英语国家社会与文化入门要点复习—副本.doc

the UK The full and short name, constituent parts of the UK The full name of the United kingdom is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The island of Great Britain is made up of England,Scotland and Wales. What is the political system in the UK?The Structure of British Government The UK Government The Executive 行政机关 The Legislature 立法机关 The Judiciary 司法机关 Monarch 君主 Prime Minister 首相 The Civil Service 文官 Parliament 议会（国会） The House of Lords 上议院 The House of Commons下议院 What is the role of Monarch in the UK? The head of state and theoretical source of executive, judicial and legislative power in the UK is the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. However, sovereignty in the UK no longer rests with the monarch, whose role is largely a symbolic one. The queen presides over the State Opening of Parliament. The queen has to give the Royal Assent of agreement to any new law that is passed by parliament. She is kept in touch with the government by a weekly meeting with the Prime Minister in Buckingham Palace. 或P40书本 She is legally head of the executive,an integral part of the legislature ,head of the judiciary,commander in chief of the armed forces and “supreme governor” of the Church of England. The Bill of Rights of 1689 In 1688,King James II’s daughter Mary and her husband William were invited by the politicians and church authorities to take the throne,on condition that they would respect the rights of parliament.The Bill of Rights was passed in 1689 to ensure that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament. What are the main functions of Parliament in the UK? The functions of Parliament are :to pass laws,to vote for taxation,to scrutinise(审查) government policy,administration and expenditure and to debate the major issues of the day. What are the three parts of the UK Parliament? The Queen: the House of Lords ;the House of Commons The three major political parties of the UK The Labour party；the Conservative party; the