爱尔兰

The Republic of Ireland

Chapter 1 Land and People

爱尔兰共和国位于欧洲西部爱尔兰岛的中南部，全岛面积为8．4万平方公里，在政治上分为：爱尔兰共和国，管辖其5/6的面积（约7.0282万平方公里）；北爱尔兰，英国的一部分，管辖其东北部1/6的面积。爱尔兰共和国西濒大西洋，东隔爱尔兰海与英国隔海相望，海岸线长3169公里，首都都柏林(Dublin），由中部平原和环列四周的滨海山构成，形似一个边缘陡峭的盆地，南北高中间低，气候温和湿润，为典型温带海洋性气候，年平均气温在0℃到20℃之间。爱尔兰是个单一民族的国家，爱尔兰共和国于1922年从英国殖民统治下获得独立。现有人口约420万，全国98．7%的人是爱尔兰人，另有3万人是英格兰人，苏格兰人约有5000人，犹太人约有4000人。爱尔兰人属于凯尔特人，是欧洲大陆第一代居民的子嗣，大约90%以上的人是天主教徒，其它居民则信奉基督教、新教等。

I．Land

Ireland is situated in the Atlantic Ocean and separated from Great Britain by the Irish Sea. It occupies the entire island except for the six counties that make up Northern Ireland. Ireland covers an area approximately 70,282 squares kilometers and its capital is Dublin. Now the population of all Ireland is about 6 million, including the British in the part of Northern Ireland. For the great majority of the people in Ireland, English (the second official language) is the language in everyday use. Irish (first official language) is spoken mainly in areas located along the western seaboard.

Ireland is an island, the third-largest in Europe and the twentieth-largest on Earth, which is located in the north-west of continental Europe, between latitudes 51° and 56° N, and longitudes 11° and 5° W. It is separated from the neighboring island of Great Britain by the Irish Sea and the North Channel, which has a width of 23 kilometres (14 miles) at its narrowest point. To the west is the northern Atlantic Ocean and to the south is the Celtic Sea, which lies between Ireland and Brittany1, in France. Ireland and Great Britain, together with nearby islands,

1布列塔尼（法国西北部一地区）。

are known collectively as the British Isles. As the term British Isles is controversial in relation to Ireland, the alternate term ―Ireland and Britain‖ (or ―Britain and Ireland‖) is often used as a neutral term for the islands.

Physical features of Ireland

A ring of coastal mountains surround low plains at the centre of the island. The highest of these is Carrauntoohil1 in County Kerry, which rises to 1,038 m (3,406 ft) above sea level. The most arable land lies in the province of Leinster2 Western areas can be mountainous and rocky with green panoramic vistas. The River Shannon3, the island’s longest river at 386 km (240 mi) long, rises in County Cavan in the northwest and flows 113 kilometres (70 mi) to Limerick city in the mid west.

The island’s lush vegetation, a product of its mild climate and frequent rainfall, earns it the sobriquet the Emerald Isle4. Overall, Ireland has a mild but changeable oceanic climate with few extremes. The climate is typically insular and is temperate avoiding the extremes in temperature of many other areas in the world at similar latitudes. This is a result of the moderating moist winds which ordinarily prevail from the South-Western Atlantic.

Precipitation falls throughout the year but is light overall, particularly in the east.The west tends to be wetter on average and prone to Atlantic storms, especially in the late autumn and winter months. These occasionally bring destructive winds and higher total rainfall to these areas, as well as sometimes snow and hail. The regions of north County Galway and east County Mayo have the highest incidents of recorded lightning annually for the island, with lightening occurring approximately five to ten days per year in these areas. Munster（芒斯特省，爱尔兰共和国西南部省份）,in the southwest, records the least snow whereas Ulster（阿尔斯特，爱尔兰北部地区的旧称）,in the north, records the most.

Inland areas are warmer in summer and colder in winter. Usually around 40 days of the year are below freezing 0 °C (32 °F) at inland weather stations, compared to 10 days at coastal stations. Ireland is sometimes affected by heat waves, most recently in 1995, 2003 and 2006. In common with the rest of Europe, Ireland experienced unusually cold weather during the winter of 2009/10. Temperatures fell as low as ?17.2 °C (1 °F) in County Mayo （梅奥郡，爱尔兰西北部）on December 20 and up to a metre (3 ft) of snow in mountainous areas.

1卡朗图厄尔山，爱尔兰的西部海岸地区大多有悬崖，小山和低山，而卡朗图厄尔山为最高点。

2伦斯特省，是爱尔兰四个历史省份之一，位于爱尔兰岛东部。

3香农河，爱尔兰主要河流，不列颠群岛最长河流。

4诗歌用语：绿宝石岛，为爱尔兰岛的别名。

The island consists of varied geological provinces. In the far west, around County Galway and County Donegal, is a medium to high grade metamorphic and igneous complex of Caledonide affinity1,similar to the Scottish Highlands. Across southeast Ulster and extending southwest to Longford and south to Navan is a province of Ordovician and Silurian rocks（奥陶纪和志留纪岩石）,with similarities to the Southern Uplands province of Scotland. Further south, along the County Wexford coastline, is an area of granite intrusives into more Ordovician and Silurian rocks, like that found in Wales. In the southwest, around Bantry Bay and the mountains of Macgillicuddy’s Reeks2,is an area of substantially deformed, but only lightly metamorphosed, Devonian-aged rocks（泥盆纪岩石）. This partial ring of ―hard rock‖ geology is covered by a blanket of Carboniferous limestone（石灰纪石灰岩）over the centre of the country, giving rise to a comparatively fertile and lush landscape. The west-coast district of the Burren around Lisdoonvarna has well-developed karst features3. Significant stratiform lead-zinc mineralisation is found in the limestones around Silvermines and Tynagh.

Hydrocarbon exploration is ongoing following the first major find at the Kinsale Head gas field off Cork in the mid-1970s. More recently, in 1999, economically significant finds of natural gas were made in the Corrib Gas Field off the County Mayo coast. This has increased activity off the west coast in parallel with the ―West of Shetland‖step-out development from the North Sea hydrocarbon province. The Helvick oil field, estimated to contain over 28 million barrels (4,500,000 m3) of oil, is another recent discovery.

II．People

The Irish people are an ethnic group who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe. Ireland has been populated for around 9,000 years. The Irish people’s earliest ancestors are recorded in legends –they are claimed to be descended from groups such as the Nemedians, Fomorians, Fir Bolg, Tuatha DéDanann and the Milesians4. Lebor Gabála érenn, a book of Irish mythology tells that Tuatha DéDananns were Scythian descendants.

The main groups that interacted with the Irish in the Middle Ages include the Picts, Scots, and the Vikings5. Due to this contact, Icelanders are noted for having some Irish descent. The Anglo-Norman invasion of the High Middle Ages, the English plantations and the subsequent English rule of the country introduced the Normans and Flemishinto Ireland. Welsh, Picts, Bretons, and small parties of Gauls and even Anglo-Saxonsare known in Ireland from much earlier times.

There have been many notable Irish people throughout history. The 6th century Irish monk and missionary Columbanus is regarded as one of the ―fathers of Europe‖, followed by Kilian of Würzburg and Vergilius of Salzburg. The scientist Robert Boyle is considered the ―father of chemistry‖. Famous Irish explorers include Brendan the Navigator, Robert McClure, Ernest Shackleton and Tom Crean. By some accounts, the first European child born in North America had Irish descent on both sides; and an Irishman was the first European to set foot on American soil in Columbus’ expedition of 1492.

Large populations of people of Irish ethnicity live in many western countries, particularly in English-speaking countries. Historically, emigration has been caused by politics, famine and economic issues. An estimated 50 to 80 million people make up the Irish diaspora6 today, which includes those who live in Great Britain, the United States, Australia, Canada, Argentina, Chile, Jamaica, Trinidad, South Africa, New Zealand, Mexico, France, Germany and Brazil, etc. The largest number of people of Irish descent live in the United States — about ten times more than in Ireland itself.

1偏向于加里东山脉类同的变质岩和火成杂岩体。

2麦吉利卡迪山，爱尔兰共和国西南部凯里郡的山脉，靠近基拉尼湖，包括卡伦杜山。

3喀斯特地形（石灰岩地区常见的地形）。

4奈米族、佛摩尔族、伯克族、达努神族和米利都人。

5皮克特人、苏格兰人和维京人。

6在海外散居的爱尔兰裔人。

Now the population of the island of Ireland is more than 6 million, just approximately 4.2 million live in the Republic of Ireland and just under 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.

Population density map of Ireland 2002 showing the heavily weighted eastern seaboard and Ulster

1.Divisions and Settlements

Traditionally, Ireland is subdivided into four provinces: Connacht (west), Leinster (east), Munster (south), and Ulster (north)1. In a system that developed between the 13th and 17th centuries, Ireland has 32 traditional counties. Twenty-six of these counties are in the Republic of Ireland and six are in Northern Ireland. The six counties that constitute Northern Ireland are all in the province of Ulster (which has nine counties in total). As such, Ulster is often used as a synonym for Northern Ireland, although the two are not coterminous（毗连的）.

In the Republic of Ireland, counties form the basis of the system of local government. Counties Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and Tipperary have been broken up into smaller administrative areas. However, they are still treated as counties for cultural and some official purposes, for example postal addresses and by the Ordnance Survey Ireland2.Counties in Northern Ireland are no longer used for local governmental purposes, but, as in the Republic, their traditional boundaries are still used for informal purposes such as sports leagues and in cultural or tourism contexts.

City status in Ireland is decided by legislative or royal charter. Dublin, with over 1 million residents in the Greater Dublin Area, is the largest city on the island. Belfast3, with 579,726 residents, is the largest city in Northern Ireland. City status does not directly equate with population size. For example, Armagh4,with 14,590 is the seat of the Church of Ireland and the Roman Catholic Primate of All Ireland and was re-granted city status by Queen Elizabeth II in 1994 (having lost that status in local government reforms of 1840). In the Republic of Ireland, Kilkenny, 5seat of the Butler dynasty, while no longer a city for administrative purposes (since the 2001 Local Government Act), is entitled by law to continue to use the description.

