英美国家概况资料整理

1 1 What is the official name a Geographical names the British Isles Great Britain and England Among it the British Isles are made up of two large islands Great Britain the larger one and Ireland and hundreds of small ones b Official name the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 2 Politically what are the UK composed of P21 3 What separates Britain from Europe Britain is an island country surrounded by the sea It lies in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north coast of Europe It is separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel in the south and the North Sea in the east 4 What is the highest peak in the UK Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Britain 1 343m 5 What is the characteristic of UK population Britain has a population of about 60 millions and it is very unevenly distributed 90 of the population is urban and only 10 is rural The population of Britain is made up mainly of the English 81 5 the Scottish 9 6 the Welsh 1 9 the Irish 2 4 the Northern Irish 1 8 and other peoples 2 8 The ancestors of the English are Anglo Saxons while the ancestors for the Scots Welsh and Irish are Celts What is the country s national flag 英国的国旗英国的国旗为 米 字旗 呈横长方形 长与宽之比为 由深蓝底色和红 白色 米 字组成 旗中带白边的红 色正十字代表英格兰守护神圣乔治 白色交叉十字代表苏格兰守护神圣安德鲁 红色交叉十字代表爱尔兰守护神 圣帕特里克 此旗产生于 年 是由原英格兰的白地红色正十旗 苏格兰的蓝地白色交叉十字旗和爱尔兰 的白地红色交叉十字旗重叠而成 The National symbol 英国的国徽是英王徽 中心图案为一枚盾徽 盾面上左上角和右下角为红地上三只金狮 象征英格兰 右上角为 金地上半站立的红狮 象征苏格兰 左下角为蓝地上金黄色竖琴 象征爱尔兰 盾徽两侧各由一只头戴王冠 代 表英格兰的狮子和一只代表苏格兰的独角兽支扶着 盾徽周围用法文写着一句格言 意为 恶有恶报 下端悬挂 着嘉德勋章 饰带上写着 天有上帝 我有权利 盾徽上端为镶有珠宝的金银色头盔 帝国王冠和头戴王冠的狮 子 底部的绿地中有玫瑰 英格兰 蓟 苏格兰 韭菜 威尔士 以及三叶草 爱尔兰 Mountains Rivers and Lakes Severn River is the longest river in Britain 338km Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Britain 1 343m Thames River is the second longest and most important river in Britain 336km Lough Neagh is the largest lake in Britain which is located in Northern Ireland 396 square kilometres Climate Britain s favorable climate Britain has a maritime climate winters are not too cold and summers are not too hot It has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year The temperature varies within a small range Factors that influence the climate 1 The surrounding waters tend to balance the seasonal differences by heating up the land in winter and cooling it off in summer 2 The prevailing south west winds or the Westerly blow over the country all the year round bringing warm and wet air in winter and keeping the temperatures moderate 3 The North Atlantic Drift passes the western coast of the British Isles and warms them Rainfall Britain has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year The average annual rainfall in Britain is over 1 000mm There is a water surplus in the north and west and a water deficit in the south and east Language English is the official language of the United Kingdom spoken roughly by 95 per cent of the UK population There is a difference in speech between southern England and northern England 2 Southerners speak the type of English close to BBC English The Welsh keep their language and culture in their way Throughout the year they have festivals of song and dance and poetry called Eisteddfodau An Important Concept the British Commonwealth The British Commonwealth is 1 It is a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain 2 It was established in 1931 replacing the former British Empire 3 Member nations are joined together economically and have certain trading arrangements 4 Today there are about 50 member countries within the Commonwealth A Brief Introduction to British History I Prehistory to the Norman Conquest 1 The first known inhabitants of Britain were collectively called Iberians 2 Two of the early invading cultures underlie much of modern British history and culture They are the Celts and Anglo Saxon 3 How is Roman conquest in early Britain different from that of others P44 4 What s Roman s influence on early Britain P44 5 What s the contribution of Alfred the Great to the British history P46 6 What are the five steps William the Conqueror took to establish his firm control of England P47 P48 Prehistoric times Lower Paleolithic Age 旧石器时代 around 700 000 years ago Early Immigrants Neolithic Age from around 4 400 BC to 1800BC the famous sites of Stonehenge 巨石阵 and Silbury Hill 西而布利山 Bronze Age after about 1800BC metal tools started to be made by mixing copper and tin Celts Invasion after about 800BC to 500BC tall blond warlike courageous and