To inherit

Date: 2015-10-07; view: 596.

To elect

Representatives

Lord Chancellor

The House of Commons

The House of Lords

UK parliament

1. What is the Russian for:

In the 14^th century, the British parliament split into two divisions, the House of Lords, which included the bishops and the aristocracy (or peers), and the House of Commons, which included the representatives of the ordinary people.

The two Houses still exist today, but over the centuries the elected House of Commons has become the more powerful. The Lords, whose members are not elected and who traditionally inherited their seat in the House from their fathers, no longer have the automatic right to block new laws.

The British parliament is one of the oldest parliamentary systems in the world, and foreigners are often puzzled by some of its ancient customs. The Lord Chancellor, who controls debates in the House of Lords, must sit on the “woolsack”, a seat filled with wool that originated in the 14^th century when wool was a symbol of Britain's prosperity.

2. Discuss the questions:

1. Which has the most political power: the House of Lords or the House of Commons?

2. Which House has the members who used to inherit their places in parliament?

3. What can be wrong with hereditary power?

4. Who sits on the “woolsack”?

5. What is its symbolic meaning?