Top perk
To unwind on (the jogging tract)
Daily lectern briefings
To be nicked by smb
To be attended by the phalanx of advisers
Chief of staff
Groundsman
Commander-in-chief of the armed forces
To stand a good chance
Freemason
Outgoing presidents
To bask in the certainty
To be given a staff budget for whatever they choose to do next
To be given ex gratia funds
To confirm the awesome majesty of his calling by…
Armor-plated
Bullet-proof
To whiz around in
Satellite tracking devices
Theatre of conflict
Bunker
In-transit meetings
The head honcho’s jet
Tex-mex
To be stamped with the Air-Force One logo
An exercise treadmill
To hurl oneself in the way of an assassin’s bullet
To kick back at Camp David
To find common cause between … and…
To be on constant stand-by
To be nuclear-blast proof
3. Study the Russian variant of the article and compare your variants with those from the article.
Vocabulary
Gallon- also called: imperial gallon a unit of capacity equal to 277.42 cubic inches, Brit gallon is equivalent to 1.20 US gallons or 4.55 litres, a unit of capacity equal to 231 cubic inches. US gallon is equivalent to 0.83 imperial gallon or 3.79 litres
Truffles - also called: earthnut any of various edible saprotrophic ascomycetous subterranean fungi of the European genus Tuber. They have a tuberous appearance and are regarded as a delicacy
Elderberry - the berry-like fruit of the elder, used for making wines, jellies, etc - ягода бузины
Jus - a right, power, or authority
Widgeon - дикая утка
Chequers - another name for draughts
To pitch - ставить клеймо на животных
Allegedly - будто бы, якобы; по утверждению, как утверждают
Honcho - The honcho at that department was no help at all — Начальник в этом отделе нам ничем не помог
Watch Fahrenheit 9/11
Comment on the following:
- Like a miracle had taken place.
- CNN announces that we call Florida in the Al Gore column.
- What most people don't know is that the man in charge...
- Of the decision desk at Fox that night, the man who called it for Bush was none other than Bush's first cousin John Ellis Well.
- First, it helps if your brother is the governor of the state in question.
- Second, make sure your campaign chairman is also the vote-count woman and that her state hires a company to knock voters off the rolls who aren't likely to vote for you.
- And even if numerous independent investigations prove that Gore got the most votes.
- If there was a statewide recount, Gore won the election it won't matter, as long as all your daddy's friends on the Supreme Court vote the right way.
- AI Gore, in his dual role as outgoing vice president and president of the Senate presided over the event that would officially anoint George W. Bush as the new president.
- If any congressman wanted to raise an objection, the rules insisted that he or she had to have the signed support of just one senator.
- On the day George W. Bush was inaugurated tens of thousands of Americans poured into the streets of D. C. in one last attempt to reclaim what had been taken from them.
- They pelted Bush's limo with eggs and brought the inauguration parade to a halt.
- The plan to have Bush get out of the limo for the traditional walk to the White House was scrapped.
- Bush's limo hit the gas to prevent an even larger riot.
- No president had ever witnessed such a thing on his inauguration day.
- And for the next eight months, it didn't get any better for George W. Bush.
- He couldn't get his judges appointed, he struggled to pass his legislation and he lost Republican control of the Senate.
- His approval ratings in the polls began to sink.
- He was already beginning to look like a lame-duck president.
- With everything going wrong, he did what any of us would do. He went on vacation.
Suggest the issues for discussion. Study the article “What makes a president great ” and prepare a report on George W Bush’s policy on dealing with terrorism.
Sing a song.
Dear Mr. PresidentCome take a walk with meLet's pretend we're just two people andYou're not better than meI'd like to ask you some questions if we can speak honestly What do you feel when you see all the homeless on the streetWho do you pray for at night before you go to sleepWhat do you feel when you look in the mirrorAre you proud How do you sleep while the rest of us cryHow do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbyeHow do you walk with your head held highCan you even look me in the eyeAnd tell me why Dear Mr. PresidentWere you a lonely boyAre you a lonely boyAre you a lonely boyHow can you sayNo child is left behindWe're not dumb and we're not blindThey're all sitting in your cellsWhile you pave the road to hell What kind of father would take his own daughter's rights awayAnd what kind of father might hate his own daughter if she were gayI can only imagine what the first lady has to sayYou've come a long way from whiskey and cocaine How do you sleep while the rest of us cryHow do you dream when a mother has no chance to say goodbyeHow do you walk with your head held highCan you even look me in the eye Let me tell you bout hard workMinimum wage with a baby on the wayLet me tell you bout hard workRebuilding your house after the bombs took them awayLet me tell you bout hard workBuilding a bed out of a cardboard boxLet me tell you bout hard workHard workHard workYou don't know nothing bout hard workHard workHard workOh How do you sleep at nightHow do you walk with your head held highDear Mr. PresidentYou'd never take a walk with meWould you“ The greatest generation ” read by Tom Brokaw
Listen to the extract and answer the following questions:
