英语国家社会与文化入门名词解释.docx

The Easter RisingIn order to gain independence, different Irish groups had been fighting against the British institutions and the British military forces. One such activity was the Easter Rising which took place in 1916. the rebels occupied Dublins Post Office and forced the British to take it back by military force. The leaders of the rebellion were executed by the British authorities.Sinn FeinSinn Fein is a legal political party in Northern Ireland which supports the IRA to fight for the union of Ireland. The leaders of Sinn Fein prefer union with Ireland by a twin campaign, both military and political which they call the policy of “the Bullet and the Ballot Box”. It believes that without the participation of Sinn Fein the political problem of Northern Ireland cannot be thoroughly solved.The Good Friday AgreementAs a result of multi-party negotiations, the Good Friday Agreement was approved on 10 April 1998. This agreement assures the loyalist community that Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom and it wont change its political status unless the majority of the people of Northern Ireland agree. Under the terms of the agreement, Northern Ireland should be governed by three separate jurisdictions: that of the Republic of Ireland , that of Great Britain and that of its own elected executive government of ten ministers.The Bill of Rights of 1689In 1688, King James IIs daughter Mary and her husband William were invited by the politicians and church authorities to take the throne, on condition that they would respect the right of Parliament. The Bill of Rights was passed in 1689 to ensure that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament.The House of Lords The House of Lords consists of the Lords Spiritual, who are the Archbishops and most prominent bishops of the Church of England; and the Lords Temporal, which refers to those lords who either have inherited the seat from their forefathers or they have been appointed. The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests of the public.The House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the real center of British political life because it is the place where about 650 elected representatives make and debate policy. These MPs are elected in the General Elections and should represent the interests of the people who vote for them.The electoral campaignsBefore a general election, the political parties would start their electoral campaigns in order to make their ideologies and polities known to the public. The campaign involves advertisements in newspapers, door-to-door campaigning, postal deliveries of leaflets and “party electoral broadcast”on the television. The parties also try to attack and criticize the opponents policies. Therefore, these campaigns sometimes can be quite aggressive and critical.Class system in British societyThe class system does exist in British society. Most of the British population would claim themselves to be either of middle-class or working-class, though some people would actually belong to the upper middle-class or lower middle-class. Class divisions are not simply economic, they are cultural as well. People of different classes may differ in the kind of newspapers they read, in the way they speak and in the kind of education they receive. One of the distinctive features about the British class system is that aristocratic titles can still be inherited.Ethnic relations in the UKThe coming of immigrants groups from other parts of the world has greatly enriched British culture. But ethnic relations are also sometimes tense: the local people view the newcomers as a threat to their way of living; and despite much official actions to minimize racism, both subtle and overt oppression remains. The immigrant population is not well-off economically. They face problems of unemployment, under-representation in politics and unfair treatment by police and by the justice system.Relative decline of the UKThe UK has experienced an economic decline since 1945. But this is a relative decline rather than an absolute one. Britain is wealthier and more productive than it was in 1945, but since other countries developed more rapidly, it has slid from being the second largest economy to being the sixth.Privatisation in the 1980sThe British economy went through a particularly bad period in the 1970s, with high rates of inflation and devaluation of the Pound. Therefore, in the 1980s, when the Conservative party under Margaret Thatcher was in power, an extensive programme of privatization was carried out. Many state-owned businesses(such as steel, telecom, gas, aerospace) were turned into private companies. Privatisation was successful in controlling inflation but at the same time unemployment rate increased rapidly. “The City”“The City” refers to the historic area at the centre of London. It is one of the biggest financial centres in the world with the greatest concentration of banks, insurance companies and businesses dealing in commodities. At the heart of the city is the London Stock Exchange.Elizabethan DramaThe general flowering of cultural and intellectual life in Europe during the 15th and 16th centuries is know ad the Renaissance. In British culture, one of the most successful and longlasting expressions of this development lay in drama. That was the period of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. The first professional theatre in London opened in 1576,and others followed, performing the plays of many notable playwrights, including Christopher Marlowe ,Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare.RomanticismRoughly the first third of the 19th makes up English literatures romantic period .Writers of romantic literature are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason. A volume of poems called Lyrical Ballads written by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge is regarded as the romantic poetrys Declaration of Independence. Keats, Byron and Shelley, the three great poets, brought the Romantic Movement to its height. The spirit of Romanticism also occurred in the novelModernismModernism refers to a form of literature mainly written before World War 2.It is characterized by a high degree of experimentation. It can be seen as a reaction against the 19th century of forms of Realism. Modernist writers express the difficulty they see in understanding and communicating how the world works .Often, Modernist writing seems disorganized, hard to understand. It often portrays the action from the viewpoint of a single confused individual, rather than from the viewpoint of an allknowing impersonal narrator outside the action. One of the most famous English Modernist writers is Virginia Woolf.Comprehensive