英语国家概况论文FROM THE BRITISH EMPIRE TO THE COMMONWEALTH

If Y ou Are Tired of London, Y ou Are Tired of Life.Y es, I think so.At first, London was in a depression in the chalk north of the weald. It is surrounded by richer clay soil which produced food for the citizens of London. two thousand years ago, Roman built this city, from that time, London has been owing a maximum influence in the world, and from 1801 to 20 century, as a empire of the world-the capital of British empire, London become the biggest city of the world for acquiring a outstanding achievement in politics, economy, humanity culture, science and technology invention.T hat’s the history of London, but now London is still the biggest city of Europe a nd meanwhile it also a city which is worthwhile to visit.London is a cosmopolitan mixture of the Third and First worlds of chauffeurs and beggars, of the establishment the avowedly working class and the avant-garde. Unlike comparable European cities, much of London looks unplanned and grubby, but that is part of its appeal. Visiting London is like being let loose on a giant-sized Monopoly board clogged with traffic. Even though you probably won’t know where the hell you are, at least the names will look reassuringly familiar.London has many famous places, such as River Thames, Tower Bridge, Swiss Re Towe r, Palace of Westminster, Big Ben, Millennium Bridge, London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral, and Tower of London and so on. At the same time, as we known, it is one of the most important economic centre of the world and the maximum economic centre of Europe as well.London is a year-round tourist center, with few of its attractions closing or significantly reducing their opening hours in winter. Y our best chance of good weather is, of course, at the height of summer in July and August, but there’s certainly no gu arantee of sun even in those months and that is when you can expect the biggest crowds and highest prices. Besides when it rains hard, the weather gets a little cold in the later, afternoon the sky will be clear, the sun will begin to shine and it will be summer at this time of day. And then, London fog is the obviously characteristic.With so many beautiful places and the amazing history, anyone who didn’t visit it before is really a pity. No other area of Britain is as rich in history tradition and cultural associations as London. Throughout the capital there are great mansion, venerable old buildings, houses, unrivalled collections of art treasure and colorful ceremonies to suit every possible taste and mood. History is from there and, of course, it is worthwhile visiting London. So, if you are tired of London, you are tired of life. I think that’s true.。

On the Rise and Fall of Great Britain.班级：学号：姓名：教授：分数：______On the Rise and Fall ofGreat Britain.中文摘要：英国，又称大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国，是由英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士和北爱尔兰组成的联合王国。

它曾经在世界历史发展的漫长时期中湮没无闻，人口不过数百万，国土资源也很有限，却率先敲开通向现代世界的大门，从地理的边缘变成了世界的中心，一跃成为西方强国的领头人，并独领风骚数百年，给人类文明烙上了不可磨灭的印记。

然而到了十九世纪末期，由于美、德等国的崛起以及其他种种原因，英国逐渐失去优势,后来又在第二次世界大战中受到严重创伤，大英帝国国力日渐衰落,海外殖民地也在二战后纷纷宣告独立，大英帝国逐渐演变成一个组织松散的英联邦。

这个曾经号称“世界工厂”和“日不落帝国”的国家又逐渐衰落。

不过，英国仍然是一个在世界范围内拥有巨大影响力的政治、经济、文化和军事强国。

关键词: 英国；世界工厂；日不落帝国；衰落Abstract in English：Great Britain, also known as The United Kingdom of Great Britain and North Ireland, is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland. It was once little-known in the long history of the development of the world and had only several millions of people. What' more, her territorial resources were also limited. However, she is the first country to open the door to the modern world ranging from the geographical edge to the center of the world. She had once been the leading power of the western countries for hundreds of years and also branded an indelible mark on the human civilization. However, in the late 19th century, with the rise of America and German and other factors, Britain began to lose the upper hand in the international competition. Afterwards, she suffered great loss in the two world wars. Britain began declining and the foreign colonies began to win independence one afteranother. The Great Britain Empire became a loose federal country and Britain which was once known as the "Workshop of the World" and "the Sun-Never-Setting Empire" began declining gradually. Nevertheless, Britain is still a political, economical, cultural and military great power which has great influence on the world.Key words: the Great Britain; the Workshop of the World; the Sun-Never-Setting Empire; fall1. IntroductionBritain is an island country surrounded by the sea to the west and off the European Continent. With the decline of the feudalism and the increase of the influence of the new-born bourgeoisie, she began her capitalist development. Through the closure and foreign plunder, expansion and aggression, she completed the primitive accumulation of capital. She became the first country to undergo the industrial revolution. Soon she became the workshop of the world and had the largest colonies. Of course, she became the most powerful country in the world. However, in the late 19th century with the competition of the new industrialized countries and other factors, she began to lose the upper hand. Afterwards, she suffered great loss in the two world wars. She began to decline. The colonies laid overseas began to revolt against Britain and won independences. Great Britain has gradually evolved into a loose organization of the Commonwealth. In the modern times, she tried to recover form it, but for different reasons she still developed slowly. Now she is still one of the major developed countries, she has been reduced to be a second-class world power that is always at the America's command in international affairs.2. The rise of Great BritainAs a small country, which had been invaded by several times, how could Great Britain developed into the workshop of the world and establish the largest empire that history has ever been seen? Let's explore it together.2.1 The Industrial RevolutionThe British Industrial Revolution was a great result of the socialdevelopment in Britain. In political power, Bourgeois had more say on national affairs; in economy ,they accomplished their "primitive accumulation of capital";in ideology, they are more open; besides ,Britain was gaining the upper hand in the contest to reign supreme on the sea ,which expanded foreign market.All the factors combined to make Britain the first country to undergo the Industrial Revolution. In first, it began in the textile industry. With the expansion of market, the demand for cloth also increased. The old instrument could not meet the need o the massive production. Therefore, before long, new and large machines which could increase productivity by hundreds of times appeared. The invention of the steam engine was used to furnish power. With the new source of power, iron, steel and coal industries began to a fast development. Productions needs were largely met by a series of refinements of existing techniques in the major industries and the extensions of mechanization to the other fields, as in sewing and the marketing of boots, cutlery and nails. The expansion of production and trade promoted the transportation revolution. The convenient transport made Britain products flood the world market. The Britain bourgeoisie amassed large amounts of wealth through trade, plunder and colonization. No country was strong enough to match Britain in the 19th century. Britain raced ahead of all the other countries.The industrial revolution marked the beginning of a new era in the history of mankind. Since the 18th century that rate of growth had been revolutionized, as one country that after another had embarked upon an industrialization which to this day was regarded as the key to the future development of new nations. It led on a much broader expansion. The major markets, however, lay overseas, where the more advanced economies were now moving into an intensive period of industrialization. Ultimately, of course, this was to create many powerful competitors for Great Britain, but at the time her superior technology made her the workshop o the world.2.2 Foreign Plunder, Expansion and AggressionOn the 7th July, 1588, the Spanish’s Armada, the Invincible Fleet was defeated by English which made a big difference to England’s getting sea supremacy as well as paving the way for her expansion. And Elizabeth was regarded as the foundation-layer-of the British Empire. During her reign, she encouraged her citizens to sail to trade, even plunder as much as they can. If they were accused of the international crime, the Queen would deny that she had nothing to do with it, in order to avoid stigma from other nations. But if they succeed to return in triumph like respectable soldiers, she might even grant an interview to these gainers, which was considered as a noble glory. In this way, ordinary people were all inspired to voyage, bringing about the prospect of England: nearly every one became rich and the society simultaneously made big change.With flourishing economy and proficient navigation base, the expansion and aggression enjoyed an unprecedented foundation. If the land was sparsely populated, they just drove away or killed off the natives to make room for Britain colonies. In other countries, they first knocked the door open with commerce, often backed by gunboats, and then, on a certain pretext, followed it up with armed occupied about 33million square kilometers, taking one fifth of the world's total dry land. These areas ever provided raw materials or became her market. Among them, the most famous one was East India Company. All these factors enabled Britain to be the “workshop of the world”and London became the financial center of the world trade. The British Empire had climbed to her peak.2.3The Great EmpireWhen the British Empire was in its prime of life, it occupied 33million square kilometers, taking up one fifth of the world dry land. The area was about 135 times as large as Great Britain. It ruled over a population of 560 million, which was more than 10 times as large as that of Britain. What’s more, the Britain fleet controlled the main sea routes and the strategic spots along them. The British Empire was on its crest and became the most powerful andimportant country in the world. That’s “the sun never setting”Great Empire-Britain.3. The fall of Great BritainTowards the end of the 19th century, the British began to go downhill.3.1 The Two World WarsUnder the two Industrial Revolutions’ pushing, more and more countries wanted to pursuit foreign markets and raw materials. Therefore, the competition became fiercer, so did the struggle between repartition and anti-repartition. So many factors combined, the First World War broke out in 1914 and had lasted a little more than four years. As we all know, nearly every country had suffered from it except America.Although Britain was one of the victorious nations and won many new colonies from the Germans in Africa and the Pacific, she could not continue to undertake the great expenses which were used to maintain an empire huge financial expenditure. Millions of people died, and many assets were destroyed, and caused mounting debt, capital market turmoil. At the same time, nationalism in the new and old colonies are high, and the Empire and the white soldiers fought in the war that felt in strong racial discrimination were much contributed to this kind of nationalism.Economically, Britain became debtor instead of creditor country and the economy postwar suffered depression, and the most important one was that the international financial center also transferred from British London to New York. On international influence, although Britain in Paris Peace Conference kept being a leader, her economic, military strength was retrogressing. Eventually, Britain could no longer maintain her hegemonic position. The most typical sign was the Washington Naval conference, limiting Britain’s naval power, which showed that the British had to admit that she was no longer the global hegemony. On the colony, although territory increased, her control became weaker on account of large death and losses. Then independence movements of colonies had affected British profoundlyAbout ten years later, in 1929, a serious crisis started in America and soon spread to other countries. Large unemployment caused endless demonstrations and strikes which shocked the whole capitalist world. Hitler’s constant thirst for power led Europe into the Second World War from 1939 to 1945. And the Second World War witnessed the disintegration of the British Empire.Though Britain and her allies won the war with Germany being invaded and Japan being hit by two atomic bombs, Britain suffered heavy losses. Repeated bombed, her financial position was greatly weakened and had to rely on America. The independence movement of colonies caused the British lose all her colonies except Hong Kong by the year 1970.As a result, the British Empire gave way to the British Commonwealth after 1931; her membership in European Community was endorsed by a national referendum in 1975; Britain’s defence policy is now based on the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). Nowadays, the British Empire doesn’t exist and is replaced by the strong America, and then Britain is a second-class developed country.3.2 Postwar BritainAfter the two World Wars, much burden was laid on her and the Great Empire had gone downhill. Britain was no longer in the leading class in the world’s economy and underwent enormous economic difficulties. She lost the privilege in the industrial technology. Its financial was greatly weakened and it had to rely on America aid for its economic reconstruction. On the other, awakened and tempered by the war, consequently, most of its colonies in the world swept a large scale of independence movement. By the year 1970, Britain had lost all its former colonies except Hong Kong. Because its economy relied heavily on foreign markets and imports of raw materials, the losses of its colonies impose a great influence on Britain. She lost expansive lands and a large amount of British population, which weakened its power and was out-competed by other countries.4. ConclusionLooking back from Britain’s rise to fall, it is not difficult for us to find that Britain can become the European most powerful country and then the strongest country is a result of its new policy, technology and expansion. The rising bourgeoisie gave rise to the end of the feudal system and ushered a new stage to come. The Industrial Revolution turned Britain into the “workshop of the worl d” and England was the world’s economic center. And after the colonial expansion, wealth flooded in Britain and the great empire on which the sun never set was established. However, as we all are concerned, one’s previous glory doesn’t guarantee her a brilliant future. When the British were resting on their laurels, the world situation changed. When other countries were researching advanced technology and developing their economy, England was unwilling to adopt new technology and new equipment, she thus lost the monopolize position in the world’s industry and sea power. After two World Wars, the Great Britain’s power declined heavily. Though she won both of two wars, she is still a loser. Many problems were emerging, economic plunge, weakened sea power, loss of foreign colonies, large unemployment, and so on. It can no longer claim to be the most powerful country in the world. However, though it had lost its landlord position, the nation as a whole was not crushed by despair, it was still a powerful country in the world but not the strongest.From the process of Great Britain, we can sum up the experience and make China develop soundly and quickly. We should attach the importance to science, innovation and education. And the policy and society system should keep pace with the time. Last but not least, one nation's rise is based on science and technology, the competition between countries is in the contest of national quality, and talent competition. In addition, every country should keep in mind to be prepared for danger in the ties of safety.Bibliography：A.C.W., Winchester. Nineteenth Century Britain 1815-1914, Harlow, Essex, UK:Longman House, 1982, PP175-181Alderman Geoffrey. Modern Britain 1700-1983, Burrell Row: Provident House, 1986, PP1-15陈德新编英美概况，西安：西安交通大学出版社，2008来安方英美概况, 河南：大象出版社，2004年, PP1-212张奎武英美概况(上)，吉林，吉林科技大学出版社，1984,PP115-129/view/3565.htm/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Northern_ Ireland//question/122668056.html。

英语国家概况英文作文The United States is a diverse and vast country located in North America. It is known for its rich history,cultural diversity, and technological innovation. From the bustling city streets of New York to the serene natural beauty of Yellowstone National Park, the US offers a wide range of experiences for visitors.The population of the US is over 300 million, and it is made up of people from all over the world. This diversityis reflected in the country's cuisine, music, and traditions. Whether you're craving a classic American hamburger or want to try authentic Mexican tacos, you can find it all in the US.The US is also a global leader in technology and innovation. Silicon Valley, located in California, is home to many of the world's largest technology companies. From smartphones to social media platforms, many of the products and services that we use every day were created in the US.In terms of natural beauty, the US has it all. From the stunning beaches of Hawaii to the majestic mountains of Colorado, there is no shortage of breathtaking landscapes to explore. The country is also home to many national parks and protected areas, making it a paradise for outdoor enthusiasts.The US is a melting pot of cultures, ideas, and opportunities. It is a place where people from all walks of life can come together to pursue their dreams and build a better future. Whether you're interested in history, technology, or nature, the US has something for everyone.。

