英国概况Unit 1

英美文化与国家概况British and American Studies ( British Part )Unit One大学英语第一教研室余非编2013年2月Unit 1 The Country and the People Contents:1.Geographic Features2.People and Religion3.Official and Local Languages------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1. Geographic Features1.1Component （组成部分）✧To the west and off the European Continent, several thousand of islands exist on theContinental Shelf. They are generally called the British Isles（不列颠群岛）.✧Of all these isles, the largest one is called Great Britain（大不列颠；英国）. For the sake ofconvenience, Great Britain is often shorten to Britain.✧The island of Great Britain runs nearly 1,000 kilometers from south to north . It extends , atthe widest part, about 500 kilometers from west to east.✧Still to the west of Great Britain is Ireland , the second largest island. It is politically dividedinto two parts, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.✧The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国)is made up of Great Britain, Northern Ireland and a number of smaller islands around them.The total area of U.K. is over 245,000 square kilometers. Its total population is about60.94million (2008)Traditionally, Great Britain is divided into three countries or political regions:✧England in the south✧Scotland in the north✧Wales in the southwest.England :✧The largest area of all the three✧Its area : almost 60% of the whole island✧Its population : over 50 million .✧The importance of Engla nd is so great in Britain that some foreigners just say “England”when they mean Britain, and they say the “English people” when they mean the British people.Scotland :✧The second largest both in area and population✧Its area : about 78,760 square kilometers✧Its population : more than 5 million.Wales✧The smallest of the three both in area and population✧Its area : about 20,700 square kilometers✧Its population : about 2.7 million.Northern Ireland✧Its area : about 14,000 square kilometers✧Its population : about 1.5 million.Supplement 1Ireland✧Ireland was an independent kingdom before the Anglo-Norman（盎格鲁-诺曼语的）invaders came. Henry VIII（亨利八世）was the first English king to conquer Ireland and force English law on the Irish people. Soon after the conquest, large numbers of Scottish immigrants came in and established a colony in Ulster (阿尔斯特), another name for Northern Ireland.✧The Irish people were mostly Roman Catholics （罗马天主教）and they were opposed to theEnglish occupation. The English Government put down the rebellion made by the Irish people and passed the Penal Law (刑法) in 1690, which deprived the Irish Catholics of all their legal rights.✧Irish people never stopped fighting for independence. Their successful struggle finally led tothe establishment of the Republic of Ireland in 1927 within British Commonwealth（英联邦.In 1948 Ireland withdraw from Commonwealth and declared itself a republic.✧However, since most of the immigrants from Britain were Protestants (新教徒) , theyrefused to separate themselves form their home country. They held the northeast of the island , and up to now they continue to keep it within the United Kingdom. It is today’ s Northern Ireland.Supplement 2Irish Republican Army ( IRA)✧Nowadays, in Northern Ireland there are one-third of people are still Roman Catholics ,whodemand independence from Britain that is dominated by Protestantism (新教徒主义、新教徒).✧Therefore, some radical Roman Catholics organized a military group fighting for theindependence of Northern Ireland. It often resorts to terrorist campaigns （战役；活动）of bombing, murdering and arson.1.2 Physical Features（自然特色）✧Leaving Ireland on one side, The island of Great Britain can be divided into two partsaccording to its geographic features:1) The Highland Zone in the north and west and2) The Lowland Zone in the south and southeast.✧Britain is an island country, with its coastline running about 8,000 kilometers.✧The coastline is highly irregular with many bays and inlets that provide lots of harbors andshelters for ship and boats.✧As an island country, Great Britain does not share a land border with any other countriesexcept the Republic of Ireland.✧To the north of Great Britain the seaway is open and leads to the Arctic Ocean(北冰洋).✧Across the North Sea Britain faces such countries as Holland, Germany , Denmark andNorway.✧To the southeast and across the English Channel is France , which is linked with Britain by atunnel called the Channel Tunnel (海峡隧道)，open to traffic in 1994, was built by Britishand French private investors. The main tunnel is 50-km long at an average depth of 40 meters below the seabed.✧The tunnel has great symbolic importance as an unbroken link between Britain and theEuropean Continent.The Highlands of Scotland:✧Scotland is a mountainous country , with its highlands taking up over half of the country. BenNevis, the highest mountain in Britain, with an elevation of 1,300 meters in North Scotland. The Central Lowlands of Scotland:✧ A great valley , which forms the Central Lowlands of Scotland , is lying to the south of theHighlands of Scotland, the valley is also called the Middle Valley. It is the most important economic region in Scotland and accommodates three-quarters of Scotland’s total population.✧The Southern Uplands: The land on the southern side of the Central Lowlands of Scotland isknown as the Southern Upland. The area includes some very old mountains with round tops. The Pennines (奔宁山脉)：✧In the northern part of England, include some old mountains which make up a kind of plateau.Pennine Chains run about 120 kilometers from south to north , known as the backbone of England.The Lake District:✧Well-known for its unique lakes, is situated on the western side of the Pennines. The area hasthe finest scenery in Britain. It is also well-known in the history of English literature because it was home to Lake Poets (湖畔[派]诗人)，such as William Wordsworth (华兹华斯)；Robert Southey(罗伯特.骚塞_ .The Welsh Massif:✧This massif embraces all the hill masses that near to the west of middle part of England.2.People and Religion2.1 People✧The United Kingdom has a population of 60.94 million (2008), with an average populationdensity of 244 persons per sq km.✧British’s population is overwhelmingly urban, with about 90% living in urban areas and 10%living in rural areas.✧Like U.S.A, the United Kingdom is also a melting-pot of different cultures. It has a diversepopulation that includes people from almost every continent of the world , such as Indians, Chinese and Africans, but a majority of them are white westerns.✧Immigrants from India make up 1.5% of the population; Chinese, 0.3%; and Africans, 0.03%.✧Asian and black minorities are still suffering from discrimination and disadvantages.✧However, the British government has passed laws to ensure fairness and justice for ethnicminorities. The Race Relations Act of 1976 makes it illegal to discriminate against any person because of race, color, nationality, or origin, and it is a criminal offense to incite racial hatred.Ethnic component of white people in Britain :①English people : originate from the descendents of English-speaking Anglo-Saxonsand the Jutes(朱特人), who arrived in Britain as invaders between the 5th and 7thcenturies A.D.②Scottish and Welsh people: Most of them originate from Celts ---The first settlers wholived on this land, but later driven to the North and West by later arrivers.③French-speaking Normans: conquered England in 1066, adding another ethniccomponent to the nation.✧The U.K. has a smaller percentage of younger people and a higher percentage of older people,with more than 20% of the people over the age of 60; those under the age of 15 years make up only 19.5 of the population.✧Life expectancy in Britain is 75 years for men and 81 years for women. (2001)2.2 Religion✧The British law protects religious freedom. Everyone has the freedom to believe any church,or not to believe any religion at all. Most of the world’s religi ons have followers in Britain.✧The majority of the British people believe in Christianity., which is the religion of thefollowers of Jesus Christ. The first Christian church was established at Canterbury (坎特伯雷，英格兰东南部一座自治市)。