八级英语国家概况

1、英语国家概况要点提纲Britain1.The full name :<The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland> The UK or Britain (simply) England or Great Britain (wrongly)The UK England+Wales+Scotland+Northen Ireland Great Britain England+Wales+Scotland2.locationsituated in North-western Europe, to the north o

2、f France and the west of the Netherlands and Denmark, separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel in the south and the North Sea in the east 3.People England biggest people -English-LondonScotland-Scottish -EdinburghWales-Welsh-CardiffNorthern Ireland - Irish -Belfast 4.Religion Christi

3、anity A.Protestantism-church of England B.Roman Catholicism-church of Scotland5.Rivers & Lakes .River Severn - the longest the Atlantic Ocean .the Thames - the second & most important .River Mersey - Liverpool port .Lough Neagh - largest fresh lake 6.Climate The climate of Britain is moderat

4、ed by the Atlantic Gulf stream. Changeable, but not very cold in winter, not very hot in summer 7.main cities (1).London the capital of England and of Britain. the political center of the Commonwealth. in the south of the country the largest city in the country the cultural, business, financial cent

5、er one of the 3 major international financial centers in the world North bank of the Thames: one of the worlds leading banking and financial centers(Bank of England). City of Westminster =west end the political center (Downing Street 10). Royal family (Buckingham Place). East End =area of the poor S

6、outh bank of the Thames center of arts and music(2). Birmingham market center of the Black Country (James Wattsteamer )(3).Glasgowthe largest city of Scotland; main important port(4).Liverpool the second largest port of England; the Beatles 60s of 20th century(5).Manchester center of works movement

7、and textile(6). Edinburgh-capital of Scotland ; travelling city Edinburg Castle the Edinburg International Festival of Music and Drama (late summer and early autumn )(7). Cambridge-east bank of Cam River; Cambridge University 1209(8). Oxford-87kmfrom London, by Thames ; Oxford University 1168-the ol

8、dest university8. Education (1)all children, by law, receive a full-time education from 5 to 16.compulsory (2)the academic year begins in September, and is divided into three terms, with holidays at Christmas, Easter ( Sunday ) and in the summer. (3)Grammar schools are the oldest schools in the U.K.

9、 Comprehensive secondary schools were established before 1960. (4)the four most famous of all public schools are Eton College, Harrow School, Winchester College and Rugby School (5).Higher EducationA.old universitiesOxford & Cambridge <the college system & the tutorial system> B.the fo

10、ur Scottish universitiesSt.Andrews / Glasgow / Aberdeen / EdinburgC.the middle-aged universitiesfounded from 1830 to 1930 < the university of London>D.the new universitiesafter the Second World WarE.the open university1969, offers courses through one of the B.B.C.s television channelsF.the one

11、 independent universityBuckingham University, 1973, run by academic and vocational figures & businessmen9. The Press, Radio, Television and News Agencies The Times 1785 / The Guardian 1821 / Daily Mail 1896 The Independent 1986 / The Sun 1964 / Daily Mirror 1903The Observer 1791 the worlds oldes

12、t national newspaper The Times 1785 the UKs oldest daily newspaper Economistthe most influential and most substantial periodical the British Broadcasting Corporation (B.B.C) 1922 the Independent Television Commission (I.T.C) 1991 the Radio Authority·< the B.B.C. is financed by payments from

13、all people who posses T.V. sets.· the Independent Television Commission and the Radio Authority get their money from licence fees by commercial broadcasters. > .Reuters-one of the four major news agencies in the West 1851, founded in London, Paul Julius de Reuters10. SportsCricket-the most E

14、nglish of all games<it expresses and embodies the spirit of English>.Association football (soccer):season-mid August to early May / Football pools.the annual tennis championships at Wimbledon, in London, are the most famous in the world .betting sport-horse racing 11. Holidays and Festivals.Bo

15、xing Day.Easter Good Friday / Easter Sunday / Easter Monday.Birthday of British Monarch-Queen Elizabeth II: April 21st, 1926 / second Thursday of June12.Constitutional Monarchy-The oldest representative democracy in the worldNo written constitution.Queen/King: the official head of state/ head of the

16、 executive/ an integral part of the legislature head of judiciary/ commander in chief of the armed forces/ supreme governor of the established Church of England <the powers are largely traditional and symbolic> Elizabeth came to the throne in 1952 Son Charles: her heirParliament consists of 3

17、elements: The crown, The House of Lords& The House of Commonsthe Two-party system: Since 1945. the Conservative party& the Labor party be in power by turns the Liberal Democrats-the third party13.History(1)Roman Occupation A. 55B.C.-54B.C. Julius Caesar (Roman general) invaded Britain twiceB

