英语国家概况总结

Unit1 A Brief Introduction to the United Kingdom

1. The flag of Britain : Union Jack

（英国国旗中没有显示出Welsh 旗）

2. The basic information of each country: Count

ry

Capital Area Memo Englan

d London 最大 1. 最不会把自己的“英格兰文化区

别于其他文化”

2. 一个高度城市化

的国家，80%居住在城市，20%工作于农业。

Scotla nd

Edinburgh

爱丁堡，此

名源于爱

尔曼语

（But the

largest city

is Glasgow

in

Scotland）

第二大

1.英国最不平坦的

部分。（the

Highlands in the

north and the

Southern

Uplands in the

south）

2.Not conquered

by the romans or

the

Anglo-Saxons.

Wales Cardiff（加

的夫）

第三大

（但在

British

Mainland

上是最

小）

1. It had rich coal

deposits.(储存)

2. Wales has been

dominated by

England for longer

than the other

nations of the

union.

3.The time joining the British parliament:

However, in 1707 by agreement of the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the Union.

4.Difference between the British Isles ,UK, Great Britain , and England:

British Isles: the island of Great Britain

the island of Ireland

3. It also retains its

own language,

Welsh.

4. Unlike England

it did not fall to the

Anglo-Saxon

invaders of the 5th

century.

Northe

rn

Ireland

Belfast （贝尔法斯特） 最小 None

surrounding isles

●UK=Great Britain + Northern Ireland

●Great Britain =England +Scotland + Wales

5.The four major invasions in the history of Great Britain :

At first, England was occupied by Celtic people.

Then in 43AD Britain was invaded by the Roman Empire.

Result: England and Wales became a part of the Roman Empire for nearly 400 years.

the Angle-Saxon invaded.

Result: The land they lived became" Angle-land", later changed into England, the language they spoken became English.

PS：One of the best-known English legends derives from this time. In 5 century AD, King Author(亚瑟王) united the British, and with his magical sword, Excalibur（被称为“王者之剑”的圣剑）,

drove the Saxons back.

关于亚瑟王的一些名词：

Excalibur:被称为“王者之剑”的圣剑;亚瑟王之魔剑Castle at Tintagel(廷塔杰尔) in Cornwall: Tintagel传说为亚瑟王的诞生地，这是一个与亚瑟王传奇有关的地方。

Knight：骑士

Camelot:卡米洛，传说中亚瑟王宫殿所在地。

the Vikings invaded. (From the late 8th century on)

Result in a certain cultural divide between northerners and southerners in England, which can be expressed as "Saxon" versus(对抗；与... 相对) "Dane".

PS:此时出现的历史人物是：

King Alfred the Great：阿尔弗雷德国王，英国历史上的著名国王，领导英国抗击北欧海盗的入侵。

the Normans(from northern France, who were descendants(后代) of Vikings) , William of Normandy invaded this country.

Result: This marks the last time that an army from outside the British Isles succeeded in invading

PS:与此时有关的历史人物是：

William of Normandy (known as “William the Conqueror”)：征服者威廉，1066年通过英吉利海峡（English Channel）对英格兰宣战，打败了哈罗德国王，获全胜。同年圣诞节威廉在威斯敏斯特教堂(Westminster Abbey)加冕成为英格兰国王，史称威廉一世。（William the First of England）

Westminster Abbey: 威斯敏斯特教堂坐落在伦敦泰晤士河北岸，原是一座天主教本笃会隐修院，始建于公元960 年，1045年进行了扩建，1065年建成，1220年至1517年进行了重建。威斯敏斯特教堂在1540年英王创建圣公会之前，它一直是天主教本笃会（天主教的隐修院修会之一）教堂。1540年之后，成为圣公会教堂。

King Harold:哈罗德国王，英格兰最后一位撒克逊民族国王，在关键的Hastings战斗中被杀。

The conquest of Britain (Before AD. 1st C., made up of many tribal kingdoms of Celtic people) When Who Where from Which part

conquered

43 AD—Latin-speaking

Roman

Mediterranean

countries

England

and Wales

AD.5th

C

(not Scotland or Ireland)

AD.5th

C —1066

Angles and

Saxons

(the

forefathers of

the English;

the founders of

England)

Germany

Eastern

and

Southern

Britain

(not Wales

and most

of

Scotland )

mainly

England

Late

AD.8th C – AD 10th C. the ferocious

Vikings

Scandinavia

(北欧：瑞典、

挪威一带。丹

麦、芬兰、冰

岛等)

Northern

and

Eastern

England,

Scotland

AD 11th

C (1066)

Norman

French

(William the

Normandy

(northern

France)

The next

few

hundred

Conqueror defeated King Harold at the

Battle of Hastings, and built the Tower of

London)

years, joining various parts of the British Isles under English

rule (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland)

6.Main cities of England

London

Birmingham（伯明翰）—second largest city of England. Liverpool（利物浦）—second largest port of England Manchester（曼彻斯特）—industrial and commercial centre.

