a constituency – an area, a part of country where there is rougly equal population
A fee is the amount of money that students must pay for their courses each semester.
a fry - up - a meal of fried food, such as eggs and bacon
A grant is a form of a scholarship that the students receive based on the financial merit, or a academic achievement to assist them with the school’s expenses.
A Levels = Advanced Levels, higher - level academic exams, taken mostly by people around the age of eighteen who wish to go on to higher education.
a polling station – special place where people go to vote for their candidate
a safe pair of hands - a reliable person
acquitted/ convicted - found (not) quilty by the court
Anglican and Episcopalian - Members of Anglican Church describe themselves as ‘Anglican’ but in Scotland and the USA them called ‘Episcopalian’.
Bachelor’s Degree - the general name for first degree, most commonly a BA- Bachelor of Arts, or Bas- Bachelor of Science.
backbenchers - MPs who do not hold a government post or a post in a shadow cabinet
bail - a sum of money quaranteed by somebody on behalf of a person who has bees charged with a crime so that he or she can go free until the time of trial
Barrister – other kind of lawyer, only function of barrister is to present cases in court
being kicked upstairs -This phrase concerns a distinguished politican who may no longer wish to be as busy as MPs in the Commons but who still wish to voice their opinions in a public.
Blackleg – is an employee who doesn’t want to strike with the other striking employees and he or she chooses to go into work instead.
Blue - collar workers are skilled or unskilled manual workers. They usually perform physical work. Manual and lowest grades of non - manual workers’ rate is quoted per hour/week, it’s called wages, and is paid every week usually in cash.
Boarding school offered their students the place to live in. In the past, all the British schools were boarding schools.
Borough - a town or part of of a large city that is responsible for managing its own schools, hospitals, roads. Nowadays the name is used for local government purpose only in London.
British - it is the adjective and demonymassociated with GB
Broadsheet is the type of newspaper that has quite a large format, comparing to tabloids, small font is used in the text, headlines’ font is little bigger , the text is longer than in tabloid and consists of facts only. Pictures attached to each article are of reasonable size, they’re definitely smaller than in tabloids. Broadsheets used to write only about political or economic matters, but nowadays this has changed a little bit. They still write mostly about more serious matters, but sometimes they present some less demanding topics. The better known broadsheets are The Independent, The Guardian, The Daily Telegraph, Times.
Building society – were the financial institutions that were originally set up to provide mortgages.
Capitation - most GPs (General Practitioners) are paid based on the number of the consultations with the patients. In the U.K., they are paid based on the number of the registered patients instead. The money paid per each registered patient is called a capitation.
Cardboard city – the area of the city where a large number of homeless people live protected from the weather only by the cardboard boxes.
CBI– Confederation of British Industry is an organization which represents employers in private industry.
cider - in some pubs cider is available on draught, and in some parts of Britain, most typically in the English west country, and it is the most common pub drink, not the beer
clergy – the official leaders of religious activities in organized religious, such as priests or rabbis
collective responsibility - Every member of the government shares the responsibility for every policy made by government. No member can criticise government policy in public, any member who does so must resign.
Commonwealth - is an organization consisting of the United Kingdom and the most of the countries that used to be part of the British Empire. The commonwealth has continued to hold the annual meetings with these countries. Some countries have even kept the British monarch as a head of state. These are no formal economic or political advantages involved in belonging to Commonwealth, but it has helped to keep cultural contacts alive, and does at least mean that every year the leaders of a sixth of the world’s population sit down and talk together.
community service - convicted person is sentenced to a certain number of hours
Comprehensive schools were created to decrease the problem of class distinctions. Those schools accepted most of the students.
conditionally discharged - means the quilty person is set free but if he or she commits another crime within a stated time, the first crime will be taken acount
Conservative Party - right of centre; stands for hierarchical authority and minimal government interferences in the economy, likes to reduce income tax, gives high priority to national defence and internal law in order. DAVID CAMERON.
Council - house – is a house, or a flat, that was built and is owned by the government. The tenants usually pay lower rents in the council-houses, because they are subsidized.