英语国家概况考试作文**English Overview Exam Essay: Exploring the Cultural Nuances of English-Speaking Nations**The English Overview Exam essay, a crucial component of understanding the diverse cultures and nuances of English-speaking countries, offers a unique opportunity to delveinto the rich tapestry of these nations. This essay notonly examines the historical backgrounds, political systems, and social structures of these countries, but also explores their unique cultural identities and traditions.Beginning with the historical backgrounds, the English Overview Exam essay highlights the significant events and periods that have shaped the identities of English-speaking nations. From the colonization of the Americas by theBritish Empire to the establishment of independent governments, these countries have experienced a diverse range of historical influences. The essay delves into the impact of these events on the political systems and social structures of these nations, analyzing how they haveevolved over time.Moreover, the essay explores the cultural identities and traditions of English-speaking countries. From the vibrant festivals and celebrations to the diverse culinary delights, these cultures offer a fascinating array of experiences. The essay examines how these traditions have been preserved and adapted over the centuries, reflecting the unique blend of old and new in these nations.In addition, the essay considers the role of language in shaping the cultural identities of English-speaking countries. English, as a global language, has become a unifying force among these nations, allowing for greater cultural exchange and understanding. However, the essay also acknowledges the existence of regional dialects and accents, which further enrich the cultural landscapes of these countries.Furthermore, the essay analyzes the social and economic impact of English-speaking countries on the global stage. From the economic prowess of the United States and the United Kingdom to the cultural influence of Australia and Canada, these nations have left an indelible mark on the world. The essay explores how these countries haveleveraged their resources and strengths to shape global policies and trends.Finally, the English Overview Exam essay concludes with a reflection on the importance of understanding thecultural nuances of English-speaking nations. In a world increasingly connected by globalization, it is crucial to appreciate the diversity and uniqueness of different cultures. By exploring the historical backgrounds,political systems, social structures, and culturalidentities of these countries, we can gain a deeper understanding of their people, values, and traditions.In conclusion, the English Overview Exam essay provides a comprehensive overview of the cultural nuances ofEnglish-speaking nations. Through an exploration of their historical backgrounds, political systems, social structures, cultural identities, and global influence, the essay offers a unique perspective on the rich and diverse cultures of these countries. This understanding not only enhances our appreciation of their uniqueness but also fosters a greater sense of cultural tolerance and respectin a globalized world.**英语国家概况考试作文：探索英语国家文化细微差别** 英语国家概况考试作文，是深入了解英语国家多样文化和细微差别的重要途径，它为我们提供了探究这些国家丰富文化纹理的独特机会。

英美概况论文unit1ABriefIntroductiontotheUnitedKingdom1A Brief Introduction to the United Kingdom Ⅰ As a student majored in science in my high school, I have little knowledge about the society and culture of countries. But I’m still curious about this. So I hope I will learn more about the English-speaking countries. Next I will talk about the preview of the unit 1.The first passage is about the introduction of the United Kingdom. In my memory, I only know the United Kingdom is a developed country, and the building of United Kingdom is very beautiful and magnificent. Now, after reading those passages, I know The UK is includes 4 parts : England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland . I always thing the UK is point at English, but now I know the four country make up the UK. The United Kingdom is a complicated country with a complicated name and it is a multiracial social. The remarkable class , regional and economic difference of the United Kingdom make it different.Now let’s talk about the four countries.England is a highly urbanized country. And its capital, London, which is dominant in the UK in all fields: government, finance, and culture. So London is a huge weight in Britain’s economic and culture life. It is the conquest of Britain. Before the 1st century AD, British was made up of many tribal Kingdoms of Celtic people. In 43AD Britain was invaded by the Roman Empire, and became part of the Roman Empire for nearly 400 years; Then it came under threat from Germanic peoples; from the late 8th century on, raiders from Scandinavia, the ferocious Vikings threatened Britain’s shores; King Alfred the great turned in the tide in south against the Vikings; the next invaders were theNormans who speak French, from Northern France, who English throne, and became William the First , King Arthur and his Round Table, giving Knights equal precedence and showing Knights’demand for a more democratic system. Second, Robin Hood hid in the forest, rebelled against Normans and robbed from the rich to give to the poor. The next few hundred years following the Norman invasion and power gradually transferred from the monarch to the parliament. Scotland is the second largest of the four nations, both in population and in geographical area. And Scotland is the most rugged part of the UK, and the most confident of its own identity. The largest city is Glagow, and its capital is Edinburgh. Both cities have ancient and internationally respected universities dating from the 15th century. The capital, Edinburgh, which is a east coast, famous for its beauty, dominated by its great castle on a high rock largest city. Scotland was neither conquered by the Romans nor by the Anglo-Saxons. The division between highland and lowland Scotland remains a cultural divide today, in much the same way as north and south England see themselves as different from each other. Scotland has a great tradition of innovation in the arts, philosophy and science.Wales is the smallest on the British mainland. It is very close to the most densely populated parts of central England. It retains a powerful sense of difference from England. And it retains its own language. 19% population speak Gaetic. The capital of Wales is Cardiff.Ireland has been divided by a long and blood conflicts as a result of its colonial history. Until 1921 the full name of the UK was “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland”One of the key issues in late 19th century. British politics was a campaignin parliamen t for what was called “the Home Rule Bill”.The artistic and cultural activity in the UK Artistic and cultural activity in Britain ranges from the highest professional standards to a wide variety of amateur involvement, London, is one of the leading world centers for drama, music, opera and dance. Some 650 professional arts festivals take place each year. The Edinburgh International Festival is the largest of its kind in the world.There is music for every taste in Britain including opera, choral and classical orchestras pieces, rock and pop, folk and jazz, military and brass bands, acoustic and newly emerging musical collaborations such as music theatre, music with live arts. In musical composition, experimentation is in vogue, with composers mixing their sources: medieval modes and minimalism, quotations from Wagner and from Debussy, Indian melodies and African rhythms. Since the early 60s with the emergence of the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and the Who, through the 70s with Genesis, Led Zeooelin and Pink Floyd and the 80s with Dire Straits bands have generated major followings worldwide representing a multi-million dollar industry. And the legacy continued into the 90 with Pop phenoms The Spice Girds and groups like Oasis, the Verve, Jamiroquai, and the list goes on. British Pop music is alive and well and will continue to be in 2000 and beyond.。

Chapter 1 The Land and History英国全称大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国，由英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士及北爱尔兰构成，位于大西洋东部的不列颠群岛，是个岛屿国家，由大不列颠岛，爱尔兰岛北部和众多小岛组成。

面积约24.40万平方公里，人口超过6400万(2013年)。

英国属于温带海洋气候，常年温和多雨，气候多变。

受高纬度因素的影响，有类似极昼极夜的现象，冬季日短夜长，夏季日长夜短。

公元前3000年左右，伊比亚人最先到达大不列颠岛。

随后，比克利人、凯尔特人相继来到不列颠。

公元前1世纪到公元5世纪，罗马入侵。

罗马人撤离后，欧洲北部的盎格鲁撒克逊人和以丹麦人为主体的斯堪的纳维亚先后入侵。

到了1066年，诺曼底公爵威廉征服了英格兰，英国的封建制度正式形成。

1215年，国王约翰被迫签订了大宪章。

不久，议会制度形成，从此英国的王权被不断削弱和限制。

1688年，“光荣革命”爆发，确立了君主立宪制。

18世纪后期到19世纪前期，英国成为世界上第一个开始并完成工业革命的国家。

19世纪是英国发展的鼎盛时期，分别建立了第一大英帝国和第二大英帝国。

到二战前夕，英国统治了世界约1/4的土地。

第一次世界大战以及第二次世界大战的爆发，导致英国的政治、经济势力大为削弱，失去了霸权地位。

随着其殖民地的相继独立，20世纪60年代，大英帝国彻底瓦解。

I. General IntroductionMap of British Isles1. Location and the Four NationsThe full name of the UK is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is made up of four nations: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Wales. It is located to the northwest of continental Europe, separated by the English Channel. Geographically, it is an island country, covering an area of about 244,019 km2, and consists of Great Britain and northeastern part of Ireland, together with many small islands of British Isles.Great Britain accounts for over 90% of the country’s tota l landmass. It is the largest island off the northwestern coast of mainland Europe with England, Scotland and Wales on it. Ireland is the second largest island of British Isles located to the northwest of Great Britain. It is divided into two parts: Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (an independent country).England is the largest part of the UK and occupies most of the southern two thirds of Great Britain. The total area of England is 130,410 km2 with a population of around 53.9 million (Mid-2013 estimated), which covers more than 84% of the total UK population. It is the most populous and highly urbanized part of the UK. London, the capital of the UK and England, as well as the seat of government, is located in its southeastern part.Scotland is the second largest and most mountainous part of the UK in the north of Great Britain. Compared with that of England, the population density is quite low. There are only 5.3 million people with an area of 78,789 km2. Edinburgh, its largest city, is the capital of Scotland. Scotland is famous for its beautiful natural scenery, such as Scottish Highlands1and Loch Ness2, as well as many historical places, like the Edinburgh Castles.Wales is on the western side of central southern Great Britain. The total area of Wales is 20,779 km2, which accounts for 1/4 parts of the UK. It is also a mountainous part of Great Britain, particularly in the north and central regions. The southeast region is the most built up region of Wales, and the majority of its population live there and a large proportion of its industry is based there. Its capital city, Cardiff, is also in this region.Northern Ireland lies in the northeast of the island of Ireland, covering14,139 km2, which constitutes 1/6 of the island. It is the smallest part among the four nations of the UK, as well as the second sparsely populated part after Scotland. The capital is Belfast, the largest city in Northern Ireland both in population and in area. It is the center for government, economic, arts, higher education, business, law of Northern Ireland. Additionally, it is the birthplace of Titanic, and voted one of the world’s top destinations.2. ClimateThe overall climate in the UK is temperate maritime, which means that it is mild with temperatures neither much lower than 0℃in winter nor much higher 32℃in summer. Generally, the UK has warm summers and cool winters, with July and August as the warmest month, and January and February as the coldest. However, due to the influence of Gulf Stream3, the summers are cooler than those in continent while the winters are milder. Normally, the temperature in summer is around 20℃，with the high rarely going above 30℃. The average temperature in winter is around 0℃and seldom go below -10℃even in the most northern part of the country.Meanwhile, since Britain is an island country and surrounded by the sea, the climate is considerably changeable compared with other countries. Since the variable climate changing day to day, it is hard for people to predict what the weather will be like the next day. Additionally, the unique geographical position is also the reason for the dampness of the climate. The rainfall is fairly distributed throughout the year. Although it does not rain every day, it is always advisable for people to bring an umbrella or waterproof clothing every day.II. History1. The Founding of the NationThe recorded history of the UK begins with the Roman invasion in 55BC. In 55 and 54BC, Britain was twice invaded by Julius Caesar and his Roman troops. However, it was not until 43AD that the Roman led by Claudius I finally successfully invaded and Britain became part of the Roman Empire. The native Celtic were driven to the mountain regions of Scotland and Wales, which remained unconquered by the Romans.The Romans have great impact on many aspects of the British culture. The Roman civilization was introduced to the Britain during this period. For example, Roman style baths and temples were built, cities like London and towns were constructed, and the system of government was also introduced. With the decline of the Roman Empire, when the Germanic troops attacked Rome in 410 A.D., the Romans had to withdraw in order to protect their own nation, which led to the end of Roman occupation.After the leave of the Romans, three groups of Germanic tribes called the Jutes, the Angles and the Saxons came to Britain from the European continent in the mid-4th century. They conquered different regions of Britain:1Scottish Highlands：苏格兰高地，是对苏格兰高地边界断层以西和以北的山地的称，被认为是欧洲风景最优美的地区。

Chapt ‎e r 1 The Land and Histo ‎r y英国全称大‎不列颠及北‎爱尔兰联合‎王国，由英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士及北‎爱尔兰构成‎，位于大西洋‎东部的不列‎颠群岛，是个岛屿国‎家，由大不列颠‎岛，爱尔兰岛北‎部和众多小‎岛组成。

