英国概况复习考试知识点.doc

I. Important facts to know about the UK.1.Britain does not share land border with any other countries except the Republic of Ireland(爱尔兰).2. The climate of Britain is a mild and temperate one.3. The most important river in the United Kingdom is the Thames River. The largest /longest is the Severn River.4. The famous Speakers Corner is an area inside Hyde Park, London, where speakers address the public, especially on Sundays.5. The Houses Parliament are in the City of Westminster.6. The Westminster Abbey is the place where almost all English kings and queens have been crowned.7. The Whitehall is where many British government offices are located.8. Buckingham Palace is the London residence for the King or Queen.9. No.10 Downing Street in London is the official residence of British Prime Minister.10. London, the capital of the United Kingdom, is situated on the Thames River near its mouth.11. The West End of London is resided by richer people than the East End.12. The British Museum is the oldest and largest of all the museums and galleries in the UK.13. Wembley Stadium is the site of the FA Cup Final, while Wimbledon is the site of the international Lawn Tennis championship.14. The “tube” in London is the oldest and longest underground railway in the world.15. The British state is made up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.16. London Tower, first built as a fortress for the royal family, was later used as a prison for the Kings or Queens political enemies.17. Big Ben is a famous clock in London.18. There is no longer serious “smog” in London nowadays.19. The UK is one of the most densely populated countries in the world.20. In Britain only less than 2% of the population are farmers but they manage about 70% of the land area.21. It was the Anglo-Saxons who brought the English language into England.22. The immigrants coming to Britain are mainly from the West Indies, India and Pakistan.23. The “upper class”, living off the ownership of land or capital are fairly constant at around 2%.24. A skilled worker, however much he /she earns, is one of the working /lower class.25. People who do unskilled office-work are also likely to be described as lower (middle) class.26. John Bull is the nickname of Britain.27. The UK has experienced relative economic decline since World War II.28. Margret Thatcher is the first and only female Prime Minister in British history.29. The average household size in the UK is becoming smaller and smaller.30. The Teddy Boys was the first cult that emerged in the UK in the 1950s among the working class youth.31. The Hippies were from the middle class families in late 1960s.32. Punks appeared in the 1970s.33. The rave culture was popular among the middle and working class in the 1990s.34. The youngest age that a person can get married in Britain is 16.35. At the age of 18, people can get legally married without parental consent in the UK.36. Most British couples have their wedding ceremony in the church with the bride dressed in a long white dress.37. Most second marriages only involve a civil ceremony.38. Only about 5% of old people in the UK live in institutions such as old peoples homes or hospitals.39. The “Eleven-plus” is an examination taken at about the age of eleven, to decide which type of secondary schools a British child will attend. This is also called “streaming” (Children are put into different groups according to their ability in many British schools).40. Comprehensive schools, where in 1999 85% of pupils go, do not select and stream children.41. In Britain, the great majority of parents send their children to state /comprehensive schools.42. In the United Kingdom, kids are entitled to receiving compulsory education from the age of 5 to 16.43. The full name of CTC is city technology college.44. Grammar schools in modern Britain emphasize academic studies and offer more subjects than any other secondary schools.45. Public schools are the foundation-layers of the English education.46. Public schools in the UK are mostly private and charge high tuitions.47. GCSE, the General Certificate of Secondary Education, is the main examination that all students should take at the age of 16.48. GCE A level, the General Certificate of Education Advanced level, is an examination for “sixth form” students who want to go to universities.49. Of all the English universities Oxford University and Cambridge University are the most well-known.50. The service /tertiary industry employs about three-fourths of the working population in the UK.51. Visiting bars is the most commonly pursued outdoor leisure activity for Britons.52. The top-level football matches in the UK are played at Premier League.53. Cricket is among the most typical English sports, which has been in existence since the 16th century.54. The Boy Scout Association and the Girl Guides Association are the largest voluntary organisations in the UK to promote the personal development and social education of young people.55. All employees in the UK have the right to a minimum of 4 weeks annual paid leave.56. You can often get a cheaper ticket you place an order in advance or for a particular day of the week.57. In the UK you can visit many theme parks near the seaside or in the rural areas as well as many country parks and National Parks.58. Most people who come to visit the UK are from Western Europe.59. English Heritage is a government funded agency to protect and manage about 400 historical buildings and archaeological sites in Britain. The Biodiversity Action Plan aims at further conservation of plants and wildlife while the Local Heritage Initiative protects local sites and traditions.60. Good Friday falls on the Friday before the week of Easter.61. Easter is traditionally associated with the Resurrection of Christ, the eating of Easter eggs and the coming of spring.62. May Day Holiday is not necessarily May 1st in the UK.63. Traditionally, people gave Christmas gifts or money to their staff or servants on Boxing Day, which is the day after Christmas.64. By far the majority of crimes committed in Britain involve violence against property.65. Scotland Yard is the headquarters of the London Metropolitan Police Force, which is nicknamed “Bobby”.66. A barrister has to be called to the Bar before going through the year of pupilage.67. The church in England was under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church in the Middle Ages.68. In Northern Ireland, the dominant group is made up by Roman Catholics.69. The person who says “Not believing in God is a belief in itself” and “I was not, I have been, I am not, I dont mind” may be an atheist.70. In the United Kingdom, free medical care for everyone and financial help for the old, the sick and the unemployed, which have been available since 1948, are the foundation of the welfare state.71. Full employment was a policy adopted by the Labour Party.72. The Beveridge Report of 1942 contributed to the transformation of the UK into a high welfare state.73. India was regarded as “the jewel in the Crown” of the British Empire.74. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen. He sits in the House of Commons. He receives more than 80,000 a year.75. The ultimate authority for law-making resides in the House of Commons.76. Britains foreign trade nowadays is mainly dealt with EU countries. 