英语国家概况-名词解释汇总A

★★★ ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES -- A SURVEY: EXPLANATIONS. ★★★


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*** The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ****
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●the Highlanders
They are the Scots who live in the mountainous regions of the Highlands in the Northern Scotland. They are
a proud,　independent and hardy people who maintain their strong cultural identity. They mainly live by
farming sheep in mountain areas or fishing on the coasts and islands.

●the British Commonwealth
It is a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. It was established
in 1931,replaced the former British Empire. Member nations are joined together economically and have
certain trading arrangements. Today there are about 50 member countries within the Commonwealth.

●the Roman Occupation
The Romans first invades Britain in 55B.C. It was not until AD 43 that they eventually conquered the Celts
living in what is today England and Wales.　The Roman Occupation of Britain lasted for nearly 400 years,　but
it was never a total occupation,　so the Romans did not leave very impact upon the Britons.

●Heptarchy
It is a collective name for the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 7th century to the 9th century. They
are Kent,Essex,Sussex,Wessex,East Anglia,Mercia and Northumbria. After the 9th century,　the seven kingdoms
were conquered one after another by the invading Danes.

●Stonehenge
It is a group of huge monuments of giant rock Slabs on salisbury plain in Southwest England built as long
as the New Stone Age. It is generally believed the stonehenge served some sort of religious purpose.

●Alfred the Great
He was king of Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. It was he who led the Anglo-Saxons to fight
against the invading Danes and maintained peace for a long time. Alfred was not only a brave king at
wartime, but also a wise king at peacetime. He encouraged education and introduced a legal system. He is
known as "the father of the British navy".

●William the Conqueror
He was also known as William, Duke of Normandy. In 1066,he let the Normans to cross the English Channel and
conquered England. He became William the First .His reign marked the beginning of the full feudal system in
England.

●The Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest of 1066 is perhaps the best-known event in English history. William the Conqueror
confiscated almost all the land and gave it to his Norman followers. He replaced the weak Saxon rule with
a strong Norman government. So the feudal system was completely established in England.

●The Angles
People came from northern Germany in the second half of the 6th century and settled in East Anglia,
Mercia and Northumbria.

●Geoffrey Chaucer
He was an impor

tant English poet in the fourteenth century. His best known work is The Canterbury Tales,
which describes a group of pilgirms travelling to Canterbury to visit Thomas Becket's tomb. Because he
was the first English poet to write in English, he has been known as the "Father of English Poetry".

●the Magna Carta
Also known as the Great Chater, it was a document signed in 1215 by King John under compulsion by the
powerful barons. Its purpose was to make the monarch recognize the rights of the barons, or in other
words, to limit the powers of the monarch. It has been popularly regarded as an important political
document in the history of England.

●the Black Dealth
It is a modern name given to the deadly bubonic plague, an epidemic disease spread through Europe in the
fourteenth century, particularly in 1348-1349. It came without any warning, and without any cure. In
England, it killed almost half of the total population, causing far-reaching economic consequences.

●the Wars of the Roses
It is the name given to the struggle for the English throne between two branches of the English royal
family; the House of Lancaster, whose badge was a red rose, and the House of York, whose badge was a white
rose. The wars lasted for thirty years from 1455 to 1485. From these wars, English feudalism received
its death blow. The feudal nobility was much weakened.

●Bloody Mary
It is the nickname given to Mary I, the English Queen who succeeded to the throne after Henry VIII. She
was a devout Catholic, and so many Protestants burnt to death that she is remembered less by her official
title Mary I than by her nickname Bloody Mary.

●the English Renaissance
Renaissance was a cultural movement in Europe from the 14th century to the 16th century. It originated
in Italy and began to come to England in the late 15th century. The English Renaissance was largely
literary, and achieved its finest expression in poetry, drama and prose. The greatest literary writer of
the English Renaissance was William Shakespeare.

●the Gunpowder Plot
It refers to the most famous of a number of Catholic conspiracies against king James I. The plot was to
blow up the king and the parliament on November 5,1605. A man called Guy Fawkes was caught in the very
act of preparing the explosive gunpowder in the cellars of the Parliament building, so the plot ended
with a failure. Today, Guy Fawkes Night, an English folk festival which falls on November 5 each year,
is derived from this historical event.