面积约24‎.40万平方‎公里，人口超过6‎400万(2013年‎)。

英国属于温‎带海洋气候‎，常年温和多‎雨，气候多变。

受高纬度因‎素的影响，有类似极昼‎极夜的现象‎，冬季日短夜‎长，夏季日长夜‎短。

公元前30‎00年左右‎，伊比亚人最‎先到达大不‎列颠岛。

随后，比克利人、凯尔特人相‎继来到不列‎颠。

公元前1世‎纪到公元5‎世纪，罗马入侵。

罗马人撤离‎后，欧洲北部的‎盎格鲁撒克‎逊人和以丹‎麦人为主体‎的斯堪的纳‎维亚先后入‎侵。

到了106‎6年，诺曼底公爵‎威廉征服了‎英格兰，英国的封建‎制度正式形‎成。

1215年‎，国王约翰被‎迫签订了大‎宪章。

不久，议会制度形‎成，从此英国的‎王权被不断‎削弱和限制‎。

1688年‎，―光荣革命‖爆发，确立了君主‎立宪制。

18世纪后‎期到19世‎纪前期，英国成为世‎界上第一个‎开始并完成‎工业革命的‎国家。

19世纪是‎英国发展的‎鼎盛时期，分别建立了‎第一大英帝‎国和第二大‎英帝国。

到二战前夕‎，英国统治了‎世界约1/4的土地。

第一次世界‎大战以及第‎二次世界大‎战的爆发，导致英国的‎政治、经济势力大‎为削弱，失去了霸权‎地位。

随着其殖民‎地的相继独‎立，20世纪6‎0年代，大英帝国彻‎底瓦解。

I. Gener ‎a l Intro ‎d ucti ‎o n1. Locat ‎i on and the Four Natio ‎n s The full name of the UK is the Unite ‎d Kingd ‎o m of Great ‎ Brita ‎i n and North ‎e rn Irela ‎n d. It is made up of four natio ‎n s: Engla ‎n d, Scotl ‎a nd, North ‎e rn Irela ‎n d, and Wales ‎. It is locat ‎e d to the north ‎w est of conti ‎n enta ‎l Europ ‎e , separ ‎a ted by the Engli ‎s h Chann ‎e l. Geogr ‎a phic ‎a lly, it is an islan ‎d count ‎r y, cover ‎i ng an area of about ‎ 244,019 km 2, and consi ‎s ts of Great ‎ Brita ‎i n and north ‎e aste ‎r n part of Irela ‎n d, toget ‎h er with many small ‎ islan ‎d s of Briti ‎s h Isles ‎. Great ‎ Brita ‎i n accou ‎n ts for over 90% of the count ‎r y’s‎total ‎ landm ‎a ss. It is the large ‎s t islan ‎d off the north ‎w este ‎r n coast ‎ of mainl ‎a nd Europ ‎e with Engla ‎n d, Scotl ‎a nd and Wales ‎ on it. Irela ‎n d is the secon ‎d large ‎s t islan ‎d of Briti ‎s h Isles ‎ locat ‎e d to the north ‎w est of Great ‎ Brita ‎i n. It is divid ‎e d into two parts ‎: North ‎e rn Irela ‎n d and the Repub ‎l ic of Irela ‎n d (an indep ‎e nden ‎t count ‎r y).Engla ‎n d is the large ‎s t part of the UK and occup ‎i es most of the south ‎e rn two third ‎s of Great ‎ Brita ‎i n. The total ‎area of Engla ‎n d is 130,410 km 2 with a popul ‎a tion ‎ of aroun ‎d 53.9 milli ‎o n (Mid-2013 estim ‎a ted), which ‎ cover ‎s morethan 84% of the total ‎ UK popul ‎a tion ‎. It is the most popul ‎o us and highl ‎y urban ‎i zed part of the UK . Londo ‎n , the capit ‎a l of the UK and Engla ‎n d, as well as the seat of gover ‎n ment ‎, is locat ‎e d in its south ‎e aste ‎rn part.Map of Briti ‎s h Isles ‎Scotl‎a nd is the secon‎d large‎s t and most mount‎a inou‎s part of the UK in the north‎of Great‎Brita‎i n. Compa‎r ed with that of Engla‎n d, the popul‎a tion‎densi‎t y is quite‎low. There‎are only 5.3 milli‎o n peopl‎e with an area of 78,789 km2. Edinb‎u rgh, its large‎s t city, is the capit‎a l of Scotl‎a nd. Scotl‎a nd is famou‎s for its beaut‎i ful natur‎a l scene‎r y, such as Scott‎i s h Highl‎a nds1and Loch Ness2, as well as many histo‎r ical‎place‎s, like the Edinb‎u rgh Castl‎e s.Wales‎is on the weste‎r n side of centr‎a l south‎e rn Great‎Brita‎i n. The total‎area of Wales‎is 20,779 km2, which‎accou‎n ts for 1/4 parts‎of the UK. It is also a mount‎a inou‎s part of Great‎Brita‎i n, parti‎c ular‎l y in the north‎and centr‎a l regio‎n s. The south‎e ast regio‎n is the most built‎up regio‎n of Wales‎, and the major‎i ty of its popul‎a tion‎live there‎and a large‎propo‎r tion‎of its indus‎t ry is based‎there‎. Its capit‎a l city, Cardi‎f f, is also in this regio‎n.North‎e rn Irela‎n d lies in the north‎e ast of the islan‎d of Irela‎n d, cover‎i ng14‎,139 km2, which‎const‎i tute‎s 1/6 of the islan‎d. It is the small‎e st part among‎the four natio‎n s of the UK, as well as the secon‎d spars‎e ly popul‎a ted part after‎Scotl‎a nd. The capit‎a l is Belfa‎s t, the large‎s t city in North‎e rn Irela‎n d both in popul‎a tion‎and in area. It is the cente‎r for gover‎n ment‎,econo‎m ic, arts, highe‎r educa‎t ion, busin‎e ss, law of North‎e rn Irela‎n d. Addit‎i onal‎l y, it is the birth‎p lace‎of Titan‎i c, and voted‎one of the world‎’s‎top‎desti‎n atio‎n s.2. Clima‎t eThe overa‎l l clima‎t e in the UK is tempe‎r ate marit‎i me, which‎means‎that it is mild with tempe‎r atur‎e s neith‎e r much lower‎than 0℃ in winte‎r nor much highe‎r 32℃ in summe‎r. Gener‎a lly, the UK has warm summe‎r s and cool winte‎r s, with July and Augus‎t as the warme‎s t month‎, and Janua‎r y and Febru‎a ry as the colde‎s t. Howev‎e r, due to the influ‎e nce of Gulf Strea‎m3, the summe‎r s are coole‎r than those‎in conti‎n ent while‎the winte‎r s are milde‎r. Norma‎l ly, the tempe‎r atur‎e in summe‎r is aroun‎d20℃，with the high rarel‎y going‎above‎30℃. The avera‎g e tempe‎r atur‎e in winte‎r is aroun‎d 0℃ and seldo‎m go below‎-10℃ even in the most north‎e rn part of the count‎r y.Meanw‎h ile, since‎Brita‎i n is an islan‎d count‎r y and surro‎u nded‎by the sea, the clima‎t e is consi‎d erab‎l y chang‎e able‎compa‎r ed with other‎count‎r ies. Since‎the varia‎b le clima‎t e chang‎i ng day to day, it is hard for peopl‎e to predi‎c t what the weath‎e r will be like the next day. Addit‎i onal‎l y, the uniqu‎e geogr‎a phic‎a l posit‎i on is also the reaso‎n for the dampn‎e ss of the clima‎t e. The rainf‎a ll is fairl‎y distr‎i bute‎d throu‎g hout‎the year. Altho‎u gh it does not rain every‎day, it is alway‎s advis‎a ble for peopl‎e to bring‎an umbre‎l la or water‎p roof‎cloth‎i ng every‎day.II. Histo‎r y1. The Found‎i ng of the Natio‎nThe recor‎d ed histo‎r y of the UK begin‎s with the Roman‎invas‎i on in 55BC. In 55 and 54BC, Brita‎i n was twice‎invad‎e d by Juliu‎s Caesa‎r and his Roman‎troop‎s. Howev‎e r, it was not until‎43AD that the Roman‎led by Claud‎i us I final‎l y succe‎s sful‎l y invad‎e d and Brita‎i n becam‎e part of the Roman‎Empir‎e. The nativ‎e Celti‎c were drive‎n to the mount‎a in regio‎n s of Scotl‎a nd and Wales‎, which‎remai‎n ed uncon‎q uere‎d by the Roman‎s.The Roman‎s have great‎impac‎t on many aspec‎t s of the Briti‎s h cultu‎r e. The Roman‎civil‎i zati‎o n was intro‎d uced‎to the Brita‎i n durin‎g this perio‎d. For examp‎l e, Roman‎style‎baths‎and templ‎e s were built‎, citie‎s like Londo‎n and towns‎were const‎r ucte‎d, and the syste‎m of gover‎n ment‎was also intro‎d uced‎. With the decli‎n e of the Roman‎Empir‎e, when the Germa‎n ic troop‎s attac‎k ed Rome in 410 A.D., the Roman‎s had to withd‎r aw in order‎to prote‎c t their‎own natio‎n, which‎led to the end of Roman‎occup‎a tion‎.After‎the leave‎of the Roman‎s, three‎group‎s of Germa‎n ic tribe‎s calle‎d the Jutes‎, the Angle‎s and the Saxon‎s came to Brita‎i n from the Europ‎e an conti‎n ent in the mid-4th centu‎r y. They conqu‎e red diffe‎r ent regio‎n s of Brita‎i n:1Scott‎i sh Highl‎a nds：苏格兰高地‎，是对苏格兰‎高地边界断‎层以西和以‎北的山地的‎称，被认为是欧‎洲风景最优‎美的地区。

