Devolution to Scotland and Wales

The Government intends to give the people of Scotland and Wales more control over their own affairs by setting up a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh Assembly. These plans were supported by the Scottish and Welsh people in referenda held in September 1997.

The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh will have 129 members -7.3 directly elected on a constituency basis, plus 56 elected by proportion of representation, and will open in 1999 for a four-year fixed term. It will have the same powers as those currently exercised by Scottish Office Ministers and will be able to make laws and raise or lower the basic rate of income tax'by up to three per cent. Scotland will continue to elect MPs to Westminster to represent Scottish interests.

The Welsh Assembly, which will open in May 1999 in Cardiff, will have 60 members, directly elected every four years. It will debate issues of concern in Wales and be responsible for the current Welsh Office's budget, but the Principality will continue to share the same legal system as England.

What are the origins of the names of the main political parties?

The Conservative and Unionist Party dates back to the Tory Party of the late eighteenth century. This broadly represented the interests of the country gentry, merchant classes and official ministerial groups. After Britain's 1832 (electoral) Reform Act, members of the old Tory Party began forming 'conservative associations'. The name Conservative was first used as a description of the Party in the Quarterly Review of January 1830 - 'conservative' because the Party aims to conserve traditional values and practices. The Conservative Party today is the leading right-wing party. The term 'Tory' is still used today to refer to somebody with conservative political views.

The original title of the Labour Party, the Labour Representation Committee, makes the origins of the party clear - to promote the interests of the industrial working class. In 1900 the Trades Union Congress co-operated with the Independent Labour Party (founded 1893) to establish The Labour Representation Committee with Ramsay MacDonald as First Secretary. This took the name Labour Party in 1906.

The Liberal Party emerged in the mid-nineteenth century as a successor to the historic Whig party. 'Whig' was originally a Scottish Gaelic term applied to horse thieves! In the late eighteenth century the Whig Party represented those who sought electoral, parliamentary and philanthropic reforms. However, the term 'Whig' does not survive today. After 1832 the mainly aristocratic Whigs were joined by increasing numbers of middle-class members. By 1839 the term Liberal Party was being used, and the first unequivocally Liberal government was formed in 1868 by William Gladstone. In 1988 the old Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (SDP) merged into a single party called the Liberal Democrats.

How is the Speaker chosen?

Contrary to what the title would imply, the Speaker of the House of Commons does not speak - that is, he or she does not make speeches or take part in debates. The office has been held continuously since 1377 and originally the Speaker spoke on behalf of the Commons to the Monarch. That role is now largely ceremonial and today the Speaker's central function is to maintain order in a debate, and he or she may not vote other than in an official capacity ­that is when the result of a vote is a tie. Even then, he or she is not allowed to express an opinion on the merits of the question under debate and must vote in such a way as to give the House another chance to decide.

The Speaker has three deputies - the Chairman of Ways and Means and his or her two Deputy Chairmen. Like the Speaker, they can neither speak nor vote other than in their official capacity.

The Speaker is neither a Minister nor a member of any political party. He or she is still a Member of Parliament, representing a constituency and the constituents' interests.

The choice of Speaker is by election, with Members of Parliament each having one vote. Though the Cabinet and Prime Minister will often be known to favour a particular candidate when a vacancy occurs, support from backbench MPs is vital. In 1992 Betty Boothroyd was elected in a contest with the former Cabinet Minister, Peter Brooke. Usually a Speaker is elected by his or her fellow MPs without opposition.

What is a ‘whip’ in Parliament?

The term 'whip' is said to owe its origin to the 'whippers-in' ­people who keep the hounds in order at fox-hunting meets. Parliamentary whips are supposed to be similar disciplinarians, controlling the pack of MPs in their party!

Government whips are all Ministers of the Crown. The principal task of the Chief Whip is the management of government business in the House. He or she must try to ensure that, in spite of the activities of the opposition; Parliament has passed all the legislation and done all the tasks which it had planned during that session.

Whips in the two main parties are organised by subject and by region. They monitor opinions inside their party and report back to the leadership, maintaining valuable day-to-day contact between ministers and their backbench supporters.

'The Whip' also refers to a document sent out weekly to MPs detailing the forthcoming business of the House. Items are underlined once, twice or three times to indicate their importance to the party leadership. When a 'three-line' whip is issued, the leadership is letting MPs know that it expects them to turn up and vote on the matter under discussion!

WASHINGTON

Welcome to Washington, the capital of the USA! Today I'm going to discover it for you. This spotlight on Washington will help you to realise: what a diverse city it is!

First of all some facts about history of the city. Do you know what city was the first American capital? So, the capital had been located earlier in New York City and then in Philadelphia. Only in 1790 it was decided that the new country needed a new city and Congress chose the District of Columbia. Current President George Washington himself helped pick the spot - a marshy area where the Potomac and Anacostia rivers come together. French-born American engineer, architect, and urban designer Pierre Charles L'Enfant created a design based on Versailles, which features wide avenues radiating from the Capitol building through a grid of streets with numerous circles and parks. During the War of 1812, the British burnt parts of Washington. (How awful it looked!) This episode did, however, give the White House its name. The president's house was one of the buildings burnt, and after the war it was painted white to cover the marks.