aggressive people skilled in ironwork and art two important changes introduced 1 the beginning of the Iron Age 2 the building of hill forts Roman Britain nearly 400 years of occupation 盖乌斯盖乌斯 尤利乌斯尤利乌斯 恺撒恺撒 拉丁文拉丁文 Gaius Julius Caesar 前前 100 年年 7 月月 13 日日 前前 44 年年 3 月月 15 日日 或称恺撒大帝 或称恺撒大帝 罗马共和国罗马共和国末期杰出的军事统帅 政治家 末期杰出的军事统帅 政治家 罗马人第一次入侵英国是公元前罗马人第一次入侵英国是公元前 55 年 由年 由 Julius Caesar 统帅 受到英国人的抵抗 不久撤离 一年后再次进攻 统帅 受到英国人的抵抗 不久撤离 一年后再次进攻 获得胜利 获得胜利 90 年后 罗马皇帝年后 罗马皇帝 Claudius 派派 40 万大军卷土重来 征服了英格兰各地 甚至还到了苏格兰和威尔士 万大军卷土重来 征服了英格兰各地 甚至还到了苏格兰和威尔士 Constantine the Great Christianity State Religion Introduction it did not mean Henry VIII was theologically closer to the newly arising Protestantism Henry VIII s power was greatly enlarged especially by transferring to the crown the wealth of the monasteries and by new clerical taxes 4 Elizabeth I P61 Elizabeth I the foundation layer of the British Empire 1 Her religious reform was actually a compromise of views by balancing the interests of the Puritans radical Protestants and the die hard Catholics 2 Her government was effective in reducing the power of the nobility expanding the power of her government and effecting common law and administration throughout England 3 Outside of England the English reached farther than before through trade and adventure In 1588 when Spain England s old enemy sent its mighty Armada 无敌舰队 to attack the heart of England Sir Francis Drake commanded the English navy to eventual victory and thus established English supremacy over the sea 4 Renaissance The Elizabethan Age also witnessed the English Renaissance the cultural and artistic movement that was associated with the pan European Renaissance originating in northern Italy in the 14th century 5 Elizabethan Age P62 6 Turbulent relation between England and Ireland Henry VIII and Elizabeth I P60 62 7 Tudor Monarchs and Parliament In all the Tudor period was a decisive one in English history in the sense that it further sapped feudal 6 strength and nurtured the modern English nation state which was bound together by a common language a powerful central government and a strong church A Brief Introduction to British History V 1 On Jan 30 1649 Charles I was beheaded 2 James I and Charles I were expecting to be devine right monarchs 3 Explain Divine Right 君权神授 Historically in various times and places a king or government asserted that the king ruled by the will of God or some gods The implication was also made that this meant the king s legitimacy was divine and so the king was not subject to earthly law 4 Explain the religious conflicts between the royalist and the parliament P68 5 The term comes from the desires of the English Christians to purify the Anglican Church by removing all traces of Roman Catholicism 6 When James VI came to the throne as James I of England he was faced with three major problems What are they 7 Compare Elizabeth I s religious policy and that of James I P69 8 Explain Guy Fawkes Day 9 In 1628 Parliament passed in which some of the most basic rules of modern constitutional government were first explicitly stated 10 Explain Petition of Right of 1628 11 Conflicts between England and Scotland during the reign of Charles I P70 71 12 Scotland was still a culture England was an one 13 During the civil war Royalists supporters of the King were addressed as while supporters of Parliament were called 14 Explain Rump Parliament 15 Using military force Cromwell dissolved the Rump and set himself up as of the Commonwealth of England Scotland and Ireland 16 Effects of the English Revolution 17 During the restoration two disasters devastated England during the years 1665 and 1666 namely and 18 James opponents from Parliament and their allies comprised the great lords and prosperous merchants who called themselves and those who supported James II and represented the conservative landed aristocracy called themselves which still exists 19 Explain Glorious Revolution 20 In 1689 William III and Mary II agreed to Parliamentarians demands which were known as the 21 Explain Bill of Rights of 1689 P75 7 Transition to the Modern Age 1485 1688 Civil War and Restoration House of Stuart 斯图亚特王朝 but Parliament sought to limit the powers of the prerogative and to guarantee civil liberties through the Petition of Right 1628 权利请愿书 This led to a serious break between the two and eventually to a war known as the English Civil War 2 The war included a series of armed conflicts and political machinations 阴谋 which took place between Parliamentarians roundheads 