Chapter 5The Rise and Fall of: the British Empire （1688-1990）1. Whigs and ToriesThese two party names originated with the Glorious Revolution（1688）. Both were known by nicknames: Whigs was a derogatory name for cattle drivers, Tories an Irish word meaning thugs. Loosely speaking, the Whigs were those who opposed absolute monarchy and supported the right to religious freedom for Noncon formists. First Earl of Shaftsbury (1621-83) was considered to be the first leader of the Whig Party. The Tories were those who sup ported hereditary monarchy and were reluctant to remove kings.The Whigs were to form a coalition with dissident Tonies in the mid-19th century and become the Liberal Party. The Tories were the forerunners of the Conservative Party, which still bears the nick-name today.By the beginning of the 19th century the Whigs had no particular programme and were not even a united party in the modem sense.They did not yet have an organized party structure, without party funds for example. Whigs stood for (1) :a reduction in Crown pa tronage (the power to appoint people to important positions and offices.(2) :sympathy towards Nonconformists (Methodists and other Protestant sects who had broken away from the Church of England), and (3) care for the interests of merchants and bankers. Most Whigs were in favor also of some kind of Parlia mentary reform, but could not agree how far this reform should go. (e.g. Should the merchants now be allowed to vote, or should all men get the vote?)Tories were traditionalists- who wanted to preserve the powers of the monarchy and the Church of England. They disliked the Non conformists and considered them a threat to Church of England's in fluence on the people; they wanted strict maintenance of law and order and were afraid of mob riot, and they did not always agree to all reforms. They might agree to some humanitarian reforms, but were certainly against Parliamentary reforms. There was another brand of opinion, but with much smaller support in the Parliament. They were the Radicals who wanted funda mental reforms to get to the root of problems. Only a handful of Parliamentary members were Radicals, but in the late 18th and ear ly 19th centuries Radicals were active in Parliament spreading radical ideas. Their one common aim was thorough reform of the Parlia mentary system. They were greatly influenced by Jeremy Bentham's ideals known as Utilitarianism. He suggested that government's function should be to achieve the greatest happiness of the greatest number. This should be done in two ways accord ing to him: (1) government and administration should be made as efficient as possible. Anything which was not efficient and useful (e. g. educational system, prison system, Parliament) should be modernized; and (2) government should interfere as little as possible with lives of the people as individuals. They advocated lai&w2 faire, a radical idea of free trade, because they believed that the import and export duties interfered with the natural flow of trade.Agricultural Changes in the Late 18th CenturyFarming was an important occupation in England in the 18th cen tury. Village and agriculture were the backbone of the nation.Changes in farming methods therefore would affect lives of millions.Agricultural changes in the late 18th and early 19th centuries were indeed so great that they merit the term revolution''. Traditional farming involved the open field village, a system that dated back to the 5th century. Villages were surrounded by 3 great hedgeless fields which centred all the arable land. These fields were divided into stripsshared out among the villagers. Each family's land was scattered about, so good land was fairly distributed. Much was done on a community basis. One great field left fallow each year (i.e.unused/unsown after ploughing) so that its soil recovered its richness after two years' cultivation. This meant only 2/3 of the land was cultivated at any time. In addition to the fields there were commons and wastelands used by all villagers to graze livestock. This system was an ideal basis for the simple community life of the countryside and subsistence farming before the modern industrial age. There were of course drawbacks: (1) it wasted land because of fallow fields and land for paths; (2) it was wasteful of labour and time; (3) livestock farming was difficult and diseases spread quickly on commons. Winter feed was rarely enough, so animals were usually killed in aufunin and their meat was salted, and (4) the open field system was a barrier-to experiments.In the mid-18th century the population in England increased rapidly, and most of this increase was in the towns, depending on the countryside, for food. Greater productivity meant handsome profits, so landowners wanted to replace the synall farms cultivated on the open-field system by larger, economically more efficient farms with hedge-divided fields. During the late 18th and early19th centuries the open-field system ended when the Enclosure Acts enabled wealthier landowners to seize any land to which tenants could prove no legal title and to divide it into enclosed fields. A sys tem of crop rotation was introduced. This meant land could be fully used while the cuffivation of fodder crops enabled livestock to be kept through the winter months. Artificial fertilizer and new agri cultural machinery, such as the seed drill invented by Jethro Tull (1674-1741), also made arable farming more efficient and more profitable. The 18th century also saw selective breeding of cattle,sheep and horses by Robert Bakewell (1725-95). Animals by 1800were 2 to 3 times heavier than ever before. The idea of encouraging tenants to introduce changes was associated with Thomas Coke (1754-1842) of Norfolk in Southern England and even George was so enthusiastic about changes at Windsor that he got the nick-named “Famer George”Enclosure became more frequent after 1740 and climaxed during the turn of the century when war against France meant high food prices war was an incentive to landlords to enclose land.Agricultural enclosure had good as well as bad results (1)Farms became-bigger and bigger units as the great bought up the small; (2) more vegetables, more milk, more diary produce were consumed, and diet became more varied; (3) enclosure was a disaster for the tenants evicted from their lands by the enclosures.These peasant farmers were forced to look for work in towns, which rapidly became hopelessly overcrowded. Riots erupted in many areas but they could not prevent the march of progress. In Ireland and the Scottish Highlands -land enclosure led to mass emi gration, particularly to the New World; and (4) a new class hos tility was introduced into rural relationships. Concentration of land in fewer hands increased the price of land and dashed the labourers' hopes of ever owning his own land. Loss of the common land for his animals added insult to injury, and meant many had to leave the land to survive. Others became wage labourers, earning rates which were very low in spite of agriculture's new prosperity.M-The Industrial Revolution (1780-1830)The Industrial Revolution refers to the mechanization of industry and the consequent changes in social and economic organization in Britain in the late 18th and early 19thcenturies. Britain was the first country to. industrialize because of the following factors:(1) Britain was, well placed geographically to participate in European and world trade; (2) Britain had a peaceful society, which after the 17th century, was increasingly interested in overseas trade and colonies. In ternational trade brought weAth to merchants and city bankers. They and those who had'-done well out of new farming. methods pro vided capital in large quantities for industrialization. (3) The limited monarchy which resulted from the Glorious Revolution of 1688 ensured that the powerful economic interests in the community could exert their influence over Government policy. (4) It was a country in which the main towns were never too far from seaports,or from rivers, which could distribute their products; (5) Britain had many rivers, which were useful for transport but also for water and steam power. Britain also had useful mineral resources. (6) British engineers had sound training as craftsmen.(7) The inventors were respected.They solved practical problems;(8) probably laissez faire and Protestant work ethic helped. (9) England, Scotland, and Wales formed a customs union af ter 1707 and this included Ireland after 1807. So the national market was not hindered by internal customs barriers.(10) The enclosures and other improvements in agriculture made their contributions by providing food for the rising population,labour for the factories, and some of the raw materials needed by industry.While the movement to enclose the land and use new agricultural methods was at its height, similar things took place in manufac ture. Before the 18th century most industries were done in the home in villages and small towns, using very simple hand operated machines. Now new techniques and water powered machines ulted in organization of industries on a large scale. At this time popula tion became increasingly concentrated in towns, especially in Mid lands, North of England, Southern Wales and Central Scotland. Changes -occurred earliest and quickest in textiles, especially cotton and silk and in other trades like hardware, pottery and chemicals.Production of woolen cloth was traditional and some of the skilled tasks had already started to be done in workshops rather than in the home even before the 18th century. Spinning and weaving, howev er, were done at home. Spinning was a part-time job for wives. Weaving was a full-time male occupation. Often the retailers rented looms to weavers. New textile trades like silk and cotton,, however, were first to adopt factory methods of production. By 1760 the silk industry was well established, but small and no competition for the French and Italians. The real revolution in textiles was in1770 when power-driven machinery was introduced. Cotton had been slow to develop because cotton was imported from West Indies and America. Spinning pure cotton was difficult. For a long time it was mixed with wool (or linen) to make it stronger. Cotton was already associated with Southern Lancastrians. Southern Lancashire had a damp climate ideal for the threads, and was close to rivers and coal fields, and to the great port of Liverpool. At first technology aided weavers. John Kay's flying shuttle (1733) speeded up hand weaving, creating demand for faster yarn spinning. Then spinning was revolutionized by James Hargreaves' spinning jenny (1766), which enabled one hand labourer to spin many threads at a time; and by Richard Arkwright's waterframe ( 1769 ) and Samuel Crompton's mule (1779), which replaced hand labour altogether,and required power to drive them: first water-power, then steam.Edmund Cartwright's power loom (1784) eventually enabled weav ing to catch up with spinning. British cotton now rivaled the best calicoe and muslin of the East. The first steam engine was devised by Thomas Newcomer at the end of the 17th century, and the Scot tish inventor James Watt (1736-1819) modified and improved the design in 1765 and produced a very efficient steam engine with ro tary motion that could be applied to textile and other machinery.Perhaps the most important element in speeding industrialization was the breakthrough which came when Abraham Darby succeeded in smelting iron with coke instead of charcoal in 1709. This hugely increased the production of iron which was used for machinery, rail ways and shipping. Similar developments occurred in the forging side of the iron industry when improvement such as Henry Court's puddling and rolling processes ( 1784 ) enabled vastly increased quantities of high-quality iron to replace wood and stone in many sectors of the economy. Improved transportation (e. g. road and canal construction) ran parallel with production. By the early 19th century, Britain had a road network of some 125, 000 miles (200, 000 km)As a result of the industrial revolution, Britain was by 1830 the workshop of the world''; no other country was yet ready to compete with her in industrial production. Towns grew rapidly and became the source of the nation's wealth. The north of England, un til the 18th century a backward region, was now the most advanced in Britain; mechanization destroyed the livelihood of those who could not invest in it. The working men worked and lived in ap palling conditions (e. g. the workers in factories were treated badly, working 15 hour days in poor light and deafening noise. Lud dites supposedly led by Ned Ludd attempted to destroy the hated machines, but were severely punished by the government. The Industrial revolution created the industrial working class, the prole tariat, and it later led to trade unionism.The two events which most alarmed the British ruling chimes in the closing decades of the 18th century were the American War of Independence and the French Revolution. In the American War of Independence the colonists proved themselves willing to fight for e quality, national identity and political representation. Their wor cry no tax without representation was just as valid for the British middle class and working class when Parliaments still represented sent only aristocrats.In the French revolution, people were pre pared to remove the heads of the aristocracy and anyone else who de nied them liberty, equality and fraternity.IV. The Chartist Movement (1836-1848)Political change in England did not come through revolution but through gradual reform. "At the general election of 1830, the Whigs under Lord Grey were returned to power after more than half a century in opposition and turned their minds to the problem of par liamentary reform. Why should par liament be reformed, there were several reasons: (1) Power was monopolized by the aristocrats. In the 18th and 19th centuries the Lords had far more, influence than it has today and the Commons were also really" gentry '' on edge of aristocracy. Most important ministers were peers (aristocrats and bishops of Church). The Commons were elected only by a very small proportion of the population. The vote was a privilege for a small number of male citizens. No females were allowed to vote in national elections before 1918. Members of Parliament were not paid. (2) Representation of town and country, and North and South was unfair. Today the country is split intoequal sized units for voting C e.each returns 1 member of Parliament) - In the 19th century there were county and borough seats (' e. rural and urban). In counties all with property worth 40 shillings per annurn could vote and 2members of Parliament were elected. Borough voting rights varied.The system had not changed since it began, yet location of most population had.Big new cities like Manchester had no seats. Some deserted Southern villages still had two each. The Southwest con tributed a quarter of all members of Parliament. It was over represented. (3) There were also various so-called rotten or pocket boroughs.Rotten boroughs had been busy market towns, and now were deserted, but they could still elect Members of Parliament. In pocket boroughs,elections were not won by political views but by influ ence.At that time, there was no secret ballot. Votes were recorded in poll-books for all to see. Candidates could buy off or bully voters. So some voters were already so intimidated by the great local landowner that even before the election the seat was already in his pocket.Between 1832 and 1884 three Reform Bills were passed. The Reform Act of 1832 (also called the ''Greater Charter of 1832'') abolished rotten boroughs, and redistributed parliamentary seats more fairly among the growing towns. It also gave the vote to many householders and tenants, based on the value of their property.Then the New Poor Law of 1834 forced the poor people into work houses instead of giving them sufficient money to survive in their own homes.There was widespread dissatisfaction with the Reform Act of 1832 and the New Poor Law. There was dissatisfaction also with the fail ure of attempts to develop trade unionism. Some radicals and militant-workers saw the 1832 Great Reform Act as a great betrayal by the middle class of the working classes and were determined to re new the working class fight for political equality. In 1936 a group of skilled workers and small shopkeepers formed the London Work ing Men's Association.It aimed to seek by every legal means to place all classes of society in possession of equal political and social rights. Its leader was William Lovett, a skilled worker. They drew up a charter of political demands (a People's Charter) in1838, with the intention of printing it to Parliament. It had six points: (1) the vote for all adult males, (2) voting by secret bal lot, (3) equal electoral districts, (4) abolition of property qualifi cations for members of Parliament, (5) payment of members of Parliament; (6) annual Parliaments with a General Election every June.Support for the six demands was loudly voiced at meetings held both by day and night all over the country. Other working men formed Chartist groups throughout the country. At a great 1838 meeting in Birmingham the movement was officially launched, with the aim of pressing Parliament to accept the 6 points.The Chartists could be roughly divided into two groups:the Moral Force Chartists and the Physical Force Chartists. The former headed by William Lovett wanted to realize their aims by peaceful means (politics of persuasion). The latter headed by Feargus O'Connor, wanted to achieve their purpose by violence.The Birmingham radical MP, Attwood, was responsible for holding a National Convention in London in February 1839 and for presenting a petition to the House of Commonsin July, 1840. The Convention revealed conflicts (disagreements) within the move ment and great differences between the Northerners (who were fun damentally anti-industrialists) and the men from the Midlands and London. Chartist riots occurred in Birmingham, Sheffield and Newport where 24 Chartists were killed in a full-scale rising (November 3,1839). Between 1840 and 1842 the Chartist move ment was widely split, but a second petition was presented in May, 1842 and was rejected. A proposed great Chartist Demonstration in1848 considerably alarmed the Government. But there were fewer demonstrators than expected and, in the face of the police, the meeting ended quietly with a third petition being conveyed to Parliament.Chartism failed because of its weak -and divided leadership, and its lack of coordination with trade-umomsm. The working class was still immpture, without the leadership of a political party arined with correct revolutionary theory. The Chartist movement was, however, the first nationwide working class movement and drew attention to serious problems. The 6 points were achieved very gradually over the period of 1858-1918, although the sixth has never been practical. Lenin said that Chartism was the first broad, really mass, politically formed, proletarian revolutionary movement.V. Trade Unions and the Labour PartyAs the new working class became established in the industrial towns in the late 18th century, they became aware of the power which they could po if they acted together instead of separately. So various working class organizations such as friendly societies and mutual insurance companies were formed to bring about improve ments in their standards of living. However, the movements were regarded with suspicion by the government as possible centers of'revolution, especially after the French Revolution of 1789-93. Consequently Parliament passed the Combination Acts of 1799-1800 to forbid the formation of unions. These laws were repeated in 1824. As a result the 1825 Act allowed workers to form unions but not to obstruct workers and employers. It was now difficult to strike without court action following.Most early trade unions were small and local.It wasn't until after1825 that large unions began to combine workers in different parts of the country. In October, 1833 the Grand National Consolidated Trade Union (GNCTU) was established. This attempt to form a national union came to nothing after the trial and transportation of six Dorsetshire agricultural labourers (To1puddle Martyrs) in1834 on the charge of administering false oaths.For 30 years -industrial relationships remained stormy, but until 1850 working class energies were taken up with other movements such as the C. hartist Movement and the Anti-Corn Law League. A new kind of trade unionism developed among skilled workers, such as the Amalgamated Society of Engineers (ASE). The members of the ASE paid one shilling per week at a time when most earned I than one pound per week. In return the ASE offered benefits simi lar to those of friendly societies (i. e. benefits for sickness, unem ployment or old age). The ASE was the model for other national craft unions formed in the 1850s and 1860s among boilermakers,carpOnters, bricklayers and other skilled building workers. Animportant part of the work of the new unions was restriction of entry to their trades. These new model unions tried to avoid confronta tions with employers as far as possible.The New Unionism was not favoured by all workers. The lower paid were still outside it and re mained largely unorganized. In the 1860s trade unionists began to meet regularly to discuss matters of common interest (e. g regula tion of hours, technical education and conditions of appren ticeship). In 1868 the Trades Union Congress (TUC) was start ed; thus began a new phase in which trade unionism had a national organization capable of coordinating the interests of industrial workers.Trade unions had always lacked legal rights - They bad to fight two strong opponents together-employers and the State. Influenced by the 1867 Royal Commission, the Liberal Government passed two new laws, which gave the movement new legal security.The Trade Union Act of 1871 legalized the trade unions and gave fi nancial security. It meant that in law there was no difference be tween collecting money for benefit purposes and collecting it to sup port strike action. The Conspiracy and Protection of Property Act of 1876 gave unions the right to exist as corporation, able to own property and to defend their rights corporatively (i.e. not as mere collections of individuals) in courts of law. Two important develop ments followed in the last 20 years of the 19th century; the growth of unions where they were most needed, among unskilled workers; and the formation of a political party, the Labour Party.The Labour Party had its origins in the Independent Labour Party (ILP), which was formed in January, 1893 and led by Keir Hardie, a Scottish miner. The Independent Labour Party was too idealistic and its leaders too individualistic ever to become a mass party. The foundation of an effective party for labour would depend on the trade unions. When in 1899 Hardie and the ILP urged the English and Scottish TUCs to endorse the idea of united political action, the TUCs acted. In 1900, representative of trade unions the ILP, and a number of small socialist societies set up the Labour Representation Committee (LRC). The aim of the LRC was simply to promote in Parliament the interests of labour. The LRC changed its name to the Labour Party in time for the general election which was called for 1906. The Labour Party participated (1915-18) in the war coalition government, became the main op position party (1922), and formed minority governments (1924 and 1929-31) under MacDonald.VI. Colonial ExpansionEnglish colonial expansion began with the colonization of New foundland in 1583. In the early 18th century, settlements were made in North America, while commercial companies were chartered to trade with other lands, notabl the British East India Company in India. Encouraged by Britain's control of the seas, the dis coveries of men like Captain Cook, and especially by the rising tide of emigration, the British colonialists stepped up their expansion in the late 18th century and the early 19th century.1. The growth of dominionsIn the late 18th century Britain acquired vast,under populated territories: Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.After the Seven Years' War (1756-63 ) between Britain and France, Canada was ceded to Britain by the 1763 Treaty of Paris. French rights were guaranteed by the. Quebec Act of 1774. Then the Canada Act of 1791 divided Canada into Upper Canada (Pntari o) where theBritish had settled, and Lower Canada (Quebec)populated by the French. Only one serious revolt against British rule took place in 1837-38. The British North America Act of 1867 established Canada ,as a dominion. The four founding provinces were Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The others entered later.Australia was first discovered by the Dutch in the early 1600s.Captain James Cook discovered Botany Bay and claimed the east coast region for Britain,naming it New South Wales, (1770). The English began to transport convicts to Australia in 1788. Free set tlement began in 1816, and no convicts were sent to Australia after1840. The gold rushes (1851-1892) brought more people to Aus tralia, and in 1901 the six self-governing colonies were united in one dominion-the independent Commonwealth of Australia.New Zealand was settled by Maoris in about the 14th century. New Zealand was sighted by the Dutch seaman Abel Tasman in1642, and named for the Netherlands province of Zeeland. In the1770s Captain James Cook visited New Zealand and claimed it for England. Missionaries became active in the early 19th century, and systematic colonization was begun in 1840 by the New Zealand Com pany. Britain drew up the Treaty of Waitangi (1840) with the Maori chiefs, and made the country a separate colony (1841). It achieved self-government in 1952, became a dominion under the British crown in 1907, and was made completely independent in 1931.2. The Conquest of IndiaThe establishment of the British East India Company in 1600 was a case of economic penetration. The company took control of areas and as a result the British government became directly involved in Indian affairs. The India Act of 1784 set up a “Board of Control”to supervise the Company. Political instability and French interference prompted further intervention. By 1819 the British conquest of India was almost complete. In 1857 the native- troops of the Bengal army of the East India Company mutinied because of (1) resent ment at the reforms of ancient Indian institutions carried out by the British; (2) fear of forcible conversion to Christianity; and (3)the issue of cartridges- greased with cow-fat, which offended Hin dus, or pig-fat, which offended Musl ims . After the mutiny, the control of India passed to the British Crown in 1858, and Queen Victoria became Empress of India in 1877.3. The Senunble for- AfricaThe Dutch East India Company established a settlement at Cape Town in 1652. Settlement extended inland to form Cape Colony in the 18th century. Britain took the colony in 1806 to protect its-route to India, an act officially recognized by the Netherlands in1814. Increasing numbers of British settlers arrived in the 1820s, and to escape British dorninatiwi the Boers moved northward in the Great Trek (mass migration, 1835-36) to Natal, the Transvaal and the Orange Free State. Britain took Natal in 1843 but recognized the independence of the Transvaal in 1852 and the Orange Free State in 1854. Relations between the British colony and the Boer republics became worse, especially when Britain took (1871) Griqualand, an area of the Orange Free State where diamonds had been discovered. An attempt to take the Transvaal (1877) resulted in war between Britain and the Boers (1880-81) in which Britain was defeated, and the Transvaal's independence was recognized.。

