美国精神
2009年7月4日，美国总统奥巴马和家人在华盛顿白宫出席美国“独立日”庆祝活动。奥巴马在当天发表的演讲中说，美国目前正面临着严峻的挑战，国民需要重树“美国精神”。而何为美国精神呢？
在美国人眼中，何为美国精神？戴维·波特博士在《关于美国国民性的探讨》一文中介绍了美国学术界对美国精神研究的状况：一种意见把美国人主要描述成个人主义者和理想主义者；另一种意见是，美国人是尊奉传统者和物质主义者。而康马杰教授在《美国精神》一书中指出：“虽然清教神学思想的重要性在18，19世纪的漫长岁月里逐渐消失，但其许多道德和政治思想还在继续发挥作用。两个世纪的沧桑变化并没有使我们失去对这些遗产的继承。”清教神学精神来源于英国，在这种精神的指引下，清教徒奋力拼搏，不断进取，艰苦创业，奠定了美国的雏形。他们以自己的宗教哲学开辟了一个新世界。这是因为，清教主义的基本思想已经渗入美国社会，奠定了美国社会意识形态基础，影响了一代又一代美国人，对美国资本主义的发展产生了不容忽视的影响。对美国认来说，清教主义不但是一种宗教信仰理念，而且是一种人生哲学和生活方式，正是它铸就了美国主流社会文化价值观和美利坚基本民族性格。
总的来说，美国精神就是强调个人价值，追求民主自由，崇尚开拓和竞争，讲求理性和实用，其核心是个人中心主义：个人至上、私欲至上、追求个人利益和个人享受，强调通过个人奋斗、个人自我设计，追求个人价值的最终实现。其精神可以通过以下几个方面深刻体现出来。
对民主自由的向往
美国文化中五大象征之一——自由女神像的矗立就是对其自由精神最好的解释。自从自由女神像于1886年屹立于纽约湾起，它一直是对新到达的移民美国梦的许诺。自由女神像是法国在1876年赠送给美国独立100周年的礼物。美国的自由女神像坐落于美国纽约州纽约市附近的自由岛，是美国重要的观光景点。自由女神像重45万磅，高46米，底座高45米，其全称为“自由女神铜像国家纪念碑”，正式名称是“照耀世界的自由女神”。整座铜像以120钢铁为骨架，80铜片为外皮，30万只铆钉装配固定在支架上，总重量达225吨。铜像内部的钢铁支架是由建筑师约维雷勃杜克和以建造巴黎艾菲尔铁塔闻名于世的法
国工程师艾菲尔设计制作的。据说塑像美丽的手臂来源于艺术家的妻子，而其沧桑刚毅的脸则取材于艺术家的母亲。一个多世纪以来，耸立在自由岛上的自由女神铜像已成为美利坚民族和美法人民友谊的象征，永远表达着美国人民争取民主、向往自由的崇高理想。
强调个人价值
这里的个人价值是通过自己的奋斗而实现的。画像《美国哥特式》或许并不出名，但画像中老屋上的哥特式窗户，尤其是那个农夫庄重的表情，还有那个长脖子的妻子使画家于1930年一夜成名。该幅画表现了美国农民庄重的自豪感。农民通过自己的努力，而过的很好，是对自己劳动的自豪。而在中国，则有些人会轻视农民。另外，美国许多影视作品和文学作品也体现了美国精神。例如众所周知的电影《阿甘正传》，这部由罗伯特·泽米吉斯导演，汤姆·汉克斯主演的影片讲述了一个英雄Forrest Gump的一生。其实，阿甘终归只是一个虚构的人物，影片只是想通过这个人物的经历，教导人们一种不一样的人生态度，就像阿甘那样，不管下一步要面对什么，他总能平淡地接受，并把自己做到最棒，不是怨天尤人，也不是自暴自弃，阿甘所做的，其实是最简单，做最好的自己，别停下你的脚步。正如台词Miracles happen every day，只要努力，最终就会实现自己的人生价值。除了这部影片，另外还有许多例如《superman》《spiderman》《ironman》等等，都集中体现了美国人对于自身价值的实现的追求。此外，文学作品《老人与海》中的硬汉形象圣地亚哥也是显现了美国人对于个人价值的强调。小说讲述了古巴老渔夫圣地亚哥在连续八十四天没捕到鱼的情况下，终于独自钓上了一条大马林鱼，但这鱼实在太大，把他的小船在海上拖了三天才筋疲力尽，被他杀死并绑在了小船的一边，在归程中一再遭到鲨鱼的袭击，最后回港时只剩下鱼头鱼尾和一条脊骨。“一个人并不是生来要被打败的。你尽可以把他消灭掉，可就是打不败他。”这是圣地亚哥的生活信念，也是《老人与海》中作者要表明的思想。通过桑地亚哥的形象，作者热情地赞颂了人类面对艰难困苦时所显示的坚不可摧的精神力量。孩子准备和老人再度出海，他要学会老人的一切“本领”，这象征着人类这种“打不败”的精神将代代相传。圣地亚哥是海明威所崇尚的完美的人的象征：坚强、宽厚、仁慈、充满爱心，即使在人生的角斗场上失败了，面对不可逆转的命运，他仍然是精神上的强者，是“硬汉子”。
崇尚开拓与冒险
机会就像是一股神奇的力量，吸引着人们前往美国。它不仅吸引着梦想在荒野中建造新房子的贵族，而且还吸引着木匠、面包师、裁缝等一些在家乡找不到活干的能工巧匠们。最重要是，它吸引着欧洲没有土地的穷人和无家可归的人们。它给了人们一种希望，在美洲能过上比在旧世界更好的生活的希望。为了实现希望，从第一批英国移民踏上北美土地到建立起美利坚合众国，移民们历经了半个世纪。北美大陆荒凉的自然环境，激励着他们努力地工作，使他们渐渐地形成了能吃苦耐劳的性格；对北美丰富自然资源的利用与开发，则孕育了他们的开拓和创业精神。在移民中，许多人厌倦了旧有的文化传统，他们是带着叛逆的精神来到美国的。他们中的大多数人都没有了传统的保守思想，危险的野外环境迫使他们放弃了旧世界中的一些文化和传统。冒险成为了改变他们生活方式的一种途径。渐渐地，美国人的这种冒险精神就成为了一种传统。他们把冒险看作是其发展的机会，生命则是一段不断冒险、探索机会的旅程。这种冒险精神已渗透到美国人民生活的各个方面。美国人强调创新的精神，他们认为机会无处不在。除了法律，他们认为大部分的传统都是限制他们发展的壁垒，他们渴望挑战传统。美国不像中国、印度、英国和其他一些国家拥有悠久历史和灿烂文明，因此，美国人很愿意快速地接受新思想、新事物。他们敢于挑战传统和权威，总是认为，“我就是专家或权威”，这就是美国人的性格。
美国精神就像一块美丽的晶石，静静的照耀着每个美国人，让美国人为之自豪，这就是美国最为可贵的精神。
Comparison of the Politics in Britain and United States Abstract: The system that British established in 19 century has a profound effect not only on its own country’s society developments of politics and history but also on other counties’ modern institution, politics and history. British is the mother of world capitalist constitutionalism. As a powerful capitalistic country, US’system is also based on the British’s system and set a prefect system after some reforms. Even so, the systems of the two countries still have many differences. Both of the two countries have powerful political systems in the world. Keywords: constitution, party systems, electoral system 1. Introduction: (political institution is superstructure, generally refers to the state power organs and the basic system which adapted with the social nature. "Political system, as same as the various systems of the human society, is the product of history development, branding with time and space.”) After the English bourgeois revolution, democratic politics was gradually established. The constitution was promulgated and constitutionalism was gradually be