英语国家社会与文化入门要点复习_-_副本

the UK

The full and short name, constituent parts of the UK

The full name of the United kingdom is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The island of Great Britain is made up of England,Scotland and Wales.

What is the political system in the UK?

What is the role of Monarch in the UK?

The head of state and theoretical source of executive, judicial and legislative power in the UK is the British monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II. However, sovereignty in the UK no longer rests with the monarch, whose role is largely a symbolic one.

The queen presides over the State Opening of Parliament.

The queen has to give the Royal Assent of agreement to any new law that is passed by parliament.

She is kept in touch with the government by a weekly meeting with the Prime Minister in Buckingham Palace.

或P40书本She is legally head of the executive,an integral part of the legislature ,head of the judiciary,commander in chief of the armed forces and “supreme governor” of the Church of England.

The Bill of Rights of 1689

In 1688,King James II’s daughter Mary and her husband William were invited by the politicians and church authorities to take the throne,on condition that they would respect the rights of parliament.The Bill of Rights was passed in 1689 to ensure that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament.

What are the main functions of Parliament in the UK?

The functions of Parliament are :to pass laws,to vote for taxation,to scrutinise(审查) government policy,administration and expenditure and to debate the major issues of the day.

What are the three parts of the UK Parliament?

The Queen: the House of Lords ;the House of Commons

The three major political parties of the UK

The Labour party；the Conservative party; the Liberal Democrats.

What is the class system in British society?

The class system does exist in British society.Most of the British population would claim themselves to be either of middle-class or working-class,though some people would actually belong to the upper middle-class or lower middle-class. Class divisions are not simply economic ,they are cultural as well.People of different classes may differ in the kind of newspapers they read,in the way they speak and in the kind of education they receive.One of the distinctive features about the British class system is that aristocratic titles can still be inherited.

Relative decline of the UK’s economy?

The UK has experienced an economic decline since 1945.But this is a relative decline rather than an absolute one. Britain is wealthier and more productive than it was in 1945 , but since other countries developed more rapidly,it has slid from being the second largest economy to being the sixth.

The three main areas of UK economy

1.Primary industries ,such as agriculture,fishing,mining.

2.Secondary industries, such as car, pharmaceutical.

3.Service industries, such as banking, insurance.

Categories of schools;

Comprehensive schools；grammar schools;public schools

Important exams for pupils;

GCSE:General Certificate of Secondary Education中学毕业证书

GCE-A:General Certificate of Education-Advanced高级水平测试结业证书

GNVQs:General National V ocational Qualifications国家专业资格证书

Academic degrees offered by higher education in the UK

BA:Bachelor of Arts文学士BSc:Bachelor of Science理学士

MA:Master of Arts文科硕士MSc:Master of Science理科硕士PhD：Doctor of Philosophy 哲学博士

main newspapers in the UK;

the Observer ;the Times;the Guardian; the Telegraph;the Financial Times; Tabloids.

BBC

The full name is the British Broadcasting Corporation .It was founded in 1927as a public service radio station and later moved into television. It has been Britain’s main public service broadcaster .For a long time the BBC had mainly two channels .BBC One specializes in shows with a broad appeal while BBC Two aims at a range of subject matter and interests ,specialising in intelligent yet popular programme genres .The BBC also provides the World Service which broadcasts in English and 43 other languages throughout the world.

Important national holidays and religious holidays

1.Religious holidays:Christmas ;Easter;Boxing day

2.Nationalholidays:BonfireNight;Hogmanay;Holloween;Eistedfod.

Three traditions of Christmas in Britain

One is the Christmas Pantomime.Two is to hear the Queen give her Christmas message to her realm over the television and radio.Three is Boxing Day.