2.Migration

The population of Ireland collapsed dramatically during the second half of the 19th century. A population of over 8 million in 1841 was reduced to slightly more than 4 million by 1921. In part, the fall in population was due to death from the Great Famine of 1845 to 1852, which took about 1 million lives. However, by far the greater cause of population decline was the dire economic state of the country which led to an entrenched culture of emigration lasting until the twentieth first century.

1康诺特省（西）、伦斯特省（东）、芒斯特省（南）、阿尔斯特省（北）。

2爱尔兰地形测量局。

3贝尔法斯特（北爱尔兰首府）。

4阿马，北爱尔兰南部一市区。据说是由圣帕特里克创建，是爱尔兰罗马天主教和新教主教所在地。

5基尔肯尼（爱尔兰东南部城市）。

With growing prosperity since the last decade of the twentieth century, Ireland became a destination for immigrants. Since the European Union expanded to Poland in 2004, Polish people have made up the largest number of immigrants (over 150,000) from Central Europe. There has also been significant immigration from Lithuania, the Czech Republic and Latvia.

The Republic of Ireland in particular has seen large-scale immigration. The 2006 census recorded that 420,000 foreign nationals, or about 10% of the population, lived in the Republic of Ireland. In the twentieth first century, Chinese and Nigerians, along with people from other African countries, have accounted for a large proportion of the non-European Union migrants to Ireland. Up to 50,000 eastern European migrant workers may have left Ireland since the end of 2008.

Watch the video clips of Irish Landscapes and finish the tasks that follow.

Task 1: Story –retelling

Now, work in groups (3-4members) on the clips and retell what you have seen. Then each group sends one representative to tell the whole class your interpretation.

Task 2: Group discussion

Discuss with your partners about what you have seen in the VCR.

Exercises

1.Fill in the blanks with proper words or terms according to the Textbook.

1)Ireland is an island, the in Europe and the on Earth.

2)―‖ is often used as a neutral term for the islands of British Isles in order to avoid controversy.

3),the island’s longest river at 386 km (240 mi) long, rises in County Cavan in the northwest and

flows 113 kilometres (70 mi) to Limerick city in the mid west.

4)falls throughout the year but is light overall, particularly in the east.

5)The Irish people are who originate in Ireland, an island in northwestern Europe.

6)The scientist Robert Boyle is considered the ―‖.

7)Traditionally, Ireland is subdivided into four provinces: (west), (east),

(south), and (north).

8)That the population of Ireland collapsed dramatically during the second half of the 19th century resulted mainly

from , which led to an entrenched culture of emigration lasting until the 21st century.

9)With growing prosperity since the last decade of the 20th century, Ireland became a destination for .

10)In the twentieth first century, Chinese and , along with people from other African countries, have

accounted for a large proportion of the non-European Union migrants to Ireland.

2.Questions on this unit:

1) Why is Ireland called the Emerald Isle?

2) Why is Ireland’s climate quite different from many other areas in the world at similar latitudes?

3) What are the main reasons for the dramatic decline of the population of Ireland during the second half of the 19th

century?

3.Terms for explanation:

1)the British Isles

2)city status

4.Analysis and comments

1) physical geography of Ireland

2) Irish people and their migration

Chapter 2 The Economy of Ireland

爱尔兰经济属于现代知识型经济，主要集中在服务业和高新技术产业，并有赖于贸易、工业和投资。根据人均GDP（国内生产总值），爱尔兰在OECD（经济发展与合作组织）和EU-27（欧盟27个成员国）国家中可算作是最富裕国家之一，2008年在OECD28个成员国中排名第五。而根据人均GNP（国民生产总值），爱尔兰低于OECD国家的平均数。从发展历史来看，爱尔兰经济可分为三个时期，即爱尔兰自由邦建立以来（1920s-1994）、“凯尔特虎”时期（1995-2007）和金融危机（2008-）。其中，在第二个时期爱尔兰经济高速发展，GDP增长速度在2001年一度达到大约6%，成为欧洲经济发展最快的国家，故有“凯尔特虎”之称。但自2008年金融危机以来，爱尔兰受到严重影响，成为了欧盟中第一个因金融危机而经济衰退的国家。

The economy of Ireland is a modern knowledge economy, focusing on services and high-tech industries and dependent on trade, industry and investment. In terms of GDP per capita1, Ireland is ranked as one of the wealthiest countries in the OECD and the EU-27 at 5th in the OECD-282rankings as of 2008. In terms of GNP per capita3, a better measure of national income, Ireland ranks below the OECD average, despite significant growth in recent years, at 10th in the OECD-28 rankings. GDP (national output) is significantly greater than GNP (national income) due to the repatriation of profits and royalty payments by multinational firms based in Ireland.

A 2005 study by The Economist found Ireland to have the best quality of life in the world. The 1995 to 2007 period of very high economic growth, with a record of posting the highest growth rates in Europe, led many to call the country the Celtic Tiger. One of the keys to this economic growth was a low corporation tax（公司所得税）, currently at 12.5% standard rate.

The Financial Crisis of 2008 still affects the Irish economy severely, compounding domestic economic problems related to the collapse of the Irish property bubble4.After 24 years of continuous growth from 1984-2007 (at an annual level), Ireland first experienced a short technical recession from 2007 Q2-Q35,followed by a long 2-year recession from 2008 Q1 - 2009 Q4, and finally a third ongoing recession starting in 2011 Q3.

1人均国内生产总值。

2世界经济合作与发展组织28个成员国，经济合作与开发组织，简称“经合组织”，是由34个市场经济国家组成的政府间国际经济组织，旨在共同应对全球化带来的经济、社会和征服治理等方面的挑战，并把握全球化带来的机遇。该组织成立于1961年，总部设在巴黎。

3国民生产总值，是一国所拥有的生产要素所生产的最终产品价值。

42008年的世界金融危机加剧了与爱尔兰房地产泡沫破裂有关的国内经济问题。

5从2007年第2季度至第3季度。

Verdicts are still out when the third recession exactly will end, but it is expected the Central Statistics Office will announce it ended at 2011 Q4, as ESRI 1recently forecasted positive growth expectations for Ireland, with GDP expected to rise 0.9% overall in 2012. In March 2008, Ireland had the highest level of household debt relative to disposable income in the developed world at 190%. And the hard economic climate was reported in April 2010, to have led to a resumed emigration.

I．Developing Stages

Originally, Ireland was an agricultural society, but since joining the European Community in 1973, rapid growth has transferred Ireland from a largely agricultural society into a modern, high technology economy.

1. Since the Irish Free State2

From the 1920s Ireland had high trade barriers such as high tariffs, particularly during the Economic War with Britain in the 1930s, and a policy of import substitution. During the 1950s, 400,000 people emigrated from Ireland. It became increasingly clear that economic nationalism was unsustainable. While other European countries enjoyed fast growth, Ireland suffered economic stagnation. The policy changes were drawn together in Economic Development, an official paper published in 1958 that advocated free trade, foreign investment, and growth rather than fiscal restraint as the prime objective of economic management.

In the 1970s, the population increased by 15% and national income increased at an annual rate of about 4%. Employment increased by around 1% per year, but the state sector amounted to a large part of that. Public sector employment（公有企业就业）was a third of the total workforce by 1980. Budget deficits and public debt increased, leading to the crisis in the 1980s. During the 1980s, underlying economic problems became pronounced. Middle income workers were taxed 60% of their marginal income, unemployment had risen to 20%, annual overseas emigration reached over 1% of population, and public deficits reached 15% of GDP.

In 1987 Fianna Fáil（爱尔兰共和党）reduced public spending, cut taxes, and promoted competition. Ryanair（瑞安航空公司）used Ireland's deregulated aviation market and helped European regulators to see benefits of competition in transport markets. Intel invested in 1989 and was followed by a number of technology companies such as Microsoft and Google. A consensus exists among all government parties about the sustained economic growth. The GDP per capita in the OECD prosperity ranking rose from 21st in 1993 to 4th in 2002.

Between 1985 and 2002, private sector jobs（私有企业）increased 59%. The economy shifted from an agriculture economy to a knowledge economy, focusing on services and high-tech industries. Economic growth averaged 10% from 1995 to 2000, and 7% from 2001 to 2004. Industry, which accounts for 46% of GDP and about 80% of exports, has replaced agriculture as the country’s leading sector.

2. Celtic Tiger3 (1995 — 2007)

The economy benefited from a rise in consumer spending, construction, and business investment. Since 1987, a key part of economic policy has been Social Partnership, which is a neo-corporatist set of voluntary 'pay pacts' between the Government, employers and trade unions. The 1995 to 2000 period of high economic growth was called the ―Celtic Tiger‖, a reference to the ―tiger economies‖ of East Asia.

GDP growth continued to be relatively robust, with a rate of about 6% in 2001, over 4% in 2004, and 4.7% in 2005. With high growth came high inflation. Prices in Dublin were considerably higher than elsewhere in the country, especially in the property market. However, property prices are falling following the recent economic

1经济和社会研究所，是Economic and Social Research Institute （Dublin）的缩写。

2爱尔兰自由邦，是由爱尔兰32郡中由英国和爱尔兰共和国代表于1921年12月6日在伦敦签署的爱尔兰自由邦协定（或英爱协定）规定的从大不列颠和爱尔兰王国分裂出来的26郡组成的国家。

3从20世纪90年代开始经济迅猛发展，一跃成为全世界最富有的国家之一，被誉为―凯尔特之虎‖。

recession. At the end of July 2008, the annual rate of inflation was at 4.4% (as measured by the CPI1) or 3.6% (as measured by the HICP2) and inflation actually dropped slightly from the previous month.

The positive reports and economic statistics masked several underlying imbalances. The construction sector, which was inherently cyclical in nature, accounted for a significant component of Ireland's GDP. A recent downturn in residential property market sentiment has highlighted the over-exposure of the Irish economy to construction, which now presents a threat to economic growth. Despite several successive years of economic growth and significant improvements since 2000, Ireland’s population is marginally more at risk of poverty than the EU-15 average and 6.8% of the population suffers ―consistent poverty‖.

