英语国家概况（课堂PPT）

1、1 1PART ONEPART ONELand and PeopleLand and People2 2I: DIFFERENT NAMES FOR BRITAIN AND ITS PARTSOfficial nameGeographical nameHistorical name3 3 Official name:Official name: The United Kingdom of Great The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (simply, Britain and Northern Ireland (si

2、mply, Britain, the Untied Kingdom, or UK)Britain, the Untied Kingdom, or UK)4 4GEOGRAPHICAL NAME:England; Great Britain; the British IslesThe British Isles are made up of two large islands and hundreds of small ones. The two large islands are Great Britain and Ireland.5 56 6Great Britain Great Brita

3、in is the larger of these two islands, on which lie the three main divisions of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland England, Scotland and Walesand Wales. EnglandEngland is the largest, most populous and generally speaking the richest section. So people tend to use England and English when they mea

4、n 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. 7 7IrelandIreland is the smaller of these two islands. It is divided into two political units: Northern IrelandNorthern Ir

5、eland, which is the fourth division of the United Kingdom; and the Republic of Ireland (Eire)the Republic of Ireland (Eire), which is an independent country on the southern part of Ireland since 1949 and its capital is Dublin. 8 8HISTORICAL NAMEHISTORICAL NAMETHE BRITISH EMPIRE THE BRITISH EMPIRE is

6、 the name in use when Britain ruled an empire with one fourth of the worlds people and area as a result of its imperialist expansion. It was replaced by the British Commonwealth or the British Commonwealth or the Commonwealth of Nations the Commonwealth of Nations in 1931 when the former British col

7、onies became independent one after another. 9 9THE BRITISH COMMONWEALTHTHE BRITISH COMMONWEALTHNature: Nature: 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 an

8、d have certain trading arrangements. Member nations: Member nations: At present there are 50 member countries within the Commonwealth (in 1991).(英联邦成员共54个,巴基斯坦曾于2007年11月22日被终止成员资格，2008年5月12日再次恢复英联邦成员资格。斐济于2009年9月2日被终止成员资格。) http:/ of Nations，原名：British Commonwealth of Nations）是一个以以英国英国为主导的国家联合体，由为主导

9、的国家联合体，由5454个个主权国家主权国家（含属地）所组成，（含属地）所组成，成员大多为前成员大多为前大英帝国大英帝国的的殖民地殖民地或附属国。该组织元首为或附属国。该组织元首为英国女王英国女王伊丽莎白二世伊丽莎白二世，同时身兼英联邦王国内的同时身兼英联邦王国内的1616国的国家元首。国的国家元首。英联邦 (Commonwealth of Nations) 前身是英帝国，由英国及其自治领和其他已独立的前殖民地、附属国组成。第一次世界大战后，英国慑于日益高涨的殖民地民族解放运动，调整了同原英帝国其他成员之间的关系。1926年“英帝国会议”的帝国内部关系委员会提出，英国和已经由殖民地成为自治共和

10、国的加拿大、澳大利亚、新西兰和南非是“自由结合的英联邦的成员自由结合的英联邦的成员”，“地位平等，在内政和外交地位平等，在内政和外交的任何方面互不隶属，唯有依靠对英王的共同效忠精神统一在一起的任何方面互不隶属，唯有依靠对英王的共同效忠精神统一在一起”。1931年，威斯敏斯特法案从法律上对此予以确认，英联邦正式形成。1947年，印度、巴基斯坦各自宣布独立并加入英联邦。1949年，印度成为共和国，选举了自己的国家元首。从此英联邦成员由需对英王效忠的原则演变为英联邦成员“接受英王为独立接受英王为独立成员国自由联合体的象征。成员国自由联合体的象征。 英联邦名义君主：伊丽莎白二世英联邦名义君主：伊丽莎白