taken. Capitalism got a considerable development in Britain. Britain built the first set of the capitalist system, which is known as the source and model of Western political system. British and US political systems have the same theoretical basis: the principle of "separation of powers” and the theory of “human rights”; the concrete content includes the parliamentary system, the electoral system, the judicial system, and the political party system, etc; these are all considered to be the elements of "people's democracy", Regimes implemented the principles of separation of powers and check and balance and the "rule of law". And most fundamentally,as two typical representatives of capitalist countries’ political systems, Britain and USA have the same nature in the maintenance of bourgeois interests and the private capitalist system, the implementation of other aspects of bourgeois dictatorship. But in the specific political system level, they present different characteristics, the paper only compare British and American political system from three aspects of the Constitution, the party system, the electoral system. 2. Comparison of constitutions Britain is typical of countries with unwritten constitution, there is no unified, complete written form, and its constitutional system is extremely complex which is constituted by a variety of written and unwritten customary law, jurisprudence and constitutional practices constituted. British constitution can not be listed by one or several pieces of documents, nor strict distinct by the time, it lacks rigorous and explicit content, consistent and complete system。 The United States Constitution is the first written constitution in the world. In the course of its development, the United States Constitution formed the four main principles: the separation of powers and checks and balances, federalism, limited the powers of the government and judicial review. The US Constitution carried thorough the separation of powers which provide the separation of the legislative, judicial and administrative. Congress, the Federal Court and the President perform their respective duties, and the division of labor between federal, state and local governments is also very clear. Federal Court is an important weight in the separation of powers and checks and balances in the United States, in addition to the administrative function and legislative function, the most important function is the supervisory function and judicial function. Judges enjoy constitutional status and was appointed guardian to uphold the Constitution; the
第三十章澳大利亚经济 Chapter 30 The Economy Ⅰ.工业 Manufacturing Industry 澳大利亚的制造业以制砖开始。86%的制造业为小企业。 Manufacturing in Australia began with the making of bricks. It is estimated that 86% of all manufacturing firms are small businesses. 在世界的总格局中，澳大利亚的制造业是独特的。它的特点包括下面几点: In a world context Australian manufacturing is unique. Its features include the following: 1)效率低Inefficiency 澳大利亚的市场有限，它在地理上与外界的隔绝以及很高的关税壁垒是影响澳大利亚工业效率的几个因素。 Australia's limited local market, its geographical isolation and high levels of tariff protection are the factors that affect the efficiency of Australian manufacturing. 效率最低并且最受保护的工业是汽车、纺织、服装和制鞋工业。 The industries that are most inefficient and most highly protected are automobile, textiles, clothing and footwear industries. 2)高度集中Concentration 在过去20年里，大的联合企业在澳大利亚经济中一直起中心作用。 Over the last 20 years large conglomerates have been given a central role in the Australian economy. 整个钢铁工业由一个公司控制，这就是布洛肯·希尔专卖有限公司。 The entire steel industry is in the hands of one company, the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP). 3)外国投资Foreign investment 澳大利亚的制造业在很大程度上依靠外国投资。外资公司比他们的澳大利亚同行获利多。 Australian manufacturing relies heavily on foreign investment. Companies that are foreign-owned tend to be more profitable than their Australian counterparts. Ⅱ.农业 Agriculture 200年前，澳大利亚是一个没有农业的大陆。今天，农业却是这个国家的最大的和最多样化的行业。澳大利亚是世界上粮食和天然纤维的主要生产国之一。 200 years ago Australia was a land without agriculture. Today, agriculture is the nation's largest and most diverse industry. Australia is one of the world's leading