18、. Real conquest in 43A.D.by Claudius I (Roman Empire)the Romans built a wall called Hadrians wall(2)AngleSaxons Period A They spoke a language which we now call Old English or Anglo-SaxonB. King ArthurC.829A.D. Wessex won the overlordship of all the rest Egbert ( king of Wessex)-king of the Eng

19、lish.(3)Invasion of Vikings About the end of 8th King Alfred of Wessex / Alfred the Great Alfred was considered the first national hero(4)The Norman conquests A.1066 Westminster Abbey- William I(crowned)-William the Conqueror By the early part of the 12th century, feudalism and a strong monarchy was

20、 finally established in England & Came the French language (5) The Hundred Years War (1337-1453)Nature-a feudal and trade war Ostensibl cause :the claim of Edward III to be the rightful king of France Real causes (1)Got back the land they lost(2)Flanders-for trade(6) The Wars of Roses (last 30 y

21、ears) .the family of Lancaster red rose / badge the family of York white rose / badgePurpose:for power, for wealth, for the possession of the Crown (Consequence: the weakening of the old feudal nobility)(7) The cloth industry in England shadowed every branch of English trade and industry increased t

22、he value of wool raising sheep became more profitable caused Enclosure Movementpaved the way for the development of capitalism(8) The Reformation church:not only a religious body, but also a political and legal powerA.direct cause: Henry VIIIs divorce case. 1533. Divorced & broke with the Pope 1

23、534 Act of supremacy Henry the head of the English church English church became independent of Rome. (little was done in religious doctrines & forms)(9) the Bourgeois Revolutionbasic conditions of the appearance of a capitalist mode of production conflict between the bourgeoisie and the the crow

24、nThe Absolutist Rule of the Stuarts short Parliament & long Parliament beginning of the revolutionParliament Vs CrownRoundheads Vs Cavaliers or Royalists(10) The Restoration : 1660/5 Charles return to London-Charles(11) the Glorious Revolution1689/2 leaders of Parliament invited William of Holla

25、nd to come and take the throne. William and Mary crowned as joint rulers-William / Mary 1689 Bill of Rights-limiting the powers of the crown(12) the Industrial Revolution14. Literature(1).Fiction Charles Dickens /Walter Scott / William Makepeace Thackeray Jane Austen / The Bronte sisters / Emily &am

26、p; Charlotte & Ann Virginia Woolf / Thomas Hardy / D.H. Lawrence/ James Joyce (2).Poetry the oldest “Old English” literary work BeowulfGeoffrey Chaucer/ Shakespeare/.John Milton/Thomas Gray / Robert Burns William Wordsworth /Georage Byron / Percy Shelly / John Keats(3).Drama William Shakespeare

27、edies: A Midsummer Nights Dream /The Merchant of Venice/Twelfth Night b.tragedies: Romeo & Juliet/Macbeth/King Lear/Othello/Hamlet c.historical plays: Richard IIIIreland Republic of IrelandArea:70282 skms People:3,920,000（2002）。Major-IrishOfficial language: Irish & English <91.6 Catholic&

28、gt;Capital: Dublin National Day：March 17thLocation: in west Europe , center & southern part of the island of Ireland1169-invaded by the English1541-the English king became the king of Ireland1916-the Easter Rising Process of Irish Independence -1921/1937/ 1948/ 1949 Australia the worlds smallest

29、 continent and largest island/the worlds driest inhabited continent the only nation which occupies an entire continent a high standard of living & most urbanized country Sydney 1788the first European settlement of the continentnow the largest city Canberra Capital city national day January 26th

30、national flag Union Jack +a large star + small stars national anthem Advance Australia Fair 1984 national colour green and gold official language English a multicultural society 1/4 foreign born75% Christians the Commonwealth of Australia a federation of the six former colonies as statesJanuary 1st,

31、 1901 Constitutional links with Britain: Queen of Australia Queen Elizabeth II government: the western democratic traditionreflecting British & North American experience The federal houses of parliament: the House of Representatives the lower house the Senate the upper house Parties the Liberal

32、Party the Australian Labour Party the National Party the Australian DemocratsJapan is Australias largest trading partner diplomatic links with China in 1972 Media national daily newspapers: the Australian the Australian Financial Review oldest newspapers: the Sydney Morning Herald 1831 the Geelong A

33、dvertiser 1840 broadcasting: ABC Australia Broadcasting Corporation Radio Australia (overseas service) SBS Special Broadcasting Service 1980 press: AAP Australian Association Press Sydney, 1935New Zealandlocation: in the south-west Pacificin the southern temperate latitudes midway between the Equato

34、r and the South Pole made up of a large, long groups of islands the two main islands: the North Island & the South Island the Resource Management Act, 1991 the first piece of environmental legislation of its kind in the worldpeople: 85% live in cities and towns 74% live in the North Island 80% i

