英国地理 讲稿

Land and Geography of the United Kingdom 英国地理Hello, everyone. Welcome to this course: Introduction to Britain and America. First and foremost, we are going to have an overview of Britain.To the west and off the European Continent, there are several thousand islands on the continental shelf. They are generally called the British Isles. Of all the isles, the largest one is called Great Britain. For the convenience’s sake, it is often shortened to Britain. But officially it is still called Great Britain. The island of Great Britain is divided into three political areas, also known as three countries: England in the South, Scotland in the North and Wales in the Southwest.West across the Irish Sea lies the second largest island, that is, Ireland. It consists of two countries: Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Northern Ireland, together with the three countries on Britain forms UK, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Britain does not share a land border with any other countries except the Republic of Ireland. To the north of the islands the seaway is open between the coasts of Iceland and Norway to the Arctic Ocean. Britain faces Holland, Denmark and Norway across the North Sea. To the southeast and across the English Channel is France. To the south, across the Atlantic Ocean and the Bay of Biscay, are Spain and Portugal. And America and Canada lie on the west corresponding side of the Atlantic Ocean.Britain is over one thousand kilometers from south to north. Its coastline runs about ten thousand kilometers, making it one of the countries with the longest coastlines in the world. In Britain no place is over 120 kilometers from the sea.Among the four countries, England is the largest and most developed. It has an area of about 130,000 square kilometers and covers more than half of the the whole island. Its population is more than 50 million and makes up 87% of the country’s whole population. The River Thames, the second longest and the most important river in Britain, originates in southwestern England and flows through the Midlands of England to London and empties into the North Sea. The importance of England is so great that some foreigners just refer to the whole country as England, a name that people of Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland do not like very much. The word “England”was adopted in the 5th century when groups of invaders from Northern Europe, traditionally called the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, took possession of this area. The word “England” means the land for Angles and the word “English” means the language that belongs to the Angles.Scotland is the second largest both in area and population. It is about 78,772 square kilometers with a population of 5 million, less than one tenth of the total population. The Scots established their own kingdom in the 9th Century. The Scottish are proud of their history and the fact the English never conquered Scotland. Edinburgh is its capital. Tourism is one of Scotland’s most important industries. Tourists from all over the world come to enjoy the beauty of Scottish scenery, to drink Scotch whisky and to see Scotsmen wearing kilts and playing bagpipes.Wales is very close to the most densely populated parts of central England. Its entire area is20,780 square kilometers and it covers less than 9% of the whole island. The capital of Wales is Cardiff. The longest river of Britain, the Severn River, originates in mid-Wales and flows through western England to the Bristol Channel and the Atlantic Ocean. Wales has been dominated by England longer than the other parts. In 1282, the Anglo-Normans invaded Wales from England and killed the Welsh prince. The Anglo-Norman king Edward then give his own heir the title of “Prince of Wales” which has ever been borne by the eldest son of the English sovereign. Though defeated, the Welsh people were not willing to give up their culture. This resulted in some differences from England. For instance, its own language, Welsh, is spoken by about 20% of the population, much more than those who speak Gaelic in Scotland and Ireland.Northern Ireland is the smallest of the four both in area and population. It has an area of about 14 square kilometers and occupies the northern one-sixth of the island of the Ireland. The capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast. Lough Neagh, the largest lake in the British Isles, is located in Northern Ireland. Ireland was once an independent country and there had emerged many kingdoms before the Anglo-Norman invaders conquered it in the 13th century. During the English Civil War in the 17th century, Oliver Cromwell invaded the island and this started the immigration of the English Protestants. The Irish people opposed the annexation and fought to regain its independence. Their successful struggle finally led to the founding of the Republic of Ireland in 1927. Since most of the English Protestants refused to separate themselves from their home country, they occupied the northeast corner of the island and kept it within the United Kingdom, which thus became known as the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.Thank you.。