Helen Keller Zhang Chu (09yingjiao1-35) Abstract：This passage shows about a blind deaf author and educator—Helen Keller. When she was half a year old, an unexpected disaster happened to her which made her forfeit the instinct for living. After that, this little girl became isolated to the vivid and dramatic world. However, in the darkness and a lonely world, she didn't give up and never surrendered to fate. With the help and encouragement from her teacher Anne Sullivan, she overcame all the sufferings caused by the physical defects tenaciously. She learned to speak and study, and began to communicate with others. When she was 24, she graduated from Radcliffe College, Harvard University and became a knowledgeable famous writer and educator, who got hold of five languages. Helen’s life is extraordinary and she gave us great encouragement. She taught us to cherish our health and this wonderful time. Key words: Helen Keller, Anne Sullivan, love, encourage, breakthrough, success 1. Introduction The background of Helen Keller’s family and education did a beneficial foundation for Helen Keller’s success. 1.1Family Background Helen Adams Keller was born on June 27, 1880, in Tuscumbia, Alabama. Her family lived on a homestead, Ivy Green, which Helen's grandfather had built decades earlier. Helen's father, Arthur H. Keller, spent many years as an editor for the Tuscumbia North Alabamian and had served as a captain for the Confederate Army. Helen's mother, Kate Adams,was the daughter of Charles Adams. Helen's paternal grandmother was the second cousin of Robert E. Lee. In a word, hose in Helen’s family members had extraordinary position, which gave a superior foundation for Helen’s success in defeating the suff erings. Helen's father's lineage can be traced to Casper Keller, a native of Switzerland. Coincidentally, one of Helen's Swiss ancestors was the first teacher for the deaf in Zurich. It might be another helpful factor for her to overcome the troubles.(1998:1-2) 1.2Education background
The Sports Culture of the United Kingdom ---An Introduction to the UK 姓名：谢宏桥 学号：2012213047 班级：七班 分数： 2013 年 12 月20 日 When it comes to the United Kingdom, People will always think of the British gentlemen with traditional hat and cane. In fact, sports are as traditional as gentlemen in Britain. The United Kingdom, a traditional and strong country not only in the area of industry and comprehensive national strength, but also in the area of sports, has a long history for playing sports. A lot of major sports originated in the UK, including association football, golf, tennis, boxing, rugby league, rugby union, cricket, field hockey, snooker, billiards, squash, curling and badminton, all of which are popular in Britain. Even the table tennis and baseball, the Chinese and American national sports, originated from Britain. Now British sports not only affect the social context at home, but also have a great impact outside home. We even can regard the sports as a reflection of British culture. Let’s know about Britain from its sports culture. 1. Various important sports originating in the UK 1.1 Association football. Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a very important sport originated in his traditional home—England in the 19th century. The laws of the game were originally codified in England by the Football