Ireland is currently ra nked as the world's third most ―economically free‖economy in an index created by free-market economists from the Wall Street Journal and Heritage Foundation, the Index of Economic Freedom.

3. Financial Crisis (2008 —)

It was the first country in the EU, to officially enter a recession related to the Financial Crisis 2008, as declared by the Central Statistics Office. Ireland now has the second-highest level of household debt in the world (190% of household income). The country’s credit rating was downgraded to "AA-" by Standard & Poor's ratings agency3in August 2010 due to the cost of supporting the banks, which would weaken the Government's financial flexibility over the medium term. It transpired that the cost of recapitalising the banks was greater than expected at that time, and, in response to the mounting costs, the country’s credit rating was again downgraded by Standard & Poor’s to ―A‖.

The global recession has significantly impacted the Irish economy. Economic growth was 4.7% in 2007, but -1.7% in 2008 and -7.1% in 2009. In mid 2010, Ireland looked like it was about to exit recession in 2010 following growth of 0.3% in Q4 of 2009 and 2.7% in Q1 of 2010. The government forecast a 0.3% expansion. However the economy experienced Q2 negative growth of -1.2%, and in the fourth quarter, the GDP shrunk by 1.6%. Overall, the GDP was reduced by 1% in 2010, making it the third consecutive year of negative growth. On the other hand Ireland recorded the biggest month-on-month rise for industrial production across the eurozone in 2010, with 7.9% growth in September compared to August, followed by Estonia (3.6%) and Denmark (2.7%).

4. National Recovery Plan 2011-2014

In November 2010 the Irish Government published the National Recovery plan, which aims to restore order to the public finances and to bring its deficit in line with the EU target of 3% of economic output by 2015. It involves a budget adjustment of ￡15 billion (￡10 billion in public expenditure cuts and ￡5billion in taxes) over a four-year period. This will be front loaded4in 2011 where measures totaling ￡6 billion are planned. VAT5 is to increase to 23% by 2014 and a property tax and domestic water charges are to be introduced.

II．Effective Mechanisms

Different sectors and various strategies the government employs make great contributions to the rapid development and growth of Irish economy.

1. Exports

Exports play an important role in Ireland’s economic growth. A series of significant discoveries of base metal deposits have been made, including the giant ore deposit at Tara Mine. Zinc-lead ores are also currently mined from two other underground operations in Lisheen and Galmoy. Ireland now ranks as the seventh largest producer of zinc concentrates in the world, and the twelfth largest producer of lead concentrates. The combined output from these mines makes Ireland the largest zinc producer in Europe and the second largest producer of lead.

1居民消费价格指数(Consumer Price Index)。

2调和消费者物价指数(Harmonized Index of Consumer Prices)是欧洲央行的通货膨胀和物价稳定的消费物价指数，采用欧元的成员国价格指数的加权平均。

3标准普尔评级公司，总部设在美国，是目前国际上公认的最具权威性的三大信用评级机构之一。

4前紧后松的安排。

5增值税（value added tax）。

Ireland is the world’s most profitable country for US corporations, according to the US tax journal Tax Notes1. The country is one of the largest exporters of pharmaceuticals and software-related goods and services in the world. Bord Gáis is responsible for the supply and distribution of natural gas, which was first brought ashore in 1976 from the Kinsale Head gas field. Electrical generation from peat（泥煤）consumption, as a percent of total electrical generation, was reduced from 18.8% to 6.1%, between 1990 and 2004. A forecast by Sustainable Energy Ireland predicts that oil will no longer be used for electrical generation but natural gas will be dominant at 71.3% of the total share, coal at 9.2%, and renewable energy at 8.2% of the market.

New sources are expected to come on stream after 2010, including the Corrib gas field and potentially the Shannon Liquefied Natural Gas terminal（香农液化天然气接收站）. In its Globalization Index 2010 published in January 2011 Ernst and Young with the Economist Intelligence Unit ranked Ireland second after Hong Kong. The index ranks 60 countries according to their degree of globalization relative to their GDP. While the Irish economy has significant debt problems in 2011, exporting remains a success.

2. Primary Sector

The primary sector constitutes about 5% of Irish GDP, and 8% of Irish employment. Ireland’s main economic resource is its large fertile pastures, particularly the midland and southern regions. In 2004, Ireland exported approximately €7.15 billion worth of agri-food and drink (about 8.4% of Ireland's exports), mainly as cattle, beef, and dairy products, and mainly to the United Kingdom. As the European Union's Common Agricultural Policy is conformed with, Ireland's agriculture industry is expected to decline in importance.

In the late nineteenth century, the island was mostly deforested. In 2005, after years of national afforestation programmes, about 9% of Ireland has become forested. It is still the least forested country in the EU and heavily relies on imported wood. Its coastline --- once abundant in fish, particularly cod --- has suffered overfishing and since 1995 the fisheries industry has focused more on aquaculture. Freshwater salmon and trout stocks in Ireland's waterways have also been depleted but are being better managed. Ireland is a major exporter of zinc to the EU and mining also produces significant quantities of lead and alumina.

The construction sector, which is inherently cyclical in nature, now accounts for a significant component of Ireland’s GDP. A recent downturn in residential property market sentiment has highlighted the over-exposure of the Irish economy to construction, which now presents a threat to economic growth.

While there are over 60 credit institutions incorporated in Ireland, the banking system is dominated by the Big Four - AIB Bank, Bank of Ireland, Ulster Bank and National Irish Bank2. There is a large Credit Union movement （储蓄互助社运动）within the country which offers an alternative to the banks. The Irish Stock Exchange is in Dublin, however, due to its small size, many firms also maintain listings on either the London Stock Exchange or the NASDAQ3.That being said, the Irish Stock Exchange has a leading position as a listing domicile（期票支付场所）f or cross-border funds. By accessing the Irish Stock Exchange, investment companies can market their shares to a wider range of investors (under MiFID)4 although this will change somewhat with the introduction of the AIFM Directive5.Service providers abound for the cross-border funds business and Ireland has been recently rated with a DAW Index score of 4 in 2012. Similarly, the insurance industry in Ireland is a leader in both retail markets and corporate customers in the EU, in large part due to the International Financial Services Centre.

3. Governmental Strategies

1美国华盛顿的《税务评论》杂志。

2爱尔兰联合银行、爱尔兰银行、阿斯特银行、爱尔兰国家银行。

3

纳斯达克（National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation的首字母，是美国一个电子化的证券交易市场。

4

欧盟金融工具市场指令（Markets in Financial Instruments Directive）.

5

助理国际财务管理师指令(Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive)。

As of December 2007, Ireland’s net unemployment benefits for long-term unemployed people across four family types (single people, lone parents, single-income couples with and without children) was the third highest of the OECD countries (jointly with Iceland) after Denmark and Switzerland. Jobseeker's Allowance or Jobseeker’s Benefit for a single person in Ireland is ￡188 per week, as of March 2011. This compares to ￡65.45 (~ ￡76.11) per week for a single person aged 25 or over in the UK.

3.1 Welfare Benefits

State-provided old age pensions are also relatively generous in Ireland. The maximum weekly rate for the State Pension (Contributory) is ￡230.30 for a single pensioner aged between 66 and 80 (￡436.60 for a pensioner couple in the same age range). The maximum weekly rate for the State Pension (Non-Contributory) is ￡219 for a single pensioner aged between 66 and 80 (￡363.70 for a pensioner couple in the same age range).

3.2 Wealth distribution

The percentage of the population at risk of relative poverty was 21% in 2004 — one of the highest rates in the European Union. Ireland’s inequality of income distribution score on the Gini coefficient1scale was 30.4 in 2000, slightly below the OECD average of 31. Sustained increases in the value of residential property during the 1990s and up to late 2006 was a key factor in the increase in personal wealth in Ireland, with Ireland ranking second only to Japan in personal wealth in 2006. However, residential property values and equities have fallen substantially since the beginning of 2007 and major declines in personal wealth are expected.

3.3 Taxation

In Ireland there is an income tax, a VAT, and various other taxes. Employees pay pay-as-you-earn (PAYE)2taxes based on their income, less certain allowances. The taxation of earnings is progressive, with little or no income tax paid by low earners and a high rate applied to top earners. However a large proportion of central government tax revenue is also derived from value added tax (VAT), excise duties（消费税）and other taxes on consumption. The standard rate of corporation tax is among the lowest in the world at 12.5%.

The Irish tax system is primarily in place to pay for current expenditure programs, such as universal free education, taxpayer funded healthcare, social welfare payments such as old age pensions and unemployment benefit and public capital expenditure, such as the National Development Plan and to pay for the Public Service. Over the past several decades, tax revenues have fluctuated at around 30% of GDP.

3.4 Currency

Before the introduction of the euro notes and coins in January 2002, Ireland used the Irish pound or punt. In January 1999 Ireland was one of eleven European Union member states which launched the European Single Currency, the euro. Euro banknotes are issued in ￡5, ￡10, ￡20, ￡50, ￡100, ￡200 and €500 denominations and share the common design used across Europe, however like other countries in the Eurozone, Ireland has its own unique design on one face of euro coins. The government decided on a single national design for all Irish coin denominations, which show a Celtic harp, a traditional symbol of Ireland, decorated with the year of issue and the word éire.

3.5 Single Energy Market

Despite the two jurisdictions using two distinct currencies (the Euro and Pound Sterling), a growing amount of commercial activity is carried out on an all-island basis. This has been facilitated by the two jurisdictions’ shared membership of the European Union, and there have been calls from members of the business community and polic ymakers for the creation of an ―all-island economy‖to take advantage of economies of scale and boost competitiveness. One area in which the island already operates as a single market is electricity and there are plans for the creation of an all-island gas market.

For much of their existence electricity networks in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland were entirely separate. Both networks were designed and constructed independently post partition（分割）. However, as a result of

1基尼系数

2pay as you earn: (所得税的)发薪时扣除制（或随薪付税制）

changes over recent years they are now connected with three interlinks and also connected through Great Britain to mainland Europe. The situation in Northern Ireland is complicated by the issue of private companies not supplying Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE)1with enough power. In the Republic of Ireland, the ESB2has failed to modernise its power stations and the availability of power plants has recently averaged only 66%, one of the worst such rates in Western Europe. EirGrid is building a HVDC3 transmission line between Ireland and Great Britain with a capacity of 500 MW, about 10% of Ireland’s peak demand.