Now we are going to circle around my favourite part of the tour - the Mall. Travelling around Washington, most of tourists are going to visit the White House, the Capitol (where Congress meets to make the laws of the country), the Library of Congress and the presidential monuments.

Just ahead of us you'll see a red brick building. That's the origin of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a group of over a dozen museums and research and publication facilities, such as the Museum of Natural History, the Museum of History and Technology, the National Zoo, and the National Gallery of Arts. How difficult to choose! Our group is going to visit world-famous the National Air and Space Museum. Hurry up! The museum closes at 6 p.m. Today, The Smithsonian has about 140 million objects. It will take you 265 years to see everything. It has aircraft and spacecraft that were important in aviation history. You'll see the craft in which O. Wright made the first manned flight and the plane in which Charles Lindberg made the first solo flight across the Atlantic. Museum has the command module that returned the Apollo 11 astronauts to earth after their moon landing, and there you'll even see the rock that the astronauts brought back! We hope you've enjoyed your tour and that you'll have a pleasant stay in Washington.

AMERICAN ORIGINALS

The Hot Dog was called the frankfurter after Frankfurt, a German city. Frankfurters were first sold in the U.S. in the 1880s. Americans called them “dachshund sausages”. A dachshund is a dog with a very long body and short legs. “Dachshund sausages” became popular at baseball games. The men walked up and down rows and yelled, ‘Get your dachshund sausages!’ One day in 1906 a newspaper cartoonist Tad Dorgan got an idea of a cartoon. He drew a bun with a dachshund inside. Dorgan did not know how to spell dachshund, so he wrote, ‘Get your hot dog!’ The new name became a sensation.

Blue Jeans came to America with the Gold Rush. A young immigrant from Germany Levi Strauss arrived in San Francisco in 1850. Thousands of men were coming to dig for gold. Levi Strauss sold canvas to the gold miners for tents. The mines needed strong pants for the work. Strauss got an idea and got his canvas into pants. In one day he sold all the pants he had made. The fabric had no colour and the pants got dirty easily. Strauss dyed the fabric blue. Today the company he started is known around the world.

Chewing gum has a long tradition. In Mexico, Indians have long chewed chicle, the gum resin. In 1850 Mexico and the U.S. fought a war over Texas. General Lopez led Mexican soldiers. When Mexico lost the war General Lopez went to live in New York and took with him a lot of chicle. An American inventor, Thomas Adams, bought some chicle from Lopez. In 1871 he made gum balls. They were a great success. During the WWI and WWII American soldiers were given chewing gum to keep them from getting thirsty. So chewing gum became popular around the world.

Telephone was invented by Alexander Bell who immigrated to America in 1870. He taught in a school for the deaf. There he experimented with a machine to help the deaf hear. While the experimenting Bell got an idea of a telephone. For years Bell and his assistant, Thomas Watson, worked day and night. They tried to send speech through a wire. Finally, on March 9, 1876, Watson heard: ‘Mr. Watson, come here!’ He rushed upstairs into Bell’s room and shouted, ‘I hear you!’ nobody knew how telephone would change people’s lives.

Coca-Cola was invented by a druggist John Pemberton of Atlanta, Georgia in 1886. He made brown syrup mixing coca leaves with coca nuts. He called it “Coca-Cola” and sold the mixture as a medicine to all problems. Few people bought Coca-Cola and he sold it to another druggist, Asa Candler. Candler sold Coca-Cola as a soda fountain drink. Soon everyone was going to soda fountains to drink lionaires. Coca leaves were no longer used in Coca-Cola. The exact ingredients are not known-the Company keeps its secret. Coca-Cola became very popular with the soldiers and the company started 10 factories in Europe. Today, there are Coca-Cola factories around the world.

The Apple Computer was invented by Steve Wozniak (1950) and Steven Jobs. They dreamt of a personal computer that could do more than play games. From this dream, the Apple Computer Company started in a family garage. In 1977 Jobs and Wozniak sold their first Apple II, which launched the personal computer industry.

Barbie is not just a doll. It is a diminutive doppelganger of Barbara Handler Segal, a Los Angeles woman and the daughter of Ruth and Elliot Handler, creators of Barbie. Ruth watched her daughter play her paper dolls, which were more mature-looking than their plastic counterpart and came with extensive cutout wardrobes. Ruth decided that girls needed a doll that looked like a teenager and wore stylish clothes. Barbara’s brother Ken became a miniature counterpart of Barbie in 1961. Barbie made him a millionaire several times. About 700 million of the dolls have been sold.