77. The main agricultural products in Britain are wheat, barley, potatoes, sugar-beets and oats.78. The Liberal Party, the third largest party of the United Kingdom, developed from the Whig Party in 1839.79. The UK is the first country to establish the Parliament; the first country to undergo the Industrial revolution; with the most important language in the world.80. The government in the UK is not a presidential democracy.81. The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy which began in the 9th century.82. The House of Commons is chaired by Speaker, while the House of Lords is headed by Lord Chancellor.82. The house of Lords is the highest court in the UK.83. The local government in Britain can be divided into three layers: county councils, district councils, and community /parish councils at the lowest level.84. The UK is divided into 659constituencies with each of them represented by a member in the parliament.85. A councillor represents a ward of about 1200 people at county level.86. The Tories were later called the Conservative Party while the Whigs later became the Liberal Democrats.87. BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation, was set up in 1926 and was a public service. Its External Service broadcasts in 43 languages and its World Service enjoys a weekly audience of 150 million in 2000.88. BBC TV began broadcasting in 1936, and its the worlds first public TV service.89. TV channels have to politically impartial and neutral by law, except Channel 4.90. Newspapers in the UK are privately owned, whose owners aim to make money and to be influential.91. Newspapers make money mainly through the cover price and advertising.92. There are two types of Newspapers: the quality papers (“broadsheets”) and the popular papers (“tabloids”).93. A broadsheet is a serious newspaper with long informative articles. A tabloid is a less serious, popular newspaper containing less news and more human interest stories.94. Britain has one of the worlds oldest established newspaper industries. The Observer, which appeared in 1791, is the worlds oldest national Sunday newspaper, while The Times, which began publishing in 1785, is Britains oldest national daily newspaper.95. More people read popular papers instead of quality papers. The working class are more likely to read popular papers while the upper class tend to read quality papers.96. The United Kingdom became a member of the European Economic Community in 1973. It has been a member of the European Union since 1973.97. The North Sea oil and gas have made Britain largely self-sufficient in these vital fuels.98. Britain is the second largest country at attracting inward investment and the largest outward investor in 1999.99. All cars drive on the left in the UK.II. Definition1.the square mile the City of London situated on the north bank of the River Thames between Tower Bridge and London Bridge2. sixth form two more years of full-time study for students who take part in the examination of the General Certificate of Education, A level so as to be accepted by universities3. sixth form colleges also called tertiary colleges, which provide education for 16-18 year olds with a wider range of vocational courses in addition to the A level GCE courses, leading to a General National Vocational Qualification (GNVQ)4. Oxbridge the name used particularly to refer to the top two universities in Britain: Cambridge and Oxford5.Open University a distance learning government-supported university in the UK, which is open to all people without formal requirements on academic qualifications6.Channel Tunnel also called Eurotunnel or Chunnel, the railroad tunnel between France and England under the English Channel7. package holiday a holiday plan with an “all in” price which includes the transportation to the holiday destination, the accommodation throughout the holiday, and the transfer from the airport or ferry to the accommodation8.CID short for Criminal Investigation Department, referring to the plainclothes police who investigate serious crime9. absolute poverty People, who lack income for the minimum of food, clothing and shelter necessary for merely physical health, are absolutely poor.10. relative poverty Despite adequate income for survival, people who do not have what is regarded as minimum necessary for decency and who cannot escape judgement that they are indecent can be labeled as relatively poor.11. welfare state a state with a government which assumes responsibility for the well-being of its citizens throughout life, through a range of interventions in the market economy12. mixed economy an economy in which there is some public ownership as well as privately owned businesses operating under certain regulations and laws13. limited liability - the liability of a firms owners for no more than the capital they have invested in the firm (Each shareholder has limited liability for any debts of the company and can only lose the amount he/she has invested.)14. frontbencher an MP chosen by the Prime Minister to be one of the ministers /secretaries of state /political heads of government departments /the cabinet members15. cabinet the most important executive branch made up of heads of government departments, which determines government policy16. backbencher a Member of Parliament (MP) or a legislator who does not hold governmental office and is not a Front Bench spokesperson in the Opposition.17. shadow cabinet a group of senior members of the second largest party in the Commons, responsible for criticsing government ministers and formulating opposition policies18. civil servants non-political government employees who serve the elected political government19. devolution - the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a state to government at subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level20. the Commonwealth a voluntary, free association of 50 independent sovereign statesIII. Short answer questions1. The tripartite system in British education secondary modern schools, technical schools, and grammar schools. (P. 56)2. The four types of union in the UK General Unions; Craft Unions; Industrial Unions; White Collar Unions3. Sports which were invented in the UK cricket, table tennis, baseball, golf, snooker, water polo, hockey, boxing, archery, rugby4. The two roles of the British police in society peace-keeper and law-enforcer5. The three basic principles of English law the rule of law, natural law and natural justice6. The two important characteristics of the court system in Britain the open court and the jury system7. The problems facing the British legal system out-dated traditions; elitist system; uneducated jurors; a jury easily swayed by a persuasive barrister; potential racial discrimination8. The three main areas of welfare provision in Britain health, housing and social security9. The three branches of the Central Government in Britain the legislature, the executive and the judiciary10. The main functions of the Parliament in the UK debates important national and regional issues; amends and approves or rejects legislation; acts as watchdog over government (committees, question times, etc.)11. Three main parties in the UK the Conservative Party, the La