As with electricity, the natural gas distribution network is also now all-island, with a pipeline linking Gormanston, County Meath, and Ballyclare, County Antrim. Most of Irelands’s gas comes through interconnectors between Twynholm in Scotland and Ballylumford, County Antrim and Loughshinny, County Dublin. A decreasing supply is coming from the Kinsale gas field off the County Cork coast and the Corrib Gas Field off the coast of County Mayo has yet to come on-line. The County Mayo field is facing some localised opposition over a controversial decision to refine the gas onshore.

There have been recent efforts in Ireland to use renewable energy such as wind power. Large wind farms are being constructed in coastal counties such as Cork, Donegal, Mayo and Antrim. The construction of wind farms has in some cases been delayed by opposition from local communities, some of whom consider the wind turbines to be unsightly. The Republic of Ireland is also hindered by an ageing network that was not designed to handle the varying availability of power that comes from wind farms. The ESB’s Turlough Hill facility is the only power-storage facility in the state.

Watch the video clips of Disappearing Boundaries and finish the tasks that follow.

Task 1: Story –retelling

Now, work in groups (3-4members) on the clips and retell what you have seen. Then each group sends one representative to tell the whole class your interpretation.

Task 2: Group discussion

Discuss with your partners about what you have seen in the VCR.

Exercises

1. Fill in the blanks with proper words or terms according to the Textbook.

1) Ireland is ranked as one of the wealthiest countries in the OECD and the EU-27 at in the OECD-28 rankings as of 2008.

2) The 1995 to 2000 period of high economic growth was called the ―‖, a reference to the ―tiger economies‖ of East Asia.

3) In November 2010 the Irish Government published , which aims to restore order to the public finances and to bring its deficit in line with the EU target of 3% of economic output by 2015.

4) The primary sector constitutes about of Irish GDP, and of Irish employment.

5) Ireland’s inequality of income distribution score on was 30.4 in 2000, slightly below the OECD

1爱尔兰电力公司

2供电局（Electricity Supply Board）

3高压直流输电（High V oltage Direct Current Transmission）

average of 31.

6) In January 1999 Ireland was one of eleven European Union member states which launched the European Single

Currency, .

7）Ireland now ranks as the seventh largest producer of concentrates in the world, and the twelfth largest producer of lead concentrates.

8）Ireland’s main economic resource is its large fertile ，particularly the midland and southern regions.

9) The taxation of earnings is with little or no income tax paid by low earners and a high rate applied to top earners.

10) Before the introduction of the and coins in January 2002, Ireland used the Irish pound or punt.

2. Questions on this unit.

1) What is the status of the economy of Ireland?

2) How is Ireland’s economy influenced by the Financial Crisis 2008?

3. Terms for explanation:

1) the Celtic Tiger

2) PAYE

4. Analysis and comments.

1）current economic features of Ireland

2) advantages of all-island economy

Chapter 3 History, Language and Culture

Ardboe High Cross, County Tyrone

爱尔兰岛在政治上被划分为爱尔兰共和国和属于英国的北爱尔兰，前者占据爱尔兰岛的不到六分之五的面积，后者占据着爱尔兰岛的其余部分。中世纪诺曼底人入侵爱尔兰岛，这给凯尔特人提供了其于13世纪在爱尔兰岛复苏的历史契机。爱尔兰于16世纪发生了长达六十多年之久断断续续的战争，在1630年后为英国所统治， 1801年成为英国的一部分。20世纪初期的独立战争，导致了爱尔兰岛的割裂，建立了爱尔兰自由邦，而北爱尔兰仍旧属于英国。浓烈的爱尔兰本土文化，尤其是其文学领域以及科学和教育等领域都对其他文化产生了极大的影响。爱尔兰的文化生活丰富多彩，表现在音乐、语言和多种多样的体育项目上。

Politically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland, which covers just under five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom, which covers the remainder and is located in the north-east of the island. A Norman invasion in the Middle Ages gave way to a Gaelic resurgence in the 13th century. Over sixty years of intermittent warfare in the 1500s led to English dominance after 1603. In the 1690s, a system of Protestant English rule was designed to materially disadvantage the Catholic majority and Protestant dissenters, and was extended during the 18th century. In 1801, Ireland became a part of the United Kingdom. A war of independence in the early 20th century led to the partition of the island, creating the Irish Free State, which became increasingly sovereign over the following decades. Northern Ireland remained a part of the United Kingdom and saw much civil unrest from the late 1960s until the 1990s. This subsided following a political agreement in 1998. In 1973, both parts of Ireland joined the European Economic Community.

Irish culture has had a significant influence on other cultures, particularly in the fields of literature and, to a lesser degree, science and education. A strong indigenous culture exists, as expressed for example through Gaelic games, Irish music and the Irish language, alongside mainstream Western culture, such as contemporary music and drama, and a culture shared in common with Great Britain, as expressed through sports such as soccer, rugby, horse racing, and golf, and the English language.

I.History

Most of Ireland was covered with ice until the end of the last ice age over 9,000 years ago. Sea levels were lower and Ireland, like Great Britain, was part of continental Europe. Mesolithic stone age（中石器时代）inhabitants arrived some time after 8,000 BC and agriculture followed with the Neolithic Age（新石器时代）around 4,500 to 4,000 BC when sheep, goats, cattle and cereals were imported from the Iberian peninsula（伊比利亚半岛）.

The Céide Fields1,preserved beneath a blanket of peat in present-day County Mayo, is an extensive field system, arguably the oldest in the world, dating from not long after this period. Consisting of small divisions separated by dry-stone walls, the fields were farmed for several centuries between 3,500 and 3,000 BC. Wheat and barley were the principal crops.

The Bronze Age —defined by the use of metal —began around 2,500 BC, with technology changing people’s everyday lives during this period through innovations such as the wheel, harnessing oxen, weaving textiles, brewing alcohol, and skillful metalworking, which produced new weapons and tools, along with fine gold decoration and jewellery, such as brooches and torcs. According to John T. Koch and others, Ireland in the Late Bronze Age was part of a maritime trading-networked culture called the Atlantic Bronze Age that also included Britain, France, Spain and Portugal where Celtic languages developed.

The Iron Age in Ireland is traditionally associated with people known as the Celts. The Celts were commonly thought to have colonized Ireland in a series of invasions between the 8th and 1st centuries BC. The Gaels, the last wave of Celts, were said to have divided the island into five or more kingdoms after conquering it. However, some academics favor a theory that emphasizes the diffusion of culture from overseas as opposed to a military colonization. Finds such as Clonycavan Man are given as evidence for this theory.

1. Late Antiquity and Early Medieval times

The earliest written records of Ireland come from classical Greco-Roman geographers. Ptolemy in his Almagest2refers to Ireland as Mikra Brettania (Lesser Britain), in contrast to the larger island, which he called Megale Brettania (Great Britain). In his later work, Geography, Ptolemy refers to Ireland as Iwernia and to Great Britain as Albion. These "new" names were likely to have been the Celtic names for the islands at the time. The earlier names, in contrast, were likely to have been coined before direct contact with local peoples was made.

The Romans would later refer to Ireland by this name too in its Latinized form, Hibernia, or Scotia. Ptolemy records sixteen tribes inhabiting every part of Ireland in 100 AD. The relationship between the Roman Empire and the tribes of ancient Ireland is unclear. However, a number of finds of Roman coins have been found, for example at New Grange.

Ireland continued as a patchwork of rival tribes but, beginning in the 7th century AD, a concept of national kingship gradually became articulated through the concept of a High King of Ireland. Medieval Irish literature portrays an almost unbroken sequence of High Kings stretching back thousands of years but modern historians believe the scheme was constructed in the 8th century to justify the status of powerful political groupings by projecting the origins of their rule into the remote past.

The High King was said to preside over the patchwork of provincial kingdoms that together formed Ireland. Each of these kingdoms had their own kings but was at least nominally subject to the High King. The High King was drawn from the ranks of the provincial kings and ruled also the royal kingdom of Meath, with a ceremonial capital at the Hill of Tara3. The concept only became a political reality in the Viking Age and even then was not a consistent one. However, Ireland did have a unifying rule of law: the early written judicial system, the Brehon Laws, administered by a professional class of jurists known as the brehons.

From the 9th century, waves of Viking raiders plundered Irish monasteries and towns. These raids added to a pattern of raiding and endemic warfare that was already deep-seated in Ireland. The Vikings also were involved in

1赛尔德田野，赛尔德田野坐落于爱尔兰梅奥郡的北海岸,是一处闻名世界的考古遗址,为世界上最古老的田野,拥有5500多年的历史,是极为重要的新石器时代独特地貌。

2《天文学大成》，希腊天文学家托勒密(Ptolemy)在公元140年前后编纂的天文学和数学百科全书。

3塔拉山，是欧洲最古老的山峰之一。

establishing most of the major coastal settlements in Ireland: Dublin, Limerick, Cork, Wexford, Waterford, and also Carlingford, Strangford, Annagassan, Arklow, Youghal, Lough Foyle and Lough Ree.

2. Norman and English Invasions

On May 1, 1169, an expedition of Cambro-Norman knights with an army of about six hundred landed at Bannow Strand in present-day County Wexford. It was led by Richard de Clare, called Strongbow due to his prowess as an archer. The invasion, which coincided with a period of renewed Norman expansion, was at the invitation of Dermot Mac Murrough, the king of Leinster.

The invasion was legitimized by the provisions of the Papal Bull1 Laudabiliter, issued by Adrian IV in 1155. The bull encouraged Henry to take control in Ireland in order to oversee the financial and administrative reorganization of the Irish Church and its integration into the Roman Church system. Some restructuring had already begun at the ecclesiastical level following the Synod of Kells in 1152.There has been significant controversy regarding authenticity of Laudabiliter, and there is no general agreement as to whether the bull was genuine or a forgery.

