英语国家概况考点及要点.doc

The United Kingdom
What is the geographical position of the uk?
It is marked by latitude 50`N in southern England and by latitude 60’ across the Shetland islands off the northwest coast of Scotland. The distance from the southern coast of England to the most northern point of the Scottish mainland is 995km, and the English east coast and welsh west coast are 483km apart. With an area of 242,524 square km.
Could you give examples of important rivers in the uk? What is the lake district famous for in British literary history.
1. The largest river, the seven, is 338 km in length, beginning in Wales, emptying into the Atlantic Ocean. 2. The second largest but most important river is the Thames. 3. In Scotland, the Clyde lake and the forth. 4. in Northern Ireland, the lagan, the Bann, and the foyle. Lake District, located in the cumbrian mountains of northwest England, comprises 15 major beautiful lakes and has become a popular tourist destination. This district is attractive also because of its association with the lake poets, who settled there in the early 1800s.
What influences the climate in the uk? What are its features with respect to temperature rainfall and sunshine?
The moist and mild westerly wind from the Atlantic Ocean. The warm drift of the Gulf Stream around the land. Smallness of the British Isles and its inlet-filled coastal configuration.
Rainfall: is fairly well distributed throughout the year, with February to march being the driest period and October to January, the wettest. Temperature: rarely lower than 0`c in winter or higher than 32`c in summer. July and august are normally the warmest months In England. December to February is often cold, wet and windy. Sunshine: the uk is not a very sunny country. In summer, average daily sunshine varies from 5 hours in northern Scotland to 8 hours on the Isle of Wight in the south. In winter, 1 hour in northern Scotland, 2 hours on the south coast of England.
How does the weather in the uk affect British life.
The uk unique climate pattern inevitably results in a changeable and often unpredictable weather. This provides a constant topic of daily conversation for the Britons and it is believed that this changeability of weather is a conditioning factor of the national character that has helped the British become more adaptable.
Uk is made up of: England (London), Scotland (Edinburgh), Wales (Cardiff), northern Ireland (Belfast). London is located on the bank of the river Thames in southeast England.
The uk cost ling is very long, about 8000km.
What patterns of settlement and immigration has the uk demonstrated in history?
The United Kingdom has a multinational and multi-ethnic society where its people have diverse origins in every continent of the world. Its contemporary population is predominantly of English, welsh, Scottish and northern Irish stock, who have derived from varied settlement internal migration and assimilation in history.
Is it correct to describe contemporary British society as”multi-ethnic” and “multinational” if so, why?
The British are often regarded as a “mixed” people, meaning that they are products of waves of invasion and immigration from different ethnic groups in the course of history. Their ethnic origins have been complicated by intermarriage and relocation.
They are: 1. Neolithic Iberians (in the Bronze Age) 2. Celtic tribes (between 600 bc and 43 ad, bringing in an iron age civilization and two languages that became the later Gaelic and welsh) 3. Romans (55 bc,) 4. Germanic (5th to 7th century, come to constitute Britain’s present predominant stock, their language became the foundation of the basic, short, everyday words in modern English) 5. Scandinavians(Vikings, 8th to 9th , subdued and integrated by the Anglo-Saxon agricultural and Christian culture.) 6. French Normans.( in 1066) meaning: Celtic languages are still used to some extent and Celtic culture is still celebrated. Affected the developing fabric of British life and formed the first foundations of the modern state. This mixture, increased by later immigration, has produced the present ethnic and national diversity in Britain.
Immigrations: Jewish moneylenders, 1330, Dutch and Flemish, helping build the textile trade in England. Others, including gypsies, enslaved blacks and a further wave of Jews. In 16th and 17th, refutes from Europe, such as Dutch Protestants and French Huguenots that added to Britain’s agricultural population. 19th, countryside to urban centres, from Wales, Scotland and Ireland to England. 1840s, Irish people moved to Britain because of potato famine.
Meaning: in history, the multicultural communities have helped build today’s vibrant uk and contributed to its economic and social development. With its range and unique mix of cultural identities and heritages, is seen to have defined and added cultural value to the contemporary uk. But, inequality and discrimination do exist in Britain society because of the differences in religion, race, and cultural habits, particularly at times of economic stagnation. As a consequence, it seems that ethnic divisions and tensions will have increasing rather than diminishing significance for British life.
How has English language evolved in history? Why is it said that it is important to the uk`s class structure?
