Chapter1Land-and-People.doc

了解英国不同名称的含义，英国的地理特征、河流和湖泊、气候的特点以及影响气候的因素，了解英国的人口结构及其特点。1.Different names for Britain and its parts2.Geogphgracical features of Britain 3.Rivers and Lakes in Britain 4.Britains climate and factors that infiuence it5.Distribution of Britains population6.Composition of the British population7.Characteristrics of the English8.Characteristrics of the Welsh9.Characteristrics of the Scots 10.Characteristrics of the Irish11.Immigrants in Britain Different Names for Britain and its Parts Official name The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (simply, Britain, the Untied Kingdom, or UK) Geographical names The British Isles are made up of two large islands and hundreds of small ones. The two large islands are Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain is the larger of these two islands, on which lie the three main divisions of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland and Wales. England is the largest, most populous and generally speaking the richest section. So people tend to use England and English when they mean Britain and British. But it is not acceptable to the Scots and the Welsh, because they have a culture and a language of their own and they do not regard themselves as English. Ireland is the smaller of these two islands. It is divided into two political units: Northern Ireland, which is the fourth division of the United Kingdom; and the Republic of Ireland (Eire), which is an independent country on the southern part of Ireland. The British Empire and the British Commonwealth The British Empire is the name in use when Britain ruled an empire with one fourth of the worlds people and area as a result of imperialist expansion. It was replaced by the British Commonwealth in 1931 when the former British colonies became independence one after another. The British Commonwealth or the Commonwealth of Nations is a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. Member nations are joined together economically and have certain trading arrangements. At present there are 50 member countries within the Commonwealth.Geographical Features Geographical position of Britain Britain is an island country with an area of 244,100 square km. It lies in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest 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. Its coast is long and has good deep harbours. Sea routes extend far inland, providing cheap transportation. The English Channel between England and France is quite narrow and the narrowest part is the Straits of Dover, under which a channel tunnel, or Chunnel, has been built in 1994, so that England and France are joined together by road. Geographical features of Britain Britain has been slowly tilting with North-West slowly rising and the South-East slowly sinking. The north and west are mainly highlands, with raised beaches in the Scottish mountainous area providing the main farming, settlements, industrial areas and routeways. The east and southeast are mostly lowlands, which are part of the Great European Plain, with its level land and fertile soil providing much good farmland The great ice of the Ice Age left Great Britain with spectacular mountain scenery, especially in Snowdonia, the Lake District, and the Scottish Highlands. Geographical features of England England occupies the largest southern part of Great Britain with an area of more than 130,000 square km. The southwest and west are largely a plateau, with rolling plains, downs, and occasional moors, except for the Severn valley and the Cheshire-Lancashire plain. The east of England is mainly an open cultivated plain, narrowing in North Yorkshire to a passage, and in Northumberland to a coastal strip. The Pennines are the principal mountain chain from North Midlands to the Scottish border. The Scafell (978m), the highest peak of England, is in the Lake District in the northwest England. Geographical features of Scotland Scotland is in the north of Great Britain with an area of 78,760 square km. Its capital is Edinburgh. The Highlands in the north are a mountainous plateau with a coastline deeply indented. Ben Nevis (1,343m), the highest in Britain, is located here. The Central Lowlands comprise mostly the Forth and Clyde Valleys, coal iron fields and dairy pasture. This is the most important area in Scotland, which contains most of the industry and population. The Southern Uplands are the rolling moorland cut by river valleys. Scotland has about 800 islands, including the Orkneys, Shetlands, and Hebrides, and hundreds of lakes. Geographical features of Wales Wales is in the west of Great Britain with an area of 20,761 square km. Its capital is Cardiff. Most of Wales is mountainous, with hills rising steeply from the sea and rather flat on the top. Much of the country is pasture, but only 12% of the land is arable. A massif with lowland fringe runs along the English border and south coast, rocky in the north and coal bearing in the south. Snowdonia (1,085m) in the northwest is the highest in Wales. Geographical features of Northern Ireland Northern Ireland takes