英语国家概况-英国部分

The Society and Culture of Major English-Speaking Countries UK（The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland） INTRODUCTION

? 1. The Commonwealth of Nations ? 2. European Union since 1973

? 3. G7: the Group of Seven large developed economies-> G8 -> G20

? 4. Population:1 in 20 are of non-European ethnicity, a multiracial society. ? 5. One nation of four parts: ? England ? Scotland ? Wales

? Northern Ireland ? 6. Capital: London

? in the south of the country ? the largest city in the country

? one of the three major international financial centers in the world (London Stock Exchange)

? political, economic and cultural center

? the only city to host Olympic Games three times:1908,1948,2012 HISTORY England

? 1. A Highly Urbanized Country: 80% in cities, 2% agriculture. ? 2. The Largest of the four nations, and the largest population ? 3. A History of Invasion:

? Before the first Century AD: tribal kingdoms of Celtic people ? 43 AD: Roman Invasion( England and Wales) ? The Angles, the Saxons, the Jutes

? King Arthur and His Knights of Round Table ? Angle-land->England ? 8th Century: Vikings ? King Alfred the Great

? 1066: The Norman Conquest

? Normans, William of Normandy , the Battle of Hastings, King Harold ? The Tower of London

? 1640s：Civil War, Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, “Lord Protector”

? 1688: Glorious Revolution (Bloodless Revolution), James II, “William of Orange” and his wife Mary Scotland

? 1. The second largest of the four nations, both in population and in geographical area.

? 2. the most rugged part of the UK ? 3.North: The Highlands

? South: The Southern Uplands ? Middle: Lowlands

4. Glasgow: The Largest city Edinburgh: Capital

5. Hadrian’s Wall 136AD Rome 6. Six century AD

British Celts: around Glasgow Scots: Southwest

Scottish Celts (Picts): Highlands, Gaelic

7. Anglo-Scottish conflict: Macbeth, William Wallace’s uprising in1298 8. The Battle of Bannockburn: Robert the Bruce 1314 9. 1603 James I

10. 1707 Scotland joined the Union, electing its members of parliament to the London parliament. ? 11. Culture and Science:

? Telephone: Bell, Walter Scott, Robert Burns ? Louis Stevenson: Dr Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Wales

? 1. The Third Largest ? 2. Capital: Cardiff ? 3. Language: Welsh

? 4. Heroes: Llywelyn ap Grufudd

? Owain, Glyndwer ? 5. 1536 Wales joined UK Northern Ireland ? 1. Ulster

? 2. The Smallest of the four nations, both in area and population ? 3. Capital: Belfast ? 4. Culture:

? Seamus Heaney:1995 Nobel Prize ? Neil Jordan: 1992 Oscar award ? 5. Landmark: Giant’s Causeway

? 6. Until 1921: The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. (Ireland since 1801)

? 7. Home Rule Bill 1914 ? 8. The Easter Rising 1916 ? 9. IRA: Irish Republic Army ? 10. The Sinn Fein Party

? 11. Conflict: Catholics vs. Protestants ? 12.1921

? South: 26 counties -> Ireland ? Northeast: 6 counties-> UK

? 13. Parliament at Stormont, near Belfast. ? “direct rule” ? 14. The split of IRA: ? The Official IRA

? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?

? The Provisional IRA ? 15. Bloody Sunday 1972. 1.30 POLITICS

? 1. The oldest representative democracy.

? 2. Monarchy: fifth century AD-1066 Norman Conquest ? 3. Queen: Elizabeth II

? 4. “divine right of kings”->symbolic

? 5. Oliver Cromwell: roundheads 1640-1660 King Charles I

? 6. Magna Carta: a key expression of the rights of citizens against the Crown 1215

? 7.The Parliament: ? House of Lords ? House of Commons

? 8. All money grants should be considered and approved by the Commons before being considered by the Lords.

? 9.1688 Glorious Revolution William of Orange

? 10.1689 Bill of Rights: the King would never be able to ignore Parliament ? 11.Cabinet

? 12. 1714 King George I Prime Minister ? 13. 1832 Modern political system was born. The British Government Today

? 1.Britain is both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy ? 2. British parliamentary democracy: Australia, Canada, New Zealand and India.

? 3. All but India recognize the Queen as their head of state ? 4. Governor-General: a representative of the Crown ? 5. No written constitution

? statute law成文法, the common law普通法 and conventions习惯法 ? 6. The Functions of Parliament: ? Passes Laws

? Votes for taxation

? Scrutinizes government policy, administration and expenditure ? Debates the major issues of the day

? 7. Parliament is supreme in Britain because it alone has the power to change the terms of the Constitution.

? 8. There are no legal restraints upon Parliament.

? 9. The Parliament today consists of the Queen, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. These three institutions must all agree to pass any given legislation.

