2014-2015学年高中英语同步教案（7）：Unit2 The United Kingdom（人教新课标必修5）附件1. The history of the national flag of the UKEnglish flag was created by King James Ⅵ of Scotland. In 1603, he became the King of England. He was the first king to unite England and Scotland. He combined England’s Red Cross of St. George with Scotland’s White Cross of St. Andrew. The White Cross of St. Andrew stood for patron saint（保护神）of Scotland, while the Red Cross of St. George stood for patron saint of England. This was the flag that flew above all the early English settlements in the new world. It was the most commonly used flag in the English colonies. In 1801 King George Ⅲadded to the flag the Cross of St. Patrick, patron saint of Ireland. English flag was generally referred to as the “Union Jack”. The flag has remained the same.2. The custom and tradition of the UK“Ladies First” is a British custom, though it is less observed today than it used to be. The reason seems to be the fact that women are the equals of men in having the votes, taking paid jobs and receiving higher education, but there is still the feeling that they need protecting. It is still considered necessary to observe this tradition. In Britain, a man should let a woman go first, and protect her from traffic. On a bus, men should be initiative to give their seats to women, help women get on and off the bus. In a lift, a man should take off his cap when there is a woman. When going into or out of a room, men should be initiative to help women take off or put on their outerwear. When dining with a lady, a man should offer her a better seat so that she can easily overlook the outer door scene or view of the whole restaurant. At the very first meeting, men should be introduced to ladies first.3. The character of the BritishThe best-known quality of the British people and, in particular, of the English people is their exclusiveness. This means, “I am English. You stay away from me. I am exclusive. I am quite happy to be myself. I do not need you. Leave me alone.” It is ve rydifficult to know such a man who does not talk much, never says anything about himself, does not show much emotion and hardly ever gets excited.The English people are generally regarded as conservative. The Americans say that the English people always need 20 or 40 years to do things that they do today because the English people are so conservative that they have to wait for a long time before they are prepared to try something new. Englishmen think their way of doing things is always the best, and always the most normal.The right to privacy and personal freedom is unquestioned by the British. Perhaps it is the lack of space that has fostered and maintained their fierce individualism. There is a common saying among the British people, “My home is my c astle. The wind can come in, but the Kings and Queens and human beings can never come in without my permission.”4. The climate in the UKIt is well-known that the English always go out with an umbrella or a raincoat. Why? It is because the weather in Britain often changes quickly. It is not very common for the same kind of weather to stay long.Spring can be rainy or windy, but the weather is getting warmer and you can expect more sunny days. In fact there can be as much sunshine in spring as in summer. May is very often a lovely warm month in many parts of Britain. Parks, gardens and the countryside are green and full of flowers, so people can have a lot of things to do and enjoy themselves outdoors at this time of a year.Summer is the most popular time for visitors to go to the seaside and other scenic spots. The weather can be sunny and pleasant. People usually have outdoor activities such as swimming and outing.Autumn is a beautiful season, with tree leaves in the woods and parks changing to brown and red. It is a bumper crop season of agricultural plants. It is pleasant to be outside though the weather is constantly changing.It’s cold in winter. It might snow, especially on high land in the north. Sometimes there are also storms and strong winds in the season.January and February are the coldest months of the year, while the warmest areoften July and August. The difference in temperature between winter and summer is not so great. The average temperature for winter is about 4.5℃ and for summer about 15.5℃. How interesting it is!5. Buckingham PalaceThroughout the centuries, Britain’s kings and queens have built or bought palaces to serve as family homes, workplaces and centres of government.Buckingham Palace has served as the official Lon don residence of Britain’s sovereigns (君主统治) since 1837. It evolved from a town house that was owned from the beginning of the eighteenth century by the Dukes of Buckingham. Today it is The Queen’s official residence. Although in use for the many official events and receptions held by The Queen, areas of Buckingham Palace are opened to visitors on a regular basis. The State Rooms of the Palace are open to visitors during the Annual Summer Opening in August and September.The residences associated with toda y’s Royal Family are divided into the Occupied Royal Residences, which are held in trust for future generations, and the Private Estates which have been handed down to The Queen by earlier generations of the Royal Family.6. ScotlandScotland lies to the north England. The country has lots of mountains in the north, but the east coast is rather flat. There is little agriculture in the north and west. Although the farmers can keep sheep on the hills in summer, they also shoot wild deer for food. There are a good many lakes and rivers. Visitors go to Scotland for their holidays to catch fish; there are also a lot of fish farms.Scotland is famous for its engineers. In the past, people from Scotland traveled abroad to build bridges, railways and roads. Ships were built on the coast, too. Now, however, the work has changed. Many foreign companies have built factories in south Scotland where they make computers. Most Scots speak “Scottish English”. They use many different words.Edinburgh has been called “the Athens of the North”. Like Rome, it was built on seven hills. It is one of the cultural centers of Europe. It may not have the summersunshine of a Mediterranean city, but Scotland’s capital still draws lots of visitors from all over the world.The best place for a tourist to begin touring the city is probably Edinburgh Castle, which looks out over the city from the high Castle Rock. The Rock provides wonderful views of the city and the land around it. It is not difficult to see why this is the place where Edinburgh’s history began.The Royal Mile in Edinburgh is a row of historic streets that have some of the most beautiful old buildings in Europe. It runs from the Castle to one of Edinburgh’s other main buildings. Through the years, the city government has helped this area keep its traditional character.Today, Edinburgh is famous for biggest arts festival on Earth. The Edinburgh Festival, which begins in August every year, brings musicians, singers and dancers and theater groups from all over the world. Besides the formal performances, there is the Festival Fringe. For three weeks, Edinburgh’s streets are alive with fire-eaters and all kinds of strange and wonderful acts.7. A short history of IrelandThe island of Ireland is located off mainland Europe to the west and is part of a group of islands, which used to be known as the British Isles. But since the Irish Republic gained its independence in 1922, the term British and Ireland has come into use and is more as Cocles in the Republic.The English invaded Ireland in 1171 and ruled the country for centuries. Ireland became part of the United Kingdom in 1801, but it soon grew discontented, and for forty years the “Irish Question” was the great headache of the British Parliament. In 1845, a disease infec ted most of Ireland’s potatoes and caused a famine (饥荒) that lasted four years. More than one million Irish people died from starvation and disease. Another million or so left Ireland for countries like the US and Australia.The island is divided into two separate political entities, originally created in the 1920s. Covering three-quarters of the island, and containing twenty-six counties, the southern state officially became Republic of Ireland in 1949 some time after it became independent from the UK in 1922 (first called Eire). The remaining six-county statecovering the northeast corner of the island is called Northern Ireland and is part of the UK.。