其他名词解释：

1.London: London is in the south of the country, and is

dominant（主要的，主宰的）in the United Kingdom in all sorts of ways. It is by far the largest city in the country, with about one seventh of the nation population; it is the seat of government(伦敦是英国政府所在地); it is the cultural centre, home to all the major newspapers, TV stations, and with far and away the widest selection of galleries（画廊，美术馆）, theatres and museums. Also it is the business centre, headquarters of the vast majority of Britain's big companies; it is the financial centre of the nation, and one of the three major international financial centres in the world.

London’s function= Beijing + Shanghai +

Guangzhou=New York+ Washington +Los Angeles London Attractions:

(1).Big Ben（大本钟（英议会大厦上的报时钟））and the Houses of Parliament（英国的国会大厦）. (2).The Tower of London（伦敦塔(伦敦古堡,在泰晤士河北岸,古代曾作宫殿及监狱,现为兵械库和博物馆)），由威廉一世建造。

(3). Tower Bridge（伦敦塔桥，是一座上开悬索桥，位于英国伦敦，横跨泰晤士河，因在伦敦塔附近而得名，是从泰晤士河口算起的第一座桥（泰晤士河上共建桥

15座），也是伦敦的象征。该桥始建于1886年，1894年6月30日对公众开放，将伦敦南北区连接成整体。）(4). St Paul's Cathedral (圣保罗大教堂,巴洛克风格建筑的代表，以其壮观的圆形屋顶而闻名，是世界第二大圆顶教堂，它模仿罗马的圣彼得大教堂，是英国古典主义建筑的代表。)

(5).the River Thames(泰晤士河It is the longest river entirely in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom, after the River Severn.)

(6). The English Royal Family reside in London at Buckingham Palace(白金汉宫(英国王宫)) where you can see the famous 'Changing of the Guard' and much more.

(7). Hadrian’s Wall: 哈德良长城。罗马人保卫不列颠北疆的屏障，长118公里。

2. the Commonwealth of Nations/the British Commonwealth（英联邦国家）：It‘s a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. It was established in 1931, replacing the former British Empire. Member nations are joined together economically and have certain trading arrangements. The

Commonwealth has no special power. The decision to become a member of the Commonwealth is left to each nation .At present there are 50 member countries within the Commonwealth.

3.British Empire（大英帝国）: （an empire in which the sun never set”（日不落帝国））About a hundred years ago, as a result of its imperialist expansion, Britain ruled an empire that had one fourth of the world‘s people and one fourth of the world‘s land area. However, the two world wars greatly weakened Britain. The British colonies became independent one after another. The British Empire gradually disappeared and it was replaced by the British Commonwealth in 1931.

4. the European Union(欧洲联盟，欧盟): The UK has been a member since 1973.

6.Robin Hood：罗宾汉，英国传说中一位著名撒克逊族绿林好汉，在森林里盘踞，以劫富济贫、杀贪官污吏为宗旨。

7.Macbeth:《麦克白》，莎士比亚创造的四大悲剧之一。现实生活中的麦克白在1040年杀死堂兄，自立为苏格兰国王。1057年在一场战争中被苏格兰支持的一方杀死。

8.William Wallace:威廉·华莱士，苏格兰最伟大的民族英雄之一。1298年7月3日，爱德华一世的军队入侵苏格兰。华莱士率领苏格兰人民奋起反抗，但被爱德华的军队打败。之后，他继续带领其队伍在苏格兰各地与英军对抗，1305年被捕，后在伦敦被处决。

未收录：

9.Robert the Bruce:罗伯特·布鲁斯，14世纪苏格兰争取国家独立的斗士，1306年成为苏格兰国王。1314

年大败英格兰军队，迫使英格兰承认他的地位。根据《北安普顿条约》，英王承认他为苏格兰国王并完全放弃英格兰队苏格兰主权的要求。

10.the Battle of Bannockburn:班诺克本战役，苏格兰历史上的一次大决战。由Robert the Bruce率领。通过这次战争，苏格兰重获独立。

11.Queen Elizabeth the First:伊丽莎白一世，英格兰历代最伟大的君主之一。她不愿发动战争，因而保证国家稳步走向繁荣。伊丽莎白时代是英国最辉煌的时代，以莎士比亚戏剧为标志的英国文学达到顶峰。此时航海业也开始发展。伊丽莎白实行了一系列强国政策，使英国成为海上霸主，走上了殖民主义道路。

12.James the Sixth of Scotland(also became James the First of England):苏格兰詹姆斯六世。因为伊丽莎白无子嗣，他可继承英格兰王位。1603年，在伊丽莎白逝世后，立即继承英格兰王位。

P7关于England的最后一段。

13.the Battle of Culloden: the last battle on British soil

14.Auld Lang Syne:著名的苏格兰民歌《友谊天长地久》

15.Walter Scott：沃尔特·司各特，苏格兰小说家，历史小说的首创者。

16. Prince of Wales:威尔士亲王。Edward the First

named his son the Prince of Wales.

17.Owain Glyndwr:欧文·格林道瓦尔，自称威尔士王子。率威尔士人反抗英格兰的通知但未成功。

18. Plaid Cymru:威尔士党

Unit 3 The Government of the United Kingdom

1.The old Monarchy(君主政体) (ruled by the King )

(1)The oldest institution of government

(2)King Egbert (埃格伯特国王): The ancestor of the

present Queen Elizabeth II. United England under his rule in 829.