11、二世 . .英联邦是英国对联邦其他成员国在政治、军事、财政经济和文化上施加影响的组织。英联邦没有设立任何权力机构。主要组织机构有：联邦政府首脑会议、亚太地区英联邦政府首脑会议、亚太地区英联邦政府首脑会议、联邦财政部长会议及其他部长级专业会议联邦政府首脑会议、联邦财政部长会议及其他部长级专业会议。1965年起设立英联邦秘书处， 其职责是促进英联邦的合作，筹划英联邦各级会议。秘书处设在伦敦。此外，还有一些英联邦的联系国和原英国直辖的属地也包括在英联邦之内。 英联邦不是一个共和国，也没有中央政府。英王是英联邦的名义元首。英国和 各成员国互派高级专员，代表大使级外交关系。随着英联邦内部联系越来越不稳定

12、，如今，英国已不再是英联邦的主宰，英联邦也只是一个供各成员国进行政治、经 济磋商与合作的松散组织。11111212GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURESBritain 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 Nor

13、th Sea in the east. Its coast is long and has good deep harbours. Sea routes extend far inland, providing cheap transportation. 1313The 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

14、in 1994, so that England and France are joined together by road.1414GEOGRAPHICAL FEATURES OF BRITAIN Britain has been slowly tilting with North-West slowly rising and the South-East slowly sinking.15151616The north and west are mainly highlands, with raised beaches in the Scottish mountainous area p

15、roviding the main farming, settlements, industrial areas and routeways.1717The east and southeast are mostly lowlands, which are part of the Great European Plainthe Great European Plain, with its level land and fertile soil providing much good farmland.1818ENGLANDEngland occupies the largest souther

16、n part of Great Britain with an area of more than 130,000 square km, which takes up nearly 60% of the whole land. Questions:Questions:1: The principal mountain chain here is _.2: The highest peak of England is _.3: The east of England is mainly an _.1919SCOTLANDScotland is in the north of Great Brit

17、ain with an area of 78,760 square km. Its capital is EdinburghEdinburgh. Questions:1: The three natural zones are_, _, _.2: The highest mountain in Britain, _, is located here.3: The most important area of Scotland is_, because it contains_.2020WALESWales is in the west of Great Britain with an area

18、 of 20,761 square km. Its capital is CardiffCardiff. Questions:1: Most of Wales is _.2: 6% of Wales is covered with _, and much of the country is _, land for sheep and cattle.3: _ is arable.4: _ in the northwest is the highest mountain in Wales.2121NORTHERN IRELANDNorthern Ireland takes up the north

19、ern fifth of Ireland and has an area of 14,147 square km. Its capital is Belfast. 2222RIVERS AND LAKESRivers in Britain do not freeze in winter. They play a very important role in the countrys economy.1: The great ports of London, Liverpool, and Glasgow are all connected to the sea by rivers. 2: Riv

20、ers on the east coast all face North Sea ports on the European continent. And they are close to rich fishing grounds.3: Rivers on the west coast carry raw materials to busy manufacturing cities inland.2323RIVERSThree major rivers 1: The Severn River The Severn River (338 km) is the longest river in

21、Britain, rising in central Wales, flowing through West Central England, and out to the Bristol Channel. 2: The Thames River 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 Nort

22、h Sea. 3: The Clyde River The Clyde River (171 km) is the most important in Scotland, rising in Dumfries, passing through Glasgow, and entering the Firth of Clyde (克莱德峡湾). 2424LAKESThere are many lakes in Britain, especially in northern Scotland, the Lake District in northwest England, and North Wal

23、es.Questions:The largest lake in Britain is _in Northern Ireland.The Lake district is well known for _.The largest lakes in the Lake District are_, _, _, and _.The Lake District was also the home of the lake poets_, _, and _ of the 19th century Britain.2525CLIMATE: A MARITIME TYPE OF CLIMATEThe weat

24、her is rainy, changeable and rainy, changeable and unpredictable.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 a favorable one with m

25、ild winters, cool summers, a steady reliable winters, cool summers, a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year, and a rainfall throughout the whole year, and a small range of temperature. small range of temperature. So even in winter one can still see stretches of green grass in the open c

