英美概况名词解释

英美概况名词解释：

1. Big Apple

It is the nickname of New York City.

2. Mayflower Compact

It was a social contract whereby the forty-one men who signed it agreed to abide by the new government’s laws in exchange for shared protection. It is cited as one of the foundations for the American Constitution.

3. Union Jack

It’s the nickname of the Union Flag of UK. Jacks are additional national flags flown by warships (and certain other vessels) at the head of the ship.

4. Hadrian’s Wall

Built by the Roman Emperor Hadrian, it is a continuous Roman defensive barrier gu arding the province of Britain from barbarian invaders.

5. Oxbridge

This term is now used to refer to Cambridge and Oxford collectively, often with imp lications of their superior intellectual or social status

6. Joan of Arc

She gathered an army and fought against the English to rescue France during the Hundred Years’ War. But later she was captured and sold to the English. At last, sh

e was sentenced to death. But her courage was an example o

f her people.

7. Black Rod

Black Rod, an official in the parliament, is best known for his part in the ceremonie s of State Opening of Parliament. He summons the Commons to attend Queen’s sp eech and leads them to the Lords. As Black Rod approaches the doors to the Com mons to make his summons, they are slammed in his face.

8. Boston Tea Party

East India Company sent to America large quantities of tea in the evening, Decemb er 16, 1773. About 50 men disguised themselves as Indians who went on board, br oke open the tea chests and poured the tea into the water.

9. Magellan

He is a Portuguese who sailed for the Spanish King. He first sailed to South Americ a and then southwest along the coast.

10. The Niagara Falls

The Niagara Falls are waterfalls on the Niagara River, straddling the international bo rder between the Canadian province of Ontario and the U.S. state of New York. 11. Checks and Balance

This system works in many ways to keep serious mistakes from being made by one of the three branches---executive branch, legislative branch, and judicial branch. 12. Question Time

An hour of “Question Time” in the parliament happens every day after prayers and some preliminaries, except on Fridays. Members of the parliament ask questions of Government Ministers (including the Prime Minister) which they are obliged to answ er.

13. Bloody Mary

As a queen, she took effects to restore Catholicism to England made her the most unpopular queen in British history and the means that she used to pursue her aims earned her the nickname “bloody Mary”.

14. Early Bird

It’s the world’s first communication satellite launched by the USA.

15. Heptarchy

During Anglo-Saxon Times, The small Anglo-Saxon tribes gradually merged into seve n or eight little kingdoms.

16. Uncle Tom’s Cabin

It is a novel composed by Harriet Beecher Stowe. The novel makes the miserable li fe of the negroes in the south of America exposed to the world and shows great s ympathy for the negroes.

17. Proclamation of Emancipation

It’s a document issued by Lincoln and his government at the end of the American Civil War. It made ending slavery in the South a war goal, and dissuaded the Britis

h from intervening.

18. Head Start

It is a preschool program of the US Department of Health and Human Services that focuses on assisting children from low-income families.

19. AP