英语周报高中英语 Unit3 The meaning of colour Flags素材 牛津译林版选修9.doc

flagsmeaning and history argentina the argentina republicthe emblem customarily appearing in the centre of the argentinian flag is know as the sun of may, and it represents the sun that shone through the clouds on 25 may 1810 when the peoples first demonstrations against spanish rule began, at or about the same time, the demonstrators adopted the colours blue and white. austria the republic of austrialegend has it that the red-white-red stripes of the austrian flag, had their origin during the third crusade of 1189-92 when duke leopold v of austria (1157-94), fought so bloodily at the battle of acre (1191) that the only part of his costume to remain white was a band round his middle where his belt had been. the colours have been in use since at least 1230; they took their current form as the national flag in 1918, with the dissolution of the austro-hungarian empire. brazil the federative republic of brazilwhen brazil gained the independence from portugal in 1821, their flag was like the actual but with the royal arms at the centre. the current design was adopted when the country became a republic. the motto, ordem e progresso, means order and progress. canadathe present maple leaf flag was adopted in 1965. before that canada made use of the british red ensign with the canadian arms. the prime minister, lester pearson, believed that this was not sufficiently distinctive, or representative of canada as a multiethnic nation and a long and complex political struggle ensued to design a new flag that would be accepted, in the face of opposition from those who wanted to keep the red ensign. the design attained its purpose: to be of a uniquely canadian character, showing no affinities to either france or the uk. china the peoples republic of chinathis flag was introduced in 1949 on the declaration of the peoples republic of china by the triumphant communists. red and yellow are traditional colours of china and, of course, red is also the colour of communism. the large five-pointed star represents the communist partys programme, while the four smaller ones are for the four sections of society that, it was claimed, would be united by and would unite to carry through that programme; the four classes were the peasantry, the workers, the bourgeoisie and those capitalists who would participate in the on-going revolution. france the french republicthe present flag dates from 1794 but originated a few years earlier, in 1789, when louis xvi brought the colours together by adding the blue and red of paris to the white of the bourbons. germany the federal republic of germanythe actual flag had been used by united germany for various periods, notably during the weimar republic (1919-33). it was reintroduced by both germanys in 1949, the flag of the east differing only in that, from 1959, a communist emblem was added. greece the hellenic republicthe greek flag has been inspired by the stars and stripes, with the stripes representing the nine syllables of the freedom slogan used in the war for independence from the ottomans during 1821-32; the cross has christian meanings that vary according to interpretation. blue is for the sea and sky, white for the purity of the freedom fighters cause. irish republic the republic of irelandthe colour scheme of the irish flag is easily explained: the green is for the catholics, the orange for the protestants and the white for the need for peace and unity between the two. the colours were adopted in 1919, and their modern arrangement was finalised in 1920; the free state was established in 1921. the flag has remained unchanged since. israel the state of israelisrael has had the same flag since the state was formed in 1948. the flag itself dates back from the early days of the zionist movement, being introduced in 1891 and confirmed in 1897 by the first zionist congress. the emblem in the centre of the flag is the star (or shield) of david, a six-pointed star composed of two equilateral triangles, a centuries-old jewish symbol. blue and white are the traditional colours for ritual cloths. italy the italian republicthe italian tricolour is the french tricolour but with the green in place of blue. according to one legend, the change was effected because green was napoleons favourite colour. it first appeared in the french republics in northern italy set up in the late 18th century, being adopted in the 1797-98 by the cisalpine republic. in 1848 the green-white-red tricolour was adopted, with the arms of the house of savoy in the centre. in 1946 when italy proclaimed itself a republic the arms of the house of savoy were removed. mexico the united mexican statesthe green, white and red tricolour of mexico was introduced in 1821, around the time the country gained its independence. the arms have undergone many changes since 1823 (the latest version, 1968), but always shown an eagle eating a snake perched atop a cactus on an island in a lake. this symbol dates back to the aztecs, whose legend of the founding of their nation was that their nomadic ancestors were told that they should live at a place where they came across such a scene. this they did in 1325, on the site of what is now mexico city. netherlands the kingdom of the netherlandsthe red, white and blue tricolour of the netherlands flag originated in the flag used by supporters of william the silent (1533-84), prine of orange, in his campaign to expel the spanish. the prinsenvlag, as it came to be known, was accepted as the sole dutch flag from 1597. in 1937 the specified shade of the blue was changed, but otherwise the flag has remained unaltered. norway the kingdom of norwaynorway uses a version of the scandinavian cross, seen also in the flags of denmark, finland, iceland and sweden. the norwegian version dates from 1821, when norway was still a part of sweden, having been ceded by denmark seven years before. the flag is essentially the danish one but with the addition of a blue cross superimposed on the white, so that the colour scheme expressed the norwegian nationalism. portugal the portuguese republicin 1910 the portuguese monarchy was ousted and a republic established, and it is from this year that the current flag and the prominence on it of the revolutionary red both date. the green, often taken to express hope or the sea, can be traced back to the time of henry the navigator (1394-1460), who inspired and sponsored a whole generation of portuguese maritime explorers. the depiction of the armillary sphere at the centre of the flag likewise links with henry the navigator, being an emblem chosen to commemorate the deeds of henry and his protgs by king manuel i (1469-1521), whose reign saw further great surge of portuguese exploration. the main shield remembers the knights that founded and defended portugal. the five blue shields represent the five moorish kings defeated by d.afonso henriques (1128-1185) in ourique. the seven castles symbolise the castles conquered to the moorish by d.afonso iii : albufeira, aljezur, cacela, castro marim, estmbar, paderne e sagres. turkey the republic of turkeythe crescent moon and the star are ancient symbols- and red a colour- of both islam and, more specifically, of turkey and the ottoman empire. ottoman flags bearing the crescent symbol are known from as early as the 16th century, and in 1793 the crescent and the star appeared for the first time together on the turkish flag- although the star had six rather than the now more customary five points. for a short period in the early 1920s the flag was islamic green, but on the declaration of the republic under kemal ataturk (1881-1938) it reverted to red.united kingdom of great britain and northern irelandthe national flag of the united kingdom is the union flag, more commonly know as the union jack. it was adopted in 1801 and has remained unchanged. it is made up from the crosses of st. george (england) and st andrew (scotland) and a cross, generally called st pat