美国概况及风土人情 首先要想做好美国项目就要了解目的国家的历史，政治经济，文化背景，风土人情等。相对于中国具有上下5000年的古老历史文明，美国作为一个新兴的资本主义国家，拥有的历史并不算漫长。 美国历史 最早可以追溯到15世纪左右，那时的美国本土居住着大量的土著印第安人。并没有被近现代文明社会所发现，直至意大利人航海家哥伦布发现了北美洲大陆，在1492-1502，十年间，哥伦布在西班牙的资助下四次横渡大西洋，达到美洲大陆。可以说；是哥伦布把欧洲的现代文明带到了美洲大陆。自从哥伦布发现了现代文明后， 在1776年7月 4日，反对英国殖民者的军队在费城召开了第二次大陆会议，组成“大陆军”，由乔治。华盛顿任总司令，并通过了《独立宣言》，那么这一天就被成为美国历史上最著名的“独立日” 1783年9月3日，独立战争结束。美国成为美洲首个独立国家。” 1787年制定联邦宪法。 1788年乔治。华盛顿当选为第一任总统。
美国地图： 美国位于北美洲中部：东濒大西洋，西滨太平洋，北靠加拿大，南接墨西哥及墨西哥湾。除美国简称USA,US，是由50个州和华盛顿哥伦比亚特区组成的联邦共和立宪制国家。 面积与人口： 美国国土面积世界第四；第一俄罗斯，第二加拿大，第三中国，大约为962.9万平方公里陆地面积915万平方公里，内陆水域面积为20万平方公里，五大湖中美国主权部分约为17万平方公里。河口，港湾，内海等沿海水域面积约10万平方公里。 美国人口约3.1 亿人，数量为世界第三。第一是中国，第二是印度，以白人为主，但有大量的移民人口。 主要城市 华盛顿：纽约所担任的职能仅限于经济范围内，而美国的首都华盛顿是纯粹的政治中心。区别于中国的首都北京所具有的政治经济文化中心的职能所不同的，美国的很多城市都具有单一的职能性。举例来讲美国的首都华盛顿只是政治中心，全程华盛顿D.C。最著名的景点就是美国的国会大厦，白宫，以及白宫正对面的华盛顿纪念碑。 美国的纽约不仅具有金融中心这一特点，同时他也是灾难的中心。他的出名也许会因为股市的反弹一夜暴富，也许会因为911的撞击事件而失去生命。 纽约市The city of New York 金融，文化，艺术的中心 纽约市是美国最大及人口最多的城市，也是全世界最大的都会区之一。 纽约在商业和金融的方面发挥巨大的影响力。该市有曼哈顿区，皇后区，布鲁克林区，布朗克斯区，斯塔腾岛五个区。 纽约市是美国第一大港，同时也是世界第四大都会区，仅次于东京，首尔，墨西哥城。 历史事件：2001年9月11日，911事件，恐怖分子劫持四架飞机，两架分别撞向两座世界贸易中心，一架撞向五角大楼，造成3000人死亡。 洛杉矶City of Los Angeles 洛杉矶是美国第二大城市，仅次于纽约，拥有巨大影响力的国际化大都市。 洛杉矶人口是加州最多的，超过400万人口，仅次于纽约。 大学有；加州理工学院，加州大学洛杉矶分校，南加州大学，洛杉矶加利福尼亚州立大学 旧金山 San Francisco
Contents Abstract (2) Key words (2) Introduction (2) Body (2)ⅠEnglish renaissance and humanism (2) A.English renaissance (2) B.English renaissance humanism (3) ⅡThree aspects influnenced by English renaissance (3) A.Drama (3) B.Architecture (4) C.Portraiture (4) Conclusion (5) Notes (6) Referances (7)
Influences of Renaissance in English History LI Siqi Abstract: The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the early 16th century to the early 17th century. In this period, the most significant influence in English history is the spreading of humanism, which is reflected in the three main aspects: drama, architecture and portraiture through pouring humanism into works in those fields.. The greatly aroused creativity of human beings will create miracles. Key words: Renaissance Humanism Drama Architecture Portraiture "What a piece of work is a man, how noble in reason, how infinite in faculties, in form and moving, how express and admirable in action, how like an angel in apprehension, how like a god!" This sentence is abstracted from the book Hamlet written by Shakespeare, who is a representative figure in the period of English Renaissance. In this period, the most significant influence in English history is the spreading of humanism, which is a milestone in the development of English history, especially in art, and which is reflected in the three main aspects: drama, architecture and portraiture. This article is concentrated on how English renaissance puts influnence on these three aspects. ⅠEnglish Renaissance and humanism A. English Renaissance But first, what is English renaissance? “The English Renaissance was a cultural and artistic movement in England dating from the early 16th century to the early 17th
英语国家概况美国部分精讲系列 Chapter: 13 geography 地理位置 1.Alaska and Hawaii are the two newest states in American.Alaska northwestern Can ada,and Hawaii lies in the central Pacific. 阿拉斯加和夏威夷是最近加入美国的两个新州.阿拉斯加在加拿大的西北部，夏威夷位邻中太平洋.（本细节还有考“一句话简答”的可能） 2.The U.S has a land area of 9.3 million square kilometres.It is the fourth largest co untry in the world in size after Russia,Canada and China. 就面积而言，美国是世界第四大国，就人口而言，美国是世界是第三大国. 3.Of all states of American,Alaska is the lagest in area and Rhode Island the smalles t.But on the mainland Texas is the largest sate of the country. 所有州中，阿拉斯加是面积最大的州，罗得岛最小，在美国大陆，最大的州是得克萨斯州. 4.The Rockies,the backbone of the North American Continent,is also known as the C ontinental Divide. 落基山脉是北美大陆的脊梁，也被成为大陆分水岭. 5.The two main mountain ranges in American are the Appalachian mountains and the Rocky mountains. The Appalachians run slightly from the northeast to southwest and the Rocky mountains run slightly from the northwest to southeast. 阿巴拉契亚山脉和落基山脉是美国的两座大山脉.（本细节有考“一句话简答题”的可能）