(3)Divine(神授的；天赐的) right of kings (君权神授):

The ancient doctrine（教义；主义）held that the

sovereign（元首；君主）derived his authority from God, not from his subjects.（臣民）This was used by the kings as an excuse for abusing power. And the

dispute over the power of the king and the parliament led to the civil war.

(4)the Civil war（内战）：Caused by a dispute（争辩）

over the power of the king against Parliament in the

17th C. The Republican “roundheads‖, l ed by Oliver Cromwell, wanted to abolish the monarchy and to

reassert the rights of Parliament. In 1642, the royalists were defeated and King Charles I was executed in

1649.

◆Roundheads:以Oliver Cromwell奥利弗·克伦威

尔为首的圆颅党人，因剪短发而得名。支持国王

的一派成为“骑士派”（The Cavaliers）

◆Charles I:查理一世，英国斯图亚特王朝国王，因

对抗国会、压迫清教徒而引起内战，被圆颅党人

大败，被国会处以死刑。

(5)Magna Carta(大宪章) : A medieval（中世纪的）Latin

name meaning ―Great Charter‖. In 1215, King John

was forced by a group of feudal(封建的) barons and the Church to grant them a charter（宪章）of liberty and political rights. Magna Carta placed some limits on the king‘s ability to abuse his royal power. This is still regarded as Britain‘s key expression of the rights of citizens against the Crown.（王权）

2. The Prime Minister and Cabinet(内阁)

(1)the Cabinet

--- a group of important Parliamentarians met with regularly by the king or queen to ensure good relations between Crown and Parliament.

(2)the Prime Minister

---- King George I was ―imported‖ from Germany in 1714 and was not interested in politics, so he left the job of chairing cabinet meetings to one of his cabinet ministers, called the prime minister. Later in 1832, elections replaced appointment. The party with the most supporters in the Commons forms the government and the leader of that party becomes Prime Minister.

3. The British government today:

(1)Britain is both a parliamentary democracy（代议民主

制）and a constitutional monarchy. （君主立宪制）(2)Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India have the

same government. All but India recognize the Queen as their head of state, and have the Governor-General (总督) as a representative of the Crown.(王权)

4. The Constitution :

Britain, like Israel, has no written Constitution. The foundations of the British State are laid out in statute law(成文法), which are laws passed by Parliament; the common laws(普通法,判例法), which are laws established through common practice in the courts; and conventions(习惯法), which are rules and practices not existing legally, but regarded as vital to the workings of government.

5. The Parliament and the government

(1)the Great Council(大议会)

--- in medieval times, this referred to a group of leading, wealthy barons who were summoned by the king several times a year to give the king some extra money. By the 13th C., representatives of counties, towns and cities were also included in order to raise more money. This was the beginning of what we know as Parliament today. ---Two houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons

--- In 1407, Henry IV, decreed that all money grants should be considered and approved by the Commons

(2)William of Orange and the Bill of Rights of 1689 (权

利法案)

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

.

6. The power and functions of Parliament Functions:

(1) Passes laws

(2) Provides the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation

(3) Scrutinize government policy, administration and expenditure and to debate the major issues of the day. Power: (Parliament is supreme(最高的;至上的) in the British State because:)

(1) It alone has the power to change the terms of The Constitution.

(2) There are no legal restraints upon Parliament. It can

make or change laws and change or overturn established conventions or even prolong its own life without consulting the electorate.(修改或推翻已成定规的习惯法,甚至可以不用征得选民同意而推迟选举日期)

7. The Role of Monarchy today

The roles of it：

(1). Symbolize the tradition and unity of the British State

(2). Legally head of the executive, (行政部)

(3). An integral part of the legislature(立法机关)

(4). Head of the judiciary(司法部)

(5). Commander in chief of the armed forces

(6). ―S upreme governor‖ of the Church of England

M ost Britons felt the Queen‘s important jobs were:

(1). Represent Britain at home and abroad

(2). Set standards of good citizenship and family life

8.The House of Lords and the House of Commons The House of Lords:

Consists of the Lords Spiritual(上议院的神职议员), who are the Archbishops(大主教) and most prominent （显著的；杰出的）bishops（主教）of the Church of

England; and the Lords Temporal(上议院的世俗议员), which refers to those lords who either have inherited the seat from their forefathers(called hereditary peers) or they have been appointed(by the sovereign, at the suggestion of the Prime Minister and were called life peers(终身贵族). The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests of the public.

The House of Commons:

The real center of British political life which consists of about 650 Members of Parliament (MPs) elected by the people to represent them. These MPs are elected in the General Elections and should make and debate policy in the interests of the people who vote for them.

Unlike the Lords, MPs receive a salary of about ￡64766 a year. They also receive allowances(津贴，补贴) for secretaries and researchers, travel and so on. Most MPs belong to political parties-the Labour Party, the Conservatives Party and the Liberal Democrats.

The Prime Minister is of course the leader of the political party which wins the most seats in a general election. The House of Commons is the real centre of British political life.