up the northern fifth of Ireland and has an area of 14,147 square km. Its capital is Belfast. It has a rocky and wild northern coastline, with several deep indentations. The uplands of County Antrim lie in the northeast of the country. The mountains in the southeast gradually give way to the central lowlands of the Lough Neagh basin.Rivers and Lakes Rivers Importance of the rivers Rivers in Britain do not freeze in winter. They play a very important role in the countrys economy. The great ports of London, Liverpool, and Glasgow are all connected to the sea by rivers. Rivers on the east coast the Tweed, the Tyne, the Tees, and the Thames rivers all face North Sea ports on the European continent. They are also close to rich fishing grounds. Rivers on the west coast the Clyde, the Mersey, and the Severn rivers carry raw materials to busy manufacturing cities inland. Three major rivers The Severn River (338 km) is the longest river in Britain, rising in central Wales, flowing through West Central England, and out to the Bristol Channel. The Thames River (336 km) is the second largest and most important river in Britain, rising in southwest England, flowing through the Midlands of England, and out into the North Sea. The Clyde River (171 km) is the most important in Scotland, rising in Dumfries, passing through Glasgow, and entering the Firth of Clyde. Lakes There are many lakes Britain, especially in northern Scotland, the Lake District in northwest England, and North Wales. The Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland is the largest lake in Britain, which covers area of 396 square km. The Lake District is one of the popular tourist attractions in Britain, well known for its wild and beautiful scenery and 15 lakes. It is also the home of the Lake poets William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Robert Southey of the 19th century.Climate A maritime type of climate The weather is rainy, changeable and unpredictable. It has been said that the uncertainty about the weather has had a definite effect upon the Englishmans character. It tends to make him cautious, for example. The climate is a favorable one with mild winters, cool summers, a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year, and a small range of temperature. So even in winter one can still see stretches of green grass in the open country, in the parks, and around the houses. Factors which influence the climate in Britain The surrounding waters tend to balance the seasonal differences by heating up the land in winter and cooling it off in summer. The prevailing southwest winds (the Westerly） blow over the country all the year round bringing warm and wet air in winter and keeping the temperatures moderate. The North Atlantic Drift, which is a warm current, passes the western coast of the British Isles and warms them. Rainfall Britain has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year, with the average annual rainfall over 1000 mm. The Westerly blows over Britain all the year round, bring warm and wet air from the Atlantic Ocean, and causes heavy rainfall in the west of the highlands and mountains. But there is not so much rainfall in the east because the air gets warmer and drier after climbing over the highlands and mountains. As a result of rainfall distribution in Britain, there is a water surplus in the north and west, and a water deficit in the south and east. Natural calamities Sometimes there are several months of drought, and at other times too much rain causes flooding. Fog, smog, frost and severe gales often cause great damages to crops and to peoples life. In 1952, the sulphur dioxide in the four-day London smog left 4000 people dead or dying. Since then most cities in Britain have introduced “clear air zones” whereby factories and households are only allowed to burn smokeless fuel.The People Distribution and composition of Britains population Britain has a population of about 57 million. This is a very large population for such a small country. So it is a densely populated country with an average of 237 people per square kilometer. It is unevenly distributed. 90% of the population is urban and only 10% is rural. On the other hand, there are some quite large tracts of barren, hilly county, especially in Northern Scotland, which are almost uninhabited. Theres a great concentration of population in England. Of about 57 million people, 47 million live in England (14 million live in London and southeastern England), 5 million in Scotland (most in Central Lowland), less than 3 million in Wales, and 1.5 million in Northern Ireland (half a million in Belfast). The population of Britain is made up 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%) Today British people move about the country more than they used to. They take on each others way of life and this makes it more difficult for people to distinguish between people from different parts of Britain. However, differences in regional character and speech can still be seen and heard. In fact, in some regions people are doing all they can do to preserve their own language