英语国家概况名词解释

2 .The ChunnelI n 1985 the British government and French government decided to build a channel tunnel, which is called “Chunnel”, under the Straits of Dover so that England and France could be joined together by road. The Chunnel was open to traffic in May 1994.3. Cockney：It refers to the person from the East of London. He is a Londoner who is born within the sound of Bow Bell. He has a special accent in his speech.4.Eisteddfod：Eisteddfod is the Welsh word for “sitting” National Eidteddfod is the most famous fe stival of music and verse in Wales. It takes place each August and lasts for about a week. The highlight of the festival is competition for the best epic poem about Wales written and read in Welsh. The winner is crowned Board, considered the supreme honour in Wales. In this way the Welsh people keep the Welsh language and culture alive.5.Stonehenge：It is a group of huge monuments of grant rock Slabs on salisbury plain in Southwest England built as long ago as the New Stone Age. It is generally believed that stonehenge served some sort of religious purposes.6. Beaker Folk：they were the people came to Britain from central Europe at about 2000BC. They were so called because they were fond of drinking and buried themselves in the bell-shaped beer container. They developed their own farming society.7.The Celts：The Celts came to Britain in three main waves. The first wave were the Gales, the second wave were the Brythons and the Belgae came about 150BC. The Celts were practised farmers. The Celtic tribes are ancestors of the Highland Scots, the Irish and the Welsh, And their languages are the basis of both Welsh and Gaelic. They religion was Druidism.8. St. Augustine：In 597,Pope Gregory I sent St. Augustine, the Prior of St. Andrew‟s Monastery in Rome, to England to convert the heathen English to Christianity. That year, St. Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. Augustine was remarkably successful in converting the king and the nobility, but the conversion of the common people was largely due to the missionary activities of the monks in the north.9. Alfred the Great：He was king of Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms. It was he who led the Anglo-Saxon to flight 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”.10.Danelaw：It refers to the piece of land of England under the control of the Danish in the 9th century. The Danish and the Vikings capture York, an important center of Christianity. They could not conquer Alfred and had to stay in the north and east.11.The danegeld ：It was the tax collected in 10th century. When Viking invaded England, theKing Ethelred the Unready tried paying the invaders to stay away. The Dane received the money but grew greedier. This marked the decline of Anglo-Saxon kingdom.12.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.13. Domesday Book：It was the first survey of land in Britain under William to strengthen hisrule. It aimed at getting taxes. It was one of the important measures adopted by William I to establish the full feudal system in England. Today, it is kept in the Public Records Office in London.mon law：It was an unwritten law common to people in Britain. It is also called “Case law ” since it was based on former judgments and customs. It appeared under Henry Ⅱand now it has become part of British law of sources.15.Jury system：It was a system replaced old English and Norman way of trial in Henry II‟s day. At that time a jury was composed of twelve men and the jurors‟ function was to act as witnesses not to h ear evidences and give verdict. Now the jury decides the issue of guilt or innocence.16.Geoffrey Chaucer：He was an important English poet in the fourteenth century. His best known is The Canterbury Tales, which describes a group of pilgrims traveling to Canterbury to visit Thomas Becket‟s tomb. Because he was the first important English poet to write in English. He has been known as the “Father of English Poetry”.17.Magna Carta：It was also called the barons‟ Charter or the Great Charter in 1215.It has m any clause but the important one was that only the Grand Council could decide to collect money or not. And it has long been regarded as the foundation of English liberties but its spirit was to limit the king‟s power.18.Hundred Years’ War：It refers to the fight-and cease war between France and England that lasted for more than 120 years.(1337-457) The causes were partly territorial and partly economic. After three stages of the war was over, the English were driven out of France with only Calais in hand. The ending of the war is regarded as a blessing for both countries.19.Black Death：It was a disease or plague spread by rat fleas in 14th cen. It spread through Europe. Many people died and the population of England shrank. It caused labor shortage and other social problems.20.War of Roses It was a barons‟ war in 15th century in Engla nd. War of roses was so called because the warring sides used white & red roses as their families symbols. And the War lasted for decades/ many years. Many local nobles died and the feudal system got a heavy blow.21.Tudor Dynasty:：It refers to the dynasty established by Henry Tudor after the War of Roses. Five Tudor monarchs ruled England and Wales