英语国家概况期末复习资料.doc

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Chapter 1 Geography, People and Language1. The full name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland .It is made up of many islands collectively known as the British Isles. Great Britain and Ireland are two main islands of the British Isles.2. The River Thames (second longest and most important), originates in southwestern England -North Sea. 3. Scotland ( Edinburgh ) important river:Clyde River kilts4. Wales( Cardiff ). The Severn River is the longest river of Britain-flow through western England.5. Northern Ireland (Belfast) Lough Neagh-the largest lake in the British Isles.6. Climate: temperate, with warm summers, cool winters and plentiful precipitation(降雨量) Three major features: winter fog, rainy day, instability 7. London-Buckingham Palace, Guildhall (市政厅), St. Pauls Cathedral, The Tower Bridge of London 8. The majority people of te population is descendants of the Anglo-Saxons, a Germanic people from Europe. Most people in Wales and Scotland are descendants of the Celtic people, including the Irish people9. English belongs to the Indo-European family of languages. English is in the Germanic group.10. Germanic group: East Germanic, North Germanic, West Germanic. English evolved from the West Germanic group.11. Old English: influenced by Old Norse spoken by the Vikings and was related to the German and Dutch languages and ended with the Norman Conquest, when the language was influence by the French-speaking Normans. Middle English: William the Conqueror invaded and conquered and the Anglo-Saxons (Numerous French words came into the English vocabulary) Modern English(15 century): William Caxton brought standardization to English, and spelling and grammar became fixed. The first dictionary published in 1604. Samuel Johnson: A Dictionary of the English Language was influential in a standard form of spelling.12. Standard English is based on the speech of the upper class of southeastern England. It is also called “the Queens English” or “BBC English”. A third of worlds population use English.Chapter 2 History Roman Period43-410Christianity was brought to BritainRoman Rule1066-1381Magna Carta; Black DeathTransition to Modern Age1455-1688The war of Roses; English RenaissanceRise of Britain Empire1688-1900Industrial Revolution; Colonial ExpansionFall of British Empire1914-1945WWI, WWII, Great Depression1. Recorded history in Britain began in the year 55BC, when Julius Caesar and his Roman troops invaded the island. In 410, Germanic barbarian attack Rome, ending the Roman occupation.2. CelticSpain and France Anglo-SaxonGermanic Tribes3. It is believed hat the Norman Conquest of England marked the establishment of feudalism4. Henry II began the rule of the House of Anjou(安茹王朝) in England, also known as the House of Plantagenet(金雀花王朝). He improved the courts of justice, introduce the jury system and institutionalized common law.5. The Magna Carta is regarded as the foundation of the British constitutionalism6. Henry III wages wars. The outraged nobles, led by Simon de Montfort, drafted the Provision of Oxford(牛津条约) to limit the Kings power by calling regular meetings of 15-member Privy Council(枢密院). Simon de Montfort facilitated the modern idea of a representative parliament.7.The Wars of the Roses: the House of York( white rose) and the House of Lancaster( red rose)winner. Henry Tudor became King Henry VII and started the rule of the House of Tudor.8. In 1584, King Henry VIII issued the Act of Supremacy 至尊法案. In 1651, Cromwell destroyed Charles IIs army, which marked the end of the Civil Wars. In 1660 Parliament decided to restore Charles II to the throne which put an end to the Commonwealth.9. In 1688, Glorious Revolution happened. In 1689, parliament passed the Bill of Rights. 10.19世纪中期，工业革命完成。11. The British Empire began with the colonization of Newfoundland in 1583. By the end of 19th century, the British Empire included about 1/4 of the global population and the worlds landmass.12. South African is the fourth self-government dominion of the British Empire after Canada, Australia and New Zealand.13. The Central Powers: mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkey The Allies: mainly France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy 14. The process of decolonization transformed the British Empire into the British Commonwealth of Nations.15. Tony Blair refused to adopt the European currency, the euro.Chapter 3 Government and the Commonwealth 1. Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy. Of all the countries in the world, only Israel and New Zealand are comparable to Britain in having no single constitutional document.2. The British Constitution is made up of Statutory law 成文法,制定法（the most important） passed by parliamentCommon law 判例法，普通法 customs or legal precedentsConventions 习惯法，衡平法 not legally exist, but still vitalParliament:v The law-making bodyv One of the oldest representative assemblies in the wordv Consist of the King or Queen, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.3.The King or Queens role is ceremonial, unpolitical and symbolic4.5. The House of commons performs three major functions. The most important is drafting new laws. to scrutinize, criticize and restrain the actions of the government to influence the future government policy6. The parliament: a two-party system 7. Three main parties: The Conservative Party, The Labor Party, The Liberal Democrats. The party which wins over half of the constituencies is the majority in the House of Commons.8. The Queen of Britain is considered the head of the Commonwealth. The headquarters are all located in London.Chapter 4 Economy1. By the 19th century, the British economy had produced 1/3 of the worlds manufactured goods.2. In order to separate politics