Contents

Preface 2

Parliament of United Kingdom 4

The Political System 4

History of Parliament 5

Emblem 6

Parliament: the Building 6

How Parliament works 9

Quizzes and puzzles: British Parliament 17

Conclusion 24

Literature 25

The British parliament is centuries old. Its origin is traced to the 1215 Magna Carta, an agreement that forced King John (of Robin Hood fame) to listen to advice from his barons before making important political decisions. The aim of the work is to take a wide-ranging look at the British Parliament from its earliest history right up to current events. It is really important to understand how the political system impact economic, social, cultural and mental developments in the country.

This report is divided into two main chapters. The first - theoretical - one gives a summary about British parliament (history, functions, organization and so on). The second - practical - one presents some entertaining tasks on the topic which can be used at English lessons. The aims of these tasks are to make the pupils aware of the socio-political background of the UK and to instil in pupils an interest for the language and the culture of the English-speaking countries

Parliament is located in the Palace of Westminster, by the River Thames in the centre of London. The modern building, with its famous clock tower containing the huge bell known as "Big Ben," was constructed in the mid-nineteenth century after the original was destroyed by fire. Parliament is made up of two houses, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons is the main debating chamber, where laws are passed and crucial issues of the day are discussed. Its members are known as "MPs," or Members of Parliament; as of 2006, there were 646 of them, each representing a regional constituency in England, Scotland, Wales, or Northern Ireland. Nearly all MPs are members of a political party, and usually the largest single party in the House becomes the government, with its leader elected prime minister. The prime minister, who lives at a special government residence called 10 Downing Street, assembles a group of senior MPs from his or her own party to become ministers in his or her government. This select group is known as the cabinet.

1. Susan Sheerin, Jonathan Seath, Gillian White, Spotlight on Britain, Oxford University Press, 1992

2. James O'Driscoll, Britain - The country and its people (OCR), Oxford University Press, 2003

3. Alan Allport, England (Modern World Nations), second edition, Chelsea Hous, Infobase Publishing, 2007

4. Голицынский Ю. "Great Britain" изд. "Каро" С.-Петербург, 1999г.;

5. http://www.parliament.uk/

6. http://www.histparl.ac.uk/

7. http://www.britannia.com

8. http://en.wikipedia.org

9. http://www.infobritain.co.uk/

10. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/a-z_of_parliament/#top

11. http://www.answers.com/topic/parliament-british

12. http://projectbritain.com/

Примечаний нет.