for just over two hundred years. In a short time span they achieve a great deal. Henry VIII‟s and Elizabeth I are significant monarchies in English history.22.The English Reformation：It is a religious reform started in England during Henry VIII‟‟s rule. It was a gradual reform which lasted for years. As Henry became the Supreme Head of the Church of England, the Church of England was thought as a national church, especially after Bloody Mary, Protestantism and nationalism meant the same.23.Blood 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 had so many Protestants burnt to death that she is remembered less by her official title Mary I by her nickname Blood Mary.24.The Armada：It was the name for the Spanish fleet in the 16th century. As Mary Stuart of Scots was killed, the Spanish king sent his Armada to invade England. But it was defeated by the English at English Channel. Ever since then, England began to control the sea for many years and its Reformation survived.25.Renaissance：It was the revival of classical literature and artistic styles in European history. It was the transitional period between the Middle-Ages and modern times,. It was period of significant achievement and changes. 26.The English Renaissance：It was the rebirth of classical literature and artistic styles in English history in 15th -17th century. It had its own characteristics. And many great minds were produced.27.Elizabeth Drama：It refers to the literature form appeared under Elizabeth I. It began to excel only in the last decade of the 16th century and reached its height in the first 15 years of the 17th century. Its finest exponents were Marlowe, Johnson and Shakespeare. 28.Shakespeare：William Shakespeare was a dramatist and poet during the English Renaissance. He wrote many (37) plays, such as Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet , and Sonnets. He is generally regarded as the greatest writer in the English language29.Gunpowder Plot：It was a secret plan of the Roman Catholics to overthrow James 1. The Catholics planted barrels of gunpowder in the cellars of the House to kill James 1 but the plan failed. Now it is celebrated as a national holiday.30.Pilgrim Fathers：They were a small group of the first puritans who came to America in 1620 in a ship called Mayflower. They escaped religious persecution and wanted to practice their religion in other places. At last, they founded Britain‟s first settlement in the New World.31.The Civil Wars：It refers to the wars between Charles I and parliament in the 17th century in England. The wars had two stages. After the wars were over, Charles I was beheaded and a Commonwealth was established. It is also called the Puritan Revolution and generally regarded as the beginning of modern world history.32.The Glorious Revolution：It was a takeover or palace coup d‟etate with no blood shed in 1688. When James II hoped t o rule as a Catholic, the English politicians rejected James II, and appealed to a Protestant king, William of Orange, to invade and take the English throne. James II was forced to leave Britain. William and Mary who were the relatives of James II took power as joint monarchy. 33.The Bill of Rights of 1689：It refers to the law accepted by William and Mary after the Glorious Revolution. It includes: no Roman Catholic can be a monarchy, parliament hav more powers than the Monarchy and free speech in parliament. It marked the beginning of constitutional monarchy in England.34.Utilitarianism：A theory in the early 19th century which wanted governments to help majority of people happy. And the governments must reform to be efficient & not to interfere people‟s l ives.issez faire：It was an economic theory. Later, it became a radical idea of free trade of the economic policies of Britain in the 18th cen. Because they believe that the import and export duties interfered with the natural flow of trade.36.The Enclosure Acts：It was the policy in 18th century. Wealthier landowners were allowed to seize any land to which tenants prove no legal title and to divide it into enclosed fields. It became more frequent after the mid-40s and climaxed during the turn of the century .It had good as well as bad results.37.The Industrial Revolution：It refers to the use of machines in industry and the social and economic changes in Britain in the late 18th and early 19th century. The real … revolution‟ happened in textiles. Britain was by 19th century the … workshop of the world:”38.The Chartist Movement；A proletarian movement or campaign in the 19th century in Eng. It was to call for political changes. The People‟s Charter was put forward during the movement. But it ended in a failure.39.The Suffragettes：It was the militant feminist movement led by Mrs. Pankhurst before the First World War. Women‟s position in the society was gradually improved. Votes were granted to women over 30 as soon as the war was over and to all women in the same terms as men ten years later.40.The Beatles：It is the name of a band formed by four Liverpool boys in the sixties. They wrote their own music and words, using “ beat”, a new pop culture. They won the affection of people of all ages and social backgrounds.41.British Disease：It is the economic decline in Britain because of