英国五朔节

英国五朔节
5月1日是英国传统的五朔节，它与国际劳动节没有关系，与基督教也没有联系。

它是一个非常古老的节日，在罗马时代即已存在。

其最初的起源可能要追溯到新石器时代，大约在公元前1世纪随比尔格人传入了英国。

5月1日在英国的祖先——克尔特人的历法中是夏季的第一天，它原是春末祭祀“花果女神”的日子。

在渡过漫长的寒冬后，当“五一”这天到来，英国古人就要庆祝太阳终于又普照大地，并祈求风调雨顺，五谷丰登。

人们用老牛拉绳，在村庄的草地上树起高高的“五月柱”，上面饰以绿叶，象征生命与丰收。

所有的村民尤其是青年男女都围着“五月柱”翩翩起舞。

姑娘们更是一早起来到村外林中采集花朵与朝露，并用露水洗脸。

她们认为这样可使皮肤白嫩。

小女孩还把拾来的花草编成大花环，抬到街上去游行。

17世纪的清教徒认为这种欢乐不合教义，曾一度禁止这项活动，还砍倒了“五月柱”。

到了1660年王政复辟后，这项活动才又恢复过来。

1989年英国有些村庄还有“五月柱”。

它是用挺拔的树干如杉树等做成，上面漆成五颜六色，顶上挂着花环，花环上拴着长长的各色彩带。

孩子们在这一天手持彩带围着柱子欢跳，有时带子缠在一起，难解难分。

有的村庄还按照古老的风俗，在五朔节这一天选出一个少女做“五月皇后”。

中世纪时此风盛行，并且都是选男孩做“皇后”，后来逐渐改为选女孩。

为“五月皇后”举行加冕仪式，也是五朔节的活动之一。

Monopoly
producer (or a group of producersacting in concert) controls supply of a good or service, and where the entry of new producers is prevented or highly restricted. Monopolist firms (in their attempt to maximize profits) keep the pricehigh and restrict the output, and show little or no responsiveness to the needs of their customers. Most governments therefore try to control monopolies by (1) imposing price controls, (2) taking over their ownership (called 'nationalization'), or (3) by breaking them up into two or more competing firms. Sometimes governments facilitate the creation of monopolies for reasons of national security, to realize economies of scale for competing internationally, or where two or more producers would be wasteful or pointless (as in the case of utilities). Although monopolies exist in varying degrees (due to copyrights, patents, access to materials, exclusive technologies, or unfair trade practices) almost no firm has a complete monopoly in the era of globalization.
Spanish Armada
The Spanish Armada (Spanish: Grande y Felicísima Armada or Armada Invencible, literally "Great and Most Fortunate Navy" or "Invincible Fleet") was a Spanish fleet of 130 ships that sailed from A Coruña in August 1588, under the command of the Duke of Medina Sidonia with the purpose of escorting an army from Flanders to invade England. The strategic aim was to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I of England and the Tudor establishment of Protestantism in England, with the expectation that this would put a stop to English interference in the Spanish Netherlands and to the harm caused to Spanish interests by English and Dutch privateering.
The Armada chose not to attack the English fleet at Plymouth, then failed to establish a temporary anchorage in the Solent, after one Spanish ship had been captured by Francis Drake in the English Channel, and finally dropped anchor off Calais.[11] While awaiting communications from the Duke of Parma's army the Armada was scattered by an English fireship attack. In the ensuing Battle of Gravelines the Spanish fleet was damaged and forced to abandon its rendezvous with Parma's army, who were blockaded in harbour by Dutch flyboats. The Armada managed to regroup and, driven by southwest winds, withdrew north, with the English fleet harrying it up the east coast of England. The commander ordered a return to Spain, but the Armada was
disrupted during severe storms in the North Atlantic and a large portion of the vessels were wrecked on the coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Of the initial 130 ships over a third failed to return.[12] As Martin and Parker explain, "Philip II attempted to invade England, but his plans miscarried, partly because of his own mismanagement, and partly because the defensive efforts of the English and their Dutch allies prevailed."[13] The expedition was the largest engagement of the undeclared Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604). The following year, England organised a similar large-scale campaign against Spain, the Drake-Norris Expedition, also known as the "Counter-Armada of 1589", which was also unsuccessful.。