英美概况英文作文The United States is a diverse and multicultural country with a rich history and a strong sense of individualism. From the bustling streets of New York City to the serene beauty of the Grand Canyon, the US offers a wide range of experiences for visitors and residents alike.In terms of politics, the US is a federal republic with a two-party system dominated by the Democratic and Republican parties. The country is known for its strong emphasis on democracy and individual freedoms, and has a long history of political activism and social movements.When it comes to food, the US is a melting pot of different culinary traditions, with each region offeringits own unique dishes and flavors. From Southern barbecue to New England clam chowder, there's something for everyone to enjoy.In terms of culture, the US is a global leader inentertainment, with Hollywood producing a large majority of the world's films and television shows. The country is also known for its music, with genres like jazz, rock, and hip-hop all having roots in American culture.In terms of geography, the US is incredibly diverse, with everything from deserts and mountains to forests and beaches. The country is also home to a wide variety of wildlife, including bears, eagles, and bison.In terms of economy, the US is one of the largest and most influential in the world, with a strong emphasis on innovation and entrepreneurship. The country is known for its technological advancements, particularly in the fields of Silicon Valley and biotechnology.In terms of education, the US is home to some of the world's top universities and research institutions, making it a popular destination for students from all over the world. The country also has a strong emphasis on sports, with American football, basketball, and baseball being particularly popular.In terms of language, English is the most widely spoken language in the US, but the country is also home to a large number of Spanish speakers, particularly in states like California and Texas.In terms of transportation, the US has a well-developed network of highways, railways, and airports, making it easy to travel around the country. The US is also known for its love of cars, with many Americans relying on them for their daily commute.。

大英帝国的历史英文作文Title: The History of the British Empire。

The British Empire stands as one of the mostinfluential and expansive empires in world history. Its origins can be traced back to the late 16th century, with the establishment of overseas colonies and trading posts by England. Over the centuries, it grew to encompass vast territories across continents, shaping global politics, economics, and culture.The expansion of the British Empire was driven by various factors, including economic interests, geopolitical ambitions, and the pursuit of power and prestige. One of the key drivers was the desire to control lucrative trade routes and access valuable resources such as spices, silk, and precious metals. This led to the establishment of colonies and trading outposts in regions such as North America, the Caribbean, Africa, and Asia.The British Empire reached its zenith in the 19th century, during the era of British imperialism. It was during this time that the Empire expanded rapidly, acquiring territories through conquest, colonization, and diplomacy. The British Empire became known as "the empire on which the sun never sets," due to the vast expanse of territories under British rule, spanning different time zones around the globe.One of the defining features of the British Empire was its ability to adapt and evolve over time. Unlike some other empires that relied solely on military conquest, the British Empire often employed a combination of military force, diplomacy, and economic incentives to expand its influence. This approach allowed the Empire to maintain relatively stable and prosperous colonies, while also exploiting their resources for the benefit of the British economy.The British Empire also left a lasting legacy in terms of governance, law, and culture. British legal systems, administrative structures, and educational institutionswere established in many colonies, laying the groundworkfor modern nation-states. The English language became a global lingua franca, spreading through trade, colonization, and cultural exchange.However, the legacy of the British Empire is notwithout controversy. The process of colonization often involved the subjugation and exploitation of indigenous peoples, leading to widespread suffering and injustice. The effects of colonialism continue to be felt in many parts of the world today, as former colonies grapple with issues of economic inequality, political instability, and cultural identity.In the 20th century, the British Empire began todecline as nationalist movements and anti-colonialstruggles gained momentum. The costs of maintaining aglobal empire became increasingly unsustainable, especially in the aftermath of two world wars. Britain gradually decolonized its territories, granting independence to many former colonies, though the process was often fraught with violence and conflict.Today, the British Empire exists primarily as a historical legacy, remembered through monuments, museums, and cultural institutions. While it left an indelible mark on the world, its impact continues to be debated and scrutinized. The story of the British Empire is one of triumph and tragedy, of conquest and colonization, but also of resilience and adaptation in the face of changing times.。

A GUIDE TO ENGLISH-SPEAKINGCOUNTRIESWhen English jumps to life, it displays a starting quality. Nowadays, the connections among countries are increasing frequently, English is becoming more significant. After learning this course, I know more about some English-speaking countries, like Canada, Australia and New Zealand, especially the UK and America.Britain, the whole is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in ancient Britain is known as the "day not fall", includes England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. England is the largest part of Great Britain.There are many rivers in Great Britain. Among the most important rivers is the Thames, which flows into the North Sea. Its length is 336 km and it is the deepest rive in Britain. It is navigable as far as the capital of Great Britain –London. The longest river in Britain is the Severn. Its length is 354 km. London is also called foggy London as the climate of Britain is classified as temperate, with warm summer, cool winters and plentiful precipitation throughout the year.Britain also has a long history. The earliest setters include Iberians (3000BC) , the Beaker folk and Celts. But the recorded history dates from 55BC, when Julius Caesar and his roman troops invaded the island. And then through the medieval period, the industrial revolution, the colonial expansion, and the World War II, the history has been in the present day.Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarchy. Although the Queen is the head of state, their power is largely symbolic. The government is elected by people and governs according to British constitutional principles, and that election is held every five years. However, parliament is the law-making body of Britain. Strictly speaking, it consists of the Crown, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. TheHouse of Commons is elected by universal adult suffrage and consists of 651 Members of Parliament. It is in the House of Commons that the ultimate authority. Britain is divided 651constituencies. Each of the constituencies returns one member to the House of Commons. A general Election must be held every five years and is often held at more frequent intervals. Britain has a number of parties, but there are only two major parties. These two parties are the Conservative Party and the Labor Party. Since 1945, either the Conservative Party or the Labor Party has held power. The party which wins sufficient seats at a General election commands a majority of Government. The leader of the majority party is appointed Prime Minister. The party which wins the second largest number of seats becomes the Official Opposition, with its own leader and shadow cabinet. The rule of Opposition is to help the formulation of policy criticizing the Government and debate with the Government. However, the monarchy is usually regarded as a separate institution because even though the Queen must consent to pass a law, that consent is given as a matter of course. Additionally, it is a capitalist country in Western Europe. Agriculture, energy production, manufacturing industry, service industry and foreign trade are current British economic characters. Since the end of WWII, service industry has a spectacular growth.Britain has a rich culture. Education in Britain is compulsory for all children between ages of 5 and 17. There are two parallel school systems in Britain for primary and secondary education, which includes the state system, where education is provided free of charge, and the independent system where fees are required. Britain’s education and academic research level is currently in the world's leading position. The world-famous education has a holy land at the university of Cambridge and Oxford University. British especially like reading newspapers, like the Times, the Guardian and the Daily Telegraph and so on.The United States is located in the central part of North America, expect Alaska and Hawaii. The country is bordered by Canada to the north, Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, the Atlantic Ocean t the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. The coastline is 22680 kilometers. Unlike UK, major area belongs to temperate continental climate, the southern subtropical climate, while western coastal area distribution has a temperate climate with Mediterranean climate.The US is a country of the western hemisphere, comprising fifty states and several territories. Forty-eight contiguous states lie in central North America between the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, bounded on land by Canada to the north and Mexico to the south; Alaska is in the northwest of the continent with Canada to its east, and Hawaii is in the mid-Pacific.After Christopher Columns has discovered American, this nation was founded by thirteen colonies declaring their independence from Great Britain on July 4, 1776. It adopted the current constitution, which has been amended several times subsequently on September 17, 1787. When the War of Independence was over, the US was not one unified nation as it is today. Each new state had its own government and was organized very much like an independent nation. One of the most events in America is the Civil War. American slavery existed after the first immigrants from Europe founded their settlements. In certain circumstances, slaves were treated with occasional dignity by their owners, but for the most part they were neglected and treated with severe harshness.Eleven Southern slave states declared their secession from the U.S. and formed the Confederate States of America. But the south feared that the north would abolish slavery, and the north was afraid it would spread westward into the newly established states. Soon, anti-slavery leaders were becoming active and loud. Slavery effectively ended in the U.S. in the spring of 1865 when theConfederate armies surrendered. The victory can also be attributed in part to failures of Confederate transportation, materiel, and political leadership. And then the country greatly expanded in territory throughout the 19th century, acquiring further territory from the United Kingdom, as well as lands from France, Mexico, Spain, and Russia. With the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, it became the world's sole remaining superpower, and is a declared nuclear weapons state. The United States continues to exert dominant economic, political, cultural and military influence around the globe.The United States is a federal constitutional republic with Washington DC its federal capital. The Constitution of the United States is the basic law of the land. There are two obvious characteristics in the Constituti on. One is “check and balance”, consisted of the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. Each branch has powers that the others do not have and each branch has a way of counteracting and limiting any wrongful action by other branch. Another characteristic is that the Constitution specifies the respective powers of federal government and of the state government. Congress is the legislature branch of the federal government. It is law-making and the supreme legislative body of the nation. It consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives, while the executive branch consists of 15 departments and many independent agencies. According to the Constitution, the judicial power of the US shall be vested in one Supreme Court. The judicial system has evolved into the present structure: the Supreme Court, 11 Court of appeals, 91 district courts and 3 courts of special jurisdiction. Us judges are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate.As in Britain, a two-party system has been dominant in the United States. Today, the two major parties in America are the Democratic Party which evolved out of Thomas Jefferson’s party, formed before 1800 and the Republican Party which was formed in the 1850s by people in the states of the North and West.Curre nt American economical forms are the same as Britain’s.American society is the product of large-scale immigration and is home to a complex social structure as well as a wide array of household arrangements. The U.S. is one of the world's most ethnically and socially diverse nations.In America, education is regarded as both an individual benefit and a social necessity. It is a general view that every American should have the right and obligation to become educated. They hold the view that the future of the nation depends largely on education. Formal education in the United States consists of elementary, secondary and higher education. Elementary and secondary educations, the basis of public education, are compulsory and are divided into 12 grades. Higher education in the US began with the founding of Harvard College in 1636. As a undergraduate student, he has to earn a certain number of credits In order to receive a degree at the end of four years of college, which is similar to Chinese students. The culture of the United States is a Western culture, and has been developing since long before the United States became a country. Its chief early influence was British culture, due to colonial ties with the British that spread the English language, legal system and other cultural inheritances. Other important influences came from other parts of Europe, especially countries from which large numbers immigrated such as Ireland, Germany, Poland, and Italy; the Native American peoples; Africa, especially the western part, from which came the ancestors of most African Americans; and young groups of immigrants. American culture also has shared influence on the cultures of its neighbors in the New World.Although American history is not so long, but it still is the super country. Let’s find out the cause together. It is said that American active, confident and brave, while British diffident, gentle andreliable. British and American detest each other, British think there is no history in America, but American think British cannot understand what future is.According to this term’s study, I know more about Britain and American. In addition, this course arise my interests in Britain and America. Nowadays, more and more people like traveling abroad. So do I. I try to find something more about these two counties.People in Britain and America are different in greeting and introduction. For British people, a handshake is the most common way of greeting, and it is customary when being introduced to someone new. When one wants to introduce oneself, one extends his or her hand for a shake and says “hello, I am…” and it is proper to say “pleases to meet you…’ as a response. For friends, the British will also hug. And if the friends have not seen each for a long time, they would kiss the cheek of the opposite sex. For America people, they greet total strangers by saying “hello’ and it is thought polite to reply. They say “have a nice day when parting” and “you are welcome” when thanked. British people are punctual persons, so it is polite to arrive on time for appointments. Being late for even a few minutes would be considered impolite.In social settings, people always say “come to see me soon’ and “drop in anytime”. But it is often necessary to call before visiting others. If one does not plan to go, it is better to accept the invitation. It is often considered polite to bring gifts like flowers, chocolate or a small thing for the host. It is an appropriate way to express ones appreciation for being invited by writing a thankful note or giving a telephone call after the visit.In most parts of Britain, the evening meal is the main meal. When one is invited for dinner, it is better for one to tell the hosthis or her dietary restrictions. Food may be served in the following ways: family style, buffet style or serving style. But in America, some families express grace before meals.In the USA, everyone takes pride in doing things by themselves, which is a spirit from their forefathers. And it is also a call of the whole society to do things like gardening, carpentry, upholstering and interior decorating all by oneself.But both British and American people love privacy. It is their right to have privacy and personal freedom. When we communicate with British or American people, don’t ask some private questions. We should remember it.At last, I want to say that this course is quite interesting and practical. I do learn something through the study. Although this course is going to end, I think we should not stop the study of western country cultures because it is useful for our other study as well. if we come to a foreign enterprise after graduation, we could know how to talk with our foreign interviewers or our bosses. When we travel aboard, we could experience local culture in a better way. To some extent, no matter what you are learning now, it must be useful in your future. Thus, I am happy I have learned something in this course.。

A Brief Introduction to the United KingdomⅡNorthern IrelandNorthern Ireland is the smallest of the four nations, both in area and population. It’s capital is Belfast. Though Northern Ireland is small but it is significant because of the political troubles there. There are four aspect to know about Northern Ireland. First, it is about it’s physically. It is mostly rural, with many beautiful views. There are many famous sights such as Giant’s Causeway、Ironbridge Gorge and Broughty Castle and so on.Second, it is about the political problems which are best known about it. The people of Ireland are living an ordinary life. The crime and the murder rate are very low. But in the world, the Ireland is a country which wants to be independent. So it’s international affect is very great.Third, it is about it’s active cultural life. There are many famous people, such as Seamus Heaney、Heaney won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1995. Neil Jordan won an Oscar for the “Best Original Screenplay”in 1992. Van Morrison is an internationally famous pop musician. Brian Fried is a playwright whose stageplays are acclaimed in London and Dublin. So Ireland is a cultural.Forth, it is about it’s economy problems. Two parts are the big problem. One is the troubles discouraging investment; another is it’s peripherality in relation to the UK. The cost of people is very low.HistoryThe history of Ireland is the one thing that almost everyone knows about Ireland. Ireland has been divided by a long and bloody conflict. The Queen Elizabeth became the settler from late 1905. The ingrained resentment of the British which is almost endemic in the native Irish culture is evident even today. In the 19th century, British politics became a campaign in parliament called “home--rule”. Irish political control Irish affairs. In 1916, the Easter Rising was the most spectacular event. In 1916, IRA expanded the fright. In 1920, most Catholic didn’t appeal to independent. Because English government, trying to increase it’s control of Ireland, encouraged people from Scotland and Northern England to emigrate to the north of Ireland, so the northeast part of Ireland thought of themselves as British, and wished to remain a part of the British state.The troublesThere are many trouble of Ireland1、The popular revolt by Roman Catholics.2、Counter—demonstrations by Protestants3、In 1969, British soldiers were asked to help restore order4、A campaign of bombing and shooting5、Internment6、Bloody Sunday in 19727、In 1973, an agreement was reached8、In the late 1970s and the 1980s, the conflict continued and the life went onIn 1972, 468 people were killed in Northern Ireland included 13 Catholics who had been taking part in a peaceful civil rights march. They were shot dead by British soldiers. This was a key event in streagthening Catholic opposition to the Btitish presence. This day has now been my thought as “Bloody Sunday”.Towards a SolutionFirst is The Bullet and the Ballot Box.Second, in 1985, the Anglo—Irish agreement was signed, giving the Irish a right to consultation on Northern Irish matters.Third, the Downing—Street Declaration said that British had “no selfish or strategic interest” in Northern Ireland.Forth, the IRA declared a ceasefire.The Good Friday AgreementIn January 1974, the British Prime Minister set to a power—sharing executive which involved representatives from both of the Republic and the North of Ireland as well as governance of the North.The next attempt at an all—government solution was known as the Angle—Irish Agreement of 1985. The agreement like the one before it, guaranteed the loyalist Protestant community their right to decide their future—either to join with the South, or to remain as they were.Multi—party negotiations aided this time by the intervention of the United States Senator George Mitchell, the Good Friday Agreement known also as the Belfast Agreement. This agreement assures the loyalist community that Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom and shall not cease to be so with out the consent of the majority of the people of Northern Ireland.On 28th July 2005, the Provisional IRA declared an end to it’s campaign and has since decommissioned what is thought to be all of it’s arsenal.The North of Ireland is now a quieter and more civilized place than it has been for the last thirty years.ConclusionThere is still a palpable culture up North of “telling”—that is, trying to guess without asking whether a stranger is Catholic or Protestant, a game that has a large political point, for it is not easy, with this history behind them, for a Northerner to be comfortable with someone not of his own traditions and persuasion.。

