Lecture 2 The country and the people.doc学生版.doc

第 4 页 许静Part 2 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandLecture 2 The Country and the PeopleI.Names and Positions1. Britain is officially called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK).The British IslesTwo Big IslandsThe Great BritainEnglandThe UKScotlandWalesIrelandNorthern IrelandThe Republic of IrelandSeveral thousand small islands There are three political divisions on the island of Great Britain:_1.1 England The largest, most populous and wealthiest division of the UK.LondonGreenwichOxfordBirminghamManchester LiverpoolCambridge 1.2 Scotland Strong Scottish identity 30% of the whole land 1/10 of the total population Edinburgh Gaelic Anglo-Scottish Conflict: BraveheartWallace Monument 1707, unification with England Bagpipes, kilts, whisky1.3 Wales 9% of the whole land 5% of the total population Cardiff Welsh Prince of Wales1.4 Northern Ireland Also known as Ulster 6% of the whole land 3% of the total population Belfast Irish, another Gaelic dialect Northern Ireland problem: Protestant majority in the population generally support political union with Great Britain, while many of the Roman Catholic minority look for union with the Republic of Ireland.2. National capital: London3. Union Flag: Union Jack4. National Day: Queens Birthday which has been changed into the second Saturday in July.5. The national anthem: God Save the King/Queen6. Government system: Constitutional Monarchy a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a written (i.e., codified), unwritten (i.e., uncodified) or blended constitution7. Nationality: Briton (n.) British (adj.)8. Climate and Weather:9. Several factors influence the weather:10. Geographic Features10.1 Geographical position of Britain: in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north coast of Europe separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel in the south and the North Sea in the east10.2 the island of Britain can be divided roughly into two parts: the Highland Zone in the north and west ant the Lowland Zone in the south and southeast.11. Inland Water The largest river is the Severn River. The second largest and most important river is the Thames River.12. People13. Religion: Christianity14.The Origins of the British People 1. the Iberians.2. The Celts3. The Romans4. the Anglo-Saxons5. the Danes/Vikings 6. the Normans7. many refugees suffering from political and religious persecution have found a home in England.15. Official and Local Languages Gaelic Welsh English1. Indo-European Language Family Romance: Latin, French, Spanish Germanic: English, German, Dutch2. The History of English2.1 Old English ( 5th12th Century) Both Latin and Germanic scripts were used. The earliest written records of Old English: Venerable Bede: the Ecclesiastical History of the English People An inflected language: case, gender, tense etc.2.2 Middle English (12th 15th Century) Soon after the Norman Conquest A blending of Anglo-Saxon, Latin and French Trilingual Geoffrey Chaucer, London English By the end of the fifteenth century, the English spelling had become fixed. Many of the old rules in Old English were discarded.2.3 Modern English ( 15th Century ) In 1755, Samuel Johnsons Dictionary 1927, BBC Standard English or Received Pronunciation English Check YourselfClassNumberNameScoreLecture 2 The Country and the People1. The British Isles is made up of _.A. two large islands and hundreds of small ones B. two large islands and Northern Ireland C. three large islands and hundreds of small ones D. three large islands and Northern Ireland2. There are three political divisions on the island of Great Britain. They are_ A. Britain, Scotland and Wales B. England, Scotland and Wales C. Britain, Scotland and Ireland D. England, Scotland and Ireland3. The longest river in Britain is _.A. SevernB. ClydeC. Bann4. London is situated on the River of _.A. ParretB. ThamesC. Spey5. Edinburgh is the capital of _.A. EnglandB. ScotlandC. Wales6. Great Britain is separated from the rest of the Europe by the _in the south.A. North SeaB. Atlantic oceanC. English Channel7. The highest mountain in Britain is_.8. The largest lake in Britain is _in Northern Ireland west of Belfast.9. The English are _, but the Scots, Wales and Irish are _A. Celts, RomansB. Anglo-Saxons, CeltsC. Anglo-Saxons, Normans10. Scotland is divided into three natural zones: _, _, _.11. The highlanders are the _who live in the mountainous region of the Highlands.A. WelshB. IrishC. ScotsD. English12. Christianity was first brought to England by _.A. the Romans B. the CeltsC. the Anglo-SaxonsD. the Danes13. William, Duke of Normandy, fought King Harold of England at the Battle of Hastings in _.A. 1086B. 1066C. 1035D. 138114. The language English belongs to _ family.15. No.10 Dow