LIVING IN THE USA

The United States has always prided itself on being a “melting pot”, a changing, developing heterogeneous society. U.S. society has traditionally stressed individuality. In the U.S. there are as many exceptions as there are rules. One hard rule is: “Expect the unexpected”.

Americans tend to guard their personal space. Generally people stand 61cm apart. People in the U.S. shake hands when they are first introduced. Touching the elbow or kissing the hand are considered too intimate. Americans are friendly. Strangers may smile to you and say ‘hello’ or ‘how are you?’ They may not say ‘good-bye ‘or ‘thanks’ in rushing. People in the USA also tend to be informal. They use a lot of slang. There are also differences in American and British English.

People wear different types of clothing in different situations. Students often wear informal clothing, professors dress in more formal, yet comfortable clothing.

Americans consider themselves individuals. They value independence and self-reliance. Children are encouraged to think and do on their own. Directness is a desirable trait in the US. People often respond to questions in a frank manner. They tend to value personal achievements. This lends to the competitive nature of US society. Some people take great pride in their possessions as measures of their success. They value time, so they are often rushing around that creates a very rapid pace of life.

CANADIAN WAYS

Canada shares with the USA a large vocabulary. But prestige of British English has exerted strong influence on Canadian speech and habits. In the speech there is British colouring. Canadian speech patterns are neither British nor American. They have many Canadianisms. Many of them are loans from French, Eskimo and Indian. Hundred of Canadian words fall into the category of animal and plant names: Canada goose, snow apple. In pronunciation Canadians have much in common with British and Americans, some words are pronounced in a way that is typically Canadian.

The native people Inuits /Eskimo/ survived incredibly cold winter in the igloos-dwellings in the shape of dome built of blocks of snow. They hunted for food with simple sticks and travelled on toboggans. Now most of them live in normal houses and travel on snowmobiles.

The Hurons, like many native people of other tribes were addicted to gambling. The Hurons used all the magic they knew to win the game.

Ottawa is a capital of Canada. In 1826 British troops formed the first settlement in this area. Ottawa was not only a political compromise but it also lay a more secure distance from the American border. Population of Ottawa is about 5,000,000. 85% of people of Ottawa were born in Canada. The rest emigrated from Western Europe or the U.S. English is the main language of most Ottawans. A number of people speak both English and French.

Toronto is the second largest city of Canada and capital of Ontario. Its population is about 2 million. Toronto is a big port on Lake Ontario. The places of interest in Toronto include Casa Loma, The CN Tower, the Sky Dome and Ontario Place.

Montreal is the largest city in Canada. Its population is 1,200,000. It was founded in 1642 as a French city. Situated on wooded Montreal Island in the St. Lawrence it is the chief port of Canada.

TORONTO

TORONTO is an exciting city with a lot of sights to see and places to go. It is full of contrasts - the soaring glass and concrete towers is commercial and financial heart of Canada and the parks and the gardens of "village-style' communities. The many virtues you have heard about Toronto are true: it is clean, it is safe and it is one of the world's greenest cities.

Toronto is one of the most cosmopolitan centres on the globe. Everyone who visits Toronto comes away with something different to say and it's no wonder.

The city has such a potpourri of treasures, pleasures and wonderful ways to pass the time. However, there is one thing one can't but agree on... Toronto is a very special place.

Toronto's history begins back in the 1700's when the French and Iroquoian nations established this location as an important port of trade, commerce and transportation. Unlike some cities of modern distinction, Toronto embraces its part by preserving its historical heritage.

Massive steel and glass skyscrapers dominate Toronto's downtown areas such as University Avenue, Bloor Street, and world renowned Bay Street which is home to the second largest Stock Exchange in North America.

Every day Toronto continues to grow with new and more fascinating buildings springing up everywhere. Without a doubt one of the most spectacular landmarks in the world has to be Toronto's CN Tower. It has been said that every visitor should start sight-seeing here. The reason is simple. In addition to being a breathtaking sight in itself, the tower offers a dazzling 360 degree view of the city that you just won't find anywhere else.

Opened in 1976, the CN Tower is much more than just a huge monument; it is a communication tower, a revolving restaurant, a nightclub, a long elevator ride and the world's tallest freestanding structure at 1815 feet, making it almost twice as tall as the Eiffel Tower.

On a clear day, you can see the spray of Niagara Falls from the tower's observation deck. One of the more recent additions to Toronto's already captivating skyline is the Sky Dome. It is the first major sports stadium to be topped by a fully retractable roof. Sky Dome has become a major Toronto's concert venue and home to baseball and football team of Toronto.

In the summertime Toronto is a pretty place to be. Canada's Wonderland is an amusement park which is filled with rides, displays, concerts, shows.

Canadian Nation Exhibition (EX as it is more commonly called) is a sentimental part of summer in the city. It is in fact, the world's largest outdoor fair right in the heart of Toronto. When the cool northern breezes start lofting into the city, it's high time to discover Toronto from indoors.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 920