英语国家概况读后感English:After reading about the overview of English-speaking countries, I am struck by the diversity and richness of these countries. From the majestic landscapes of Canada and Australia to the bustling cities of the United States and the United Kingdom, each country offers a unique experience for visitors and residents alike. It is fascinating to learn about the different cultures, traditions, and histories that shape each nation, and how they have all contributed to the global influence of the English language. Additionally, the economic power and technological innovation of these countries cannot be overstated, with leading industries in finance, technology, entertainment, and more. Overall, the English-speaking countries form a dynamic and influential group on the world stage, with a blend of tradition and modernity that continues to shape the global landscape.中文翻译:阅读关于英语国家概况的内容后，我对这些国家的多样性和丰富性感到震撼。

On the Rise and Fall of Great Britain中文摘要：英国,又称大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国，是由英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士和北爱尔兰组成的联合王国。

英国采用君主立宪制政体，王国政府所在地为英国首都伦敦。

英国本土位于欧洲大陆西北面的大不列颠群岛，被北海、英吉利海峡、凯尔特海、爱尔兰海和大西洋包围，气候温和湿润。

它，一个漂泊在大西洋上的小岛，曾经在世界历史发展的漫长时期中湮没无闻，人口不过数百万，国土资源也很有限，却率先敲开通向现代世界的大门，从地理的边缘变成了世界的中心，一跃成为西方强国的领头人，并独领风骚数百年，给人类文明烙上了不可磨灭的印记。

然而到了十九世纪末期，由于美、德等国的崛起以及其他种种原因，英国逐渐失去优势,后来又在第二次世界大战中受到严重创伤，大英帝国国力日渐衰落,海外殖民地也在二战后纷纷宣告独立,大英帝国逐渐演变成一个组织松散的英联邦。

这个曾经号称“世界工厂”和“日不落帝国”的国家又逐渐衰落，回归到欧洲，回归到欧洲的版图之内，回归到大西洋中的那个小岛。

关键词: 农业革命；工业革命；世界工厂；殖民扩张；帝国；世界大战；衰落Abstract in English：Great Britain, also know as The United Kingdom of Great Britain and North Ireland, is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and North Ireland. The British system of government is known as constitutional monarchy and the government is located in its capital city London. Lying in the British Isles to the northwest of Continental Europe, Britain was surrounded by the North Sea, the British Channel, Celtic Sea, Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean with a mild and moist climate.It, a small island which lies in the Atlantic Ocean, was once little-known in the long history of the development of the world and had only several millions of people. What' more, her territorial resources were also limited. However, she is the first country to open the door to the modern world ranging from the geographical edge to the center of the world. She had once been the leading power of the western countries for hundreds of years and also branded an indelible mark on the human civilization. However, in the late 19th century, with the rise of America and German and other factors, Britain began to lose the upper hand in the international competition. Afterwards, she suffered great loss in the two world wars. Britain began declining and the foreign colonies began to win independence one after another. The great Britain Empire became a loose federal country and Britain which was once known as the "workshop of the world" and "an empire in which the sun does not set" began declining gradually and returned to Europe, the European territory，the island in the Atlantic Ocean.Key words:Agricultural Changes;Industrial Revolution;T he workshop of the world;Colonial Expansion ;The World War ;The Empire ;Decline Introduction:Britain is an island country surrounded by the sea to the west and off the European Continent. With the decline of the feudalism and the increase of the influence of the new-born bourgeoisie, she began her capitalist development. Through the closure and foreign plunder, expansion and aggression ,shecompleted the primitive accumulation of capital. She became the first country to undergo the industrial revolution. Soon she became the workshop of the world and had the largest colonies. Of course, she became the most powerful country in the world. However, in the late 19th century with the competition of the new industrialized countries and other factors, she began to lose the upper hand. Afterwards, she suffered great loss in the two world wars. she began to decline. The colonies laid overseas began to revolt against Britain and won independences. Great Britain has gradually evolved into a loose organization of the Commonwealth. In the modern times, she tried to recover form it ,but for different reasons she still developed slowly. Now she is still one of the major developed countries, she has been reduced to be a second-class world power who is always at the America's command in international affairs.1 The rise of Great BritainAs a small country, which had been invaded by several times ,how could Great Britain developed into the workshop of the world and establish the largest empire that history has ever been seen? Let's explore it together.1.1 Agricultural Changes in the Late 18th CenturyIn the mid-18th century the population in England increased rapidly, and most of this increase was in the towns, depending on the countryside, for food. Greater productivity meant handsome profits, so landowners wanted to replace the synall farms cultivated on the open-field system by larger, economically more efficient farms with hedge-divided fields. During the late 18th and early19th centuries the open-field system ended when the Enclosure Acts enabled wealthier landowners to seize any land to which tenants could prove no legal title and to divide it into enclosed fields. A system of crop rotation was introduced. This meant land could be fully used while the cuffivation of fodder crops enabled livestock to be kept through the winter months. Artificial fertilizer and new agricultural machinery, such as the seed drill invented by Jethro Tull (1674-1741), also made arable farming moreefficient and more profitable. The 18th century also saw selective breeding of cattle, sheep and horses by Robert Bakewell (1725-95). Animals by 1800 were 2 to 3 times heavier than ever before. The idea of encouraging tenants to introduce changes was associated with Thomas Coke(1754-1842) of Norfolk in Southern England and even George was so enthusiastic about changes at Windsor that he got the nick-named “Famer George”Agricultural enclosure had good as well as bad results (1) Farms became-bigger and bigger units as the great bought up the small; (2) more vegetables, more milk, more diary produce were consumed, and diet became more varied; (3) enclosure was a disaster for the tenants evicted from their lands by the enclosures. These peasant farmers were forced to look for work in towns, which rapidly became hopelessly overcrowded. Riots erupted in many areas but they could not prevent the march of progress. In Ireland and the Scottish Highlands -land enclosure led to mass emigration, particularly to the New World; and (4) a new class hostility was introduced into rural relationships. Concentra tion of land in fewer hands increased the price of land and dashed the labourers' hopes of ever owning his own land. Loss of the common land for his animals added insult to injury, and meant many had to leave the land to survive. Others became wage labourers, earning rates which were very low in spite of agriculture's new prosperity.1.2 M-The Industrial Revolution (1780-1830)The Industrial Revolution was a necessary result of social development in Britain. It was an outgrowth of social and institutional changes brought by the end of feudalism after the English Civil War in the 17th century. The Enclosure Movement and the Agricultural Revolution were driving more and more peasants off their lands; as a result, they had to seek new employment to survive. Through colonial expansion of the 17th century with the accompanying development of international trade, the greedy English capitalists accomplished their “primitive accumulation of capital”. All these factorscombined to make England the first country to undergo the Industrial Revolution.The Industrial Revolution in Britain first began in the textile industry because of the short supply of yarn. Lots of inventions were made to improve thread-making techniques and the productivity was increased by 200 times. As the 18th century began, coal came to replace wood in the productive process. The crucial development of the Industrial Revolution was the use of steam for power, and the James Watt’s invention of the steam engine led to the fast development of the iron, steel and coal industries. The expansion of production and trade promote the transportation revolution. Afterwards, the first steam locomotive was built in 1814 by Stephenson. The Industrial Revolution turned Britain into the “workshop of the world”. English products flooded the world market. The English bourgeoisie amassed large amounts of wealth through trade, plunder and colonization. No country was strong enough to match England in the 19th century. The Industrial Revolution simplified the class structure in Britain. Revolution pushed the middle class to the dominant position in the country though the noble class was still prominent in Parliament and bureaucracy. However, as the urban workers were more completely dependent on the will of the employer, relations between capital and labor were aggravated and the contradiction between two classes became the major problem in English society. The gravitational center of the English economy also changed. The agricultural South became less important than areas in central and north England, owing to their raw materials and cheap labor for industry. The industry had replaced agriculture as the main source of national income and wealth. The Industrial Revolution had profound significance on England; it enabled Britain to go far ahead of all the other countries. It became the workshop of the world and London became the financial center of the world trade and the English language was used in many parts of the world. The empire came into being during the Industrial Revolution.1.3 Colonial ExpansionEnglish colonial expansion began with the colonization of Newfoundland in 1583. In the early 18th century, settlements were made in North America, while commercial companies were chartered to trade with other lands, notabl the British East India Company in India. Encouraged by Britain's control of the seas, the discoveries of men like Captain Cook, and especially by the rising tide of emigration, the British colonialists stepped up their expansion in the late 18th century and the early 19th century.1.3.1 The growth of dominionsIn the late 18th century Britain acquired vast, under populated territories: Canada, Australia, and New Zealand.After the Seven Years' War (1756-63 ) between Britain and France, Canada was ceded to Britain by the 1763 Treaty of Paris. French rights were guaranteed by the. Quebec Act of 1774. Then the Canada Act of 1791 divided Canada into Upper Canada (Pntario) where the British had settled, and Lower Canada (Quebec) populated by the French. Only one serious revolt against British rule took place in 1837-38. The British North America Act of 1867 established Canada ,as a dominion. The four founding provinces were Quebec, Ontario, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick. The others entered later.Australia was first discovered by the Dutch in the early 1600s. Captain James Cook discovered Botany Bay and claimed the east coast region for Britain, naming it New South Wales, (1770). The English began to transport convicts to Australia in 1788. Free settlement began in 1816, and no convicts were sent to Australia after 1840. The gold rushes (1851-1892) brought more people to Australia, and in 1901 the six self-governing colonies were united in one dominion-the independent Commonwealth of Australia.New Zealand was settled by Maoris in about the 14th century. New Zealand was sighted by the Dutch seaman Abel Tasman in 1642, and named for the Netherlands province of Zeeland. In the1770s Captain James Cook visited New Zealand and claimed it for England. Missionaries became active inthe early 19th century, and systematic colonization was begun in 1840 by the New Zealand Company. Britain drew up the Treaty of Waitangi (1840) with the Maori chiefs, and made the country a separate colony (1841). It achieved self-government in 1952, became a dominion under the British crown in 1907, and was made completely independent in 1931.1.3.2. The Conquest of IndiaThe establishment of the British East India Company in 1600 was a case of economic penetration. The company took control of areas and as a result the British government became directly involved in Indian affairs. The India Act of 1784 set up a “Board of Control”to supervise the Company. Political instability and French interference prompted further intervention. By 1819 the British conquest of India was almost complete. In 1857 the native- troops of the Bengal army of the East India Company mutinied because of (1) resentment at the reforms of ancient Indian institutions carried out by the British; (2) fear of forcible conversion to Christianity; and (3) the issue of cartridges- greased with cow-fat, which offended Hindus, or pig-fat, which offended Muslims . After the mutiny, the control of India passed to the British Crown in 1858, and Queen Victoria became Empress of India in 1877.2 The Fall of Great BritainWith the coming of the 19th century,the British Empire began to go downhill. First,the capitalist countries did not develop at even pace. T owards the end of the 19th century the newly-industrialized countries which developed more quickly than Britain spang up and become Britain's formidable rivals in markets and source of raw materials. In 1900,Britain was surpassed by the United States and Germany in industrial production and Britain lost her economic supremacy in the world. Sceond,when the 20th century was ushered in the state of Britain's imperial rule over her colonies started to totter and an up surge of the national independence struggle of the colonial people began to be in the making. In the process of the crumbing of the British Empire, there were several affairs which directly or indirectly led to her declining.2.1 Britain in the Two World Wars and the AftermathBriain joined in World War I and was one of the victorious countries . It seemed like that she won the greatest victory in history,but she sustained great loss:more than a million dead, a gigantic war debt,and loss of many foreign markets forever. She was exhausted and half bankrupt. About 750,000 Englishmen,fell in action and 1.500,000 were disabled for life. The war cost was about 9 billion pounds an nearly 70 percent of it was met by loans. As a result ,Britain became a debtor country. London was replaced by New Y ork as the world's banking center. Britain's international status was lowered to a great extent and she was deprived of her position as unmatched maritime overlord by the Five-Power Naval Limitation Treaty.On June 6,1944,the British joined the Allied forces in the Normandy Invasion and fought in the Second Front in Western Europe until the final victory. World War II started the last stage of Britain's disintegration which was initiated by World War I,on the one hand, Britain suffered enormous losses in the war and her national strength was greatly reduced .With the war over, Britain had face the fact that it was no longer a major power.it would no longer keep up pretences;its cities had been damaged ,its navy and army strethed to the limit, its war debt enormous.Britain needed a long time to recover from the cost war-nothing less than a reconstruction of the nation.2.2 The Loss of ColonizationIn Britain's former colonies, the commonwealth was to keep a certain club-like organization by which Britain manage to keep a certain The October Revolution led to a national liberation movements in British colonies. The British government tried its best at first to suppress them and when that failed,she made concessions.World War I undermined Britain's rules over her colonies. When the colonials participating in the war returned home, they were not as deferential to their English masters as before. Revolutionary ideas of the war like "self-determination of peoples" and socialist idealogies wereside-spread in the British colonial rule began to revolt against colonial rulers and some of them won their victories. After World War II,peoples in the British colonies had been awakened and tempered by the war and their struggle for independence began to surge forward immediately. Within two decades ,most of British colonies became independent. Therefore, Britain suffered a decided in production and foreign trade relative to its prewar status.3 Modern BritainHistory has left much burden on Britain and she didn't recover from the bad condition quickly. There are a series of factors which influence her development.3.1The Monarch and the PeopleThough the feudal class is no longer in power,the monarchy and the Upper House have been retained and the monarchy continues to confer noble titles on distinguished persons. In Britain, the Queen reigns,but she does not rule. The royal house has a large amount of private wealth and spends many million of pounds given by Parliament,which undoubtedly give a burden on the national expenditure. In addition, they have many privileges.Despite traditional as well as present diversity, the British people have their common characteristics--conservatism and deference.Adherence to traditions and familiar things easily leads to public suspicion of new plans of the government,causing numerous protests i n the country.3.2 The Economic FactorsBritain is a trading nation.many years of consumption has exhausted some of Britain's resources. Therefore ,she became one one of the world's largestest importers,buying up a large proportion of the raw materials sold in the world market. Its limited domestic market and inadequate home supply of raw materials compel the country to rely on heavily on foreign trade.In addition,Britain is not self-sufficient in food grain.After the second World War,Britain nationalized some one-fourth of production and service industries.Some of the stated-owned companies made thin profits or even ran at a loss. Britain's slow growth of productivity,soaring inflation,and large unemployment gave birth to the mocking term"British Disease". In spite of the efforts to redjust and some short periods of rapid development,Britain's rate econemic growth has been low in comparison with that of most other industrialized countries.3.3 Cultural and Social FactorsBritain is said to be a state with a from-cradle -to -grave social welfare programme.The government should ensure ,as far as it can,that nobody should be without the means of the minimum necessities of life because of unemployment ,old age,sickness,or over-large families. According to one estimate,government's spending on the social programme consists of more than 40% of the government's total expenditure. It 's a heavy burden on the government,resulting in what is known as ''dependency culture'' which hinders development based on competition.Conclusion:Looking back from Britain’s rise to fall, it is not difficult for us to find that Britain can become the European most powerful country and then the strongest country is a result of its new policy, technology and expansion. The rising bourgeoisie gave rise to the end of the feudal system and ushered a new stage to come. The Industrial Revolution turned Britain into the “workshop of the world” and England was the world’s economic center. And after the colonial expansion, wealth flooded in Britain and the great empire on which the sun never set was established. However, as we all are concerned, one’s previous glory doesn’t guarantee her a brilliant future. When the British were resting on their laurels, the world situation changed. When other countries were researching advanced technology and developing their economy, England was unwilling to adopt new technology and new equipment, she thus lost the monopolize position in the world’s industry and sea power. After two World Wars, the Great Britain’s power declined heavily. Though she won both of twowars, she is still a loser. Many problems were emerging, economic plunge, weakened sea power, loss of foreign colonies, large unemployment, and so on. It can no longer claim to be the most powerful country in the world. However, though it had lost its landlord position, the nation as a whole was not crushed by despair, it was still a powerful country in the world but not the strongest.T aking the rise and fall of Great Britain as an example, we may learn that a country want prosperous, it needs to go through a hard road. But after being glorious, resting on one’s laurels is a road to death. T echnology is the development for all, so we must accept new things and ideas and let our mind emancipated from old stereotype!Bibliography：Alderman Geofftey,Modern Britain 1700--1983,Burrell Row,Provident House,1986,P1--15A.C.W.,Winchester,Nineteent Century Britain 1815--1941,Harlow,Essex,UK, Longman House 1982,P175--181安来芳,英美概况[M],郑州：河南人民出版社，2004.9 ,P130--136张奎武，英美概况[M]，吉林：吉林科技大学出版社，1984,P115-12911。