35、dentify themselves as having European ancestry 12.9% Maori the second largest grouplanguage: official language English & MaoriNew Zealand was the first country in the world to give women the right to vote (1893)Maoritanga: Maori culture language, customs and traditions the best known internation

36、ally of all Maori tradition is the haka haka: a dance often performed to daunt the enemy and to prepare warriors for battleQueen of New ZealandQueen Elizabeth IIHead of State the two main parties: the National Party& the Labor Party the Correspondence School the largest schoolprovides distance e

37、ducation correspondence courses for children living in areas too isolated for them to attend school, or cannot attend for medical or other reasonsthe largest education provider the Open PolytechnicAmerica1.Physical geographySituated in the central part of north America/Alaska in the northwestern of

38、north America Hawaii in the central pacificbonded by Canada in the north and by Mexico and the gulf of Mexico on the south with the Atlantic Ocean on the east and the Pacific Ocean on the west 50 states and a federal district (the District of Columbia)1)Eastern: highlands formed by the Appalachian R

39、ange （New York , Washington, Boston）2) Western: high plateaus and mountains -Rocky Mountains Yellowstone National Park 3)Central plain between the Rocky Mountain and the Appalachians. 1/2 of the countys landmass important agriculture area: the Mississippi River coastline: 22.680km the Atlantic: New

40、York/ Philadelphia/ Boston/ Baltimore the Pacific: San Francisco/ Los Angeles/ Seattle/ San Diego the gulf of Mexico: New Orleans/ Houston2. the Mississippi River-the longest & most important3. Five Lakes Lake Michigan-wholly within the U.S. Lake Superior- the largest fresh lake in the world. La

41、ke Huron/ Lake Erie/Lake Ontario. Niagara Falls (between Lake Erie & Lake Ontario) Great Salt Lake- the largest inland salt lake in North America4. Population Most of the inhabitants are of European origin, over 80%. Black people ranks the second 11%. Indians original inhabitants 1300,000 “India

42、n Reservations”5. The Main Cities(1).Washington D.C the White House/ Congress Hall/ Department of State/ Department of Defense (the Pentagon 五角大楼)/ Supreme Court National Museum of Natural History/ The National mall / Washington Monument/ The Lincoln Memorial/ The Jefferson Memorial/ The Library of

43、congress/ Ute. Vernon (home of Georgia Washington)(2). New York City the largest city and the chief port of the US. It is often called “The Big Apple”. Empire State Building/ Wall street/ Broadway/ The United Nations Headquarters.Harlem & Brooklyn (3). Chicago the second largest city in populati

44、on in the united states. the largest industrial city in the country.(4).Los Angeles the third largest city of the u.s./ The film center Hollywood.(5).Philadelphia- Continental Congress (6).Detroit-“The motor city”-The center of automobile industry(7).Houston The sixth largest city in the country fas

45、test growing the center of the petrol chemical industry “Space city of U.S A”“Apollo Program” (8) San Francisco the largest Chinese settlement in the U.S. (9).Boston 1775.4.18 the first gun shut in Lexington & Concord Harvard University & Massachusetts Institute of Technology 6. Education (1

46、)earliest colleges: Harvard University/ Yale University/ Princeton University -only offered religious teachers in order to train religious leaders(2).High Education :.two-year college <community college>-associate degree four-year college<college of arts and science>-BA / BS universities

47、<comprehensive & complex>-BA/ BS; MA/ MS 7. the Media of U.S.A. CBSthe Columbia Broadcasting System NBSthe National Broadcasting System ABSthe American Broadcasting System VOA (Voice of America) APthe Associated Press/UPIthe United Press International the New York Times/the Washington Post

48、/the Los Angeles Times8. Sports and Recreation National ball- base-ball<American League & the National League> NBA-the National Basketball Association9. .Leading position in three symbols of modern technology atomic energy/computers/ space10. 20th century-jazz music/ blues/ rock-and-roll f

49、irst film industry-1915first film “Birth of A Nation”-Hollywood Charles Chaplin-silent film 1928sound film11.Independece Day (July 4th)/ .Halloween (October 31st)/ Thanksgiving (the fourth Thursday of November)12.The State System -federalismthe Executive-the president the Legislative-the Senate &

50、; the House of Representatives the Judicial-the Supreme Court “the system of checks and balance”the two parties: DemocraticDonkey/ RepublicanElephant President-a four-year term; can only be elected to office twice; 13. Literature 1).Fiction Washington Irving father of American literature Rip Van Winkle Nathaniel Hawthorne The Scarlet Letter Edgar Allan Poe -father of the detective stories Mark Twain