英国概况Unit 1.doc

英美文化与国家概况British and American Studies ( British Part ) Unit One 大学英语第一教研室 余非编2013年2月Unit 1 The Country and the People Contents:1. Geographic Features2. People and Religion3. Official and Local Languages-1. Geographic Features1.1 Component （组成部分） To the west and off the European Continent, several thousand of islands exist on the Continental Shelf. They are generally called the British Isles（不列颠群岛）. Of all these isles, the largest one is called Great Britain（大不列颠；英国）. For the sake of convenience, Great Britain is often shorten to Britain. The island of Great Britain runs nearly 1,000 kilometers from south to north . It extends , at the widest part, about 500 kilometers from west to east. Still to the west of Great Britain is Ireland , the second largest island. It is politically divided into two parts, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国) is made up of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and a number of smaller islands around them. The total area of U.K. is over 245,000 square kilometers. Its total population is about 60.94million (2008)v Traditionally, Great Britain is divided into three countries or political regions: England in the south Scotland in the north Wales in the southwest.v England : The largest area of all the three Its area : almost 60% of the whole island Its population : over 50 million . The importance of England is so great in Britain that some foreigners just say “England” when they mean Britain, and they say the “English people” when they mean the British people.v Scotland : The second largest both in area and population Its area : about 78,760 square kilometers Its population : more than 5 million.v Wales The smallest of the three both in area and population Its area : about 20,700 square kilometers Its population : about 2.7 million.v Northern Ireland Its area : about 14,000 square kilometers Its population : about 1.5 million.v Supplement 1 Ireland Ireland was an independent kingdom before the Anglo-Norman（盎格鲁-诺曼语的） invaders came. Henry VIII（亨利八世） was the first English king to conquer Ireland and force English law on the Irish people. Soon after the conquest, large numbers of Scottish immigrants came in and established a colony in Ulster (阿尔斯特), another name for Northern Ireland. The Irish people were mostly Roman Catholics （罗马天主教）and they were opposed to the English occupation. The English Government put down the rebellion made by the Irish people and passed the Penal Law (刑法) in 1690, which deprived the Irish Catholics of all their legal rights. Irish people never stopped fighting for independence. Their successful struggle finally led to the establishment of the Republic of Ireland in 1927 within British Commonwealth（英联邦. In 1948 Ireland withdraw from Commonwealth and declared itself a republic. However, since most of the immigrants from Britain were Protestants (新教徒) , they refused to separate themselves form their home country. They held the northeast of the island , and up to now they continue to keep it within the United Kingdom. It is today s Northern Ireland.v Supplement 2 Irish Republican Army ( IRA) Nowadays, in Northern Ireland there are one-third of people are still Roman Catholics ,who demand independence from Britain that is dominated by Protestantism (新教徒主义、新教徒). Therefore, some radical Roman Catholics organized a military group fighting for the independence of Northern Ireland. It often resorts to terrorist campaigns （战役；活动）of bombing, murdering and arson. 1.2 Physical Features（自然特色） Leaving Ireland on one side, The island of Great Britain can be divided into two parts according to its geographic features: 1) The Highland Zone in the north and west and 2) The Lowland Zone in the south and southeast. Britain is an island country, with its coastline running about 8,000 kilometers. The coastline is highly irregular with many bays and inlets that provide lots of harbors and shelters for ship and boats. As an island country, Great Britain does not share a land border with any other countries except the Republic of Ireland. To the north of Great Britain the seaway is open and leads to the Arctic Ocean(北冰洋). Across the North Sea Britain faces such countries as Holland, Germany , Denmark and Norway. To the southeast and across the English Channel is France , which is linked with Britain by a tunnel called the Channel Tunnel (海峡隧道)，open to traffic in 1994, was built by British and French private investors. The main tunnel is 50-km long at an average depth of 40 meters below the seabed. The tunnel has great symbolic importance as an unbroken link between Britain and the European Continent.v The Highlands of Scotland: Scotland is a mountainous country , with its highlands taking up over half of the country. Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain, with an elevation of 1,300 meters in North Scotland. v The Central Lowlands of Scotland: A great valley , which forms the Central Lowlands of Scotland , is lying to the south of the Highlands of Scotland, the valley is also called the Middle Valley. It is the most important economic region in Scotland and accommodates three-quarters of Scotlands total population. The Southern Uplands: The land on the southern side of the Central Lowlands of Scotland is known as the Southern Upland. The area includes some very old mountains with round tops.v The Pennines (奔宁山脉)： In the northern part of England, include some old mountains which make up a kind of plateau. Pennine Chains run about 120 kilometers from south to north , known as the backbone of England. v The Lake District: Well-known for its unique lakes, is situated on the western side of the Pennines. The area has the finest scenery in Britain. It is also well-known in the history of English literature because it was home to Lake Poets (湖畔派诗人)，such as William Wordsworth (华兹华斯) ；Robert Southey(罗伯特.骚塞_ .v The Welsh Massif: This massif embraces all the hill masses that near to the west of middle part of England.2. People and Religion2.1 People The United Kingdom has a population of 60.94 million (2008), with an average population density of 244 persons per sq km. Britishs population is overwhelmingly urban, with about 90% living in urban areas and 10% living in rural areas. Like U.S.A, the United Kingdom is also a melting-pot of different cultures. It has a diverse population that includes people from almost every continent of the world , such as Indians, Chinese and Africans, but a majority of them are white westerns. Immigrants from India make up 1.5% of the population; Chinese, 0.3%; and Africans, 0.03%. Asian and black minorities are still suffering from discrimination and disadvantages. However, the British government has passed laws to ensure fairness and justice for ethnic minorities. The Race Relations Act of 1976 makes it illegal to discriminate against any person because of race, color, nationality, or origin, and it is a criminal offense to incite racial hatred.v Ethnic component of white people in Britain : English people : originate from the descendents of English-speaking Anglo-Saxons and the Jutes(朱特人), who arrived in Britain as invaders between the 5th and 7th centuries A.D. Scottish and Welsh people: Most of them originate from Celts -The first settlers who lived on this land, but later driven to the North and West by later arrivers. French-speaking Normans: conquered England in 1066, adding another ethnic component to the nation. The U.K. has a smaller percentage of younger people and a higher percentage of older people, with more than 20% of the people over the age of 60; those under the age of 15 years make up only 19.5 of the population. Life expectancy in Britain is 75 years for men and 81 years for women. (2001)2.2 Religion The British law protects religious freedom. Everyone has the freedom to believe any church, or not to believe any religion at all. Most of the worlds religions have followers in Britain. The majority of the British people believe in Christianity., which is the religion of the followers of Jesus Christ. The first Christian church was established at Canterbury (坎特伯雷，英格兰东南部一座自治市)。 The U.K. has two established churches（国定教会）: the Church of England and the Church of Scotland （英格兰圣公会和苏格兰长老会）。An established church is an official church founded and financially supported by the state. Another important church in Britain is the Roman Catholic Church . About 20% of the British citizens claim to be Roman Catholics.v Other religions in Britain: The Jewish Community in Britain is the second largest in Europe and has about 350 congregations(圣会). The Muslim Community is around 1 million and there are over 600 mosques and prayer centers through Britain. The Sikh Community The Hindu Community The Buddhist Community3. Official and Local Languages Standard English is the official language of the United Kingdom as well as the first language of the vast majority of its citizens. Local languages are mainly Cockney, Celtic language, Scottish language, Irish, Welsh. Cockney is spoken in East London and Northern England.v The development of English is usually divided into three major periods: Old English Middle English Modern English. Old English ( 5th-12th) - was spoken by the ancient Germans , and brought by Anglo-Saxons during their invasion of England. Middle English (12th-15th) - The Middle English period began soon after the Norman conquered England in 1066. For nearly 300 years , there were two languages in England because the Norman brought their French language and continued to speak it. As a language spo