schoolsComprehensive schools are the most popular secondary schools in Britain today. Such schools admit children without reference to their academic abilities and provide a general education. Pupils can study everything from academic subjects like literature to more practical subjects like cooking.Independent schoolsIndependent schools are commonly called public schools which are actually private schools that receive their funding through the private sector and tuition rates, with some government assistance. Independent schools are not part of national education system, but the quality of instruction and standards are maintained through visits from Her Majestys Inspectors of Schools. These schools are restricted to the students whose parents are comparatively rich.The Open UniversityThe Open University was founded in Britain in the 1960s for people who might not get the opportunity for higher education for economic and social reasons. Its open to everybody and does not demand the same formal educational qualifications as the other universities. University courses are followed through TV, radio, correspondence, videos and a net work of study centres. At the end of their studies at the Open University, successful students are awarded a university degree,The foundations of British foreign policyThe contemporary foreign policy of the UK is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits. As Britain lost its empire so recently, British policy-makers frequently forget that Britain is not as influential as it used to be in world affairs. Another decisive influence upon the way Britain handles its external affairs is geopolitical attitude to Europe.The CommonwealthIn the authors opinion, the Commonwealth is a voluntary association of states which is made up of Britain and mostly of former British colonies. There are 54 members of the Commonwealth including one currently suspended member: many of these are developing countries like India and Cyprus; other are developed nations like Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The Commonwealth was set up as a forum for continued cooperation and as a sort of support network.Quality papersThey belong to one of the categories of the national dailies. The quality papers carry more serious and in-depth articles of particular political and social importance. They also carry reviews, such as book reviews, and feature articles about high culture. These papers are also referred to as “the broadsheets” because they are printed on large-size paper. The readers of such newspapers are generally a well-educate middle class audience.TabloidsA tabloid is a small format newspaper with color photos and catchy headlines. Tabloids are interested in scandals and gossip usually about famous people. They also carry lots of crime, sports and sensational human interest stories so as to attract readers. Stories are short, easy to read and often rely more on opinions than fact. They belong to a category of national papers different from quality papers.The three traditions of Christmas in BritainThere are three Christmas traditions which are particularly British: one is the Christmas Pantomime, a comical musical play. The main male character is played by a young woman while the main female character, often an ugly woman called “the Dame,” is played by a man. Another British Christmas tradition is to hear the Queen give her Christmas massage to her realm over the television and radio. A third British tradition is Boxing Day, which falls on the day after Christmas. Traditionally, it was on Boxing Day that people gave Christmas gifts or money to their staff or servants. Now that most British people do not have servants, this custom is no longer observed. However, a new Boxing Day custom has emerged, in the cities: shopping. Shops open up to sell off al their Christmas stock decorations, food, cards and gift items at low prices.The Great FamineThe Great Famine took place from 1845-1848 when successive potato crops failed and many people of Ireland starved to death, or died of the diseases which preyed on malnutrition. Many left the country for the New World. The Great Famine became a watershed in Irish history, not merely because there was mass starvation and emigration, but also because the British government appeared to be indifferent to the fate of the poorest people in its nearest colony. Naturally this period is characterized by campaigns for national independence and land reform.The Irish parliamentThe Parliament of Ireland is comprised of two houses: the Parliament and the Senate. Government policy and administration may be examined and criticized in both Houses ;but under the Constitution the Government is responsible to the Parliament alone.Womens Liberation MovementInaugurated in the early 1970s, the womens movement concentrated first on gaining control of their own fertility, demanding birth control, divorce, and the right to have an abortion if necessary. The first two goals have been achieved over a span of about twenty years, but abortion is still legally forbidden in the Republic or Ireland and is still regarded as a highly emotional topic. The second objective was to secure the right of women, and that of particularly married women, to work. Today, about half of the women of Ireland of working age hold down full-time jobs.The Irish diasporaThe Irish diaspora, as it has been called, is a scattering of Irish people across the world, usually as the result of dire conditions at home-famine, foreign domination, and poverty. As a result, Irish people can today be found in significant concentrations in many countries. In fact, it is hard to go anywhere and not find Irish people.The DreamingThe Dreaming is the belief system from ancient times that has bound indigenous groups together. The central principle of the Dreaming is that the people who live on the continent have special responsibilities to the land. The people dont own the land, instead the land owns the people. The stories of the Dreaming provide principles of how people should live and interact with each other. They also provide knowledge of the land so that the indigenous people can survive in the life-threatening environment.Terra NulliusTerra Nullius is from Latin. It means a land that owned by no one. The British declared the Australian continent Terra Nullius to justify their invasion of the indigenous peoples land. It served to legitimize their taking possession of the land and devalue the indigenous people as uncivilized and not fully human.The policy of assimilationThe policy of assimilation was implemented at the beginning of the 20th century. It was founded on the belief that the white culture was progressive and superior while the indigenous culture was inferior. To i