英语国家概况课件(修订版).ppt

A Guide to English-Speaking Countries,英语国家概况,The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,Chapter One,Geography, People and Language,Contents,I Geography,1. Geographical Features 2. Climate 3. Major Cities,Map of the UK,Read the map to find: Atlantic Ocean North Sea Irish Sea The English Channel The Republic of Ireland,Geography,The official title of the UK the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland（since 1927) Conventionally shortened to United Kingdom Abbreviation: UK The UK is made up of: Great Britain ( England , Scotland and Wales ) Northern Ireland,Question to ponder: People often get confused with the terms “England”, “Britain”, “Great Britain”, “United Kingdom”, and “British Isles”. Even some British people are not fully aware of the precise reality that these terms express. Do these terms mean the same?,England Many people say “England“ when they really mean “The United Kingdom.“ This is not correct! People in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland consider it insulting and hate hearing Britain being referred to as “England” as it appears to ignore their existence. England is only a constituent country in the UK, and a part of the island of Great Britain, together with Scotland and Wales.,Britain Strictly, “Britain” refers to the largest island in the British Isles, which contains modern-day England, Wales and Scotland and islands governed from the mainland (i.e. not Isle of Man or Channel Islands). However, the term “Britain” is more commonly used as a political term: an alternative name for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.,Great Britain “Great Britain“ is the collective name for the three countries of England, Scotland and Wales. It also includes the small adjacent islands but it does not include the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man. Great Britain and Northern Ireland together form the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland“, or UK.,The United Kingdom “The United Kingdom” is the abbreviated form for the official name “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland“, which came into use in 1922 after the constitution of the Irish Free State (1922-1937), the former name of the Republic of Ireland.,The British Isles(不列颠群岛） The “British Isles“ is a geographical term for a group of islands consisting of Great Britain, the whole of Ireland, and many other smaller surrounding islands. The British Isles are the largest group of islands in Europe.,Location and territory,Location of the UK: The mainland areas lie between latitudes 49N and 61N and longitudes 8W to 2E Total territory: about 243,000 square kilometers Interesting Fact: No one in the UK lives more than 120 km (75 miles) from the sea.,Topography(地势）,Northern Ireland: Its mostly hilly.,Wales: Its mostly mountainous. South Wales is less mountainous than North and Mid-Wales.,Scotland: Its geography is varied, with lowlands in the south and east and highlands in the north and west.,England: It consists of lowland terrain, with some mountainous terrain in the northwest, north and southwest.,Ben Nevis in Scotland the highest point in UK,Rivers and Lakes,The longest river: Severn River (about 980 km kilometers long) The second longest river: Thames (330 km kilometers long) The largest Lake in the British Isles: Lough Neagh（内伊湖）,Thames,The River Thames (泰晤士河),the longest river in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom (332 kilometers long) a historical landmark in the city of London. A boat ride along the Thames is also something that every visitor should experience. Several boat races and activities take place along or at the river each year.,Lake District,Lake poets,“I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud“ William Wordsworth I wandered lonely as a cloud That floats on high oer vales and hills, When all at once I saw a crowd, A host, of golden daffodils; Beside the lake, beneath the trees, Fluttering and dancing in the breeze. Continuous as the stars that shine And twinkle on the milky way, They stretched in never-ending line Along the margin of a bay: Ten thousand saw I at a glance, Tossing their heads in sprightly dance.,Lake poets,The waves beside them danced; but they Out-did the sparkling waves in glee: A poet could not but be gay, In such a jocund company: I gazedand gazedbut little thought What wealth the show to me had brought: For oft, when on my couch I lie In vacant or in pensive mood, They flash upon that inward eye Which is the bliss of solitude; And then my heart with pleasure fills, And dances with the daffodils.,Kilts,Knee-length skirtlike garment that is worn