英国国家概况

英国国家概况英国国家概况 一 概念 1 The British state is made up of Great Britain England Wales and Scotland and Northern Ireland It is one of the 15 members of the European Community Its full name if the United Kingdom of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland the UK 2 The oldest part of the capital the City of London also known as the square mile is situated on the north bank of River Thames between Tower Bridge and London Bridge Royal Courts of Justice Old Bailey St Paul s Cathedral To the West Inns of Court Big Ben Nearby Trafalgar Square National Gallery Westminster Abbey Buckingham Palace and St James s Palace 3 The West End famous as centers for drama and music the British Museum theme parks Wembley Stadium and Wimnledon The East End demonstrates the inequalities of British society Areas of low cost housing where the families of less skilled workers are close to redeveloped exclusive residential facilities and expensive office blocks where millions of pounds are being made in finance and other thriving service sector activities 4 England is the most densely populated while Scotland is the lest populated 5 Common characteristic of British family live in two generation households parents and married children live close together but in separate houses or parents and married children live further apart an hour s car drive 6 Marriage remains the most important goal for the majority and is seen as one s priority and main concern in life The moral and the romantic ideal of total commitment to the other forever is a widely held hope Marriage between 16 and 18 is possible with parental consent 7 Since the 1950s almost each decade has had a characteristic youth cult with the image of the rebellious teenager identifiable by the particular style of clothes and music The first cult to emerge was the Teddy Boys in the 1950s associated with early rock n roll music In the 1980s it was the Acid House scene associated with music and the drug Ecstasy which expanded into the rave culture and clubbing of the 1990s 8 It was not until the Education Act 1944 that all children were given the right to free secondary middle school education 9 A tripartite system of secondary modern technical and grammar schools selected 11 year old children at the end of their primary education by means of an exam 10 Four key stage Infant School Junior School Primary Scholl Secondary School and School Sixth form Youth Training Programmes 11 Comprehensive schools were introduced in the 1960s with the idea that pupils should not be selected and streamed at such an early age 12 The main examination that all students should take at 16 is the General Certificate of Secondary Education GCSE 13 Six form is where students continue in the same school for a further two years of study leading to the examination of the General Certificate of Education Advanced level Usually four or five academic subjects are studied in the first year leading to an Advanced Subsidiary qualification Students then specialized in three of these with possibly an additional general studies paper to gain their GCE A levels 14 Academic year three terms 12 weeks each Compulsory education extends up to 16 years 15 Trade Unions were first formed in the early stages of the Industrial Revolution b groups of industrial workers who suffered from extremely low pay and bad working conditions 16 Four types of unions General Unions Craft Unions Industrial Unions White Collar Unions 17 Trade Unions negotiate with management to try to get better pay and conditions for their members but are also involved in research into issues which may affect workers as well as providing educational services and legal assistance Trade Unions negotiate with employers by means of collective bargaining to improve pay and working conditions and job security 18 At weekend many people do not work and traditionally Sunday has been a day of rest 19 Pubs usually have two separate rooms the public bar is more sparsely furnished than the lounge bar The public bar is in general frequented more by men than by women and will nearly always have a dartboard on the wall There are darts teams a local league and other games like skittles and dominoes or electronic game machines 20 It is customary for friends who go out to the pub together to take it in turns to buy drinks for each other to buy a round of drinks 21 The National Trust is a voluntary organization founded in 1895 for the preservation of land and buildings of historical interest or beauty It is the largest landowner in Britain and owns property inalienably which means that it cannot sell or develop property given to it except by special Act of Parliament Its founding was inspired by the writings of romantic poets and Christian socialists of the 19th century and precipitate by the immediate threats of urban expansion and unrestrained economic No direct funding from the government but benenfits legacies of property owners 22 A package holiday includes the transport to the holiday destination the accommodation throughout the holiday the transfer from the airport or ferry to the accommodation 23 Corporate crime such as the failure of a company to maintain health and safety standards may lead to injury or death of employees or customers 24 White Collar crime such as where business managers or officials use their position at work for dishonest personal gain may deprive other people of their rightful property to a much greater extent than petty juvenile theft serious and less visible crimes committed by the middle class and the middle aged 25 The common nickname for a British policeman Bobby with its connotations of helpful and friendly assistance on the streets is a derivation of Robert the first name of the founder of the modern police force 26 In England and Wales local police committees are formed from councilors and magistrates and the committee is responsible for the appointment of Chief Constable and for maintaining the force The local forces are inspected by inspectors of constabulary who report to central government 27 The local Chief Constables are in charge of their forces and are responsible for the appointment