A Brief Survey of the UK
Land & People
1. Different names for Britain and its parts.
Britain
The United Kingdom
The U.K.
Great Britain
Geographical names
England
The British Isles
The British Empire?
?Spanned a course of 3 centuries.
?Beginning: charted companies (特许公司late 16th C)
?Hay day: late 19th and early 20th Cs
?Areas: Africa, Asia and North America.
?Disintegration: after WWII
The British Commonwealth of Nations (1931-)?
? A free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain.
?Member nations are joined economically
?The Commonwealth has no executive powers.
?50 member countries (1991)
The official name?
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The British Isles
Two large islands:
Great Britain: England, Wales, Scotland
Ireland: Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland
Some hundreds of small islands
2. National anthem and flag and capital
Anthem: God Save the Queen
Flag: the British Meteor Flag / Union Jack
3. Geographical features
An island country in north Atlantic Ocean
Off the north coast of Europe
Separated from the main continent of Europe by the English Channel in the south the North Sea in the east
English Channel: The English Channel between France and England is quite narrow, the Straits of Dover being its narrowest part
(Chunnel=Channel+ tunnel)
4. Mountains, Rivers, and Lakes
Mountain:
?the Pennines (奔宁山脉): Back of England
?Ben Nevis 1342m (尼维斯山): The highest mountain in the country
Rivers:
?the Severn: the longest river
?the Thames: the best known river on which London stands
Lakes:
?.the Lough Neagh: the largest lake
?the Lake District
?the Lake Poets: William Wordsworth, Samuel Coleridge
5. Climate
A maritime type of climate
Moderate, changeable, damp, warm
Factors that influence it: waters around; southwest wind
London weather
Three features:
1. More fogs and smogs in winter
2. Rainfall is not very heavy and there is not often and very violent storm or wind
3. Its instability or changeable
The picture shows a Scottish couple in their traditional costumes.
The language
?English: Mainly derived from the Anglo-Saxon and Norman French language Varieties of English in the U.K.:
◆Queens' English / King's English
◆RP the received pronunciation
◆BBC English
◆English English, Scottish English & Welsh
7. Religion
The two established churches in Britain:
The Church of England (main people belong to)
The Church of Scotland
8. Major cities
Capitals of the 4 political divisions:
?Scotland - Edinburgh
?Northern Ireland - Belfast
?Wales - Cardiff
?England - London
Industry city: Glasgow, Liverpool, Birmingham
The 2 cities where the most famous universities are located: Oxford and Cambridge
The British government
A unitary system - a federal system
The UK is a unitary country with its government composed of three tiers: ?The central
?The county
?The district government
The UK is a constitutional monarchy:
The head of the state is the King or Queen who reigns but does not rule. The monarch or the sovereign
The central government include:
?The monarch
?The Parliament
?The cabinet
The monarch
?The Monarch or Sovereign is the person on whom the Crown is constitutionally conferred.
?The crown: Represents both the Sovereign and the Government, symbol of supreme executive power
?The UK is governed by Her Majesty's Government in the name of the Queen.
?The King or Queen is addressed as "Your Majesty; His / Her Majesty"
The role of the Monarch: The Sovereign is the symbol of the whole nation
1.head of the executive
2.integral part of the legislature
3.head of the judiciary
4.the commander-in-chief of all armed forces
5.the “supreme governor” of the established Church of England
Succession to the Throne
?Succession is founded on the hereditary principle.
?Sons of the Sovereign have precedence over daughters in succeeding to the throne.
?The eldest son of Queen Elizabeth - Prince Charles, Prince of Wales - is the heir to the throne.
Residences of the British Royal Family
?Buckingham Palace
?Windsor Castle
?The Tower of London
Parliament: formation
Three branches of the Parliament:
?The Monarch
?The House of Lords
?The House of Commons
The main function of parliament
?To pass laws
?To provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of the government ?To examine the government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure
?To debate the major issues of the day
Parliament: terms
?The term of each parliament is 5 years which is divided into 5sessions, each lasting one year
?The opening ceremonial of parliament is known as the State Opening of Parliament
◆In session: the parliament is having a meeting
◆Adjournments: the time for MPs to take a rest during the session
◆Prorogation: the ending of each session
parliament - House of Lords
?It is made up of the Lords of the Spiritual and the Lords of Temporal.
?Hereditary peers: those whose title can be passed on to their descendants.
?Life peers: those whose title cannot be enjoyed by the descendants.
?Noble titles / nobility:
Duke Duchess
Marquis Marchioness
Earl Countess
Viscount Viscountess
Baron Baroness
Parliament – House of Commons
?MPs are elected by universal suffrage through general election
?All British citizens of 21 years old and above have the right to be elected, except those holding noble titles
?How many MPs are there in the House of Commons? After the General Election 2010, there were 650 MPs elected.
?The HC consists of 650 MPs, the seats distributed among the 4 countries based on their population
?The speaker?
◆The chairman who presides over debates in the HC
◆elected by the Commons
◆holds office until his retirement
◆made peer then
?related terms:
?the Party in Power: the Government
?the Opposition Party
◆the Party which has won the second largest number of seats in the election
?black-benchers: junior members because they normally sit in the back rows of
benches
Cabinet – Prime Minister
?The PM, the leader of the Party in Power, is appointed by the Queen
?Duties:
◆The composition of the Cabinet
◆Presides over the Cabinet
◆The allocation of functions among ministers
◆Inform the Queen of the general business of the Government
Politics and Laws
1.Political Parties: Politics in Britain is based on the two-party system.