decades of balance of payment deficits. A lot of measures were taken to cure it but all failed.42.Keynesianism：A theory of British economist Keynes. The main idea is to have full employment and low inflation. Though it was welcome in the 50s and 60s, later it was rejected by the western countries.43.Thatcherism：A theory by British Prime minister, Thatcher in the 80s. The main idea is to privatize and to control inflation. It also turned out to be a failure in “curing” British diseases;45.Civil List：The money given to the monarchy. An annual grant to cover the expenditure/cost of the monarchy.3/4 of it goes to the Royal Household. And the rest to meet the need for public duties.46.Privy Purse：The revenue/income of the Duchy of Lancaster. It is used to cover the monarchy‟s privateexpenditure. And taxes should be paid.47.Shadow cabinet：It refers to the group of the official Opposition in the British parliament. The party wins the second largest number of seats form it. The aim of it are to improve the party‟s public image by actively join the policy-making the parliament so as to win the next general election.48.Parliament：It is the legislative branch in Br itain. The term “parliament” originally meant a meeting for parley or discussion. It appeared in 1265. It consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.49.Civil Service：It is the dept. to hire govt. servants. Civil servants have to pass examinations. And Civil Service grades them.50.The Open Structure：It is the system of filling the senior levels of government posts with civil servants in Britain. There are common grades throughout the Civil Service 1 to7 , which cover grades from Permanent Secretary level to Principal level. Within the unified grades each post is filled by the person best qualified.51.Either way offences：They are the crimes in Britain. The crimes can be either serious or minor depend on the consequences/ results. And they are tried at two courts: the magistrate & crown court..52.JPS：It is the short form of the justices of the peace. They are also called lay magistrates and appointed on behalf of the Crown by the Lord Chancellor. The oldest appeared in the 14th cen.53.Welfare system：It is a system of govt. The govt. give money support to its citizens through its health centers and other facilities. In Britain, it is funded out of national insurance contribution and taxes.54..NHS：It is short form of National Health Service in Britain. It came into being in 1948. It is a largely free service. And its money mainly comes from general taxes.55.GP：It is the short form of a general practitioner in Britain. Sometimes he is known as a“ family doctor” since he may visit patients‟ houses. He treats patients but doesnot prepare medicine. He is self-employed and have contracts with the NHS.56.The social security system：It is the system to secure a basic standard o living for people needed money support in Britain. Large amount of money goes to the system and benefits are contributory and non-contributory ones. In this way , social stability is reached.57..Contributory benefits：T hey are the kinds of benefits people receive through the social security system in Britain. They are so called because people have to pay when they are at work before they receive/gain. They include retirement pension etc. The principle is to be mutually benefited.58.Church of England：I t is one of the two most important churches of Britain. It has strong connection/relation with politics. ex. the Crown is its head. It has two provinces. And only Parliament can make changes to it./ its form59.The Salvation Army：It is the organization of the Methodist Church in Britain. William Booth is the founder and within Britain it is second only to the Government as a provider of social services. It is served by hundreds of officers and runs many worship centers.60.Christmas：It is the greatest of Christian festivals to celebrate the birth of Christ on December 25th every year. Though it becomes too over-commercialized as to such a sacred holiday, still a great deal of genuine Christmas spirit remains. During the day, common people observe the custom of giving gifts and the habit of spending it with the family.61.Easter：It is the chief/main Christian festival on the first Sunday after the first full moon. It is to celebrate the rebirth of Christ. Easter eggs are eaten during the season. It is also closely associated with the coming of spring.62.Public school：It refers to the independent schools for older pupils which are long-established and have gaineda reputation for their high academic standards. The schools are single sex and expensive. Most of the members of the British Establishment were educated at a public school.64.Pantomime：It is a kind of play based on a traditional fairy tale and performed at Christmas time. It is developed out of dumb show with many forms such as dancing. Dan Leno was the one of the great pantomime actors. After the First World War. it began to decline.65.Great Famine：It referred to the period of time in the 1840s when the Irish suffered starvation/ hunger nationwide in Ireland. Crop (potato etc.) failures were main factors, along with some other reasons. The population declined sharply and large emigration started.(42)。