26、ountry, in the parks, and around the houses.2626FACTORS INFLUENCING THE CLIMATE1: The surrounding waters The surrounding waters tend to balance the seasonal differences by heating up the land in winter and cooling it off in summer.2: The prevailing south-west winds or the the WesterliesWesterlies (西

27、风)blow over the country all the year round bring warm and wet air in winter and keeping the temperatures moderate.3: The North Atlantic DriftThe North Atlantic Drift, which is a warm current, passes the western coast of the British Isles and warms them.2727NATURAL CALAMITIESGenerally speaking, the c

28、limate is favorable and equable. Extremes of heat or cold, or of drought or prolonged rainfall are rarely experienced. But problems exist:1: Sometimes there are several months of drought, and at other times too much rain causes flooding.2: Fog, smog, frost and severe gales often cause great damages

29、to crops and to peoples life.3: 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 zonesclear air zones” whereby factories and households are only allowed to burn smokeless fuel.2828THE PEOPLE Britain

30、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. 2929UNEVENLY DISTRIBUTIONIt is unevenly distributed. 90% of the population is urban and only 10% is rural. On the o

31、ther hand, there are some quite large tracts of barren, hilly county, especially in Northern Scotland, which are almost uninhabited. Of the 57 million people:England: 47million, of which 14million in London and south-eastern England;Scotland: 5 million, mostly in Central Lowlands;Wales: less than 3

32、millionNorthern Ireland: 1.5 million, of which 0.5 million in Belfast.3030THE MAKING-UP OF THE POPULATIONThe 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 great mobility makes

33、 it hard to distinguish between people from different parts of Britain, but differences in regional character and speech can still be seen and heard.3131THE ENGLISH PEOPLE AND LANGUAGE1: The Celts(凯尔特人) came to Britain from Germany after 700 BC. One group was called the Britons(不列颠人).2: During the 5

34、th century, the Germanic Angles and Saxons invaded and conquered Britain. The conquerors gave England its name “Angle” land.3: During the 9th century the Danes or Vikings invaded Britain.4: In 1066, the Norman French conquered Britain.It was from these Anglo-Saxons and the later Norman conquerors th

35、at the English people and the English language were born.32321: Common English names: Smith(about 800,000); 2: Differences in regional speech:Southerners speak the type of English closer to BBC English. But the Cockneys the Cockneys (伦敦佬) from the East End of London has a special accent. They pronou

36、nce the vowel ei as ai (such as “wait”, “tray”, and “late”) and “have” as “ave”.Northerners pronounce the vowel as u and a: as : love; bus; France; dance. Sometimes they also leave out the article “the” and the possessive “my”, “your”, etc.3333My luve is like a red, red rose, Thats newly sprung in J

37、une. My luve is like the melodie, Thats sweetly playd in tune. As fair art thou, my bonie lass, So deep in luve am I,And I will luve thee still, my dear,Till a the seas gang dry.Till a the seas gang dry, my dear,And the rocks melt wi the sun!And I will luve thee still, my dear,While the sands o life

38、 shall run.And fare thee weel, my only luve,And fare thee weel a while!And I will come again my luve,Tho it were ten thousand mile! 3434THE WELSH The ancestors of the Welsh were the Celts (Britons) who escaped from the invading Angles and Saxons and found shelter in the wild mountains of Wales, wher

39、e they defended their freedom for a thousand years and were not conquered by the English until 1536 .Common Welsh names are those beginning with Ll, such as Llewellyn, Lloyd, and Llyn; others are Lewis, Davies, Morgan, and Edwards. of the Welsh people speak Welsh, an ancient Celtic language as their first language, which was give equality with English for official use in 1965. Most public signs are in Welsh as well as English.3535THE WELSH EISTEDDFODAU威尔士赛会节Eisteddfodau aistedvo:daiThroughout the year they have festivals of song and dance and poetry call