1. What war does he speak about?
2. What does he call that war “everyone’s war”?
3. What famous names does he recall?
4. What “emerged” after WW2?
5. Could later accomplishments (however grand or notorious) diminish the place of service in a war years?
6. Was George Bush a child of privileged when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor?
7. What was his father before the war?
8. What was his mother? What did she preach?
9. What did George Bush do when he turned 18? Was it natural?
10. Did George’s father try to organize a safer job at a War department for his son?
11. Was his combat experience helpful for George Bush? Was he a combat pilot? What did we learn about The Navy Air Corps?
12. What happened to his plane? Why doesn’t he like to talk about what happened to him?
13. Who thinks bragging is not good?
14. What is the answer that George Bush gives when he is asked about his war experience?
15. What University did he graduate from?
16. Did combat make him more willing to take different kinds of risk?
17. Were George and Barbara Bush reluctant to migrate to new parts of the country?
18. Did WW2 have any effect on shaping the US?
19. What determined him to serve in the army during the War: duty or honor?
20. Is he sure that people have some obligation to fulfill?
21. Did he gain any experience from the War?
22. What was his duty at war?
23. What did it teach him?
24. What did he understand from the episode on the boat?
25. According to George Bush what will reward a man enough?
26. What does he think about the benefits that the veterans require?
So What Are Political Parties?
Meaning
Political Parties are organizations that mobilize voters on behalf of a common set of interests, concerns, and goals. In many nations, parties play a crucial role in the democratic process. They formulate political and policy agendas, select candidates, conduct election campaigns, and monitor the work of their elected representatives. Political parties link citizens and the government, providing a means by which people can have a voice in their government.
Party Systems
A political party system consists of all the parties in a particular nation and the laws and customs that govern their behavior. There are three types of party systems: (1) multiparty systems, (2) two-party systems, and (3) one-party systems.
Multiparty systems are the most common type of party system. Parliamentary governments based on proportional representation often develop multiparty systems. In this type of electoral arrangement, the number of legislative seats held by any party depends on the proportion of votes they received in the most recent election. When no party gains a majority of the legislative seats in a parliamentary multiparty system, several parties may join forces to form a coalition government. Advocates of multiparty systems point out that they permit more points of view to be represented in government and often provide stable, enduring systems of government, as in most of contemporary Western Europe (where every system, including Great Britain, has at least three and usually five or six significant parties). Critics note, however, that multiparty systems have sometimes contributed to fragmentation and political instability, as in the Weimar Republic in Germany (1919-1933), the Fourth Republic in France (1946-1958), and Italy after World War II.
In a two-party system, control of government power shifts between two dominant parties. Two-party systems most frequently develop when electoral victory requires only a simple plurality vote, that is, the winner gets the most votes, but not necessarily a majority of votes. In such a system, it makes sense for smaller parties to combine into larger ones or to drop out altogether. Parliamentary governments in which the legislators are elected by plurality voting to represent distinct districts may develop party systems in which only two parties hold significant numbers of seats, as in Great Britain and Canada. Advocates of two-party systems believe they limit the dangers of excessive fragmentation and government stalemate. However, in the United States, which separates the powers and functions of government between executive, legislative, and judicial branches, it is possible for one party to control the legislature and the other to control the executive branch. This frequently has led to political gridlock between the Republican Party and the Democratic Party. Opponents of the two-party system also believe that in time the two parties increasingly tend to resemble each other and leave too many points of view out of the political process. These factors may alienate voters and lead to low turnout in elections.
A single-party system is one in which one party nominates all candidates for office. Thus there is no competition for elected offices. The only choices left to voters are (1) to decide whether or not to vote and (2) to vote “yes” or “no” for the designated candidate. Single-party systems have characterized Communist Party governments and other authoritarian regimes. They have become much less common since Communism collapsed in Eastern Europe and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) between 1989 and 1991. Surviving Communist states, most notably China, North Korea, and Cuba, do continue to enforce the rule of a single party. International financial pressure has also reduced the number of single-party systems in developing nations. Funding agencies such as the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (also known as the World Bank) often insist upon a competitive party system as a precondition for granting loans or aid to these countries. Defenders of single-party systems point out that they provide a way for nations to mobilize and direct the talents and energies of every citizen toward a unified mission or purpose. This advantage appeals to leaders of some nations that possess limited human and material resources. However, single-party systems limit the political freedoms and choices of citizens.
Дата: 2019-12-10, просмотров: 215.