and economic policy, Tony Blair made the Bank of England independent. His government was successful in limiting government spending, keeping inflation under control and reducing unemployment.3. Important crops are wheat, barley, sugar beet and potatoes. The major fishing areas are the North Sea, the English Channel, the waters off the Irish coast and the sea area between Britain and Iceland.4. Major source of energy: coal mining, oil industry (relatively new), nuclear power5. Three principal financial centers: London, Tokyo, New York6. Tourism: Stonehenge, Windsor Castle. Britain is one of the worlds largest centers for international conference.7. Export partners: Germany, the United Stated, the Netherland, France Import partner: Germany, the United Stated, the Netherland, ChinaChapter 5 Education, Media and Holidays1. Before 1870, education was voluntary and schools were set by the church. 20th century later on, government take responsibility for education2. Four stages: primary: 5-11 secondary: 11-16 further education-16 two more years in preparation for higher education higher education-183. Two parallel school system v State system 93% free to all children between 5-16 years oldv Independent system 7% independent tuition fees and curriculum4. Further Educationl At 16: National examination GCSE (Certificate of Secondary Education) to leave or continuel Sixth form (2 years): 3 or 4 subjectsl A-level( General Certificate of Education-Advanced)for universities admittances(academic)l GNVQ( General National Vocational Qualification)for vocational training5. Recruitment based on: Grades of A-levels, school refences, interview6. Mostly funded by central government grants except university of BuckinghamB.A/B.SM.A/M.SDoctoral degree3 years1-2years3-5years Oxford is the oldest university in the English-speaking world.7. For most British people, a day begins with the morning newspaper and ends with television.Quality PressTabloidsFormatLarge-size paperSmallerTopicPolitical and social importance, high cultureScandals and gossipStyleSerious, in-depthShort, easy to readReaderWell-educated, middle-classThe common peopleExampleThe TimesThe News of the World, The Sun on Sunday8. The Observer the worlds oldest Sunday newspaper The Times one of Britains oldest and influential newspaper THREE BIG: The Times, The guardian, The Daily Telegraph9. BBC: The British Broadcasting Corporation, excel in documentaries BSkyB: Britains top pay-television provider10. Three Christmas traditions: Christmas pantomime Queens Christmas message Boxing Day (falls on the day after Christmas)11. Trooping the Color (in June), known as the Queens Birthday ParadeChapter 6 Literature 1. The old English: the epic Beowulf : folk legend of Anglo-Saxons Middle English: Geoffrey Chaucer, the first court poet The Canterbury Tales2. Renaissance Hamlet is a milestone in Shakespeares dramatic development Alexander Pope, the greatest English poet of the classical school3. Jonathan Swift Gullivers Travels Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe4. William Wordsworth, passive Romanticism Lake poets Second generation of Romanticism George Gordon Byron5. It was in the Victorian Era that the novel became the leading form of literatureChapter 8 Geography and People 1. The United States consist of 48 contiguous states in North America, plus Alaska, and Hawaii. Alaska: largest area Rhode: smallest area Texas: the largest state on the mainland2. New England is the Europeans first settlement, including Harvard, Yale and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT)3. Climate: temperate, with some mild subtropical zones4. Major Cities: New York the commercial, financial and entertainment center. ( the biggest city) San Francisco a center of oil-refining, chemicals, commerce, finance and shipping industry Los Angeles second largest city, where Hollywood is located Chicago “the Windy City”, is the nations third largest city5. The longest river: Mississippi River, the longest in the world The Great Lakes: from west to east Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, & Lake Ontario Lake Michigan belongs to USA. The other 4 belong to both USA & CanadaChapter 9 History 1. It is traditionally believed that the first Americans were Indians, descendants of the Mongoloid people in Asia.2. In 1781, the United States of America won its independence In 1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which granted freedom to all slaves. Turning point: Gettysburg3. Franklin D. Roosevelt 1933 Truman Truman Doctrine mark the beginning of the Cold WarConstitution Constitutionbasic instrument lawIn PhiladelphiaDrawn up in 1787, Came into effect in 1789. separation of powers, check and balances; the federal government had the only powers specified in the constitution; The constitution goes first; All men are equal. Qualifications for being a senator:v over 30 years old; v a US citizen for at least 9 years; v resident in the state from which he is elected. Qualifications for being a representative:v at least 25 years old; v a US citizen for no less than 7 years; v serve for a term of two years.donkey representing the Democratic Party and an elephant representing the Republican PartyThe Democratic Partyliberal;Leading party before the civil warThe Republican Party conservative;Abraham Lincoln: the first president from the Republican Party Foreign policy Neutrality Containment and InterventionNixon administrations historic stepcloser ties with Communist countries：New relationship with Chinathe most dramatic move;Nixon first US President to visit Beijing;One academic year from September through June is required to complete each grade. ElementaryandsecondaryeducationintheUnitedStatescovers12yearsforages6through18.Thetypicalorganizationalpatternforelementaryandsecondaryschoolsisthat