圆颅党 and cavaliers 保王党 from 1642 1651 3 In 1649 it culminated in the trial and beheading of Charles I the exile of his son Charles II and the replacement of the English monarchy with the Commonwealth of England Commonwealth declared 1649 共和政府时期 1 With the declaration of the Commonwealth Oliver Cromwell became the Lord Protector introducing republicanism which although short lived would permanently alter British society 2 Richard Cromwell succeeded his father but he was such an ineffectual leader that he abdicated 3 In 1660 the pro royal Convention Parliament invited Charles II to restore the House of Stuart House of Stuart Restoration 1 Politically Charles II resumed the Stuarts absolutism enjoying broad powers of independent action especially regarding foreign policy 2 The Restoration period was marked by an advance in colonization and overseas trade the Dutch Wars the great plague 1664 66 the Great Fire of London 1666 and the birth of the Whig and Tory parties Glorious Revolution 1 James II was hated as a Roman Catholic and a suspected absolutist So he was forced to flee 2 The Convention Parliament asked James Protestant daughter Mary to rule England jointly with her husband William This is so called Bloodless or Glorious Revolution William III and Mary II agreed to a Bill of Rights 1689 Bill of rights gave political supremacy to Parliament and severely limited the Crown s power which marked the beginning of the constitutional monarchy 君主立宪制 in England Industrial Revolution and UK Economy 1 Industrial Revolution The term INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION originally referred to the developments that transformed Great Britain between 1750 and 1830 the timing is questionable details maybe seen on P81 from a largely rural population making a living almost entirely from agriculture to a town centered society engaged increasingly in factory manufacture 2 What factors contribute to Britain s first experiencing of Industrial Revolution P82 3 What influences did Industrial Revolution have on Britain 1 fertility 生产力 commodity economy replace the natural economy 商品经济取代自然经济 machine made work replace hand made work 大机器生产取代手工工场 2 bourgeois 资产阶级 consolidate 巩固 the result of the bourgeois revolution 资产阶级革命 Capitalism expanded all over the world 8 capitalism conquered feudalism 3 Structure of class Wage labor system 雇佣劳工体制 of capitalism was set Industry Bourgeois 工业资产阶级 and Proletariat 无产阶级 formed 4 global transportation and market Expand the plunder from colonies and enlarge the market The global traffic net formed The world market started to come into being 5 The developing countries Accelerate the process of making the developing countries into colony 殖民地 and pertaining nation 附 属国 Accelerate the process of those countries industrialization 4 When did Britain join the EC that later evolved into EU 1973 5 What are the three periods of British Economy The periods of Empire the Period of Decline and Retrenchment and the Period of Europeanism The Age of Empire 1689 1901 Under the Stuarts Scotland and England had been under personal union of the crowns During Queen Anne s late reign Scotland threatened to declare a successor to its throne other than the head of House of Hanover The resultant solution was the Act of Union in 1707 which abolished England and Scotland as separate kingdoms and created the United Kingdom of Great Britain with a single Parliament P112 Georgian Britain The so called Georgian period was a time of immense social change most notably with the beginning of the Industrial Revolution a shift in social structure chronic warfare and imperial expansion and loss George I and George II both regarded themselves as German first and English second thus allowing ministerial power to be strengthened and Tory and Whig vie for royal favor Hard as George III tried to dignify the duties of the Crown the power continued to move away toward the House of Commons 下议院 Georgian society remained relatively stable which could be largely attributed to an accommodating hierarchical society and a spirit of tolerance in politics and religion 9 Shuttle 飞梭 飞梭 Invented in1733 by 凯伊 it improved the speed of weaving 纺织 As a result of that the demand of cotton yarn 棉纱 exceeds supply The spinning Jenny Invented by Jasmes Hargreaves in 1770 and initially could spin 8 threads at once It marked the beginning of the industrial revolution Mule Machine 骡机 骡机 It improved the speed of weaving as well as the quality of soft goods 纺织品 Waterpower loom 