In 1172, the new pope, Alexander III, further encouraged Henry to advance the integration of the Irish Church with Rome. Henry was authorized to impose a tithe2 of one penny per hearth as an annual contribution. This church levy, called Peter’s Pence3,is still extant in Ireland as a voluntary donation. In turn, Henry accepted the title of Lord of Ireland which Henry conferred on his younger son, John Lackland, in 1185. This defined the Irish state as the Lordship of Ireland. When Henry’s su ccessor died unexpectedly in 1199, John inherited the crown of England and retained the Lordship of Ireland.

Over the century that followed, Norman feudal law gradually replaced the Gaelic Brehon Law so that by the late 13th century the Norman-Irish had established a feudal system throughout much of Ireland. Norman settlements were characterized by the establishment of baronies, manors, towns and the seeds of the modern county system. A version of the Magna Carta4(the Great Charter of Ireland), substituting Dublin for London and Irish Church for Church of England, was published in 1216 and the Parliament of Ireland was founded in 1297.

However, from the mid-14th century, after the Black Death, Norman settlements in Ireland went into a period of decline. The Norman rulers and the Gaelic Irish elites intermarried and the areas under Norman rule became Gaelicized. In some parts, a hybrid Hiberno-Norman culture emerged. In response, the Irish parliament passed the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1367. These were a set of laws designed to prevent the assimilation of the Normans into Irish society by requiring English subjects in Ireland to speak English, follow English customs and abide by English law. However, by the end of the 15th century central English authority in Ireland had all but disappeared and a renewed Irish culture and language, albeit with Norman influences, was dominant again. English Crown control remained relatively unshaken in an amorphous foothold around Dublin known as The Pale and under the provisions of Poynings’Law5 of 1492, the Irish Parliamentary legislation was subject to the approval of the English Parliament.

3. Kingdom of Ireland

1（天主教）教皇的正式宣布（或命令）；教皇诏书。

2什一税：原为古代以色列等民族对国王或祭司的捐献方法。其宗教意义据《旧约·利未记》所载,“地上所有的,无论是地上的种子、是树上的果子,十分之一是耶和华的,是归给耶和华为圣的。……凡牛群、羊群中,一切从杖下经过的,每第十只要归给耶和华...”什一税后演变为欧洲基督教会向居民征收的一种捐税。公元6世纪，教会利用《圣经》中所谓农牧产品十分之一“属于上帝”的说法，开始征收。1171年，亨利二世首次侵入爱尔兰。1188年，亨利二世在英格兰推行什一税。

3英国宗教改革前每户每年缴纳给教廷的一便士税金。

4大宪章：保障人民权利与自由的法令。

5波伊宁斯法：爱尔兰王国的议会乃两院制,分上下议院，而议会的权力则受一系列的成法制约,如1492年的《波伊宁斯法(P oynings’ Law)》。《波伊宁斯法》在1782年被再次检讨，导致了《1782年宪法法案》的通过，赋予爱尔兰独立的立法权，而这个国会也以当地领袖——亨利嘉坦(Henry Grattan)为首任议长，因此以他的名字昵称这个议会，即“嘉坦议会”。至此，爱尔兰虽然有独立运作的国会，但行政部门依然在英国手中。

The title of King of Ireland was re-created in 1542 by Henry VIII, then King of England, of the Tudor dynasty1.English rule of law was reinforced and expanded in Ireland during the latter part of the 16th century leading to the Tudor conquest of Ireland. A near complete conquest was achieved by the turn of the 17th century, following the Nine Years’ War2 and the Flight of the Earls（伯爵出逃）.This control was further consolidated during the wars and conflicts of the 17th century, which witnessed English and Scottish colonization in the Plantations of Ireland, the Wars of the Three Kingdoms and the Williamite War. Irish losses during the Wars of the three Kingdoms (which, in Ireland, included the Irish Confederacy and the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland) are estimated to include 20,000 battlefield casualties. 200,000 civilians are estimated to have died as a result of a combination of war-related famine, displacement, guerilla activity and pestilence（瘟疫，尤指鼠疫）over the duration of the war. A further 50,000 were sent to slavery in the West Indies. Some historians estimate that as much as half of the pre-war population of Ireland may have died as a result of the conflict.

An extraordinary climatic shock known as the ―Great Frost‖struck Ireland and the rest of Europe between December 1739 and September 1741, after a decade of relatively mild winters. The first of what are regarded as the Great Irish Famines (1740-1741) destroyed stored crops of potatoes and other staples and the poor summers severely damaged harvests. An estimated 400,000 people (about one in eight of the population) died from the ensuing pestilence and disease, and this famine caused over 150,000 of the Irish to emigrate. As in the more notorious famine of a century later, this disaster was caused by consecutive potato blight（土豆枯萎病）across Europe, apart from the extremely freezing winters. The Irish government halted export of corn and kept the army in quarters but did little more. Local gentry and charitable organizations provided relief but could do little to prevent the ensuing mortality.

In the aftermath of the famine, an increase in industrial production and a surge in trade brought a succession of construction booms. The population soared in the latter part of this century and the architectural legacy of Georgian Ireland was built. In 1782, Poynings’ Law was repealed, giving Ireland virtual legislative independence from Great Britain for the first time since the Norman invasion. The British government, however, still retained the right to nominate the government of Ireland without the consent of the Irish parliament.

In 1798, members of the Protestant Dissenter tradition (mainly Presbyterian) made common cause with Roman Catholics in a republican rebellion inspired and led by the Society of United Irishmen, with the aim of creating an independent Ireland. Despite assistance from France the rebellion was put down by British and Irish government and yeomanry (自由民，自耕农) forces. In 1800, the British and Irish parliaments both passed Acts of Union that, with effect from 1 January 1801, merged the Kingdom of Ireland and the Kingdom of Great Britain to create a United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

4. Union with Great Britain

The passage of the Act in the Irish Parliament was ultimately achieved with substantial majorities, having failed on the first attempt in 1799. According to contemporary documents and historical analysis, this was achieved through a considerable degree of bribery, with funding provided by the British Secret Service Office（英国秘密情报局）,and the awarding of peerages, places and honours to secure votes. Thus, Ireland became part of an extended United Kingdom, ruled directly by a united parliament at Westminster in London.

Aside from the development of the linen industry, Ireland was largely passed over by the industrial revolution, partly because it lacked coal and iron resources and partly because of the impact of the sudden union with the structurally superior economy of England, which saw Ireland as a source of agricultural produce and capital.

1英国都铎王朝（1485年－1603年），是在亨利七世1485年入主英格兰、威尔士和爱尔兰后，所开创的一个王朝，统治英格兰王国及其属土周围地区。伯爵亨利·都铎于1485年8月，在法国援助下杀死理查三世，夺取王位，建立都铎王朝，史称亨利七世。都铎王朝统治英格兰王国直到1603年伊丽莎白一世去世为止，历经118年，共经历了五代君主。都铎王朝处于英国从封建主义向资本主义过渡时期，被认为是英国君主专制历史上的黄金时期。

2大同盟战争(1688年－1697年),又叫奥格斯堡同盟战争，巴拉丁王位继承战争、九年战争。

The Great Famine1(known as ―Great Hunger‖) of the 1840s caused the deaths of one million Irish people and over a million more emigrated to escape it. By the end of the decade, half of all immigration to the United States was from Ireland. Mass emigration became deeply entrenched and the population continued to decline until the mid-20th century. Immediately prior to the famine the population was recorded as 8.2 million by the1841 census. The population has never returned to this level since. The population continued to fall until 1961 and it was not until the 2006 census that the last county of Ireland (County Leitrim) to record a rise in population since 1841 did so.

The failed Easter Rising of 1916 was carried out by the latter group in alliance with a smaller socialist militia, the Irish Citizen Army. The British response, executing fifteen leaders of the Rising over a period of ten days and imprisoning or interning more than a thousand people, turned the mood of the country in favour of the rebels. The pro-independence republican party, Sinn Féin, received overwhelming endorsement in the general election of 1918, and in 1919 proclaimed an Irish Republic, setting up its own parliament (Dáil éireann) and government. British authorities attempted to extinguish this challenge, sparking a guerilla war from 1919 to July 1921 which ended in a truce.

In 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was concluded between the British Government and representatives of the First Dáil2.It gave all of Ireland complete independence in their home affairs and practical independence for foreign policy. However, an oath of allegiance to the British Crown had to be exercised, and Northern Ireland was given an opt-out clause, which it exercised immediately as expected.Disagreements over these provisions led to a split in the nationalist movement and a subsequent civil war between the new government of the Irish Free State and those opposed to the treaty, led by éamon de Valera3.The civil war officially ended in May 1923 when de Valera issued a cease-fire order.

5.Independent Ireland

During its first decade the newly formed Irish Free State was governed by the victors of the civil war. When de Valera achieved power, he took advantage of the Statute of Westminster and political circumstances to build upon inroads to greater sovereignty made by the previous government. The oath was abolished and in 1937 a new constitution was adopted. This completed a process of gradual separation from the British Empire that governments had pursued since independence. However, it was not until 1949 that the state was declared, officially, to be the Republic of Ireland.

The state was neutral during World War II, but offered clandestine assistance（暗助）to the Allies, particularly in the potential defense of Northern Ireland. Despite being neutral, approximately 50,000 volunteers from independent Ireland joined the British forces during the war, four being awarded Victoria Crosses.

German Intelligence was also active in Ireland, with both the Abwehr，German for Defence; the German military intelligence service) and the SD (the Sicherheitsdienst, English: Security Service, the intelligence service of the SS) sending agents there.German intelligence operations effectively ended in September 1941 when police made arrests on the basis of surveillance carried out on the key diplomatic legations in Ireland, including that of the United States. To the authorities counterintelligence was a fundamental line of defence. With a regular army of only slightly over seven thousand men at the start of the war, and with limited supplies of modern weapons, the state would have had great difficulty in defending itself from invasion from either side of the conflict.

https://www.wendangku.net/doc/662889941.html,nguage

There are a number of languages used in Ireland. Irish is the only language to have originated from within the island. Since the late 19th century, English has become the predominant first language, having been a spoken language in Ireland since the Middle Ages. A large minority claim some ability to speak Irish today, although it is

1大饥荒，又称Potato Famine，1845至1849年间发生于爱尔兰。由于种植马铃薯失败，超过800万人受到这次大饥荒的袭击。

2第一届爱尔兰国会

3埃蒙·德·瓦莱拉，爱尔兰总统

the first language only of a small percentage of the population. Under Constitution of Ireland, both languages have official status with Irish being the national and first official language. In Northern Ireland English is the dominant state language, whilst Irish and Ulster Scots are recognized minority languages.