County - an area of county that has its own government to deal with local matters; counties are used for local government purposes.
Culture – is difficult to define. For different people can have a different meaning. It is a way of life. Culture is built by the generally accepted norms and traditions by the people of one region. Besides, culture can be used as a synonym for the arts.
Curriculum is a set of learning objectives for each year of compulsory school and all state schools are obliged to work towards these objectives.
defendant - party who denies a claim, person accused of a crime
Degree - a qualification from an university. (Other qualifications obtained after secondary education are usually called ‘certificate’ or ‘diploma’). Students studying for a first degree are called undergraduates. When they have been awarded a degree , they are known as graduates.
detached house - The most desirable home is a traditionally built of red brick. The shape of that house is irregular.
dissenters – Protestants who did not accepted the authority of the Anglican Church
Doctorate - the highest academic qualification. This usually carries the title Doctor of Philosophy. The time taken to complete a doctorate varies, but it is generally expected to involve three years of more –or-less full-time study.
Drop - out rate - is the statistical number of students that for various reasons are not able to complete the courses and don’t graduate.
dry Sundays – the influence of the Calvinist tradition has been felt in laws relating to Sundays; these laws have recently been relaxed, but shops oppening hours, gambling and professional sports in Sundays are still restricted in small ways. In some places in Wales are still ‘dry’ that is the pubs stay closed.
ecumenicalism – term used to describe the trend in the half of the twentieth century towards greater co - operation and even unity among the various Christian Churches in Britain
elevenses - is a cup of tea or coffee and some biscuits at around eleven o’clock
English - something of, from or related to England, a constituent country of the UK
evangelical – term characterised other Christian seots and Churches have been growing their energetic and their desire to attract new followers
fine - very common form of punishment for minor offences, means that the quilty person has to pay a sum of money
first past the post - the winner
first-past-the-post system - This system consist in the biggest amount of voters for the candidate from a party in order to the victory of this party. It means that the most important is an amount of voters for one candidate than the amount of a few candidates belonged to the same party.
floored - defeated a confused in an argument or discussion
free vote - a kind of vote when MPs votes according to their own beliefs and not according to party policy
frontbenchers - people of govering party and the leading members of the main opposition party
Full - time vs. part - time courses. Full - time courses literally mean full time studying. Students take a full load of courses in each semester that requires them to spend significantly more time on studying. Part - time courses mean that students take a partial load of courses per semester, usually one to three. Part - time studying allows them to have more time on different activities, or to have a part - time job at the same time.
GCSE = General certificate of secondary Education. The exams taken by most fifteen- to sixteen- year-olds in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Marks are given to each subject separately, all being graded from A to G, where grades A,B,C are considered as good grades.
GNVQ = General National Vocational Qualification. Courses and exams in job-related subjects. They are divided into five levels, the lowest level being equivalent to GCSEs/ SCEs and the third level to A -levels/’Highers’. Most commonly, GNVQ courses are studied at Colleges of Further Education, but more and more schools are also offering them.
go to the dogs - start to lead an aimless and self-destructive life
go to the polls – voting
Government - The term ‘government’ can be used to refer to all of the politician who have been appointed by the monarch to help run government departments or lake on various other special responsibilities such as managing the activities of Parliament.
GP - Most doctors in the country are General Practitioners (GPs) and their at the heart of the system. If you need any kind of treatment first you go to your GP, who later on arranges for whatever tests, surgery, specialist consultation or medicine are considered necessary.
Grammar school – students attended grammar schools after completing the primary schools and passing the exam at the age of eleven. Grammar schools prepared the students to enter universities or to work on managerial levels.
