Someone once marked that the British and the Americans are two peoples separated by the same language. Most epigrams exaggerate for effect, and this one is no exception. But it is, nevertheless, undeniably true that some commonly used words mean different things in these two countries. Consider the seemingly simple term--'the government'. To parliamentarians trained in British terminology 'the government' means the cabinet: a group of the legislature's own members, chosen by it to devise public policies, to manage the legislature's major activities, and to exercise executive powers. In theory, at least, the government continues in office only so long as it commands the support of the legislature. Losing that support, it may be turned out of power at almost any moment. When Americans say 'the government', they mean some thing quite different: It connotes the whole governmental structure-- executive, legislative and judicial. Americans assume a situation in which the branches of government are deliberately separated and in which the powers of each check and balance those of the other. Another difference between the U. S. and parliamentary systems concerns the concept of 'political party'. In the British tradition, a political party connotes a group relatively cohesive in ideology and disciplined in action. Playwright William S. Gilbert's satirical line that remembers of parliament 'vote just as their leaders tell 'em to' is not as accurate as it once was, but it is still close enough to the mark. In contrast, the two major U. S. political parties are vast, sprawling, decentralized conglomerations of varied ideological positions whose members do not feel obliged to vote the way the party leaders tell them to do. In fact, most members come to Congress as independent entrepreneurs, willing to go along with party policy only to the extent that it does not conflict with what they perceive to be the wishes and interests of their constituencies. The main ideas of the passage is that ______.