Irish, now a minority but official language of the Republic of Ireland was the vernacular of the Irish people for over two thousand years and was probably introduced by some sort of proto-Gaelic migration during the Iron age, possibly earlier. It began to be written down after Christianization in the 5th century and spread to Scotland and the Isle of Man where it evolved into the Scottish Gaelic and Manx languages respectively. It has a vast treasure of written texts from many centuries and is divided by linguists into Old Irish from the 6th to 10th century, Middle Irish from the 10th to 13th century and Early Modern Irish until the seventeenth century and evolved into the Modern Irish spoken today. It remained the dominant language of Ireland for most of those periods, having influences from Latin, Old Norse, French and English. It declined under British rule but remained the majority tongue until the early 19th century and since then has been a minority language although revival efforts are continuing in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland; however Gaeltacht or Irish speaking areas are still seeing a decline in the language. It is a compulsory subject in the state education system in the Republic, and the Gaelscoil movement has seen many Irish medium schools established in both jurisdictions.

English was first introduced to Ireland in the Norman invasion and was spoken by a few peasants and merchants brought over from England and was largely replaced by Irish before the Tudor Conquest of Ireland. It was introduced as the official language with the Tudor and Cromwellian conquests. The Ulster plantations gave it a permanent foothold in Ulster, and it remained the official and upper-class language elsewhere, the Irish-speaking chieftains and nobility having been deposed. Language shift during the 19th century replaced Irish with English as the first language for a vast majority of the population. Less than 10% of the population of the Republic of Ireland today speak Irish regularly outside of the education system and 38% of those o ver 15 years are classified as ―Irish speakers.‖In Northern Ireland, English is the de facto（实际上的）official language, but official recognition is afforded to Irish, including specific protective measures under Part III of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. A lesser status (including recognition under Part II of the Charter) is given to Ulster Scots dialects, which are also spoken by some in the Republic of Ireland. In recent decades, with the increase in immigration, many more languages have been introduced, particularly deriving from Asia and Eastern Europe.

III.Culture

Ireland’s culture comprises elements of the culture of ancient immigration and influences (such as Gaelic culture) and more recent Anglicisation and Americanisation as well as participation in a broader European culture. In broad terms, Ireland is regarded as one of the Celtic nations of Europe, which also includes Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, Isle of Mann and Brittany. This combination of cultural influences is visible in the intricate designs termed Irish interlace or Celtic knotwork. These can be seen in the ornamentation of medieval religious and secular works. The style is still popular today in jewellery and graphic art, as is the distinctive style of traditional Irish music and dance, and h as become indicative of modern ―Celtic‖ culture in general.

1. Religion & Literature

Religion has played a significant role in the cultural life of the island since ancient times (and since the 17th century plantations, has been the focus of political identity and divisions on the island). Ireland’s pre-Christian heritage fused with the Celtic Church following the missions of Saint Patrick1 in the 5th century. The Hiberno-Scottish missions, begun by the Irish monk Saint Columba, spread the Irish vision of Christianity to pagan England and the Frankish Empire. These missions brought written language to an illiterate population of Europe during the Dark Ages that followed the fall of Rome, which earns Ireland the sobriquet, ―the island of saints and scholars‖.

1圣帕特里克（爱尔兰传说中守护者）。

There were two kinds of Irish: Catholic and Protestant. In the early years of 20th century, the loyalties were even becoming more divided. That division was expressed politically in a growing sectarian gap: between Catholic and Protestant. Since the English Reformation, under Henry VIII, these terms were never merely confined to the category of religion. They were also political, economic and cultural. Under Henry VIII and his successors, confessing to being Roman Catholic was a political crime; as the king or queen of England was now declared the Head of the new, Anglican Church, to proclaim oneself a Roman Catholic was in fact equivalent to an act of to treason.

In one sense, therefore, one can see that — right into the late 20th century — Ireland was still living with the consequences of this divisive history. To be Protestant or Catholic was not merely a case of religious belief, but a statement about one’s identity. It was an identity determined largely by historical and geographical factors. The north of Ireland is very close geographically to Scotland. Moreover, the people who ―planted‖or colonized the north in the 17th century were largely Scottish Protestants, whereas those in the south of Ireland remained with the traditionally, or Roman Catholic sect of Christianity. But the split goes back into the mists of time. Geographers claim that there is actually a geographical division between the north and south of the island. As we have seen the most ancient of Irish sagas, the Tain, tells of wars between the tribes of north and south.

The Irish Constitution guarantees religious freedom. In Ireland, 93% of the population is Roman Catholic, and the Church exercises a strong influence on the nation’s affairs. Catholicism is a matter of public identity more than a private faith. Among the remaining 7%, 4% identities themselves as Protestant, and the remainder claim no religious affiliation, or belong to small communities of believers such as Muslims, Jews and Orthodox Christians. It is true that Ireland is exceptionally religious by the standards of the west. For example, more people attend church once a week in any other country in the world. When asked how important God is in their lives, the Irish rank Him higher than any other people.

Like religion, literature is the carrier of culture. Irish and English and both languages have widely contributed to literature, and to varying degrees, Irish literature reflects its religious culture. Ireland has made a large contribution to world literature in all its branches, particularly in the English language. Poetry in Irish is the oldest vernacular poetry in Europe, with the earliest examples dating from the 6th century. In English, Jonathan Swift, still often called the foremost satirist in the English language, was wildly popular in his day for works such as Gulliver’s Travels and A Modest Proposal and Oscar Wilde is well-known most for his often quoted witticisms.

In the 20th century, Ireland produced four winners of the Nobel Prize for Literature: George Bernard Shaw, William Butler Yeats1, Samuel Beckettand and Seamus Heaney. Although not a Nobel Prize winner, James Joyce is widely considered to be one of the most significant writers of the 20th century. Joyce’s 1922 novel Ulysses is considered one of the most important works of Modernist literature and his life is celebrated annually on 16 June in Dublin as ―Blooms’Day‖2. Modern Irish literature is often connected with its rural heritage through writers such as John McGahern and poets such as Seamus Heaney.

In more recent years, the Irish pubs have become outposts of Irish culture worldwide. The Republic of Ireland’s national theatre is the Abbey Theatre3 founded in 1904 and the national Irish-language theatre is An

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3艾比剧院，又名爱尔兰国立剧院，位于首都都柏林。艾比剧院于1904年开业，并于1925年成为英语世界中第一个由国家补贴的剧院。早期的艾比剧院与“爱尔兰文艺复兴”运动的作家们联系密切，他们参与剧院的建立，提供剧本。剧院培育了许多20世纪的爱尔兰作家和演员。由于广泛的国外演出，特别是针对北美观众的演出，剧院成为爱尔兰旅游业的重要支柱。

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北爱尔兰的介绍

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北爱尔兰问题由来已久 北爱尔兰问题由来已久,是英国历史上长期存在的爱尔兰问题的延续，也是西欧的一个典型的民族问题。 北爱尔兰位于爱尔兰岛的东北部,面积为１412０平方公里，首府贝尔法斯特，人口约1６０万，其中６０％是英国移民后裔,他们信奉基督教新教;其余４0%是爱尔兰岛的土著后裔，信奉天主教。长期以来,他们分而聚居,互不往来。在北爱归属问题上,前者主张留在英国，后者则坚持回归爱尔兰。爱尔兰人是凯尔特人的后裔，世代住在爱尔兰岛上，６世纪时接受了罗马的天主教。1２世纪中叶,英国开始入侵爱尔兰。１8０１年，根据《英爱同盟条约》,爱尔兰正式并入英国版图,成立了“大不列颠及爱尔兰联合王国”,英国完成了对爱尔兰的吞并，爱尔兰成为英国的第一块殖民地，在政治、经济、文化、宗教各方面深受压迫。爱尔兰人多次进行民族独立战争,反抗殖民者，１8８6—1893年,在贝尔法斯特不断发生骚乱，不同信仰、不同政见的两个民族之间的暴力对抗使百人丧失生命;1９16年爆发了都柏林的复活节起义，起义是由激进的新芬党领导的，目的是争取爱尔兰独立,由于英军武装镇压,起义最终失败,几千名起义者牺牲。因此，爱尔兰问题在英国存在了７００年。 １918年,英国举行大选,爱尔兰选出的议员大部分是争取民族独立的新芬党人。他们不去伦敦参加议会,在都柏林成立了自己的爱尔兰议会，并于１9１9年1月宣布成立爱尔兰共和国，组成临时政府,并组织成2，0００人的共和军,到处开展反英斗争,解放大片土地,同时派出代表与英政府谈判,要求承认爱尔兰独立。被第一次世界大战弄得虚弱不堪的英国，无力再打一场国内战争,被迫于192１年1２月与爱尔兰临时政府签订和约，承认爱尔兰南部2６郡为自由郡,北方6郡仍留在英国。这时英国国名“大不列颠及爱尔兰联合王国”改为大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国”。１９３7年,爱尔兰“自由邦”宣布建立共和国,但仍留在英联邦内。１９4８年1２月２１日，爱尔兰宣布正式脱离英联邦。19４９年4月1８日英国承认爱尔兰独立,但拒绝归还北方6郡，由此便产生了北爱尔兰问题。 北爱尔兰留在英国是与爱尔兰大多数人的意愿相违背的,新芬党党内也产生分岐。部分领袖和共和军战士坚决反对1９21年和约。共和军立即宣布自己不再属于自由邦,成立了独立的单位，选出了自己的领袖,并从１９21年1月起展开了争取南北爱统一的斗争。 但是,这时爱尔兰的分割已成定局。当时在北方6郡，由于英国几个世纪的移民,英格兰和苏格兰的后裔已占多数，他们坚决主张北爱留在英国。北爱在1９2１年6月召开了第一次议会，成立了自治政府。英国对爱尔兰的分割，是爱尔兰族人一致反对的。爱尔兰政府自