●the Glorious Revolution
It was a bloodless revolution, or a coup detat happened in 1688 when the Catholic king of England James II
was deposed by the Parliament. The English throne was offered to his Protestant daughter Mary and her husband
William. The Glorious Revolution marked the end of the English Bourgeois Revolution of the 17th century,
and it also marked the beginning of the Constitutional Monarchy in England.

●the Victorian Age

It refers to the monarchy of Britain under Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901,the longest reign in British
history. The Victorian Age was an age of national development and national optimism. The Victorians were
very religious and conservative in family life. It was also, in its later stages, an age of imperialism.

●the Statute of Westminster
In 1931, the British Parliament passed a bill which later has been known as the Statute of Westminster,
according to which, Canada,Australia,New Zealand,Southern Ireland,New Foundland and South Africa turned
into "Dominions". These self-governing dominions enjoyed the right of self-government both internally and
externally, although they still regarded the British monarch as their head of state (Southern Ireland and
south Africa later became completely independent and New Foudland became part of Canada).This marked the
disruption of the British Empire and the establishment of the British Commonwealth.

●Thatcherism
The election of 1979 returned the Conservative Party to power and Margaret Thatcher became the first woman
prime minister in Britain. Her policies are popularly referred to as Thatcherism. It included the return
to private ownership of state-owned industries; the use of monetarist policies to control inflation ; the weakling
of trade unions; the strengthening of the market forces in the economy; and an emphasis on law and order.

●the European Economic Community
Also known as the Common Market, it was established by the Treaty of Rome on January 1,1958. Originally it
was composed of six Western European countries--France, West Germany,Italy,Netherland,Belgium and Luxemberg.
Britain did not become a full member of the Community until 1973.Today,there are altogether 12 members
in their Community.

●Keynesianism
It is an economic theory put forward by John M.Keynes, a British economist in the first half of the 20th
century. It emphasizes on high consumption and low investment. It suggests that the government should
intervene in the economy to suppress inflation and to achieve full employment by using fiscal and monetary
policies. This theory was widely practised in the West in the postwar years.

●Thatcher's Privatization
It was one of the major reforms adopted by Mrs.Thatcher's government in the 1980s. It was a return of the
state enterprises nationalized in the 1940s and 50s to privatization, that is to be returned to the private
hands again. Major privatizations included British Petroleum,British Telecom,British Airways,British Steel,
National Bus Company,etc. It was an attempt to cure the "British Disease", and was successful to some extent.

●Agribusiness
The new farming has been called "agribusiness", because it is equipped and managed like an industrial business
with a set of inputs into the farm or process which occur on the farm, and outputs or products leave the farm.

●The Loly's
It refers to a famous insurance company in Britain

.

●British Disease
The term "British disease" is now often used to characterize Britain's economic decline.

●Constitutional Monarchy
It is a political system that has been practised in Britain since the Glorious Revolution of 1688. According
to this system, the Constitution is superior to the monarch. In law, the Monarch has many supreme powers, but
in practice, the real power of Monarchy has been greatly reduced and today the Queen acts solely on the
advice of her ministers. She reigns, but does not rule. The real power lies in the Parliament, or to be exact,
in the House of Commons.

●the British Constitution
It is not written in any single document. It is made up of statute law, Common law and Conventions. It is
more flexible than the written constitution of other countries.

●British Parliament
It includes three elements: the Crown, the House of Lords and the House of Commons .It is the Supreme law-
making authority in Britain. Its other functions include: to control and criticise the executive government;
to control the raising and the spending of money.

●Privy Council
A consultative body of the British monarch. Its origin can be traced back to the times of the Norman kings.
After the Glorious Revolution of 1688,it importance was gradually diminished and replaced by the Cabinet.
Today, it is still a consultative body of the British monarch. It membership is about 400,and includes all
Cabinet ministers, the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, and senior
British and Commonwealth statesmen.

●Common law
It is one of the main components of the British Constitution. It refers to numerous decisions which have
been made by the courts in different times of the English history.