Class structure: 1. upper-middle class 2. Middle class 3. lower middle class 4. Skilled working class 5. Semi-skilled and unskilled working class 6. Those at the lowest level of subsistence.
Who were the main foreign invaders of Britain at different times in British history? What contributions have they respectively made to the British culture, or what impacts have they had?
1.Early Settlers （5000BC-55BC）early man came from the European continent, stone circles and tools appeared all over the British Isles in the Neolithic Age from around 4400 bc. Famous sites of Stonehenge and silbury hill.
2.the celts invaded from central Europe by 500 BC. They introduced 2 important changes: the beginning of the Iron Age and the building of hill forts.
II. Roman Britain (55BC-410AD)
罗马人统治时期的英国（公元前55年-410年）
1.British recorded history begins with the Roman invasion. In 55BC and 54BC, Julius Caesar, a Roman general, invaded Britain twice.
2. Roman's influence on Britain.
The Roman built many towns, road, baths, temples and buildings. They make good use of Britain's natural resources. They also brought the new religion, Christianity, to Britain.
罗马人修建了许多城镇网，道路，澡堂，庙宇和其他建筑物。他们还很好地利用了英国的自然资源。罗马人还把基督教这门新宗教带到不列颠。
III. The Anglo-Saxons (446-871)
盎格鲁-撒克逊人（公元446-871年）
1． Basis of Modern English race: the Anglo-Saxons.
盎格鲁-萨克逊时代（奠定了英国的基础）
In the mid-5th century a new wave of invaders, Jutes, Saxons, and Angles came to Britain. They were three Teutonic tribes. In the 7 century, they developed 7 separate kingdoms known as England, and established the English language now refered to as Old English.
The Anglo-Saxons brought their own Teutonic religion to Britain. Christianity soon disappeared,
3．The Early Anglo-Saxons make the contributions to the English state.
早期盎格鲁-撒克逊人为英国做出的贡献。
The Anglo-Saxons laid the foundations of the English state. Firstly, they divided the country into shires, with shire courts and shire reeves, or sheriffs, responsible for administering law. Secondly, they devised the narrow-strip, three-field farming system which continued to the 18th century. Thirdly, they also established the manorial system. Finally, they created the Witan（council or meeting of the wisemen） to advise the king, the basis of the Privy Council which still exists today.
盎格鲁-撒克逊人为英国国家的形成打下了基础。首先，他们把国家划分为郡，郡法庭和郡法官、或行政司法长官负责执法。其次，他们设计的窄条三圃田农耕制延用至18世纪。此外，他们还建立了领地制。最后，他们还创立了议会(贤人会议)，向国王提供建议，这就成为了今天仍存在的枢密院的基础。
IV．Viking and Danish invasions
北欧海盗和丹麦人的入侵
1．The invaders were the Norwegians and the Danes. They attacked various parts of England from the end of the 8th century.
2．King Alfred (849-899) and his contributions
艾尔弗雷德国王（849-899）和他所做出的贡献
Alfred was a king of Wessex. He defeated the Danes and reached a friendly agreement with them in 879. The Danes gained control of the north and east, while he ruled the rest. He also converted some leading Danes into Christians.阿尔弗雷德是威塞克斯的国王。他打败了丹麦人，并于公元879年与他们达成了友好协议。协议规定丹麦人控制英格兰北部和西部（丹麦法区），而他统治其他地区。他还劝服一些丹麦首领成为基督教徒。
V．The Norman Conquest (1066)
诺曼征服（公元1066年）
1．The Norman Conquest and its consequences
诺曼征服及其产生的影响。
The Norman Conquest of 1066 is perhaps the best-known event in English history. the feudal system was completely established in England. Relations with the Continent were opened, and the civilization and commerce were extended. Norman-French culture, language, manners and architecture were introduced. The Church was brought into closer connection with Rome, and the church courts were separated from the civil courts.
1066年的诺曼征服也许是英国历史上的最著名事件。于是，封建制度在英国完全建立。开放了与欧洲大陆的关系，文明和商业得到发展，引进了诺曼-法国文化、语言、举止和建筑。教会与罗马的联系更为密切，教会法庭与世俗法庭分离。
How did feudalism emerge and decline in medieval Britain?
Feudalism, a concept often used to describe the medieval society, had existed under the Anglo-Saxon, to consolidate his power.
