英美概况解答题复习资料

英美概况解答题1.Why is the climate of Britain much milder than of many places in the same latitudea.The climate of Britain is moderated by the Atlantic Gulf Stream.b.It is influenced by the west wind belt, which blow over the country all the year roundand bring warm and wet air from the Atlantic Ocean.c.Topography of Great Britain .Britain is surrounded by seawaters, which can balance theseasonal differences by heating up the land in winter and cooling it off in summer.2. What are the characteristics of the British economya. Britain is one of the world’s most advanced manufacturing and trading nations.b. Its currency, the pound sterling, is the exchange currency for about one third of theworld’s foreign trade.c. the British economy was the first to have been fully industrialized.d. British agriculture does not produce enough food to meet the country’s basic needs, andtherefore part of all vital foodstuffs has to be imported..e. the British labour force is remarkably homogeneous.3. Why do British people think of themselves as Englishmen, Scotsmen, Welshmen andIrishmen, not as BritonsThe British people have a way of living together without really doing so, that is peculiarly British. In normal times they take the national division very much for granted. They have their own way traditions. For example, Scotland has its own national church and its own system of law. Wales possesses a language and a culture of its own.4.What were the consequences of the Norman Conquesta.The Norman Conquest caused important consequences. It increased the process offeudalism.b.William the Conqueror established a strong monarchy in England.c.In 1086 William the Conqueror had his officials go through England and make a generalsurvey of the land, known as the Domesday Book.d.After the conquest William retained most of the old English customs of government.e.The Norman Conquest also brought about changes in church.f.Along with the Normans came the French language.5.In what ways did Henry II consolidate the monarchya.Henry II took some measures to consolidate the monarchy. Firstly, he carried out aseries of reforms to strengthen his power. He strengthened the Great Council .But the most important step is that the Royal powers of justices were greatly expanded.b.As for administration, the major reform of his reign was the Inquest of Sheriffs in 1170.c.In 1181 Henry issued the “Assize of Arms”.d.Henry II wanted to restore the relationship between church and state that had existedunder the Norman kings.6.What were the comments and the nature of the Great CharterComments: (1)The king was not to exact extra payments from the feudal vassals (or towns) without their consent;(2)that laws were not to be modified by arbitrary action of the king;(3)if the king should attempt to free himself from the law, the vassals had the right to force the king to obey it, by civil war or by otherwise.Nature: (1)The Great Charter was essentially a feudal document.(2)It had a progressivesignificance.(3)The basic mass of peasantry, who constituted five-sixths of the population was not taken into consideration.7.Where is the UK locatedIt is located in northwestern Europe, lying to the north of France and the west of the Netherlands and Denmark.8.What do you know about the Roman influence on BritainThe Roman occupation lasted for almost 350 years. The resulting growth of its civilization was more obvious in urban areas than among the agricultural peasants and weakest in the resistant zone. In the southeastern part the Romans influenced life and culture radically. The English upper classes were thoroughly romanized and transformed into Roman landlords and officials. Yet the Romans came to govern and to trade, not to settle; and they were too few in number to change the language and customs of the people as they did in France and Spain.Some of the native people became slaves of the Romans; true slave society was introduced into England.9.Why and how did the English Parliament come into being(1)The English Parliament originated in the Great Council;(2)the main purpose of the king’ssummoning parliament was to get consent for taxation;(3)Henry III extended the membership of parliament;(4)Henry hoped that with Rome’s help he could defeat the lords and their charter;(5)the barons rose up in opposition under the leadership of Simon de Montfort, the king’s brother-in-law, they forced him to dismiss his foreign advisers and to accept their own council of advisers instead;(6)in 1264 Montfort defeated the royal army at Lewes and took the king prisoner. In the following year, he called Parliament. The parliament of 1265 which is known as the “All Estates Parliament” is generally considered the “beginning of parliament”.10. The reasons of the Hundred Year’s War:a. the claim of Edward III to be the rightful King of Franceb. the real causes were deeper and more complex, because of lands(territory)c. the economic interests of England and France clashed in Flandersd. the English national identity had taken shape faster than that of France11. The reasons of Wat Tyler’s Rising:a. the conditions of the peasants were not improved, the villeins struggled for full freedom.b. the government of Edward III and the Parliament issued orders and passed statutes(“Statutes of Labourers ”). This aroused a general hatred against the ministers, lawyers, and landlords.c. lollards, provided ideological