Great Britain - an island lying to the northwest of continental Europe, territory of the UK
have a good inning - have a large or adequate amount of time in certain post
have the bit between the teeth - determined
High church - strand are virtually identical to those of Catholicism; except that it does not accept the Pope as the ultimate authority.
hit something for six - dismiss something emphatically
Housing association – private housing associations that owned and rented out the houses and flats to people. Those associations often bought out the council-houses.
in the final straight/ on the last lap - in the last stage of some process
in the saddle - in control
Industrial action – a refusal to work in the normal way. For example, employees tend to work slow, or they work - to - rule. The latter form of the industrial action means that the employees follow the rules strictly, but at the same time they are less flexible and less co - operative.
it is not cricket - it is not the proper or fair way of doing something
Labour Party - left of centre; stands for equality for the weaker people in society and for services than to keep income tax law. GORDON BROWN.
lay – not in an official position in the church
LEA – Local Education Authority – is a branch of a local government.
Liberal Democrats - regarded as in the centre or slightly left of centre; has always been strongly in favour in the UE, place more emphasise on the environment than other parties, beliefs in giving greater powers to local government and in reform of the electoral system. NICK CLEGG.
Lord Spiritual - 26 senior bishops in one particular the Church of Englang who are members of the House of Lords.
Low church - (evangelical) this place great emphasis in the contents of Bible and is the most consciously opposed to Catholicism.
LSD system - was used in Britain before 1971. That system consist in a specific division among money. There were 12 pennies in a shelling and 20 shellinga in a pound.
Master’s Degree - the general name for second ( postgraduate) degree, most commonly an MA or MSc. At Scottish universities, however, these titles are used for first degrees.
Mortgage – a loan that allows on the purchase of the house.
New Age – term used to cover a wide range of beliefs which can involve elements of Christianity, eastern religion and ancient pagan beliefs all mixed together
NHS – National Health Service - It provides the people in the United Kingdom with an access to the health care and the hospitals. The system avoids the bureaucracy and eliminates the numerous forms that people must fill out to receive a refund.
nonconformist – Protestants who did not accepted the authority of the Anglican Church but later
NUF – National Union of Farmers – made up mostly of agricultural employers and independent farmers.
Nursery school is a pre - primary school that gives care to the youngest children and prepares them to enter the primary schools.
Off licence - is name of shop which sell mainly alcoholic drinks but also they sell petrol and some items traditionally found in chemist or newsagents.
off one’s own bat - without help from anyone else
On - campus relates to the living situation of a student. Those students that live in the university’s dormitories live on-campus. They live on the property of the school and are surrounded by the school’s atmosphere.
on a sticky wicket - in a difficult situation
on an easy wicket - in a fortunate situation
on draught – kind of beer, taken from a large barrel, that kind if beer has no gas in it and is drunk at room temperature
on probation - means that regular meetings with a social worker must take place
on remand - on prison awaliting trial
on the ropes - in a weak position, close to defeat or failure
Organizations: The Samaritanians organization offers free counselling by phone to anonymity quaranteed to anybody who is a despair and thinking os committing suicide. The Salvation Army is organized on military lines and grew out of Christian missionary work in the slums of London in the nineteenth cenutry. It offers help to the most desperate and needing e.g. overnight accomodation in hotels for the homeless. Bernando’s also funded in the nineteenth century, used to privide homes for orphoned children in need. MENCAP is a charity for the mentally handicapped and campaigns on their behalf.
Oxbridge - the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, federation of semi-independent colleges, each one having its own staff. Most of the colleges have their own dining hall, library and chapel, and accommodation for at least half of their students.
Parish - they are smallest units of local government in England (is still used in the organization of the main Christian Churches in England).
party - one of the sides in a court case
plaintiff - a party who makes a claim in court, in nearly all criminals cases the plaitiff is the police
play with a straight bat - do something in an honest and straightforward way
Public school is a private school. Public schools are not funded by the government.
question time - it is part of parliamentary day when prepared in advanced questions are out by MPs to government ministers; in this way MPs can force the government to make its intentions clear
run with the pack - have no individual principles but just blindly follow the majority
save by the bell - saved from a bad or dangerous situation by a sudden event
SCE ‘Highers’ = the Scottish equivalent of A - levels
SCE = Scottish Certificate of Education, it is a Scottish equivalent of GCSE. Grades are awarded in numbers, where 1 is the best.
