英概名词解释

1、British commonwealth 英联邦

British commonwealth is an intergovernmental organisation of fifty-three independent member states.

The member states cooperate within a framework of common values and goals .

The Commonwealth is not a political union,.

its members states have full autonomy（自治权） to manage their own internal and external affairs.

The King or Queen of Britain is considered the head of the commonwealth.

2、Reformation 宗教改革

Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England.

The immediate cause for the Riligious reformation was king henry Ⅷ’s attempt to divorse his first wife, Catherine（凯萨琳）

Hentry Ⅷ started the Reformation movement by declaring a break with Rome.

In 1534 he issued the Act of Supremacy, and declared himself to be the “only supreme head of the church of England”.

The Reformation was in essence a political movement in a religious guise.（伪装）

3、Act of supremacy 至尊法案

In 1534 King Henry VIII issued the Act of Supremacy, and declared himself to be the “only supreme head of the church of England”.

it was made clear that Parliament was not granting the King the title but rather it was stated as a recognized fact.

In the Act of Supremacy, Henry abandoned Rome completely.

He then went on to found a new church called Ecclesia（教堂） Anglicana.

He appointed himself and his successors as the supreme rulers of this new church.

4、Bank holiday 银行日

A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom.

There is no automatic right to time off(休假) on these days.

The first official bank holidays were the four days named in the Bank Holidays Act 1871.

The very first Bank Holiday began in 1871 when banker(银行家) Henry James Earl（伯爵）, decided to take the first Monday in May off work, closing his bank to the public.

5、Gunpowder plot 火药阴谋

the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a failed assassination（暗杀） attempt against King James I.

The plan was to blow up（爆发） the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605.

The plot was revealed（透露）to the authorities in an anonymous letter. Details of the assassination attempt were allegedly known by the principal Jesuit of England,Father Henry Garnet.

Many important and loyal Catholics retained high office during King James I's reign.

6、Oxbridge牛津和剑桥大学

Oxford University and Cambridge University are sometimes referred to collectively as Oxbridge.

The two university have a long history of competion with each other,as they are the two oldest nuiversities in Britain and rival(竞争) each other in prestige（威望）.

the term is now used to refer to them collectively(共同地), often with implications（含意） of perceived superior social status.

Oxbridge can be used as a noun referring to either or both universities or as an adjective describing them or their students.

7、Constitutional monarchy 君主立宪制

the Glorious Revolution of 1688 led to a constitutional monarchy restricted by laws.

the King ruled with an authority circumscribed（限制）by Parliament.

Today the monarchy in Britain is politically neutral and by convention(按照惯例) the role is largely ceremonial.

Person may accept significant public office without swearing an oath （宣誓） of allegiance（效忠） to the Queen.

8、Constitution of the UK 宪法

the British constitution is made up of three main parts: Statutory Law (成文法) ,Common Law, (判例法) and Convention.（习惯法）the constitution can be altered or amended（修正）by normal parliamentary processes.

The flexibility (灵活性) of the British constitution help explain why it has developed so fully over the years.

The constitution is subject to interpretation（解释） by different bodies, the most important being politicians, judges, and scholars.

9、Common law 习惯法，不成文法，判例法

Common law has never been precisely（精确地） defined.

It is deduced（推断） from custom or legal precedents（判例） and interpreted in court cases by judges.

Commonlaw is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and similar tribunals (法院) .

A "common law system" is a legal system that gives great precedential （有先例的） weight to common law.

on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently on different occasions.

10、Privy council 枢密院

the executive branch includes the Privy Council, serving as a body of advisors, which has about 450 members.

They consist of current and former Cabinet members along with important public figures in Britain and the commonwealth.

Formerly,the Privy Council was a powerful institution, but it is now largely ceremonial.(正式的)

Most of its power is held by one of its committees, Cabinet.