水力织布机 水力织布机 It improved thespeed of weaving 把织布的速度提高了数十倍 第一辆火车第一辆火车 旅行者旅行者 号号 train Invented by an Englishman Stephensen in 1814 The steam engine Invented by Watt in 1769 It has been used as the drive engine for the weaving since 1785 Steamboat Invented by an American 富尔顿 in 1807 Queen Victoria From 1837 to 1901 Queen Victoria last monarch of the House of Hanover after which Britain went into the House of Winsor had the longest reign in British history 63yrs presiding over first a kingdom and then an empire The cultural political economic military industrial and scientific changes that occurred during her reign were so remarkable that the world of 1901 bore little resemblance to that of 1837 Widening of the franchise 选举权的推广选举权的推广 The Reform Act of 1832 had given the vote to the majority of the male middle classes In 1838 the working class staged the popular Chartist movement 宪章运动 to urge reform in parliament election including universal manhood suffrage The Reform Bill of 1867 enfranchising some two million men largely of the working classes Women were granted the legal right to their property upon marriage the right to divorce and the right to fight for custody of their children upon separation Single women ratepayers gained the municipal vote in 1869 Political Changes 1 Before the Victorian Age Whig and Tory were the two main political parties 2 From the late 1850s onwards the Whigs became the Liberal Party 3 A number of working men s parties were founded namely the Social Democratic Federation 1881 社会 民主联盟党 the Fabian Society 费边社 1883 and the Independent Labour Party 独立工党 1893 4 With the help of the Fabian Society and the Trades Union Congress 英国工会联盟 the ILP set up the Labour Representation Committee 工人代表委员会 in 1900 later renamed the Labour Party in 1906 Industrial Impetus 动力动力 The impetus of the Industrial Revolution had already occurred but it was during the Victorian period that the full effects of industrialization were most felt leading to the mass society of the 20th century 10 General Introduction 经济 经济 At the forefront 最前线 in the world during the 19th century Industrial Revolution Still owns one of the most developed economies 1 A member of the EU and the G8 2 Having the second largest economy in Europe and the fifth largest GDP in the world 3 London is one of the two largest financial centres in the world Economic History From the end of the 18th century to the mid 19th century a rural country to an urban and industrialised country in the 1880s the world s leading economy lost its industrial dominance of world trade by the end of the 19th century Relative decline in the 20th century particularly since WWII after 1973 British economy suffered a downturn from the early 1970s to the early 1980s growth fell markedly 1974 75 1979 81 1988 92 recessions since the middle of 1992 onwards economic growth in the UK has been positive Keynesian nationalization policy 凯恩斯主义凯恩斯主义 1 The economic theories of English economist John Maynard Keynes that advocate government monetary and fiscal programmes designed to increase employment and stimulate business activity 2 From 1945 Labour government adopted Keynesian demand management using fiscal policy 财政政策 to control the level of aggregate demand 总需求 The Keynesian framework was consolidated in the 1950s and 1960s by both Labour and subsequent Conservative governments Between 1948 and 1973 the UK witnessed a boom seen as a golden age Thatcherism Privatization Policy 私有化政策私有化政策 Thatcherism refers to the laissez faire policy 自由放任 of Margaret Thatcher British Prime Minister from 1979 1990 The main contents of her policies include the return to private ownership of state owned industries the use of monetarist policies to control inflation the weakening of trade unions 工会 reduction of government s role and the strengthening of the role of market forces in the economy and an emphasis on law and order 11 A radical shift from public ownership to privatization believing that it would improve efficiency reduce government spending increase economic freedom and encourage share ownership To some extent her program was successful and she led one of the most remarkable periods in the British economy However the government s privitisation efforts did not seem to prevent the country from the boom and bust 经济繁荣与萧条之交替循环 cycle The main sections of the UK economy The UK national economy can be divided into 3 main areas a primary industries such as agriculture fishing and mining producing 13 of the national wealth b second