A comparative study on the structure of British and American Governments The structure of American GovernmentsThe main government of the united states is the Federal government.It has three branches:The Legislature,The Executive and The Judiciary.Congress is the legislative branch of the federal government and it consists of two houses:the Senate and the House of Representative.the senate has 100voting member.2 from each of the 50 states.a senator must be over 30 years old.the House of Representative has 435 voting members,a Representatives must be at least 25years old.Congress helps to pass laws of the UnionThere are 15 departments and many independent agencies in executive branch.the President is the chief of the executive branch,who has the power to manage national affairs and the working of the federal government.Cabinet is under the President in the administration branch,which serves the president as a presidential council.The judicial branch consists of 3 main courts:the supreme courts,the courts of appeals and the district courts.the supreme courts is the highest court of the United states.the courts of appeals is set up to share the burden of the Supreme Court.The district courts serves for local government ,and every state has its own judicial system.The structure of the British GovernmentsThe main 3 parts of the British Governments is the Legislature,the Executive and The Judiciary.Parliament is the law-making body of Britain,which is made of the Crown,the House of Lords and the House of Commons.The government is made up of the Prime Minister,the Cabinet ministers and assistants to the ministers.the prime minister is the leader of the majority party in Parliament.The Cabinet is the supreme decision-making body in the British government.the Cabinet follow the principle of collective responsibility and individual ministerial responsibility.In fact,the Prime Minister is the most powerful leader in Britain.The judicial branch is complicated in British.every district has there own legal systems.the magistrates’court deal with all criminal cases.the Crown Court deal with the more serious cases,which will go to high court or the Court of Appeal or even the supreme court。

《海外文化检索》（“英语国家概况”）课程论文写作要求一、语言及字数要求：英语，正文1500~2000字（不包含参考文献）二、选题：跟课程相关，学生自选三、时间要求： 12月27日（17周）之前上交论文。

四、写作要求：不需要摘要和关键词，但需要包括以下几个基本部分：1、题目2、各部分的小标题3、完整的正文内容4、正文有规范的引用（尤其注意不可抄袭，不可随意引用，不可将他人的创作据为己有）5、参考书目（3个以上，并且都在论文中实现引用）五、论文版面格式与打印要求1、封面：使用统一的封面（见附件格式）。

2、打印：统一使用A4纸。

3、左边装订。

4、边距：上下边距各3cm；左边距：2.5cm；右边距2cm。

5、论文字体：汉语：宋体，英语：Times New Roman。

6、页脚页码标注（居中）。

六、评分标准：满分100分。

具体包含以下4个方面内容：1) 写作要求完成情况：学生能否有效就其选定的题目进行资料查找、阅读，并且进行描述和写作，字数达到要求。

【占25%，按照完成情况打分】2) 连贯性和结构层次：学生能否将信息和要点进行组织，信息和要点之间的联系是否清晰。

【占25%，按照完成情况打分】3) 词汇的多样性和语法的准确性：学生使用的词汇是否广泛、准确、且适合写作的要求；语法结构是否多样、准确、且适合写作的要求。

【占25%，按照完成情况打分】4)论文格式：学生写作的格式是否规范，尤其是引用和参考文献部分。

【占25%，按照完成情况打分】七、抄袭惩罚论文如果有抄袭嫌疑，视抄袭严重程度进行处罚，情节严重者按0分处理。

如果未加注直接引用为自己文字，连续引用字数超过30字未加注者，即视为抄袭。

全文出现5处以上抄袭，即视为情节严重，按0分处理；全文出现3-5处抄袭，最多得分不超过20分；全文出现1-2处抄袭，最多得分不超过40分。

将别人的文字稍作修改作为己用，也应注明出处，否则等同于抄袭。

论文规范和范例Part I Questions1.Why should we write quotes in an essayBecause we should give credit to quoted authors.Whenever you use someone else’s words in an essay, you must indicate clearly that the words are not your own. You do this by using proper formatting and by using endnotes to give the original author credit. There are two basic ways to format quotations, one for short quotations and the other for long quotes.2. How to write a quote in an essay1)Select your quotations carefully and don’t use more than you need. Usequotations when accuracy or exact wording is important or when the quotation makes a powerful point. Introduce the quotations in your own words and make sure they fit smoothly into the flow of your essay.2)Use double quotation marks around a quotation when you use a direct quotationthat is less than four lines long. Don’t use quotation marks around paraphrased material (material summarized in your own words).3)Indent a quotation if it is more than four lines long. Do not use quotation marksaround indented quotations.4)Capitalize the first letter of a quote if it is a complete sentence but not if it is afragment. Put periods and commas inside quotation marks. Put colons and semicolons outside. Put question marks and exclamation points inside the quotation marks if they are part of the quotation, but put them outside the quotation marks if they refer to the sentence as a whole.5)Give endnotes to every quotation, even paraphrased quotations, at the end of theessay.Part II Essay正文字体、标题、行距、段落等格式正文全文1.5倍行距，除题目和标题外，都用Times New Roman小四号。

英语国家概况学习论文姓名：_____班级：_____学号：_____The history of the democratic political development in the United KingdomAbstract: As we know, the United Kingdom is arguably the oldest representative democracy in the world, its representative democracy originated one thousand years ago. Although the United Kingdom founded the modern political system so early, its establishment truly has experienced a very long process, some events have a significant impact on it. This long and unbroken history is still apparent in the United Kingdom's current institutions and culture. Generally speaking, the United Kingdom democratic political development is a compromise, progressive process.Key words: history; democratic political development; the United KingdomThe Monarchy and Divine Right of KingsIn the United Kingdom,the oldest institution of government is the Monarchy,this dates back to the Saxons who ruled from the 5th century AD until the Norman Conquest in 1066.The present Queen,Elizabeth II, is directly descended from King Egbert, who united England under his rule in 829. The power of the monarchy was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the "divine right of Kings". It asserts that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority, deriving the right to rule directly from the will of God. The king is thus not subject to the will of his people, the aristocracy, or any other estate of the realm, including (in the view of some, especially in Protestant countries) the Church. According to this doctrine, only God can judge an unjust king. The doctrine implies that any attempt to depose the king or to restrict his powers runs contrary to the will of God and may constitute a sacrilegious act.The Magna CartaThe Magna Carta, or Great Charter, is a document created for the purpose of limiting the powers of the monarch and preserving the basic legal rights of all free men in England. It was made after a rebellion in 1215 against King John of England, a corrupt, absolute monarch who angered all those under the influence of his power. The Barons, rich land owners and direct vassals of the King, would no longer tolerate the abuses of power conducted under John’s reign, and demanded a change in government. John was forced to meet with them at Runnymede on June 15, 1215. There the Barons proposed the Magna Carta, a document similar to, as well as an ancestor of, the Bill of Rights. After several days of debate, the King gave in to the Barons’ demands and adopted the charter into the British s ystem of government on June 19th.The Magna Carta was eventually sent out to all of the towns and provinces of England so that all free men could see their basic legal rights. Among the rights granted by the document are a trial by jury, a punishment fitting and not excessive to the crime, and no taxation without representation. To whom these rights were granted has been heavily debated. The barons who created the Magna Carta originally intended it toprotect only the rich, upper class of the feudal system. It was reinterpreted by many leaders and politicians for years after it was created, and with each it was applied to more and more groups of people. With the interpretation of Sir Edward Coke, a 17th century British Secretary of State, the rights in the Magna Carta could even be applied to American colonists. The colonists felt that the government was violating a basic right granted them in the charter, they were being taxed without representation in Parliament. This belief led to the creation of the Declaration of Independence.The Magna Carta marked a turning point in world history. Until the 13th century in England, European rulers were absolute monarchs. With absolute rule came absolute power; these rulers had the power to do and order anything they chose. The end of absolute power in the United Kingdom came with the revolutionary Magna Carta, which established a set of laws that not even the king could violate. The same laws that applied to the lowest class of society applied to everyone, even to the royal family. The Magna Carta was a major first step toward the democracies of today, governments in which there are no monarchs but rather self governing citizens.The Bill of Rights of 1689The Bill of Rights is an Act of the Parliament of England passed on 16 December 1689. It was a restatement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right presented by the Convention Parliament to William and Mary in March 1689 (or 1688 by Old Style dating), inviting them to become joint sovereigns of England. It lays down limits on the powers of the crown and sets out the rights of Parliament and rules for freedom of speech in Parliament, the requirement to regular elections to Parliament and the right to petition the monarch without fear of retribution. It reestablished the liberty of Protestants to have arms for their defence within the rule of law, and condemned James II of England for "causing several good subjects being Protestants to be disarmed at the same time when papists were both armed and employed contrary to law".The birth of the Prime Minister and CabinetThe origins of the position are found in constitutional changes that occurred during the Revolutionary Settlement (1688–1720) and the resulting shift of political power from the Sovereign to Parliament. Although the Sovereign was not stripped of the ancient prerogative powers and legally remained the head of government, politically it gradually became necessary for him or her to govern through a Prime Minister who could command a majority in Parliament.By the 1830s the Westminster system of government (or cabinet government) had emerged; the Prime Minister had become primus inter pares or the first among equals in the Cabinet and the head of government in the United Kingdom. The political position of Prime Minister was enhanced by the development of modern political parties, the introduction of mass communication (inexpensive newspapers, radio,television and the internet), and photography. By the turn of the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged; the office had become the pre-eminent position in the constitutional hierarchy vis-a-vis the Sovereign, Parliament and Cabinet.Prior to 1902, the Prime Minister sometimes came from the House of Lords, provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons. However as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the Prime Minister should always sit in the lower house. As leader of the House of Commons, the Prime Minister's authority was further enhanced by the Parliament Act of 1911 which marginalised the influence of the House of Lords in the law-making process. The accretion of so much political power in one position gave rise to concerns that the office had become too "presidential", and that the Prime Minister was an "elected Monarch".The United Kingdom government todayThe Government is led by the Prime Minister, who selects all the remaining Ministers. The Prime Minister and the other most senior Ministers belong to the supreme decision-making committee, known as the Cabinet. The Government Ministers are all members of Parliament, and are accountable to it. The Government is dependent on Parliament to make primary legislation, which means that in practice a government must seek re-election at least every five years. The monarch selects the Prime Minister as the leader of the party most likely to command a majority in Parliament.Under the British constitution, executive authority lies with the monarch, although this authority is exercised only by, or on the advice of, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The Cabinet members advise the monarch as members of the Privy Council. They also exercise power directly as leaders of the Government Departments.The role of the monarchy today is primarily to symbolize the tradition and unity of the United Kingdom.The Queen,however,because she is non-political, belongs to everyone. Under the terms of the Constitution her other roles are as follows: she is legally head of executive, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, commander in chief of the armed forces and "supreme governor" of the Church of England.The UK Parliament is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom (i.e., there is parliamentary sovereignty), and Government is drawn from and answerable to it. Parliament is bicameral, consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. There is also a devolved Scottish Parliament and devolved Assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland, with varying degrees of legislative authority.The Constitution of the United Kingdom is uncodified, being made up of constitutional conventions, statutes and other elements. This system of government, known as the Westminster system, has been adopted by other countries, especially those that were formerly parts of the British Empire.The current Prime Minister is David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, who was appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on 11 May 2010 following the UK General Election on 6 May 2010. The election failed to provide a decisive result, with the Conservatives as the biggest party within a hung parliament. A coalition government was formed on the 12th of May between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats .。

