大学英语课件之英美文化4Britain in the Two World Wars

1、UK Chapter 4Britain in the Two World Wars“Iron Lady”Warm-upWhat are the similarities and differences between WWI and WWII?Who were the Big Three during WWII?Britain and WWIIn order to redivide the world, an imperialist war was inevitable.Nature: a struggle for hegemony Two military blocs had been fo

2、rmed.The Triple Alliance（三边联盟）: Germany、 Austria-Hungary（奥匈帝国）、 Italy. The Triple Entente （三边协约）: France、Russia、Britain. Outcome of the WarThrough the Treaty of Versailles, Britain got most of what she wanted. So far as the area is concerned, the British Empire was at its greatest in 1920, when it i

3、ncluded about 25% of the worlds population and more than of the worlds land territory.BUT the War Was Disastrous! Britain lost about 2,700,000 casualties, 70% of her merchant ships and a large amount of wealth.Britain borrowed $1,000 million from the US.This caused Britain to become a debtor nation.

4、London was replaced by New York as the worlds leading banking centre. Britain Between the Two World WarsBritains navy and air force were the largest in the world, its army the third largest.Yet its industry was aging.The Great Depression hit especially hard in the British Isles.Strikes and labour un

5、rest occurred frequently.Colonial ties became further weakened in the 1930s. Britain and WWIIIn 1940 Britain was under daily attack by Hitlers Nazi air forces. Britain was dependent on the lend-lease war materials from the US. （In a wartime speech, Winston Churchill said “I had nothing to offer but

6、blood, toil, tears and sweat, and a faith in ultimate victory.”By the end of 1941, Britain, Soviet Union and the US were at war with Germany, Italy and Japan. “The Big Three: Churchill、Stalin、F.D.Roosevelt. (wartime meetings)On April 30, 1945 Hitler committed suicide.The WWII ended with the dropping

7、 of two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed 300,000 people and caused serious damage to the health of future generations.The Postwar BritainAbout one-quarter of its national wealth was lost during the war. In 1946 Britain attached herself permanently to the American Alliance. It bec

8、ame economically and militarily so closely linked with the US that it became in effect impossible for her to pursue an independent foreign policy.It was at this moment that Britain ceased to be a great power.Mrs. Margaret ThatcherIn 1979 Thatcher was elected as the first female Prime Minister in Bri

9、tain. From the start, her autocratic style earned her the nickname of the “Iron Lady”. In 1982 a war broke out between Britain and Argentina over the issue of Falkland.The British victory provoked the upsurge of British patriotism and sent Thatcher into a second term of office.ThatcherismThe focus o

10、f her economic policy was to shift the economic emphasis back to private enterprise. In other words, returning state-owned enterprise to private ownership wherever possible. Cutting public expenditure Reducing inflation by controlling the supply of money. ThatcherismIn foreign affairs she agreed in 1985 to return Hong Kong to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. By 1989 Thatcherism had produced a decisive long-term economic recovery.BUT such a recovery was unevenly distributed in Britain. The southern part of the country enjoy