湖南涉外经济学院外国语学院2013-2014《英语国家概况》期末小论文班级_英本1202班___ 姓名__黄爱灵__评分____________ American Higher Education American education system in the United States is the world's cause of education of the most developed countries in the world. American education system as early as the founding of beginning to take shape when, after 200 years of development and gradually perfect, Formation of the primary, secondary and tertiary institutions High education in the United States began with the founding of Harvard College in 1636. In the past more than 300 years, it has developed into a large enterprise with a very complex system. The higher education comprises four categories of institutions: a) the university; b) the four-year undergraduate institution----the college; c) the technical training institution; and d) the two-year community college. In America, the education system has the differentGraduate Degrees years, Bachelor’s Degree have 4 years; Master’s Degree have 1-2 years; Doctor’s Degree, ph.D (doctor of philosophy), have at least 3 years. So what are the differences between the “college” and the “university” in America? The term “college”refers to an undergraduate institution that confers the degree of Bachelor of Arts or Bachelor of Science after four years of study or an associate degree after two years study. While a university is generally a group of colleges, each serving a special purpose: college of business, college of arts and humanities, college of education, etc. The system of higher education in the United States has three functions: teaching, research and public service. Each college or university has its own emphasis with regard to its functions. The majority of the higher educationinstitutions are located in states that have a large population. The American higher education institutions offer a wide variety of subjects, from the finearts to practical and career-oriented fields such as engineering and marketing. The United States has a variety of higher education institutions, from large comprehensive universities to small traditional liberal arts colleges. Distinctions among these institutionsare in size, level, educational quality, residential atmosphere and the time it takes to complete a degree.At the undergraduate level, students’personal preferences as to size, academic quality and location play a key role in their choice of college or university. At the graduate level, more attention is paid to the reputation of the faculty and department. However,all this effort in America’s higher education is very expensive. Some of the costs come from fees and benefactions, particularly towards research, but most have to be paid from public funds. Parents favor big expenditures on higher education; a wider public opinionfavors them for idealistic and cultural reasons, and because of the supposed value of education as an investment by society.The first universities were developed by private charitable organizations. The private universities are still very important, and most of the best-known institutions, like Harvard, Yale and Princeton, are private. Most of the principal state universities have between 10, 000 and 30, 000 students,