1.About the full name of the nationthe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland2.About the composition and location of the nationGreat Britain (the formerly separate England and Scotland, and Wales. ) Northern Ireland Numerous smaller islands3.About the people of the nation, esp. the earliest known inhabitantsOverall population: over 60 millionsDistribution: England: about 50 million Scotland:over 5 millionWales: around 3 million Northern Ireland: about 1.7millionThe majority of this population are descendents of the Anglo-Saxons (盎格鲁-撒克逊人)Most people in Wales and Scotland are descendents of the Celtic people (凯尔特人)The Irish people were also Celtic in originimmigrants4. About the River ThamesThe longest river: Severn River (354 kilometers long)The second longest river: Thames (332 kilometers long)The largest Lake: Lough Neagh5 About the historic sites and scenic spots in Londonthe capital of England and of Great Britainthe political center of the Commonwealtha major portone of the world's leading banking and financial centers.6.About the Queen and government7. 1. Old EnglishLanguage of Angle-SaxonsInfluenced by :Old Norse Danish words Latin and Greek words (Christianity) kended with the Norman ConquestThe most famous work from the Old English period is the epic poem ”Beowulf”2.Middle EnglishFrench replaced English as the official language, and English became the Language of lower class English increased in importance after the Black DeathThe Canterbury Tales written by Geofery Chaucer, 14th century3.Modern EnglishThe printing press—brought standardization of EnglishSamuel Johnson’s dictionary—established a standard form of spelling Renaissance—assimilated foreign words throughout the RenaissanceThe Industrial Revolution—necessitated the introduction of new words for new things and ideas The rise of the British Empire or the Commonwealth of Nations—led to the assimilation of words from many other languagesOthello : by William Shakespeare 16034.Standard Englishbased on the speech of the upper class of southeastern Englandbased on the London dialectadopted as a broadcasting standard in the British mediaalso called as Queen’s English or BBC Englishbecoming a universal Lingua Franca—the world languag e题目：1.The two main islands of the British Isles are ___Great Britain and Ireland________________________________.2. ___The River Thames____________________ is the second largest and the most important river in Britain.3. Among the three parts of the Great Britain, ___Wales___________ is the smallest.4. English belongs to the ___Germanic__________ group of Indo-European family of languages.5. The development of the English language can be divided into three periods: ___________Old, Middle and Modern___________________.历史The Founding of the NationCovering the period 3100 BC –1000 AD.started his story in the stone age.over the next four thousand years, Romans, Anglo-Saxons, Vikings, Danes, and Christian missionaries arrived, fought, settled and left their mark on what would become the nations of Britain.Conquestcovering 1000–1087.1066 is not the best remembered date in British history for nothing. In the space of nine hours whilst the Battle of Hastings raged, everything changed. Anglo-Saxon England became Norman and, for the next 300 years, its fate was decided by dynasties of Norman rulers.----Prehistoric Period (history undocumented)9,000 years ago part of E-Continent3,000 BC Iberian (5000 years ago) (Stonehenge)-----Celtic Britain (8th—5th Century BC)The name of Britain—Britons Tribal society Celtic Language (Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic, Welsh)------ Roman Britain (43 AD—5th Century)First invasion—In August 55 BC, Julius Caesar invaded BritainSecond—Caesar's second raid in 54 BCThird and final—In 43 AD, Emperor Claudius, final and successful Roman invasion of Britain Left—Germanic attack in Rome, forcing all Roman troops to leave Britain, and thus ending the Roman occupation of the island.------- The Anglo-Saxon Invasion (5th—8th Century）Germanic people (the Jutes from Jutland, Angles from South of Denmark and Saxons from Germany)English (language of the Angles)dominant languageRoman Christianity St. Augustine brought Christianity to Britain from Rome and became Archbishop of Canterbury------- Danish Invasion (8th Century—1066)the Vikings (from the Scandinavian countries: Norway, Denmark and Sweden)Alfred the Great king of WessexA peace treaty: the eastern half of the island was to be subject to the Danish law130 years, power shiftedFrom 1016 to 1042, under the rule of Danish kings.In 1042, the English throne was returned to the Anglo-Saxons, Edward the Confessor------ The Norman ConquestIn 1066, Edward chose Harold of Wessex to be King in his place.Duke William, often referred to as William the Conqueror, challenged Harold’s succession, won the Battle of Hastings, and was crowned King.In 1067, William started building the Tower of London, the great fortress which demonstrated his power and dominated the city of London.-------Great Charter (Magna Carta)In 1154 Henry II ascended the throne, beginning the rule of the House of Anjou / the House of PlantagenetHenry II reformed the courts and the laws:i ntroduced the jury system (陪审团制度)institutionalized common lawJohn ascended the throne in 1199. He demanded feudal taxes and army service.He was forced to sign the Magna Carta (大宪章).Significance--townspeople—freedom of trade and self-government--merchants and craftsmen—as a new political force--Foundation of the British Constitutionalism-------- Birth of ParliamentProvisions of Oxfordto limit the King’s power by calling regular meetings of the Great CouncilParler—to talkby the mid-14th century, Official formation of the two houses of parliament:--House of Lords --House of Commons---------Hundred Years’War (1337—1453)a series of wars fought between England and France over trade, territory, security and the thronepromoted the concept of English nationalismpromoted the development of the textile industryraised the social position of the bourgeois class-------The War of the Roses (1455—1485)A war for the throne between the House of York and the House of Lancaster.It reduced the power of nobility and helped to increase the power of the new rising bourgeois class.Henry Tudor became King Henry VII and started the rule of the House of Tudor (1485-1603).-------Religious ReformationReasons—2 religious camps: Catholic and ProtestantImmediate cause: Henry VIII’s divorceAct of Supremacy Henry VIII—“only supreme head of the church of England”In essence, the Reformation was a political movement in a religious guiseQueen Elizabeth I (1558-1603)Consolidated the Church of EnglandDefended the fruit of the Reformation in essenceGolden Age of English HistoryEngland advanced in such areas as foreign trade, exploration, literature, and the arts.The age of exploration began: claiming new lands for England and introducing new materials and foods.The American State, Virginia, is named after Queen Elizabeth.parliamentary clashes over monopoliesthe monarchy attempted to control commercial activities in the interests of the courtKing Charles I dissolved Parliament in 1629, and ruled the country without it for eleven years.the various classes in England soon split up into two camps:Parliament: merchants, artisans and apprentices, peasantsKing: gentry, big landlords and monopolists-------The Civil WarThe civil war broke out (1642—1649)Between the Royalists (the Cavalier [保王党人]) and Parliamentarians (Roundheads [圆颅党人]) Result: the monarchy was abolished in 1949England was declared a commonwealth, i.e. a republicThe Commonwealth (1649—1660)Cromwell, the head of the CommonwealthConservative in social reforms and protected property ownershipIn 1660, Parliament had Charles II as king of England. This put an end to the Commonwealth. --------Restoration and the Glorious RevolutionRestoration:1661, Charles II: to restore the old social order1685, James II: to reestablish CatholicismGlorious Revolution1688: joint sovereign of William and Mary1689: Bill of Rights (limited the power of the monarch and guaranteed the authority of Parliament ) removed the ruling monarch and established Constitutional Monarchy------The Industrial RevolutionThe Industrial Revolution took place first in Britain for the following reasonshuge market colonies in America and India—capital enclosure movement—laborA series of important inventions in the textile industry marked the beginning of Industrial Revolution: Spinning Jenny Water frame Spinning mule Power loom Steam engine Means of transportationcanals were dug to ship goods the locomotive invented in 1814the first railway completed in 1825 large merchant fleetBy the middle of 19th century, the Industrial Revolution was accomplished in Britainits influence: Britain changed in many waysdramatically increased industrial productivitythe process of urbanizationchanges in class structureThe conflict between the capitalists and the proletarians—the most important political issue-------- The Formation of the British EmpireFirst British Empire: 19th CenturyIt included the colonies in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and many small states in the West IndiesSecond British Empire during the Victorian Age: Mid- and late-19th CenturyQueen Victoria’s foreign policy—New ImperialismIt included the colonies in Australia, New Zealand and Canada—dominions Victoria—“Empress of India”In Asia, occupied Burma and some other small states. Opium War against ChinaIn Africa, control Suez Canal and conquer EgyptUnion of South Africa—the 4th dominionOn the Eve of World War I, Britain had the largest colonial empire the world had ever seen.a territory of 33.5 million square kilometers (1/4 of the world’s total land).a population of 393.5 million (8 times as large as that in Britain)-------World War IBy the beginning of the 20th century, Britain’s dominance was challenged by other European nations and the USTwo camps in Europe:Central Powers: Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire and BulgariaAllied Powers: Britain, France, Russia, Italy and USThe immediate cause—a ssassination in SarajevoOver 32 countries were involved, 28 of which support the Allies Powers and Allies Powers wonThe cost of the war for Britain was great:drained of its manpower lost the sea supremacy a huge national debt-------World War IIGermany—plan to conquer EuropeBritain—appeasementdeclare war on German y on September 3, 1939alliance with the Soviet Union and the United StatesGermany surrendered unconditionally on May 7, 1945great cost—lose its naval supremacy and in debt to the United States.------The Fall of the EmpireIndependence movement—India, Pakistan, Burma, Malaya and EgyptBritish Commonwealth of Nations (a loosely organized community of former British colonies) -------Three Majestic CirclesOne of the Big Three after WWIIForeign Policy: Three Majestic Circlesless involvement in the Commonwealth circle close cooperation with the United Statesan isolationist policy towards Europe-----“Special Relationship”with the USMargaret ThatcherReestablished “special relationship”with the United States against European integration Tony Blairmore positive towards Europe (but refuse to join the Euro)further strengthened the close relationship with the United States-------ConstitutionGreat Britain (UK) is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch as the head of stateBritish Constitution is made up of:Statutory Law (成文法)Common Law (判例法)Conventions (习惯法)1.1 Statutory Lawpassed by ParliamentExample the Magna Carta (1215) the Bill of Rights (1689) the Reform Act (1832)the European Communities Act (1972) the European Communities (Amendment) Act (1986) 1.2 Common lawdeduced from custom or legal precedents and interpreted in court cases by judges1.3 Conventionsrules and practices which do not exist legally, but are regarded as vital to the working of government-------Parliamentthe law-making body of Britainone of the oldest representative assemblies in the worldStrictly speaking, the parliament consists of the King or Queen, the House of Lords (上议院), the House of Commons (下议院)-------QueenQueen Elizabeth IIBorn: April 21, 1926 Queen since June 2, 1953Queen Elizabeth II is a “constitutional monarch”Although she is officially the head of state, the country is actually run by the government and led by the Prime Minister.She reigns but does not rule! her role is “ceremonial, symbolic and unpolitical”-------The House of CommonsOften referred to as “the Lower House”(center of parliamentary power)Three major functionsto pass laws, bills and acts of Parliamentto scrutinize, criticize and restrain the actions of the governmentto influence the future government policy------The ExecutiveThe Prime Minister—powerful leaderhead of the governmentthe leader of the majority party in Parliamentcontrols the ParliamentThe Cabinetsupreme decision-making body in the British governmentCabinet members are chosen by the Prime Minister from members of his own party in Parliament.The Cabinet works on the principle of collective responsibility and individual ministerial responsibilityMinisters responsible for their particular department(most senior members are the Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary)Collective responsibility or resignationPrivy Councila body of advisors (450 members)current and former Cabinet members and important public figuresIts main duty is to give advice-------The JudiciaryProceedingsAll criminal trials are held in open court because the criminal law presumes the innocence of the accused until he has been approved guilty beyond reasonable doubtIn criminal trials by jury, the judge passes sentence but the jury decides the issue of guilt and innocence.Two branches of lawCivil law—defines and enforces the duties or obligations of persons to one anotherCriminal law—by contrast, defines and enforces the obligations of persons to society as a whole ------Political PartiesThe Parliament operates on a two-party system.Political parties originated in the late 17th century.the Whig Party—The Labor Party 1. By Unionists, liberals, socialists and the Fabian Society2.in 1900 (young)3,Left wing party They stand for national and communal growth. 4Working class and common peoplerelatively poor or underprivilegedthe Tory Party—Conservative Party 1.From Tories (a political group which appeared under King Charles II) 2.the middle of the 19th century (old)3.Right wing party They stand for private enterprise and freedom from state control.4.middle& upper-middle classPeople of higher position---------Commonwealththe second Monday in March every yearan opportunity to promote understanding of global issues, international cooperation and the efforts to improve the lives of its 1.8 billion citizensCharacteristics and Functionsa voluntary association of independent sovereign statesnot a political unionfull autonomypurpose: to advocate (提倡) democracy, human rights, and to promote economic cooperation and growth within its members经济Economic declineAfter World War II, the British economy experienced a period of great difficulty and relative economic decline.原因two World Wars—great economic lossthe era of the British Empire was over—decolonization (losses of raw material & market) military expense (until the process of decolonization completed in the 1960s)competitors (Germany, Japan)政策：mixed economy”an economy in which there is some public ownership as well as privately owned businessDuring the 20th century the government has become involved in the economy through introduction of social welfare policies and laws to regulate industrial relations.In 1945 the Labor party carried out drastic reformsnationalize key industries (such as coal, steel and transport)laid the foundation for postwar British social and economic developmentResult: Britain’s economic growth fell behind that of western European countries1979-1997 Conservative PartyMargaret ThatcherRadical economic reformsell back those industries to the private sector beat inflation (primary objective)Promote competitive spirit in economySocial welfare reducedResult: Britain’s economic growth still lagged behindIn 1997 the Labor party Tony Blair结果;Britain’s economic growth surpassed other major European countriesPrimary industry AgricultureSecondary industry Manufacturing IndustryTne major trends in the Britain economy have been a further decline in the small agricultural sector, a reduction in the industrial sector but a sizable expansion of the service sector (retailing, banking, tourism and public services).Tertiary industry Services industries文学In practice, works of literature fall into four categories or genres:narrative fictiondramapoetrynon-fiction prosehe two kinds of narrative fiction you will read most often are short stories and novels.Myths (神话), parables (寓言), romances (传奇), and epics (史诗) are also part of the genre.。

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