英语国家概况简答题答案.doc

Key points1. British history has been a history of invasion. Please illustrate this point with the examples from the text. How did each of the invasions influence English culture ?When Who Where from Which part conqueredinfluence43 ADAD.5th CLatin-speaking RomanMediterranean countriesEngland and Wales (not Scotland or Ireland)Brought the Mediterranean civilization, Christian, AD.5th C1066 Angles and Saxons(the forefathers of the English; the founders of England)GermanyEastern and Southern Britain (not Wales and most of Scotland )mainly EnglandThe ancestor of the English people;King Alfreds storyLate AD.8thC AD 10th C.the ferocious VikingsScandinavia (北欧：瑞典、挪威一带。丹麦、芬兰、冰岛等)Northern and Eastern England, ScotlandThe process of forming a united Britain (English Kings united mean, so did the Scottish Crown), 1707, the united Britain came into being AD 11th C(1066)Norman French (William the Conqueror defeated King Harold at the Battle of Hastings, and built the Tower of London)Normandy(northern France)The next few hundred years, joining various parts of the British Isles under English rule (England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland)Import a ruling class1. What are some of the factors in Irish and English history that affect the situation in Northern Ireland today?Keys:1. racial, 2. religious 3. immigration in 17th c. 4. the British solders station in 19691. How did the doctrine of the “divine right of kings”, according to the author, lead to the English Civil War? What do you know about the causes of the English Revolution in the 17th century?King James I believed the divine right of kings, so did his descent-Charles I.Charles I called his t Parliament only when he needed to collect money. The Civil War was caused by a dispute over the power of the king against Parliament in the 17th C. The Republican “roundheads”, led 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.The English Civil War not only overthrew feudal in England but also shook the foundation of the feudal rule in Europe. It is generally regarded as the beginning of modern world history. The Civil War was in essence a capitalist revolution because capitalism paved its way of development after the war.1. What are three big parties in the UK? What are some of the similarities and dissimilarities between the three parties? There are three major national parties: The Conservative party and the Labour party are the two biggest, and any general election is really about which of those two is going to govern. But there is a third important party, the Liberal Democrats, who usually receive up to about 20% of the votes: not enough to form a government, but enough to have a big impact on which of the other two parties does so. The Conservative Party spent most time in powerThey are the Labor party, the Conservative party and the Liberal Democratic party.the Labour party- one of the 2 biggest parties in the UK. It is also the newest party, created by the trade union movement at the end of the 19th century. It is a socialist party, believing that a society should be relatively equal in economic terms, and that the government should redistribute the wealth between the rich and the poor. It also thinks that the government should provide a range of public services for all the people.the Conservative party - one of the 2 biggest parties in the UK. It is basically the party of the individual, protecting the individual s right to acquire wealth and to spend it as he/she wants. It advocates economic policies which are favourable to businessmen, such as low taxes. From 1979 to 1997, the Conservative party won 4 consecutive elections and was in power for quite a long period of time.the Liberal Democrats- the 3rd biggest party and often seen as a party of the “middle”, occupying the ideological ground between the two major parties. They are comparatively flexible and pragmatic in their balance of the individual and the social. They emphasize the need to change the Britains constitutional arrangements to make the government more democratic and accountable.Similarities: 1. they all support the capitalist system2. generally speaking, they all are the active participants and supporters of representative democracy3. they share some similar beliefs in their political and socioeconomic ideologyDissimilarities:1. they represent the interests of different social groups2. they have different opinions on the governments role in social economy and they each take different economic policies during their administration51. What are the foundations of Bri