promotion and discipline of all ranks below them except for the assistant chief constables 28 Members of the police service are not allowed to join a trade union nor are they allowed to go on strike However all ranks have staff associations to represent their interests 29 Police officers are normally unarmed but they carry a truncheon short thick club 30 Common law is law as decided by judges their decisions in cases being arrived at agter considering the customs and practices of the people involved 31 Statue law is law made by Parliament 32 Case law is law that has evolved through decisions in actual trails 33 The civil law deals with cases where individual or and companies find that their interests conflict 34 Precedent Where there have been similar cases the court will look at these to see how they were decided If they are particularly the same the court will follow that decision 35 Crown Courts trails of indictable offences appeals from magistrates court 36 Magistrates Courts trails of summary offences committals to the Crown Court family proceeding courts and youth courts 37 The use of professionals and lay people in the judicial system Magistrates and the public serving on a jury have no professional training in the law 38 The twelve person jury system where a small cross section of the community give a verdict in a criminal case 39 95 of criminal cases in England are tried in a magistrate s court 40 In civil cases it is very rare to have a jury such cases for example as to the custody of children after a divorce case or damages for breach of contrast between two business are therefore decided by a judge alone 41 There is no death penalty in Britain today although it was only abolished in 1965 42 The most severe punishment is life imprisonment which may be given for example to a person guilty of murder 43 Barrister or advocate pleads the case in court and wear traditional dress of wig and gown They only can be contacted indirectly through a solicitor Solicitor has full rights of audience in court since 1999 traditionally prepares the case for the barrister before the court hearing Members of the public can call at a solicitor s office and seek advice in a personal interview 44 King Henry VIII founded the Anglican or the Church of England 45 In England Henry ordered the Bible to be translated into English Previously the Bible had been only available in Latin and the leaders of the Church had been the only people allowed to interpret it 46 Britain is unique in the Western world in not having a constitution which is written down in a single document 47 The system of government is known as representative democracy which means that the people do not rule themselves directly but elect representatives to rule for them 48 Under the parliamentary democracy there are certain assumed rights termed civil liberties including the freedom to organize politically the freedom of speech the freedom of the press the freedom of all people under the law 49 The system government the executive runs the day to day government and devises the laws the legislature approves amends or rejects them and the judiciary interprets the laws in practice Parliament is said to be sovereign This principle of dividing the function of government is known as the separation of powers and the principle behind it is to ensure that there is no excessive use or abuse of power by any small group of people 50 Britain is divided into areas called constituencies 650 51 the House debates question time and making the law 52 the three main parties in Britain the Conservative Party the Labour Party and the Social Liberal Democratic Party 53 Britain is a constitutional monarchy that is a monarchy in which the sovereign has mainly advisory and ceremonial responsibilities The other major form of monarchy is the absolute monarchy in which the monarch is also the ruler The constitutional position is summed up in the famous phrase The Queen reigns but does not role 54 Pressure groups do not try to gain the sort of political power necessary to form a government but seek to influence political parties and decision makers who will act on their behalf 55 The Commonwealth is a voluntary free association of 50 independent sovereign states each responsible for its own policies but co operating together in their common interests and promoting international understanding 二 简答 1 Why are there so many different ethnic groups in Britain Because of its long tradition of accommodating immigrants and refugees and because it is part of a multiracial Commonwealth People have come to Britain in search of better economic opportunities or to escape religious or political persecution Recently people from the Commonwealth countries come to Britain In addition it also admitted Asians expelled from Uganda After the Second World War more Chinese come to the UK There are also overseas students and business men in the UK 2 What is the popular image of a typical British family It consists of a married couple Neither of them has been married before They have two or three children of their own The husband works full time but the wife probably does not The wife does most of the housework although the husband may help occasionally Lastly all its members are happy 3 The differences between public schools in the UK and the US In the UK The older foundations were originally established by rich individuals in the 16th and 17th centuries and known as public schools They remain the name and generally provide education for the children of parents who can afford to pay sometimes very high fees In the US public schools are state founded usually provide by the government and is cheaper than private school 4 What is the role of the Police Maintenance of order to provide a service to the community This is known as bobby on the beat This includes the officer visiting local schools to give advice to children on how to avoid being a victim liaising with local ethnic community groups and advise local people to form a Neighborhood Watch Scheme Law enforcement The police are considered as a force with a primary function of enforcing the criminal law 5 What are the m