from another. This is not uncommon.
2. Thus, although one of the parties may win a majority in the midterm elections (those held every two years), the President remains President, even though his party may not have a majority in either House. Such a result could easily hurt his ability to get legislation through Congress, which must pass all laws, but this is not necessarily so. In any case, the President's policies must be approved by the House of Representatives and the Senate before they can become law.
3. In domestic as well as in foreign policy, the President can seldom count upon the automatic support of Congress, even when his own party has majority in both the Senate and the House. Therefore he must be able to convince Congressmen, the Representatives and Senators, of his point of view. The President must bargain and compromise. This is a major difference between the American system and those in which the nation's leader represents the majority party or parties, that is, parliamentary systems.
4. A number of executive departments are known to be within the Executive Branch. Currently these are the departments of State, Treasury, Defense, Justice, Interior, Agriculture, Commerce, Labor, Health and Human Resources, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, Energy and Education.
5. Each department is established by law, and, as their names indicate, each is responsible for a specific area. The head of each department is appointed by the President. These appointments, however, must be approved by the Senate. None of these Secretaries, as the department heads are usually called, can also be serving in Congress or in another part of the government. Each is directly responsible to the President and only serves as long as the President wants him or her to serve.
I. Прочитайте и устно переведите весь текст. Перепишите и письменно переведите абзацы 1, 2, 3.
II. Выпишите из абзацев 4, 5 предложения с инфинитивными оборотами «Сложное дополнение» и «Сложное подлежащее».
III. Прочитайте еще раз весь текст. Перепишите и закончите следующие предложения.
1. The President of the United States ...
2. The President's policies ...
3. Each executive department...
4. The head of each department...
5. The head of each executive department is responsible
IV. Дайте письменные ответы на следующие вопросы.
1. How is the President of the USA elected?
2. Who must the President's policies be approved by?
3. What executive departments are there within the Executive Branch?
4. What is each executive department responsible for?
5. Who is the head of each department appointed and approved by?
Text 11
Immigration Laws in the USA
1. Some of the changes are known to have been brought about by changes in the immigration laws. Until the 1850s, immigration to the U.S. had been largely unrestricted, with some 90 percent of all immigrants coming from Europe. In the 1920s, a number of measures were taken to limit immigration, especially from Asian countries and southern and eastern Europe.
2. The overall number of immigrants was limited by law and quotas were set for countries and, later, «hemispheres'». In 1968, this quota system was abolished. An annual limit of 170,000 was set for immigrants from the Eastern Hemisphere and 120,000 for the Western Hemisphere. Ten years later, the separate limits for the two hemispheres were abolished in favour of a worldwide limit of 290,000 per year. In addition, however, special measures were taken to allow large numbers of refugees from several regions (especially East Asia and Central and South America) to enter the U.S. Thus, the average number of immigrants legally admitted throughout the 1970s was about 430,000 per year. The number jumped to 654,000 in 1980, reflecting a new wave of Cuban refugees.
3. In recent years, the number of immigrants officially admitted to the U.S. was around 550,000 per year. The 1986 immigration law, while imposing stiff penalties on American businesses that employ illegal aliens, is noteworthy for its attempt to give legal status and citizenship to those illegal immigrants who are, in all but law, already Americans.
4. More than one and a half million more illegal immigrants from Mexico are estimated to be crossing into the United States each year.
5. It is not clear what effect a new immigration law, passed in 1986, will have on these “illegal aliens”. The law gives legal status to those who can prove that they have been in the U.S. since 1982. This would allow an estimated 1.5 million illegal aliens to qualify for citizenship. What is very clear is that the so-called European heritage of America is undergoing major change as more and more people from Latin America and from Asian countries enter U.S. society. Growing numbers of Americans will be able to say that they, or their parents or grandparents, came from these regions. As a consequence, the American view of the world is more likely to be towards the south and west.
