1. Fill in articles where necessary.
(1) United Kingdom is situated on (2) British Isles which are separated from (3) continent by (4) English Channel and (5) Strait of Dover. (6) two main islands of (7) British Isles are (8)Great Britain and (9) Ireland. (10) England is situated in (11) south of (12) Great Britain and (13) Scotland in its (14) north. (15) two big islands are separated by (16) Irish Sea.
Politically it is a presidential (or a constitutional) republic.
The head of state is the President.
His functions are to control all the three branches of power. The President is commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he makes treaties and enforces laws, appoints the prime minister, cabinet members and key judges.
There are three branches of power: legislative, executive and judicial.
The Federal Assembly consists of the Federation Council (upper house)
and the State Duma (lower house).
The State Duma is elected by popular vote for a four-year period.
The Federation Council is formed of the heads of the regions.
The legislative power is vested in the Federal Assembly.
The executive power belongs to the Government.
The judicial power is represented by the Constitutional Court, the Supreme Court and regional courts.