?The Conservative Party
?The Labor Party
?The Liberal Party
Justice and law - general survey
there is no written constitution in the UK
the two features of the British law system are
?There is no complete code
?There is the distinction between the criminal law and civil law
Criminal law is concerned with wrong against the community as a whole.
Civil law is concerned with three parts.
Primary sources of British law:
1. Statutes: 成文法\ 议会法案
2. The common law 不成文法，习惯法based on custom and decisions made by judges in previous legal cases known as precedents.
3.The equity law 平衡法
4. The European Union law 欧盟法
British Law Courts
?All judges are appointed by the Queen or the advice of the PM and are irremovable.
?Law courts handling criminal cases
?Law courts handling civil cases
Legal Profession
?Lawyers in the United Kingdom are divided into two groups: the solicitors and barristers.
?Solicitors are junior lawyers who help clients preparing necessary papers in civil cases.
?If a case has to be presented in court, then a barrister has to be hired.
Important judicial principles of Britain.
?The right to trial by jury in criminal cases.
?The right to due process of law
?Freedom from unlawful imprisonment
?The presumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty.
Capital Punishment/ Death Penalty
?It was abolished in Britain in 1965/ 1969 but can still at least in theory, be the punishment awarded for the treason and piracy.
?Capital punishment has been replaced by life imprisonment.
Police Force
?London’s Metropolitan Police Force is directly under the control of the House Security.
?Nick names for the British policeman: bobby
?Scotland Yard: Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of London Police.
Economy and cities
A world economic giant
A member of the G8 (Group of Eight)
A member state of the EU
A well developed agriculture
A most industrialized country
A leading financial centre of the world
A trading nation
European Union
An organization of 27western European countries
The members cooperate in many areas, including politics and economics.
They have created a single economic market without internal barriers to trade and investment.
Agriculture
2 outstanding features of Britain’s agriculture
?The small portion of population engaged in agricultural activities
?The high degree of mechanization
Britain’s exports a large portion of its animal products, to the world market, particularly to the other EU countries.
Industry
Britain is a resource-deficient country as far as metallic minerals are concerned.
It has to rely on imports to satisfy the needs of domestic industry.
However, it has abundant energy resources in the form of coal and oil. (Self-sufficient for oil supply. An oil exporter.)
Manufacturing Industry: Factory of the world in the mid 19th century
Iron and steel industry: Since the 1980s, there has been a trend for denationalizing or privatizing some of the key sectors.
High-tech areas:
?The area between Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland.
?Silicon Glen’
Financial Service
London is one of the 3 financial centers of the world (NY, Tokyo)
Central bank: the Bank of England
The most famous financial institution is the London Stock Exchange.
Tourism and Transportation
Tourism is a pillar of the British service industry.
A most developed transportation system
Important means of transportation are railroads, highways, airlines and shipping.
Airports: Heathrow and Gatwick (London)
Foreign Trade
Britain is one of the largest trading nations in the world
The most important trade partners:
The US
Major European countries
Ireland
Culture and Social Affairs
Educational policy
?Education in Britain is compulsory for all children between the age of 5and 16.
?Education is divided into four stages:
◆Primary 5-11
◆Secondary 11-16
◆Further education 16-18
◆Higher education 18-
Eleven-Plus (a kind of exam)
?An examination formerly used to select school pupil at about the age of 11 for an appropriate secondary education (academic, non-academic)
?The term is still used to apply to a similar selection procedure operated in Britain by some Local Education Authorities (LEAs)
The National Curriculum
?The Education Reform Act 1988 provided for the establishment of a National Curriculum for 5 to 16 years old
?The NC occupies not less than 70% of the school timetable, the rest of the time being used for subjects of school's choosing.
Primary and Secondary Schools
?Two parallel school systems:
◆The state/ maintained schools
◆The independent/ public schools
Most famous public school:
?Winchester College
?Eton College
?Harrow School
?Rugby School
Higher education
British boast some of the oldest and most prestigious universities in the world, such as Cambridge University (Trinity school)
Oxford University
News agencies
The principal news agencies:
Reuters
the Press Association
Extel Financial Ltd/ AFP-Extel News Ltd
Radio
BBC dominates the airwaves : The British Broadcasting Corporation
Art Festivals
The Edinburgh International Festival of Music and Drama
Health and Social Services
Britain is regarded as a welfare state. With a from-cradle-to-grave social welfare program
How is the system funded?
It is funded out of:
1. National insurance contributions
2. Taxation
What does the British social welfare program mainly included?
1.National health service:
?It provides for every resident, regardless of income, a full range of medical services.
?All taxpayers, employers and employees contribute to its cost.
2.The social Security program
?The SSP is designed to secure a basic standard of living for people in financial need.
?It consists of contributory benefits and non-contributory benefits.
3.The Personal Social Services
Religion
Every person in Britain has the right to religious freedom without inference from the community or the State.
But the Lord of Chancellor and the Sovereign must be a member of the Church of England Established churches:
?Church of England
?Church of Scotland
Festivals and Public Holidays
Christian festivals
?Christmas:
◆At Christmas, the English home is decorated with
?Leaves of mistletoe
?Leaves of holly
? A young fir tree
◆It celebrates the birth of Christ
◆It is the greatest of Christian festivals
◆There is the habit of spending it with the family
◆The traditional Christmas dinner includes turkey (or duck , chicken)
?Easter:
◆Traditionally associated with:
?The resurrection of Jesus Christ
?The eating of Easter Eggs
?The coming of spring
Other festivals
?New Year’s Day: Jan 1st
?Guy Fawkes Day
Public festivals
?Bank Holiday Jan 2nd (Scotland only)
?Good Friday耶稣受难日