英语国家概况—美国部分测试题 姓名____________ 班级_______________ 分数______________ 1. America was named after（）. A. Italian navigator Columbus B. navigator Amerigo Vespucci C. some Indian chieftain D. George Washington, founding father of the United States 2. Between 1860 and 1990, the United States witnessed（）large-scale population movements. A. 2 B. 3 C. 4 D. 5 3.At the beginning of the Berlin Blockade, President Truman turned down the option of（）. A. sending supplies through the highways, protected by tanks and troops B. sending supplies through the waterways C. starting large-scale airlifting D. staring limited airlifting to test the Soviets 4.In 1900, the United States ranked first in the production of（）. A. coal B. electricity C. oil D. wheat 5.The Constitutional Convention in America was attended by（）. A. all of the 13 states B. all of the states except Maryland C. all of the states except Rhode Island D. all of the states, but later Rhode Island withdrew from the convention 6.In the United States, Henry Ford became famous（）. A. because of his wealth B. because he set up the Standard Oil Corporation C. because he was the first to invent cars D. because of his Model T automobile 7.The attitude of many Americans toward different political views after WWⅡcan be described as（）. A. following the main trend of view B. intolerant C. indifferent D. tolerant 8.In the U.S., the Red Scare refers to（）. A. a senseless hysteria about the danger of communism B. a fear of Soviet subversion C. a senseless hate of anything foreign D. an intolerance of any idea different from the mainstream idea 9.In the United States, the“winner-take-all”system applies to（）. A. all the states B. a majority of the states C. all states except Maine D. only Maine 10.In “Old Man and Sea”, Hemingway praises the old man’s attitude towards（）. A. defeat and failure B. the sea C. his work D. nature 11. Which of the following is NOT among the five biggest cities in the United States?( ) A. Chicago. B. New York. C. Miami. D. Los Angeles. 12.____, which banned slavery, was added to the American Constitution in December, 1865.( ) A. The Bill of Rights B. The Thirteenth Amendment C. The Civil Rights Act D. The Voting Rights Act 13.___ have made it possible for all sections of the American population to have higher education.
[键入文档标题] [键入文档标题] 班级：英语N113班 姓名：沈晓 学号：9303 Abstract The history of the democracy of the United Kingdom is the history that consists of party politics, monarchy, judicial system, parliamentary system, and cabinet system, the history that parliament gradually replaced King to rule the nation, the history that the principle which cabinet should be responsible to Parliament produced, developed and finally established, the history that party began and grew in its interior, the history that democracy defeated despotism and equality defeated privilege constantly, the history that the United Kingdom society make progress constantly. The whole process of the history is exactly the process that the United Kingdom establishes the constitutional regime and gradually realizes the democratization. In a word, the political democracy of the United Kingdom went through its process of gestation, birth, growth and maturity. And with this process, United Kingdom-style political democracy gave the world its unique nature. Keywords：democracy Knights of Round Table Magna Carta Civil War the Bill of Rights Parliamentary Reform of 1832 Britain is arguably the oldest representative democracy in the world, with roots that can be traced over a thousand years. Other countries also have long political histories but these histories are marked by periods of sudden, and often violent, change. Although Britain too has had its periods of political instability, in contrast to