英美文化的一些知识

1. British personalities(P6)（星）

The best-known quality of the British , and in particular of the English, is “reserve”. A reserved person is one who does not talk very much to strangers , does not show much emotion, and seldom gets excited.

Closely related to English reserve is English modesty, within their hearts, the English are perhaps no less conceited than anybody else, but in their relations with others they value at least a show of modesty. The famous English sense of humor is similar. Its starting point is self deprecation, and its great enemy is conceit. Its ideal is the ability to laugh at oneself—at one’s own faults, one’s own failures and embarrassments, even at one’s own ideals. Finally, sportsmanship . Like a sense of humor, this is an English ideal which not all Englishmen live up to. It must be realized that sport in its modern form is almost entirely a British invention.(152)

2. Importance of Elizabeth Era in politics,military,international

relations and culture（月）

Elizabeth Era is a British golden age. In government, Elizabeth was more moderate than her father and siblings. She followed a motto “I see, and say nothing” ,which saved her from political misalliances.

Elizabeth restored the status of the episcopal church. And in the first two years she released the supreme law and a single laws, regulating

the king is the supreme leader of church. Besides , she was cautious in foreign affairs and only half-heartedly supported a number of ineffective, poorly resourced military campaigns. In military, She organized England pirates to raid The Spanish fleet that filled with Gold and silver jewelries constantly, which helps the British repayment of the debt. Later, Elizabeth defeated the Spanish armada, which is popularly viewed as one of the greatest victories in English history. In culture, famous above all is the flourishing of English drama that led by playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.(153)

3. The establishment of constitutional mornarchy(P39)（月）

As early as in 1215, the king John was forced to sign The Magna Carta, requiring that the king should respect the regulation and power of the nobles and church , ensure the liberty and property rights of the public and the king’s power in levy tax is l imited. This is the earliest origin of the constitutional monarchy, also is the beginning of the constitution.

After The Glorious Revolution in 1689, the British parliament passed the Bill of Rights a year later. It included: without parliament’s permissio n , the king can’t publish laws or stop the implementation of law, shall not collecte or control taxes, and shall not recruit or