LANGUAGE PRACTICE AND COMPREHENSION CHECK

USEFUL INFORMATION

Senator Joseph McCarthy (1909-1957) was a US politician in the Republican Party and became famous in the early 1960s by saying officially that many well-known people, important politicians and military officers were Communists, and therefore enemies of the United States. Many of these people were blacklisted or imprisoned.

Watergate Affair - a famous political scandal in the USA in the early 1970s that caused President Richard Nixon to leave his job before the Congress could impeach him.

TERMS AND NOTIONS

Subpoena n - (Latin "under penalty").A writ commanding a person to appear before the court or other tribunal subject to a penalty for failing to comply.

Abuse of process– The improper and tortuous use of a legitimately issued court process to obtain a result that is either unlawful or beyond the process’s scope.

TASK Ia) Study the following words from the text:

Active Vocabulary

oversee v. – watch sb./sth. and make sure that a job or an activity is done correctly.

oversight n.- 1. mistake caused by not noticing something; 2.supervision

take on phr.v.– 1 undertake (work etc.). 2 engage (an employee). 3 be willing or ready to meet (an opponent etc.). 4 acquire (new meaning etc.).

cover-up n. – concealment of facts.

cover up phr. v. – try to stop people from knowing the truth about a mistake, crime, etc.

coverage n. - 1 area or amount covered. 2 amount of publicity received by an event etc.

scrutiny n. – 1 critical gaze. 2 close investigation.

scrutinize v. – (also -ise) (-zing or -sing) examine thoroughly.

expose v. – 1. reveal the identity or fact. 2. exhibit, display.

laudatory adj. – praising.

abuse n. - 1.a departure from legal or reasonable use; misuse; 2.physical or mental maltreatment resulting in physical, mental or emotional injury (child abuse, sexual abuse).

b) Use the active vocabulary to complete the sentences:

1. The whole affair was very well ... … and never reached newspapers.

2. The Senate committee was ... the work of the executive agencies.

11.This Police department deals with different kinds of family ...

3. The specialist ... the painting very carefully.

4. This Police department deals with different kinds of family ...

5. Close ... of the document showed that it was a forgery.

6. The Head of the Planning Committee will have general ... of the project.

7. The committees have ... ... the more general task of overseeing the operation of the government.

8. The head teacher threatened to ... the offender to the police.

9. Some investigations did not have ... results which had been expected.

10. The affair received massive media ... .

TASK IIa) Match the adjectives on the left with their synonyms on the right:

b) Match the nouns on the left with their synonyms on the right.

c) Make up sentences with the words on the left.

TASK IIIUse the following phrases in your own sentences:

To survive intensive scrutiny, to bring forward a proposal, to deal with the complexity of legislation, to take on the task, to expose inadequacy, to issue subpoenas, to punish disregard, to cover up a burglary.

TASK IVFind the meanings of the following derivatives in a dictionary. Make up sentences with them:

1. to laud – laudatory

2. to inform – information – informative

3. to involve – involved – involvement

4. complex – complexity – complexion

5. to cover – coverage

6. public – to publicize – publicity

7. to abuse – abusive

8. to commit – committee – commission

9. to allege – allegedly – allegation

10. to govern – governance – governor - government

TASK VComplete each sentence with one of the following expressions:

a) to chair a committee; b) on the floor; c) legislative business; d) contempt of Congress; e) press and TV coverage; f) brewing hysteria; g) areas to concern.

1. Senate business includes …1….. (bills and resolutions) and executive business (nominations and treaties).

2. Both Senators Bond and Carper spoke …2…. about the healthcare proposal that President Bush outlined during the State of the Union address on Tuesday.

3. This checklist is not exhaustive but it sets out the main …3…… yourselves with both before any crisis arises and during the crisis itself.

4. US playwright Arthur Miller is convicted of …4…… after refusing to reveal the names of alleged Communist writers.

5. The difference between the tabloids and the traditional …5…… is so subtle as to be unrecognizable.

6. Many liberal senators, angry with Lieberman for supporting President Bush on Iraq, don't want him to…6….. in a Democratic-controlled Senate.

7. It appears there are two stories developing in Asia. One is the appearance of a new virus and the second is a level of …7… which is difficult to understand.

TASK VIAnswer the following questions:

1. Why have Congressional committees become so important nowadays?

2. What subject matters do standing committees scrutinize?

3. Why were committees and Congressional agencies set up?

4. How has the role of committees changed?

5. Are committee investigative hearings mentioned in the Constitution?

6. Why has the Court upheld Congress’s right to investigate?

7. How does intense press and television coverage affect committee investigators and investigations?

8. Can investigations be linked to politics?

9. Give examples of a successful investigation and abuse of the committee investigatory process.

10. Is the Congressional investigatory power effective?

TASK VIISpeak about

a) the legislative work of committees.

b) Congress’s role in overseeing government.

c) committee investigations.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 623