Exercises 1

Exercises 1
1. The United Kingdom is located in ____.
A. northern Europe
B. western Europe
C. northwestern Europe
D. southeastern Europe
2. The two large islands that make up the British Isles are ____.
A. Scotland and Ireland
B. Britain and Scotland
C. Great Britain and Northern Ireland
D. Great Britain and Ireland
3. The British Empire was replaced by the British Commonwealth or the
Commonwealth of Nations in ____.
A. 1921
B. 1931
C. 1945
D. 1950
4. The Commonwealth of Nations is an association of independent countries ____.
A. that were once colonies of Britain
B. that have a large number of British immigrants
C. that have close relations with Britain
D. that have fought on the side of Britain in the two world wars
5. The English Channel separates the island of Great Britain from ____.
A. Denmark
B. Belgium
C. France
D. the Netherlands
6. England has three main land regions. They are the Southwestern Plateau, the Pennines, and ___.
A. the Eastern Plain
B. the Highland
C. the Central Lowlands
D. the Southern Uplands
7. Scotland occupies the ____ third of the island of Great Britain in the
British Isles.
A. southern
B. northern
C. eastern
D. western
8. Northern Ireland, which takes up the northern fifth of Ireland, is a fourth political division of ____.
A. the United Kingdom
B. Ireland
C. Scotland
D. Wales
9. Britain’s longest rivers are ____.
A. the Severn and the Clyde
B. the Thames and the Clyde
C. the Clyde and the Humber
D. the Severn and the Thames
10. The largest lake in the British Isles is ____.
A. Loch Lomond
B. Loch Neagh
C. Windermere
D. Ullswater
11. Britain’s climate is influenced by____, a warm ocean current that passes the western coast of the British Isles and warms them.
A. the North Atlantic Drift
B. the Brazil Current
C. the Labrador Current
D. the Falkland Current
12. The English people and the English language were born from the union of ____.
A. the Angles and the Saxons
B. Germanic conquerors and the Norman French
C. Danes or Vikings and the Norman French
D. Norman conquerors and the defeated Anglo-Saxons
13. Generally speaking the English southerners speak the type of English closer to ____.
A. the Cockney
B. the Queen’s English
C. the Gaelic
D. the BBC English
14. Although Wales has been united with England for more than 400 years, the Welsh has kept alive ____.
A. their own language
B. their own literature
C. their own tradition
D. All of the above
15. The Eisteddfod is a(n) ____ festival of poetry, music and other arts.
A. English
B. Scottish
C. W els h
D. Irish
16. Nowadays the Gaelic language, which is an ancient____, is still heard in the Highlands and the Western Isles.
A. Scottish language
B. English language
C. Irish language
D. Celtic language
17. Many Scottish names begin with M’, Mc or Mac, which means__
A. father of
B. sun of
C. son of
D. some of
18. In Northern Ireland ____ make up the dominant group.
A. Roman Catholics
B. English Protestants
C. non-religious people
D. Jewish people
19. Northern Ireland is small, but it is significant because of the__
A. the economic problems
B. the political troubles
C. the immigration issues
D. the national identity
20. About three million people have migrated to Britain since World War ll. They are mainly from the West Indies, India and____.
A. Indonesia
B. Singapore
C. Hong Kong
D. Pakistan
Ⅱ.Define each of the following term in English.
1. the United Kingdom
2. the British Isles
3. the Commonwealth Nations
4. the ‘Chunnel’
5. Eisteddfod
III. Give a brief answer to each of the following questions.
1. What is the full name of the United Kingdom?
2. What are the two large islands that make up the British Isles?
3. What are the four political divisions of the United Kingdom?
4. What is the principal mountain chain of England?
5. What is the largest lake in the
British Isles?
6. Why does the United Kingdom have a mild climate, even though it lies farther north than our Heilongjiang Province?
7. What are the natural calamities in Britain?
8. From what language is English derived?
9. What are the ancient languages of the Welsh, the Scots, and the Irish?
10. What is an Eisteddfod?
IV. Write about 100 words on each of the following questions or topics.
1. What was the British Empire? How
large was it at its height?
2. What is the Commonwealth of Nations? How does it wok?
3. How important is the English Channel to the British people?
4. What is the difference between the ancestors of the English and
Scots,Welsh and Irish?
5. What is the issue of Northern Ireland?
1. Britain has been one of the most important countries in the world. About a hundred year ago, as a result of its imperialist expansion，
Britain ruled an empire that had one fourth of the world's people and one fourth of the world’s land area. It had colonies not only in North America, but also in Asia, Africa and Australia. However, the two world wars greatly weakened Britain. The British colonies became independent one after another. The British Empire gradually declined and it was replaced by the British Commonwealth or the Commonwealth of Nations in 1931.
2. (1) The British Commonwealth or the Commonwealth of Nation is an
association of independent countries and other political units that
have lived under British law and government. It includes the United Kingdom, about 50 independent nations that were once British colonies,
and about 25 other political units, such as territories and dependencies.
(2) All of the independent members recognize the British Monarch as head of the Commonwealth. But the monarch is mainly a symbol and has no real power to govern. Britain and about l5 other Commonwealth nations
are monarchies that regard the British ruler as head of state. A few
others have their own monarchs. Over half the Commonwealth nations are republics. The Commonwealth countries have a tradition of mutual cooperation that stems from their common history. The Commonwealth heads of government assemble from time to time to exchange views on important international issues. At these meetings, the leaders seek
to identify common goals in economic and foreign affairs. They work to coordinate their national policies to pursue these goals. But the
nations are not required to obey conclusion reached at the conferences.
3. The English Channel separates the island of Great Britain from France. This narrow stretch of water help shaped the character and history of the British people. It helped protect Britain from invasion and gave
the people a feeling of security. In 1066, a group of Vikings called
the Normans sailed across the channel from northwestern France and conquered England. After the Norman Conquest, no enemy ever again crossed the channel and invaded the country.
4. (1) The ancestors of the English are Angle-Saxons. The Anglo-Saxons,
and sometimes including the Jutes, were originally tribes of the
Germanic people who lived in the northwest of today's Germany. During the 5th century when the Roman Empire fell, these Germanic tribes
invaded and conquered the southeastern part of Britain, driving the
native people Celts out of their homelands and into the western and northern mountain areas. They became the new master of the land, which they named England, meaning ‘the land of the Angles'.
(2) The Scots, Welsh and Irish are descendants of the Celts. The Celts
were different groups of ancient people who originally lived in the
upper valleys of the Danube River. Later, they spread to France, Spain, Portugal and Northern Italy. About 700 BC, they came to Britain and
settled down. They were the ancestors of the Scots, Welsh and Irish.
5. Northern Ireland was separated from the rest of Ireland and became part of the United Kingdom in 1921. Since then Northern Ireland has remained
a really complicated issue for the British government. The Irish in Northern Ireland mostly feel discontented with the British
government and are seeking more social, political and economic opportunities, and some of them even hope to reunite the whole of Ireland. But today, the Irish are the minority in Northern Ireland. They only account for one
third of the total population there. Two-thirds of the inhabitants are descendants of the English and Scottish immigrants. In religion the
Irish are almost entirely Catholics while the English and the Scots are Protestants. Conflicts arise frequently among these different peoples.
The British government and the
government of Ireland are now working together to bring peace to Northern Ireland.。