爱尔兰的概况.doc

爱尔兰的概况 爱尔兰是一个风景优美的国家，很多人都想去爱尔兰留学，那么今天就跟的我一起来了解一下爱尔兰的概况吧！ 人口： 爱尔兰人口不到400万，绝大部分为爱尔兰人，官方语言为爱尔兰语和英语，居民91.6%信奉罗马天主教，其他居民信奉基督教新教等。 气候： 爱尔兰的气候属温带海洋性气候。由于海湾洋流和西南季风的影响，爱尔兰的气候相当平和，整个国家的气温也高度一致，最冷的月份是1、2月，平均温度在4°C 到7°C之间，7、8月最温暖，气温在14°C到16°C。高于30°C的极端温度在爱尔兰时非常罕见的。 环境： 爱尔兰自然环境保持的相当好，全国绿荫遍布，河流纵横，被誉为“翡翠之都”。 语言： 爱尔兰的历史悠久，可追溯到5，000多年前，他的第一国语是爱尔兰语，第二国语是英语，商业语言是英语。由于英语的实用性和重要性，他已日渐成为人们日常生活中唯一使用的语言。 时差： 爱尔兰与中国北京标准时间的时差是8小时，北京时间比爱尔兰时间早8个小时。即北京时间上午8点整时，爱尔兰时间为凌晨0点整。但每年的3月最后一个星期日到10-月的最后一个星期日期间，爱尔兰施行夏日制，时差为7小时。 饮食：

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第十一章 Part Two The Republic of Ireland 爱尔兰共和国 地理与历史 Geography and History 不列颠群岛由两大岛屿和几百座小岛组成。两大岛屿是大不列颠和爱尔兰岛。爱尔兰也因其乡村绿荫而被称为绿宝石岛。爱尔兰分为两个政治区域：北爱尔兰和爱尔兰共和国。北爱尔兰是联合王国的一部分。爱尔兰共和国是个独立国家。 The British Isles are made up of two large islands and hundreds of small ones. The two large islands are Great Britain and Ireland. Ireland is also called the Emerald Isle because ot its rich green countryside. Ireland is divided into two political units. They are Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Northern Island is part of the United Kingdom. The Republic of Ireland (Eire) is an independent country. I.Geographical Features地理特征 爱尔兰共和国的面积为70，282平方公里。与北爱尔兰接壤的边界为434公里。 The Republic of Ireland covers an area of 70,282 sq.its land border with Northern Ireland is 434 km. 首都是都柏林，The capital is Dublin. 爱尔兰一直被比作盆地，内有海滨高地围起的石灰岩高原。海洋性气候影响全国。 Ireland has been compared to a basin in which a limestone plateau is rimmed by coastal highland s. Maritime influences penetrate the land. 最高峰是卡朗图山(1，041米) The highest peaks are Carrantuohill (1,041 m) 爱尔兰最大的河是香农河，它发源于斯利戈湾附近的高原, 香农河为共和国提供了大部分电力。 The largest river in Ireland is the Shannon River. It rises in the plateau near Sligo Bay, The Shannon River provides electric power for much of the Republic. 多样化是低地的主要特征。中部低地是爱尔兰的心脏。山谷的通道和低地走廊通向每一个爱尔兰海岸， Variety is the main feature of the lowlands. The Central Lowland is the heart of Ireland. Easy passageways along valley and lowland corridors lead from it to every Irish shore. 因为爱尔兰在冰川时期完全被冰层覆盖，现在所有的动植物种类都是从欧洲其他地方迁徙来的。 As Ireland was completely covered by ice sheets during the lce Age, all extant plants and animals are migrant species from other parts of Europe. 沼泽仍是爱尔兰最重要的地形特征。在所有山脉中随处可见，并覆盖低地的大片地区。

英语国家概况谢福之复习

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Chapter 1 Geography, People and Language 全名: the United Kingdom of Great Britain（大不列颠联合王国）and Northern Ireland（北爱尔兰）. 由成千上万的小岛组成（the British Isles）. 两大岛屿：Great Britain（大不列颠）and Ireland（爱尔兰） The River Thames (second longest and most important), originates（起源于）in southwestern England -----North Sea. Scotland ( Edinburgh爱丁堡) important river:Clyde River kilts（苏克兰小短裙）Wales( Cardiff加迪夫，著名港口). The Severn River is the longest river of Britain------flow through western England. Northern Ireland (Belfast贝尔法斯特，首府) Lough Neagh----the largest lake in the British Isles. Climate: temperate, with warm summers, cool winters and plentiful precipitation(降雨量)，冬暖夏凉，降雨充沛 Three major features: winter fog, rainy day, instability 冬天多雾，常年多雨，天气不定London---Buckingham Palace（白金汉宫）, Guildhall (市政厅), St. Paul’s Cathedral（圣保罗大教堂）, The Tower Bridge of London（伦敦塔桥）The majority of the population is descendants of the Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic people from Europe.

欧洲国家概况

北美：谭乐+赖才欧+周晓婉+尹善林 欧洲： 1.法国+西班牙+葡萄牙+比利时+卢森堡+摩纳哥+瑞典-----何玲玲 2.德国+波兰+捷克+匈牙利+爱沙尼亚+斯洛伐克+乌克兰+白俄罗斯---王冰芝 3.英国+爱尔兰+荷兰+丹麦+罗马尼亚+保加利亚+波黑+立陶宛---赵湘资 4.意大利+奥地利+瑞士+希腊+克罗地亚+南斯拉夫+斯洛文尼亚+挪威--- 何先益 5.俄罗斯+芬兰+澳大利亚+巴西+阿根廷（南美）---周琳 欧洲国家概况 1.俄罗斯国土面积17075400平方公里，人口1亿4310万，语言：俄语，货币：卢布，国庆：6月12日，主要城市：莫斯科，圣彼德堡，摩尔曼斯克，符拉迪沃斯托克（海参威） 2.乌克兰国土面积603700平方公里，人口4578万，语言：乌克兰语，俄语通用，货币：格里夫尼亚，国庆：8月24日（独立日）主要城市：基辅，雅尔塔 3.法国国土面积551602平方公里，人口6279万，语言：法语，货币：欧元，国庆：7月14日，主要城市：巴黎，马塞，里昂，嘎纳 4.西班牙国土面积505925平方公里，人口4704万，语言：西班牙语，货币：欧元，国庆：10月12日，主要城市：马德里，巴塞罗那 5.瑞典国土面积449965平方公里，人口：948万，语言：瑞典语，货币：瑞典克朗，国庆：6月6日，主要城市：斯德哥尔摩，哥德堡 6.挪威国土面积385155平方公里，人口：492万，语言：挪威语，通用英语，货币：挪威克朗，国庆：5月17日，主要城市：奥斯陆 7.德国国土面积357021平方公里，人口：8180万，语言：德语，货币：欧元，国庆：10月3日，主要城市：柏林，汉堡，慕尼黑，科隆，杜塞尔多夫，法兰克福 8.芬兰国土面积338145平方公里，人口：540万，语言：芬兰语和瑞典语，货币：欧元，国庆：12月6日，主要城市：赫尔辛基，萨翁林纳

爱尔兰概况和经济

爱尔兰概况和经济集团文件发布号：（9816-UATWW-MWUB-WUNN-INNUL-DQQTY-

爱尔兰是欧洲大陆西北海岸外的一个岛屿，包括爱尔兰共和国和英国辖下的北爱尔兰。全岛总面积约8.4万平方公里。人们通常所说的“爱尔兰”，是爱尔兰共和国的简称，其国土面积约为70282平方公里。虽然就人口数量（约400万人）和经济规模总量来说，爱尔兰是一个小国，然而它又是一个颇具特色和影响、引起世人广泛兴趣的国度。 第一节自然地理 一、地理位置 爱尔兰共和国位于欧洲西部的爱尔兰岛中南部，莎士比亚在《约翰王》中曾把英格兰说成是“西方最远的尽头”，这样看来，爱尔兰就要更远的多了，可谓是尽头的尽头！爱尔兰岛可以被认为是欧洲大西洋边缘的一部分。 爱尔兰岛总面积84421平方公里，爱尔兰共和国为70282平方公里，占该岛5/6；北爱尔兰14139平方公里。东边的爱尔兰海把爱尔兰与不列颠岛分割开了，其宽度从17、6公里到192公里不等，最大水深大约200米。环绕海岸线其余部分的大陆架的浅水区域相当狭窄，水深迅速增加而深入大西洋之中。 二、地貌特征 爱尔兰面积不大，但地貌丰富多样，这是由复杂的地质演变造成的。在山岭、谷底、海岸一带，刻蚀着两条主要构造线：较古老的加里东褶皱带，位于该岛东部与北部，沿东北到西南走向；而位于岛屿南端的从东到西走向的山脉，属于海西褶皱带（Hercynian Fold Belt）。这些构造线形成了爱尔兰岛自然特征的基本轮廓。第三纪的阿尔卑斯运动把