preparation for the labour movement of the 14th centuryd. all of those led to the rising of 1381. it was precipitated by the collection of the Poll Tax.The third collection in the early part of 1381 became the fuse of the rising12. What do you know about the nature and consequences of the Wars of the RosesNature: it was a feudal civil war, the war of power and wealth and at last for possession of the Crown between the Lancastrians and the Yorkists.Consequence: the wars of the Roses lasted 30 years and ended in 1485 with the accessions of Henry Tudor as Henry VII, the founder of the Tudor Monarchy. The ending of theWars of the Roses was seen as the ending of the Middle Ages in European history andthe beginning of the modern world history.13. How did Henry VII strengthen his monarchy1. Henry VII first confined his rival---Edward.2. He also promised pardon to those who had stood on the side on the side of the House ofYork .3. In 1486 Henry married Elizabeth of York, thus uniting the rival Houses of York andLancaster.4. Henry faced four separate armed rebellions, but all of them were put down.5. He arranged his son’s and daughters’ marriages in such a way to strengthen his positionabroad and prevent help being given to claimants to his crown.14. What are the reasons of the Reformation1. The Church of the Middle Ages had not been only a religious body; it had been a politicaland legal power as well.2. The greed and laziness of the Church was hindering the social and political progress ofEngland.3. Henry VIII wanted to exalt his own authority in the Church as well as in the State.4. The Parliament, which represented the interests of the bourgeoisie, supported him.5. The lower classes also took its side in the Reformation because of their hatred towards theChurch .6. Even many honest leaders of the Church itself were in favour of its reform.7. The external pretext for the Reformation was Henry VIII’s divorce case.15. What do you know about the English Renaissance“Renaissance” means “rebirth”--- Europe rediscovering its origins in the cultures of ancient Greek and Rome. It was a cultural movement. They were disintegrating movements, but also liberating ones, and they were consistently related, by cause and effect, to liberating movement in politics, commerce, and society in every country. The thinkers, who worked for freedom and enlightenment, were called “humanists”. The greatest English humanist was Sir Thomas More, who wrote his masterpiece Utopia. The English Renaissance was largely literary, William Shakespeare was the greatest dramatist of the age. The late part of the Renaissance in England was also the period of materialism, whose progenitor, according to Marx, was Francis Bacon.16. What’s the nature of the conflict between Catholicism and the English ChurchThe struggle between the English Church and Catholicism was essentially a struggle between the new “nobility” of money and bourgeoisie on the one hand and the remains of feudalism on the other.17. What’s the means of primitive accumulation of capitala. Enclosure Movementb. foreign tradec. colonial plunderd. slave trade18. What’s the importance of English Revolutiona. the English Revolution is an epoch-making event in the history of the world.b. It concluded the medieval period – the period of feudalism, and marks the beginning ofthe modern period – the period of capitalism.c. It paved the way for the rapid growth of capitalism in England.19. What do you know about Oliver CromwellHe was the leader of the Independents during the British Bourgeois Revolution. In the Civil War he led his new army “New Model Army”and defeated the king’s army. In 1649 he signed to executed Charles I and established Commonwealth. He suppressed the Diggers. In August 1649, Cromwell confiscated the land of the “rebels”, and drove the Irish to the poor part of the island. He also defeated Scottish army. In 1653 Parliament was dissolved and Cromwell was made Lord Protector for life and started his military dictatorship openly. The Commonwealth became the Protectorate. He died in 1658.20. What do you know about the development of Foreign AffairsForeign trade was further developed. The wool trade continued to enjoy prosperity. In addition to this, silk articles were exported to the Continent and cotton goods to the West Indies and the American colonies. The slave trade increased after the middle of the 17th century. England first became a sea power in the time of Elizabeth. The big problem after Anne’s accession (1702) was the relationship with Spain and France and the country was mainly taken up with the war against the two against the two countries for the first eight years of her reign.21. What consequences did the agricultural revolution have1) The adoption of new methods and enclosure of land encouraged the development ofcapitalist farming. 2) As a result there was the appearance of a labour reserve. 3) It helped the expansion of domestic market. 4) These were essential conditions for stimulating the Industrial Revolution.22. What are the consequences of the Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution was not only a technological revolution but also a great social upheaval. The Industrial Revolution laid a good foundation for the “factory of the world”. A factory system was established. Workers were employed and managers became capitalists.Two conflicting classes were born.。