6. Although the United States now accepts twice as many foreigners as all other nations combined, Congress is studying several proposals to limit immigration, including a new ceiling of about 450,000 immigrants a year. It is less clear what Congress will do about the problem of illegal immigrants. An estimated 500,000 to one million persons enter the United States illegally every year. Several congressmen have introduced legislation that would make it illegal for employers to knowingly hire an illegal alien. A company would face a heavy fine if convicted of hiring a person without proper papers. Many business groups and civil rights leaders oppose this proposal because they fear it would lead to wholesale discrimination against Hispanics and other recent immigrants.
I. Прочитайте и устно переведите весь текст. Перепишите и письменно переведите абзацы 1, 2, 3, 4.
II. Выпишите из абзацев 5, 6 предложения с Participle I и переведите их на русский язык.
III. Письменно закончите предложения.
1. A new immigration law...
2. The so-called European heritage of America...
3. The United States now accepts...
4. Several congressmen...
5. A company would face a heavy fine if...
IV. Письменно дайте ответы на следующие вопросы:
1. How many immigrants does the United States accept?
2. How many immigrants does Russia accept?
3. What immigration laws were adopted in the United States?
4. What immigration laws were adopted in Russia?
5. How do the United States and Russia resolve the immigration problem?
Text 12
Immigration Laws in the USA
1. The latest figures from the United States Immigration Service show that well over one million immigrants are now arriving in America every year. This is the highest number of newcomers to the United States since the mass migration of Europeans at the turn of the century.
2. The new immigrants no longer come mainly from Europe. According to the official government estimate, the greatest source of immigrants to America is now Asia, followed by Latin America. Forty-two percent of the new immigrants come from Asia while 39 percent come from Latin America. Only 13 percent of the recent immigration to America is now from Europe.
3. Although the United States now accepts twice as many foreigners as all other nations combined. Congress is studying several proposals to limit immigration, including a new ceiling of about 450,000 immigrants a year. It is less clear what Congress will do about the problem of illegal immigrants. An estimated 500,000 to one million persons enter the United States illegally every year. Several congressmen have introduced legislation that would make it illegal for employers to knowingly hire an illegal alien. A company would face a heavy fine if convicted of hiring a person without proper papers. Many business groups and civil rights leaders oppose this proposal because they fear it would lead to wholesale discrimination against Hispanics and other recent immigrants.
4. Where Americans came from and when they came, does not define how they see themselves today. It is interesting to see, though, how the immigration patterns have changed over time.
5. These changing patterns do affect, and have affected, what America is today and how Americans view the rest of the world.
6. Between 1861 and 1960, the majority of immigrants came from Europe. But during the past 25 years the largest share of immigrants has come from Latin America and Asia. In 1984, for iostance, 64,100 immigrants from Europe were legally admitted to the U.S. By contrast, legal immigration from the southen Americas (mainly Mexico, the West Indies, the Dominican Republic, and Colombia) was 193,500. An additional 256,300 legal immigrants came from Asia (mainly the Philippines, Vietnam, Korea, and China).
7. The millions of «de facto Americans» — and no one knows exactly how many there really are.
8. The Census Bureau estimates that there are some three to six million «illegal immigrants» already living in the U.S., about two-thirds of them from Mexico. It is also estimated that more than one and a half million more illegal immigrants from Mexico are presently crossing into the United States each year. It is not clear what effect a new immigration law, passed in 1986, will have on these “illegal aliens”. The law gives legal status to those who can prove that they have been in the U.S. since 1982. This would allow an estimated 1.5 million illegal aliens to qualify for citizenship. What is very clear is that the so — called European heritage of America is undergoing a major change as more and more people from Latin America and from Asian countries enter U.S. Society. Growing numbers of Americans will be able to say that they, or their parents or grandparents, came from these regions. As a consequence, the American view of the world is more likely to be towards the south and west.
I. Прочитайте и устно переведите весь текст. Перепишите и письменно переведите абзацы 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
II. Выпишите из абзаца 6 предложения с Participle I и переведите их на русский язык.
III. Письменно закончите предложения.
1. At the turn of the century...
2. The Census Bureau...
3. The new immigration law of 1986...
4. Growing numbers of Americans...
5. The American view of the world...
IV. Письменно дайте ответы на следующие вопросы.
1. Where do immigrants come to the U.S. from?
2. What did the Census Bureau estimate?