Secondary modern school – in case of failing the exam at the end of the primary schools, the students were accepted to the secondary modern schools that were filled with the students from the middle - class families in majority.
semi-detached house - too expensive for most people. Each house is the mirror of the other, inside and out.
sentence - punishment that judges give
shandy - is half beer and half fizzy lemonade, it has the reputation of being very good for quenching the thirst
Solicitor - a British lawyer who gives legal advice and prepare legal documents
State school is a governmentally funded school and in our understanding, it’s a public school.
stumped - at a loss for an answer to a question or solution to a problem
Tabloid, in other way magazine. It has a small format, so it is easy to grab it in your hand, while you are waiting for a bus. The font of the text is bigger, and the text is shorter than in broadsheet, attached pictures are big. Tabloids write about sex and scandal, they love to follow life of the royal family, of celebrities. They don’t care about serious topics like global warming for example, but if they did the headline above the article would be scary, eye-catching and the picture above the text would be worrying and dramatic. The most popular tabloids are The Sun, The Daily Mirror and People.
team player - somebody who is good in co-operating with other people in groups
teetotal – someone who is teetotal never drinks alcohol
terraced house - this kind of house usually has no way through to the back except through the house itself. Each house in the row is joined to the next one, and they usually have two floors. flat - doesn’t have a separated entrance.
the ballot paper – a piece of paper where there are names of candidates which want to be MPs
The campus universities - these are purpose-built institutions located in the countryside but close to towns, e.g. Lancaster, Sussex, Warwick. They have accommodation for most of their students on site and from their beginning attracted students from all over the country ( 1960s). They tend to emphasize relatively ‘new’ academic disciplines such as social sciences.
The Conservative Party at prayer - The Anglican Church used to be half – jokingly decribed as ‘the conservative party at prayer’.
The early nineteenth-century English universities - its collegiate living arrangements are similar to Oxbridge, but academic matters are organized at university level. Each college (most are non-residential) is almost separate university.
the electoral register – a register included people able to be voters
The newer civic universities - these were originally technical colleges set up by local authorities in the first sixty years of the century. Some of them upgraded to university status, and some upgraded to ‘polytechnics’, what meant they were allowed to teach degree courses (the degrees awarded by a national body).
The old Scottish universities - Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen are more like civic universities, where most of the students live at home or find their own rooms in town. St Andrews is resembles Oxbridge in many ways. At all of them the pattern of study is closer to the continental tradition than to the English one- there is less specialization than at Oxbridge.
The older civic (‘redbrick’) universities - these are nineteenth- century’s universities with a technical bias, sprang up in new industrial towns and cities such as Manchester, Birmingham and Leeds. Their called ‘redbricks ’ because their buildings were of local materials, often brick, in contrast to the stone of older universities. They catered only for local people. At first, they prepared students for London University degrees.
the polling day – day of voting
the UK - United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
throw in the towel - admit defeat
to be given free rein - to be allowed to do exactly what one wants, without restrictions
to canvass – persuade people to support
To sleep rough – is an expression to describe the homeless people sleeping in the streets.
To Squat – to live in a house without paying rent. If you move in the house without causing any damage, you have not broken the law.
town houses - are an exception, they often have three or more floors, many have been broken up into flats or rooms for rent.
TUC – The Trades Union Congress – a voluntary association of the country’s trade unions.
Tutorials are combined with the lectures. While during the lectures the students acquire new partitions of materials, in the tutorials they have an opportunity to practice it and make sure they comprehended the new materials.
unconditionally - he or she is set free without punishment, if it’s someone’s first offence and the crime is a small one
verdict - an official decision made in a court of law, especially about wether someone is quilty of a crime
whips - people who make sure that MPs vote the way that their party tells them to
White - collar workers are the non-manual employees. Non - manual workers’ rate is quoted per year, known as salary, and paid every month by cheque or into bank account.
Wildcat strike – is an unofficial employees’ strike.
with hands down - win easily
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