by men as a major element of the traditional national garb of Scotland. Highland dress is also the uniform of Scottish regiments in the British army, and kilts have been worn in battle as recently as World War II. In Braveheart, William Wallace, a Scottish freedom fighter, wears his kilt high on the thigh while riding.,2. Climate,Main characteristics: Temperate, with warm summers, cool winters and plentiful precipitation（降水） throughout the year Three major features: Winter fog Rainy days Instability/Changeability,3. Major CitiesLondon,The River Thames,the capital of England and the United Kingdom the political, industrial, cultural and financial center of the country one of the worlds leading banking and financial centers,Landmarks & Symbols of London,The Palace of Westminster,Landmarks & Symbols of London,Westminster Abbey,Big Ben,Landmarks & Symbols of London,Guildhall（市政厅）,Landmarks & Symbols of London,Hyde Park,Tower of London（伦敦塔）,Landmarks & Symbols of London,Tower Bridge,Buckingham Palace,Landmarks & Symbols of London,London Eye,Major CitiesEdinburgh,Capital of Scotland administrative, financial, legal, medical and insurance center of Scotland beautiful scenery renowned architecture,University of Edinburgh（爱丁堡大学）,one of the most noted of Scotlands universities. It was founded in 1583 as “the Towns College”. Alumni: Charles Darwin, Sir Walter Scott, the novelist Robert Louis Stevenson, and the inventor Alexander Graham Bell.,Landmarks & Symbols of Edinburgh,Edinburgh Castle,Palace of Holyrood（霍利鲁德）,Major CitiesCardiff,the capital city of Wales for 58 years Europes youngest capital city home to an enormous amount of urban regeneration and restoration one of the most fashionable cities in the United Kingdom,Landmarks & Symbols of Cardiff,Cardiff City Hall,Landmarks & Symbols of Cardiff,Millennium Stadium（千年球场）,Cardiff Castle,Major CitiesBelfast,City Hall,the largest city and the capital of Northern Ireland an important historic city Once the home of the Irish linen industry, tobacco production, rope making and the world famous Harland and Wolff shipbuilders.,Landmarks & Symbols of Belfast,Belfast Castle,II People,Overall population: about 63 million (2012) Distribution: England: about 53 million Scotland: around 5.2 million Wales: around 3.1 million Northern Ireland: around 1.8 million,Ethnicity（种族）,The majority of the population is descendents of the Anglo-Saxons. Most people in Wales and Scotland are descendents of the Celtic people. The Irish people are also of Celtic origin. Immigrants: Italians, Greeks, Australians, New Zealanders, etc.,Percentage of total UK Population,Ethnic Groups Percentage of Total White: British 80.5 White: Other 5.4 White/Black Caribbean 0.8 White/Black African 0.3 White/Asian 0.6 Other Mixed 0.5 Indian 2.5 Pakistani 2.0 Bangladeshi 0.8 Chinese 0.7 Other Asian 1.5 African 1.8 Caribbean 1.1 Other Black 0.5 Any other ethnic group /Arab 1.0,III The English Language,1. Old English 2. Middle English 3. Modern English 4. Standard English,1. Old English (5th11th),Language of Angle-Saxons Influenced by Old Norse Latin and Greek words French-speaking Normans,The origins of the English language The history of the English language really started with the arrival of three Germanic tribes who invaded Britain during the 5th century AD. These tribes, the Angles, the Saxons and the Jutes, crossed the North Sea from what today is Denmark and northern Germany. At that time the inhabitants of Britain spoke a Celtic language. But most of the Celtic speakers were pushed west and north by the invaders - mainly into what is now Wales, Scotland and Ireland. The Angles came from Englaland and their language was called Englisc - from which the words England and English are derived.,Beowulf,The most famous work from the Old English period is the epic poem Beowulf. Hwt! We Gar-Dena in geardagum, eodcyninga, rym gefrunon, hu a elingas ellen fremedon. Oft Scyld Scefing sceaena reatum,2. Middle English (11th15th),Status French replaced English as the official language, and English became the language of lower class pig pork sheep mutton cattle beef Development English increased in importance after the Black Death.,The Canterbury Tales,Geofery Chaucer (c.1342-1400) Whan that Aprill, with his shoures soote The droghte of March hath perced to the roote And bathed every veyne in swich licour, Of which vertu engendred is the flour;,The Canterbury Tales,3. Modern English (15th ),The printing pressbrought standardization to English Samuel Johnsons dictionaryestablished a standard form of spelling Renaissanceassimilated foreign words The Industrial Revolutionnecessitated the introduction of new words for new th