? 10. The Roles of the Queen (Monarchy) :

? Symbolizes the tradition and unity of the British state ? Legally head of the executive ? Integral part of the legislature ? Head of judiciary

Commander in chief of the armed forces Supreme governor of the Church of England 11.The House of Lords:

Lords Spiritual: Archbishops and bishops Lord Temporal: everyone else

12. Lords are not elected. They are either inherited from their ancestors or appointed by the sovereign, at the suggestion of the Prime Minister .(Life Peers)

? 13. Lords do not receive salaries. ? 14 The House of Commons:

? About 650 MPs (Members of Parliament) ? Each represents a constituency or seat.

? 15. MPs are only allowed to sit for the lifetime of the parliament, that is, the length of time between General Elections when a new set of MPs is elected. ? 16. MPs can be reelected an unlimited number of times. ? 17. MPs receive salaries and allowances.

? 18. The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party which wins the most seats in general election.

? 19. The Cabinet (about 20 MPs) is chosen by the Prime Minister ? 20. The Functions of the Cabinet: ? Policy-making

? The coordination of government departments ? The supreme control of government

? 21. The House of Commons is the real center of British political life. General Elections ? 1. Voters:

? Those excluded are Lords, certain categories of convicted criminals, the legally insane, and resident foreign citizens (except UK resident citizens of the Irish Republic)

? 2. 651 constituencies or seats ? 3.Period: 5 years

? Longer: exceptional circumstances ? Shorter:

? A “vote of no confidence” in the House of Commons

? The Prime Minister decides that the government is popular now. ? 4. Candidates: ? Voters

? A deposit of 500 pounds which is lost if the candidates does not receive at least 5% of the vote. ? 5. Election Process: ? Electoral register ? Voting card

? Electoral Campaigns: Opinion Polls ? Election day:

? ? ? ? ? ?

? voting station, private booth, counting votes, ? 326/651 wins. The Political Parties

? 1. Three Major Parties: ? The Conservative Party ? The Labour Party

? The Liberal Democrats ? 2. The Labour Party: ? The newest ? A socialist party ? High taxation levels

? 3. The Conservative Party: ? The party of the individual ? Low taxation levels

? 4. The Liberal Democrats ? The third biggest ? The “middle” party

? 5. Current Party Leaders:

? PM: David Cameron (Conservative) ? Deputy PM: Nick Clegg (Liberal) ? Ed Miliband (Labour) Economy

? 1. Agriculture: ? Small but efficient

? The best agricultural land is in the southeast of England. ? 2. Fishing: ? Scottish ports

? 3. Energy production: ? North Sea

? Shell, British Petroleum (BP), British Gas ? RTZ

? 4. Manufacture:

? Pharmaceuticals, chemicals, aerospace, food and drink ? 5. Finance: ? Banking ? “The City”

? London Stock Exchange HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS ? 1.Religious Holidays

? 1.1 Christmas: the birth of Jesus Christ ? Christmas Pantomime ? Message from the Queen ? Boxing Day

? 1.2 Easter: the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ ,the first Sunday

after the full moon ? Easter egg ? Chocolate

? Rabbits and chicks ? 2. National Holidays

? Queen’s Birthday: second Saturday in June ? “Trooping the Colour” ? Buckingham Palace

? 3. Holidays in the 4 Nations ? 3.1 England

? Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Night): early autumn ? 3.2 Northern Ireland

? The Orange March: July 12

? ST Patrick’s Day: March 17,shamrock ? 3.3 Scotland

? Hogmanay: December 31, first footing ? Burns Night: January 25, haggis

? Halloween: October 31, turnip lanterns ? 3.4 Wales

? Eisteddfod: August, music and poetry EDUCATION SYSTEM ? 1.Compulsory:5-16

? 2.State schools and public schools

? 3. 0-5: Pre-primary Schooling (nursery schools, daycare, play groups) ? 4. 5-11:Primary Schools ? 5. 11-19: Secondary schools:

? 5.1 comprehensive schools and grammar schools

? 5.2 16: General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE)

? 5.3 17-19: General Certificate of Education-Advanced (A-levels) ? 5.4 17-19: General National Vocational Qualifications (GNVQs) ? 6. Higher Education

? 6.1 Universities: public, Oxford, Cambridge ? 6.2 The Open University

? 6.3 Degrees: Bachelor of Arts (BA)

? Bachelor of Science (BSc) ? Master of Arts (MA) ? Master of Science (MSc) ? Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) BRITISH MEDIA

? 1. British Newspaper

? One of the world’s oldest established newspaper industries. ? The Observer : the world’s oldest national newspaper ? The Times: UK’s oldest daily newspaper ? The Guardian

? ? ? ? ? ? ?

The Quality Press, the Broadsheets The tabloids

Fleet Street, the Street of Shame

The News of the World Phone-hacking Scandal 2. The Broadcast Media

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) British Sky Broadcasting Group (SKY)

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