“Welcome to the Palace of Westminster”

It’s also called the Houses of Parliament.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

Vocabulary
Lord Chancellor – лорд-канцлер
Labour Party – партия лейбористов
Conservative Party – партия консерваторов
Speaker - спикер
to preside - председательствовать
to debate - обсуждать
chamber - палата
David Lloyd George - Дэвид Ллойд Джордж
Winston Churchill - Уинстон Черчилль
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

Vocabulary
Lord Chancellor
Labour Party
Conservative Party
Speaker
to preside
to debate
Chamber
David Lloyd George
Winston Churchill
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

Vocabulary
лорд-канцлер
партия лейбористов
партия консерваторов
спикер
председательствовать
обсуждать
палата
Дэвид Ллойд Джордж
Уинстон Черчилль
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

It consists of three parts:
the Royal Apartments (gold),
the House of Lords (red) and
the House of Commons (green).
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

We are now in the Chamber of the House of Lords, where the seats are red.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

The House of Lords
It is also called the Parliament Chamber, because every year when the Queen comes to open Parliament, all three parts of Parliament come together here for the Queen’s Speech.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

In fact, it’s not really the Queen’s Speech, because she doesn’t write it. The Government writes it for her. In the speech the Queen tells Parliament about the Government’s plans for the next year.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

The Throne.
When the Queen gives her speech, she sits on the throne. It is behind the big red cushion.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

The Woolsack.
It is the big red cushion. There is wool inside it. It’s a part of a very old tradition which started in the 14th century. It symbolized the importance of wool to the British economy at that time.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

The person who usually sits on the Woolsack is the Lord Chancellor. He presides over the House of Lords.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

Let’s walk through this arch. There are two statues, one on each side of the arch. One is Sir Winston Churchill, and the other - David Lloyd George. They were Prime Ministers. They represent two British main political parties – the Conservative Party and the Labour Party.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

Now we are in the House of Commons where the seats are green. The chamber here isn’t very big. There are only places for 437 people on the benches, but there are 650 MPs, so sometimes they have to sit on the steps.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

The Speaker is the person who presides over the House of Commons.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

In the House of Commons.
The distance between these two red lines is two swords’ lengths. In the old days when MPs used to carry swords, it was dangerous if they got angry with each other. So these two lines are here to remind MPs that they shouldn’t start a fight, and they can’t go over this line when they are speaking in a debate.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

The Mace.
The Mace is put on the table when the House of Commons is sitting. It is the symbol of the power which Parliament won from the King a long time ago.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

In the House of Commons
There are two long narrow corridors here. MPs come here to vote on bills for new laws. On the left there is the «yes» lobby. MPs who agree with a bill go there. On the right there is the «no»lobby.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

The Westminster Hall
This is the oldest part of the Palace of Westminster. The walls were built in 1097.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

Match parts of the sentences from box A and box B using the words
where, who, which, that.
Box A
1. This is the throne….
2. This is the LordLord Lord Chancellor….
3. This is the Chamber of the House of Commons….
4. This is the Speaker…
5. This is the Woolsack…
6. This is the Chamber of the House of Lords….
7. This is the Mace…
8. This is the Westminster Hall
Box B
1. …is the symbol of power.
2. …is the oldest part of the building.
3. …the Lords and Ladies sit.
4. …MPs sit.
5. …sits on the Woolsack.
6. …presides over the House of Commons.
7. …is full of wool.
8. …the Queen sits when she opens the Parliament.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

Let’s sum up our lesson
1. How many parts does the Palace of Westminster consist of?
a) one a) one b) two a) one b) two c) three
2. What are the main colours of the Houses of Parliament?
a) gold, red and blue
b) gold, green and red
c) red and green
3. Who writes the Queen’s Speech?
a) the Queen a) the Queen b) the Government
c) the Lord Chancellor
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

4. Which are Britain’s two main political parties?
a)Democratic, Republican and Conservative a)Democratic, Republican and Conservative b) Conservative and Democratic a)Democratic, Republican and Conservative b) Conservative and Democratic c) Labour and Conservative
5. Whose shoe should a Conservative touch?
a) David Lloyd George’s a) David Lloyd George’s b) Winston Churchill’s a) David Lloyd George’s b) Winston Churchill’s c) the Queen’s
6. When can you see the Mace in the House of Commons?
a) It’s always there.
b) Only when the Queen comes.
c) When the House is debating.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

7. Why do MPs sometimes sit on the steps?
a) There are more MPs than seats in the House of Commons. a) There are more MPs than seats in the House of Commons. b) It’s a part of an old tradition a) There are more MPs than seats in the House of Commons. b) It’s a part of an old tradition. c) It’s a punishment for those who are late.
8. How old is Westminster Hall?
a) more than a thousand years old a) more than a thousand years old b) more than a hundred years old a) more than a thousand years old b) more than a hundred years old c) more than four hundred years old.
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

Well done! You are right!
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103

Sorry. You are wrong!
А.М.Рудакова, 100-672-103