21.  the Opposition
In the General Election, the party which wins the second largest number of seats becomes the offcial Opposition, with its own leader and “shadow cabinet”. The aims of the Opposition are to contribute to the formulation of policy and legislation, to oppose government proposals, to seek amendments to government bills, and to put forward its own policies in order to win the next general election.

22.  the Privy Council
Formerly the chief source of executive power. It gave the Sovereign private (“privy”) advice on the government of the country. Today its role is mainly formal, advising the Sovereign to approve certain government decrees and issuing royal proclamation. Its membership is about 400.

23.  common law
A written law gathered from numerous decisions of the courts and other sources.

24.  the jury
A legal system established in England since king Henry II. The jury consists of ordinary, independent citizens summoned by the court: 12 persons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 15 persons in Scotland. In criminal trials by jury, the judge passes sentence but the jury decide the issue of guilt or innocence.

25.  the NHS
The National Health Service was established in the UK in 1948 and based first on Acts of Parliament. This Service provides for every resident a full range of medical services. It is based upon the principle that there should be full range of publicly provided services designed to help the individual stay healthy. It is now a largely free service.

26.     comprehensive schools
State secondary schools which take pupils without reference to ability and provide a wide-ranging secondary education for all or most of the children in a district. About 90 per cent of the state secondary school population in GB attend comprehensive school.

27.  public schools
Fee-paying secondary schools which are longestablished and have gained a reputation for their high academic standards, as well as their exclusiveness and snobbery. The boys’ public schools include such well-known schools as Eton and Harrow, and girls’ famous schools include Roedean. Most of the members of the British Establishment were educated at a public school.

28.  the Great Lakes
The Great Lakes are the most important lakes in the United States. They are Lake Superior, which is the largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Michigan —— the only one entirely in the U.S. —— Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. They are all located between Canada and the United States except Lake Michigan.

29.  New England
New England is made up of six states of the North-East. They are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It is sometimes called the birthplace of America.

30.  baby boom
“baby boom” refers to the great increase of birth rate between 1946 and 1964. People born in this period are called baby bammers

31.     the Chinese Exclusion Act
It was passed by the U.S. Congress in may, 1882. It stopped Chinese immigration for ten years.

32.  the Bill of Rights
In 1789, James Madison introduced in the House of Representations a series of amendments which later were drafted into twelve proposed amendments and sent to the states for ratification. Ten of them were ratified in 1791 and became the first ten amendments to the Constitution —— the Bill of Rights.

33.  the Emancipation Proclamation
During the Civil war, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to get more support for the Union at home and abroad. It granted freedom to all slaves.

34.  the Constitutional Convention
In 1787, a conference was held in Philadelphia to consider what should be done to make the Articles of Confederation adequate. All the delegates agreed to revise the Articles of Confederation and draw up a new plan of government. After struggle, the Constitution was ratified at last. This conference is called the Constitutional Convertion.

35.     the Progressive Movement
The Progressive Movement is a movement demanding government regulation of the economy and social conditions. It spread quickly with the support of large numbers of people across the country. It was not an organized campaign with clearly defined goals.

36.  the Peace Conference
The Peace Conference or the Paris Conference, began on January 18, 1919. The conference was actually a conference of division of colonies of Germany, Austro-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire and the grabbing of as much as possible from the defeated nations. It was dominated by the Big Four (the United States, Britain. France, and Italy)

37.  the Truman Doctrine:
On March 12, 1949, President Truman put forward the Truman Doctrine in a speech to the joint session of Congress. The Truman Doctrine meant to say that the U.S. government would support any country which said it was fighting against Communism.

38.   the Marshall Plan
On June 5, 1947, the Secretary of State George Marshall announced the Marshall Plan, which meant that in order to protect Western Europe from possible Soviet expansion, the United States decided to offer Western European countries economic aid.

39.     the New Frontier
It was the President Kennedy’s program which promised civil rights for blacks, federal aid to farmers and to education, medical care for all and the abolition of poverty.

40.  checks and balances:   

The government is divided into three branches, the legislative, the executive and the judicial, each has part of the powers but not all the power. And each branch of government can check, or block, the actions of the other branches. The three branches are thus in balance. This called “checks and balances”.