爱尔兰岛和不列颠岛分开，并把它作为一个岛屿置于欧洲大陆架上。第四纪冰川运动队爱尔兰岛景观中地貌的多样性提供了最新成分。各地被冰打磨的岩石、高山湖泊、冰川河谷和冰河时期留下来的沙砾泥土，都标志着冰川流过的痕迹。 爱尔兰河网密布，水量充沛，河流多经沼泽湖泊入海，沿途多急流瀑布，这也是爱尔兰景色中引人入胜的一部分。全国最长的河流香农河（River Shannon）,发源于西北部斯莱格湾附近的高原，自北向南而后又折向西南蜿蜒而下，在最后冲成激流到达入海口之前，缓慢地流经中部地区的广大低地，接纳了流速同样缓慢的支流，形成宽广的流域，然后注入德格湖(Lough Derg)，于利默里克（Limerick）入海。它全长259公里，但在不足160.9公里的流程中，水流缓慢，而在最后从德格湖(Lough Derg)到利摩力克的潮水位的25.744公里中，水流陡降30.48米。巨大的水面落差，便利建设大型水利发电站。因此，香农河成为一条重要河流。爱尔兰的其他主要河流还有东部的斯拉尼河、丽菲河（Liffey River）和博因河（Boyne River），东南部的诺尔河、巴罗河（River Barrow）和舒尔河，西部的科里布河，东北部的班河和拉甘河以及在西北部流经德里入海的福伊尔河（River Foyle）。可能有的同学会疑问为什么在几百平方公里的小岛上会生息着如此繁多的河流,如果将其与爱尔兰高扬的降水量联系起来看,就不奇怪了。 爱尔兰的中部地区由于第四纪冰川的作用，湖泊、沼泽多如繁星，风景秀丽。着名的湖泊有科里布湖Lough Corrib、阿伦湖（Lough

英语国家概况-爱尔兰作业答案-3

2.1 When was Ireland officially independent? In 1921, the Anglo-Irish Treaty was concluded between the British Government and representatives of the Ireland. After the hard struggle of more than 20 years, it was not until 1949 that the state was declared, officially, to be the Republic of Ireland. 2.2 What are Ireland’s typical food and drink? The typical food and drink including: stewed mutton, the Irish bread, wetland cheese and Baileys liqueur. 3.1 The Bronze Age It’s defined by the use of metal and began around 2,500 BC, with technology changing people's everyday lives during this period through innovations. 3.2 the Dark Ages the period of history between classical antiquity and the Italian Renaissance in European history (476A.D-1000A.D.) , following the decline of the Roman Empire. 3.3 the Magna Carta the Great Charter of Ireland, the royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215 , published in 1216. 3.4 Great Frost “Great Famine”. Ireland and the rest of Europe were struck by an extraordinary climatic shock between December 1739 and September 1741, and the winters destroyed stored crops of potatoes and other staples and the poor summers severely damaged harvests, leading to the deaths of an estimated 250,000 people .(about one in eight of the population).

英语国家概况答案

英语作业答案 Unit 1 Ⅰ.Read the following statements carefully and decide whether they are True or False. 1. The island of Great Britain is geographically divided into three parts: England, Scotland and Wales. (T) 英伦三岛包括英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士。 2. People in different parts of Britain like to use the name England to refer to their country. (F) British 3. Today more than half of the people in Wales still speak the ancient Welsh language. (F) 4. In terms of population and area，Northern Ireland is the second largest part of the United Kingdom. (F) 英格兰是面积最大，人口最多的 5. The longest river of Britain originates in Wales. (T) The River Severn:赛文河 6. Because of political troubles，Northern Ireland has been quite significant among the four constituent parts of the United Kingdom. (T) Ⅱ. Choose the one that best completes each of the following statements. 1. The two main islands of the British Isles are . 不列颠群岛是由两个大岛组成的：不列颠和爱尔兰 A.Great Britain and Ireland B.Great Britain and Scotland C.Great Britain and Wales D.Great Britain and England 2. is the capital city of Scotland. A. Belfast B. Edinburgh C. Aberdeen D. Cardiff 3. Among the four parts of the United Kingdom，is the smallest. A.England B. Scotland C.Wales D. Northern Ireland 4. The introduction of Christianity to Britain added the first element of words to English. A. Danish and Finnish B. Dutch and German C. French and Italian D. Latin and Greek 5. The evolution of Middle English was reinforced by the influence. A. Norman B. Dutch C. German D. Danish 6. Samuel Johnson’s dictionary was influential in establishing a standard form of . A. grammar B. handwriting C. spelling D. pronunciation 7. At present, nearly of the world’s population communicate in English. A. half B. a quarter C. One third D. one fifth III. Give brief answers to the following questions· 1. What is the full name of the U.K.? The full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 2. Why do tourists from all over the world like to go to Scotland? They like to enjoy the beautiful Scottish scenery, to drink Scotch whisky and to see Scotsman wearing kilts and playing bagpipes. 3. How many periods can the development of the English language be divided into and what are they?

《英语国家概况》- Chapter 1 Land and People

第一章国土与人民 Ⅰ.英国的不同名称及其区域 人们说到英国时常常使用不同的名称:不列颠、大不列颠、英格兰、不列颠群岛、联合王国等。这些名称一样吗?还是有所区别? 严格地讲，不列颠诸岛、大不列颠和英格兰都是地理名称。它们并不是这个国家的正式名称。不列颠诸岛是由两个大岛和几百个小岛组成的。两个大岛是不列颠岛和爱尔兰岛，其中不列颠岛较大，它与爱尔兰岛的北部一北爱尔兰构成联合王国。因此，联合王国的正式国名是大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国。但一口气说出这么长的国名太费事，因此，人们就说不列颠，联合王国或简单地说UK。这是不列颠岛上的一个国家，首都是伦敦。另外还有一个国家，叫爱尔兰共和国或称爱尔兰，也位于不列颠岛上。它占据了爱尔兰岛的其余部分，在岛的南部。1949年始爱尔兰独立，首都是都柏林。 大不列颠岛上有三个政治区:英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士。英格兰面积最大、人口最多，一般说来也最富裕。因此人们常用英格兰指代英国，用英格兰人指代英国人。这有时令苏格兰人和威尔士人不快，他们不认为自己是"英格兰人"，他们有自己的文化，甚至有自己的语言。 英国一直是世界上最重要的国家之一。约一百年前，由于推行帝国主义扩张政策，英国成为一个帝国，这个帝国占有世界上四分之一的人口，四分之一的面积。它不仅在北美，而且在亚洲、非洲和澳洲都有殖民地。但是两次世界大战大大削弱了英国，英国殖民地接二连三独立，大英帝国逐渐消失，1931年由英联邦所取代。 英联邦是一个自由联合体，由曾经是英国殖民地变为现已独立的国家构成。成员国之间实行经济合作，有一定的贸易协议。英联邦没有特别的权力，是否参加英联邦由各成员国自己决定。目前( 1991年) ，英联邦有50个成员国。 Ⅱ.英国的地理特征 英国是个岛国，四周是海。它位于欧洲北海岸附近的北大西洋中。南面的英吉利海峡和东面的北海把英国与欧洲的其他部分隔开。英法之间的英吉利海峡很狭窄，最狭窄的地方叫多佛尔海峡，只有33公里宽。1985年，英法两国政府决定在多佛尔海峡底修建一个隧道，把两个国家连接起来。经过八年的奋斗，这条名为"查诺尔"的海底隧道于1994年5月通车。英国的面积为244，100 平方公里。南北长1000公里，东西最宽阔的地方约为500公里。因此英国的任何地方离海边都不远，海岸资源丰富。英国海岸线很长且拥有优良的深水港。海上通道延伸到内陆，提供了低廉的运输。 几个世纪以来，英国一直在缓慢地倾斜。西北部缓慢上升，东南部缓慢下沉。英国的北部与西部主要是山地。这种上升在苏格兰西部形成了突起的海滩――山的平地。这种海滩提供了主要的农田、定居点、工业区及通道。东部及东南部主要是低地，是"欧洲大平原"的一部分，有着平坦的土地及肥沃的土壤。尤其是南部及英格兰东海岸有许多良田。 在冰川时代，英国覆盖着大冰块，导致英国壮观的山景，尤其是斯诺多尼亚、湖泊区及苏格兰山地，因此英国拥有平顶的山脉、瀑布流经的山谷、带状湖、平坦的谷底、陡峭的谷倒、冰砾土及沃土。 1.英格兰 英格兰占了大不列颠岛南部的绝大部分面积。英格兰西面是威尔士，北面是苏格兰。面积为130，000平方公里，占整个岛的60%。除了塞汶河谷及柴郡――兰开郡平原(中心为利物浦)外，其西南部和西部主要是高原，也有起伏的平原、丘陵地及少数沼泽地，但主要是高原。从北中部延伸至苏格兰边境的奔宁山脉是主要山脉。但英格兰的最高峰斯加非尔峰(978米)却位于西北部的湖泊区。英格兰东部主要是开阔的可耕种平原，此平原的海岸沼泽地和奔宁山脉之间变成一条狭窄的走廊(约克谷)，在诺桑伯兰郡则变成很窄的海岸带。

英国国家概况(八)(中英语版)

英国国家概况（八）（中英文版） 第八章 Justice and the law 法律与司法机构 There is no single legal system in the United Kingdom. A feature common to all systems of law in the United Kingdom is that there is no complete code. The sources of law include (1) statutes; (2) a large amount of "unwritten" or common law; (3) equity law; (4) European Community. Another common feature is the distinction made between criminal law and civil law. 联合王国不实行完全统一的法律制度。联合王国所有法律制度的一个共同特点是没有以部完整的法典。法典来源包括：（1）成文法；（2）大量的"不成文法" 或习惯法；（3）衡平法；（4）欧共体法。另一个共同的特点是刑法和民法之间的区别。 I．Criminal Proceedings 刑事诉讼程序 1. In England and Wales, once the police have charged a person with a criminal offence, the crown Prosecution Service assumes control of the case reviews the evidence to decide whether to prosecute. 在英格兰和威尔士，一旦警察指控某人犯有刑事罪，皇家检察总署就要接管此案，并独立地审核证据以决定是否起诉。 2. In Britain all criminal trial are held in open count because the criminal law presumes the innocence of the accused until he has been proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The prosecution and the defense get equal treatment. No accused person has to answer the question of the police before trial. He is not compelled to give evidence in count. Every accused person has the right to employ a legal adviser to conduct his defense. If he can not afford to pay, he may be granted aid at public expense. In criminal trial by jury, the judge passes sentence, but the jury decided the issue of guilt or innocence. The jury composed of 12 or ordinary people. If the verdict of the jury can not be unanimous, it must be a majority. 在英国，所有的刑事审判都在法院公开进行。因为刑法认为，在消除合理怀疑证明被告有罪之前，他是无辜的。原告与被告同样平等，审判时被告不必回答警察