●the Jury System
A legal system that has been established in England since the time of Henry II. In England the jury consists
12 ordinary, independent citizens summoned by the court. The jury does not pass sentence, but decides the
issue of guilt or innocence.

●"either way" offences
"English way" offences refer to theft, the serious cases of burglary and some assaults.

●the welfare state
It is a system of government by which the state provides the economic and social security of its citizens
through its organization of health services, pensions and other facilities. Britain began to try this system
in the postwar years and it has ever since been regarded as a welfare state.

●the Church of England
Also called the Anglican Church, it is one of the many Protestant sects which broke away form Roman Catholic
church during the Reformation in the 16th century. It is an established church which means that it represents
the official state religion. Its religious leader is the Archbishop of Canterbury and its secular leader
is the British Monarch.

●The Quakers
Also known as the Religious Society of Friends, the Quakers are a Protestant group that originated in Engl

and
in the 17th century, under George Fox. They refuse to participate in the church of England services. They
advocate simple living and hard work and believe in complete equality and fraternity.

●the National Healthy Service
It is a very important part of the welfare system in Britain. It is a nationwide organization based on Acts
of Parliament. It provides all kinds of free or nearly free medical treatment both in hospital and outside.
It is finaced mainly by payments by the state out of general taxation. People are not obliged to use this
service. The service is achieving its main objectives with outstanding success.

●the "eleven plus"
Under the old selective system of secondary education in Britain, the "eleven plus" is the examination taken
by children in their last year at primary school. The results of this examination determine the kind of
secondary schooling each child will receive. Those with the highest marks go to grammar schools; other children
may go to technical schools or secondary modern schools. In the 1960s and 70s,this examination was abolished
and has ever since gradually been replaced by comprehensive schools which take children of all abilities.

●Open University
As a new type of higher education, Open University only appeared in Britain in 1969. It is open to everybody,
especially to people who have missed the opportunity for higher education. It does not demand the same formal
qualifications as the other universities. It uses modern communications means such as television, radio or
correspondence. It is non-residential although there is a network of study centers throughout the country
for contact with tutors and fellow students. After passing the examinations of all required courses, students
are awarded a university degree.

●The Times
It is the most famous of all British national newspapers and is read by the most important British all over
the world. Politically is independent, though it is traditionally inclined to be more sympathetic to the
Conservative Party. It is not an organ of the British Government and has reputation for extreme caution in
its attitude.

●BBC
It is the abbreviation of British Broadcasting Corporation. It has both radio and television services. For
radio broadcasting, it uses 39 languages and broadcasts to the whole world. There is no advertisement on any
BBC programme. It is finaced by payment which must be made by all people who own television sets. It has a
Board of Governors, who are appointed by the Government.

●quality papers
Quality papers are normally broadsheet in format and are directed at readers who want full information on
a wide range of public matters.

●Reuters
Reuters was founded in 1851 by the German,Julius Reuter.It is now a publicly owned company, employing over
11000 staff in 80 countries. It has more than 1300 staff journalists and photographers.

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** The Republic of Ireland **

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●Great Famine
The Great Famine in 1845 marks the end of one era and the beginning of another in the social history of
Ireland. The population of Ireland declined drastically and many desperately poor people took ships to
either Great Britain or across the Atlantic to US or Canada. Thus today many Americans are of Irish origin.

●Irish Catholicism
Ireland is one of the most catholic countries of Europe. Catholicism is an intergral and pervasive influence
on national life and culture. It is largely due to centuries of religious and political persecution, which
helped to strengthen and deepen Ireland's catholic spirit.

●Oireachtas
Oireachtas is Irish parliament. It has two Houses,which are the House of Representatives( Dail ) and the
Senate ( Seanad ). Under the Constitution,the Oireachtas has the sole power ok making laws. Members to the
Dail are called TDs. Both TDs and Senators are elected for five-year terms.

●Ulysses
James Joyce is the most well-known Irish writer of the modern period. Ulysses is his masterpiece. The novel
describes the events of one day in the lives of several people in Dublin, and explores their subconscious minds.
Joyce's innovation in language and style have deeply influenced 20th century writing.