The Black Death, a fierce and widespread outbreak of plague that ravaged the whole of Europe. killed perhaps up to one-third of the British population. As a result, in 1381, wat Tyler led a band of Kentish rebels to stage a revolt, but was subdued with force. It inspired other public demonstrations and rebellions against the feudal power throughout the later medieval period. the hundred years` war (1337-1453), a series of dynastic civil wars for the English between French, The war destroyed the feudal nobility and therefore brought about a new social order. Internationally, by ending England’s status as a power on the continent, it led the English to expand their power at sea. After, wars of the roses, a series of dynastic civil wars for the English throne were staged from 1422 onwards between the houses of Lancaster and York. With Henry Tudor’s accession as Henry vii, the central authority of the crown was soon to be resumed, bringing England’s turbulent medieval period to an end and, most importantly, ushering in a mew age.
In 1215, the Magna carta大宪章 to impose legal limits on the king’s personal powers in raising money from his subjects. In 1265, Simon de Montfort summoned the first elected parliament.
Enclosure movement圈地运动， helped accumulate enough capital for capitalism to develop in Britain.
British civil war: 1642-1651, took place between parliamentarians and royalists, was a constitutional issue between a king who claimed to rule by divine right and represented the feudal nobility.内战 in 1865, James took the throne.
The industrial revolution: started in age-old wool textile industry. James watt.
The seven years` war(英法，殖民地掠夺): end with the treaty of Paris, firmly establishing the British in India and Canada.
Victorian Britain: from 1837 to 1901, queen Victoria had the longest reign in British history, presiding over, first, a kingdom and then an empire.
两党演变：civil war(roundhead, royalist) 17th century (Whigs, Tory) 工革(liberal party, conser vative party) 1922(labour party, conser party)
What was the social background for the reformation to take place in England ? what major achievements did the Elizabethan era witness?
1. Henry iii failed to get the papal approval for divorcing his wife, he initiated a revolution in 1533, separating the English church from roman and establishing himself head of the church.2. king Henry desired to make the pope and all church officers of England acknowledge his superior jurisdiction over the church in England.
2. she succeeded in putting to rest religious issue; her government was effective in reducing the power of the old nobility, expanding the power of her government, and effecting common law and administration throughout England; she also witnessed the English renaissance.
British history entered the reign of Elizabeth I in 1558, an age of glory.
The Civil Wars and their consequences
Because of the absolute rule of Charles, the confrontation between Charles I and the parliament developed into the civil war. The war began on August 22,1642 and ended in 1651. Charles I was condemned to death.
The English Civil War is also called the Puritan Revolution. It has been seen as a conflict between the parliament and the King, and a conflict between economic interests of the Crown. The economic interests of the urban middle classed coincided with their religious ( Puritan) ideology while the Crown's traditional economic interests correspondingly allied with Anglican religious belief. The English Civil War not only overthrew feudal system in England but also shook the foundation of the feudal rule in Europe. It is generally regarded as the beginning of modern world history.
The Industrial Revolution (1780-1830)
1．The industrial Revolution refers to the mechanisation of industry and the consequent changes in social and economic organization in Britain in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.
工业革命指的是17世纪末、18世纪初英国工业的机械化，以及因此而导致的社会结构和经济结构的变化。
Consequences of the industrial Revolution工业革命的结果
（1） Britain was by 1830 the "workshop of the world";
（2） Towns grew rapidly and became the source of the nation's wealth.
（3） Mechanization destroyed the livelihood of those who could not invest in it . The working men worked and lived in a appalling conditions.
（4） The industrial revolution created the industrial working class, the proletariat, and it later led to trade unionism.

What are the characteristics of the British constitution? 1. Constitutional monarchy 2.parliamentary sovereignty 3.representative democracy 4.the rule of law. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, the head of state is a king or a queen. The United Kingdom is governed, in the name of the Sovereign by His or Her Majesty's Government. The System of parliamentary government is not based on a written constitution, the British constitution is not set out in any single document. It is made up of statute law, common law and conventions. The Judiciary determines common law and interprets statutes.
What are the functions of the parliament? The UK parliament is one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world, having its origins in the mid-thirteenth-century great councils. It comprises three elements: the Crown, the non-elected House of Lords, and the elected House of Commons. The main function of parliament is to legislate, that is, to create, abolish or amend new laws for the entire nation. But, in practice, it normally passes bills that are often proposed by the government. It also votes the taxation and expenditures of the government; examine government policies and administration, and debates major political issues of the day.
Queen: is not only the sovereign of the United Kingdom, but also the head of state of 15 other realms and head of the commonwealth. (declare war, dissolve parliament, dismiss