and culture. The English The English are the descendants of the ancient Germanic Anglo-Saxons who came from the northwest of todays Germany and conquered Britain during the 5th century when the Roman Empire fell. It was from these Anglo-Saxons and the later Norman conquerors that the English people and the English language were born. The English have many differences in regional speech. The chief division is between southern England and northern England. Generally speaking, southerners speak the type of English closer to BBC English and do not have special accent except the Cockneys from the East End of London, while the northerners have a “broader” regional speech.The Welsh The ancestors of the Welsh were the Celts (Britons) who came from Germany to Britain about 700 BC, and later escaped from the invading Angles and Saxons and found shelter in the wild mountains of Wales, where they defended their freedom for a thousand years and were not conquered by the English until 1536. Welsh (an ancient Celtic language) is their native language, which was given equality with English for an official use in Wales in 1965. The Welsh are emotional and cheerful people. They are music lovers and are proud of their past. Throughout the year they have festivals of song and dance and poetry called Eisteddfodau. Among these, the greatest annual event is the National Eisteddfod, where competitors are held in Welsh poetry, music, singing and art, and in this way they keep the Welsh language and Welsh culture alive. The Scots They are also the descendants of the Celts who escaped from the Anglo-Saxon invasion and settled in the Scottish mountainous Highlands and on the northwestern islands. They are proud that the English never conquered them. Gaelic is the old Celtic language of the Scots, but the English is spoken all over Scotland because most of the people nowadays are not of Celtic origin. The Scots are hospitable, generous and friendly, although they have ever been said to be serious, cautious and thrifty. The Irish The Irish (descendants of the Celts) are almost entirely Roman Catholics. After the arrival of the Scots and English Protestants hundreds of years ago, they became the minorities in Northern Ireland. Since then, there has been bitter fighting between the dominant Protestants and the Irish Roman Catholics who are seeking more social, political and economic opportunities. The British Government and the Government of Ireland are now working together to bring peace to Northern Ireland. Irish (or Erse, a form of Gaelic) is the official first language of the Republic of Ireland, and English is the second. The Irish are known for their charm and vivacity as well as for the beauty of their Irish girls. Immigrants About 3 million from the West Indies, India and Pakistan have come to Britain to live and find work since World War II. Laws to protect them from unfair treatment do not work successfully. There is still discrimination by employers, landladies and club owners词语注释1The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国, 简称为联合王国 2The British Isles不列颠群岛3Great Britain大不列颠岛4Ireland爱尔兰岛5The Republic of Northern Ireland (Eire)爱尔兰共和国6The British Empire大英帝国7imperialist expansion帝国主义扩张8The British Commonwealth(or the Commonwealth of Nations)英联邦9free association自由联合体10the English Channel英吉利海峡 11Straits of Dover多佛尔海峡 12Chunnel海峡隧道13tiltinga.倾斜的14highlandn.高地15raised beach滩地 16lowlandn.低地，平原17Ice Age冰川期，距今170万年18spectaculara.壮观的19Snowdonia斯诺登山20Lake District湖区21plateaun.高原22rolling a.绵延起伏的23downs开阔的丘陵地，尤指英格兰南部的石灰岩丘陵24moors高沼地 25the Severn Valley塞文河谷26the Pennines奔宁山脉27the Midlands英格兰中部地区，又译米德兰地区，分为东西两部分。东米德兰包括林肯(Lincolnshire)，北安普顿(Northamptonshire)，德比(Derbyshire)，诺丁汉(Nottingham)和莱斯特(Leicestershire)五郡；西米德兰包括斯塔夫德(Staffordshire)，沃里克(Warwickshire)，萨洛普(Shropshire)，赫里福德 -伍斯特(Hereford & Worcester)四郡，及西米德兰(West Midlands)都市郡28Scafell斯科费尔峰29cultivateda.已开垦的，已耕种的30Yorkshire约克郡31Northumberland诺森伯兰郡32coastal strip海岸狭长地带33Edinburgh爱丁堡，苏格兰首府，始建于11世纪晚期的文化古城, 是苏格兰的经济中心, 也是英国仅次于伦敦的旅游城市34the Highlands in the north苏格兰北部高地35the Central Lowlands苏格兰低地，苏格兰中央平原36the Southern Uplands苏格兰南部丘陵37Orkneys奥克尼群岛38Shetlands设特兰群岛39Hebrides赫布里底群岛40Cardiff加的夫，威尔士首府, 英国重要的商务、服务和工业中心41pasturen.牧场，牧地，草原42steeplyadv.陡峭地43arablea.适合耕种的（土地）, 可耕的（土地）44massifn.山峦45fringen. 外围，边缘地带 46Snowdonia斯诺登山47Belfast贝尔法斯特，北爱尔兰首府, 时期重要的港口铁路枢纽以及主要的工商业城市行政和文化中心. 1888年设市,1920年成为北爱尔兰政府驻地48indentationn.缺口，犬牙交错状49the uplands of County Antrim安特里姆高原50the central lowlands of the Lough Neagh basin内伊湖盆地平原51London伦敦，英国首都，位于英格兰东南部，跨泰晤士河，世界六大城市之一。伦敦始建于公元一世纪罗马人占领时期，称为伦底纽姆（Londinium）。后经历代沿革，以老城区伦敦城（City of London）为中心，城市逐步向外扩展至含伦敦城外的12个市区(borough)的内伦敦(Inner London)和含内伦敦以外的20个市区的外伦敦(Outer London)。这32个市区和伦敦城合称大伦敦。伦敦城位于泰晤士河左岸，是全国的金融中心，英格兰银行(Bank of England, 英国中央银行) 所在地。伦敦成分为东区(East End)和西区(West End)。西区是伦敦的政治中心和商业区，东区是码头、工业区和住宅区。52Liverpool利物浦，位于英格兰西北部，默西河河口，濒临爱尔兰海，初建于1207年，后逐步发展为英国重要的对外贸易及交通运输港口。创建于1959年的甲克虫乐队（the Beatles）在20世纪60年代曾风靡世界53Glasgow格拉斯哥，位于苏格兰中南部，跨克莱德河河口，苏格兰第一大城市和重要港口。造船业及钢铁煤炭业兴起于18世纪末至19世纪初的英国工业革命。54landladyn.女房东，女店主55the Tyne泰恩河56the Tees蒂斯河57the Mersey默西河58the Severn River塞文河59Bristol Channel 布里斯托尔海峡60the