英语国家社会与文化入门 英国 economy

英语国家社会与文化入门（上）Unit 1 A Brief Introduction to the United Kingdom IThe full name of the country of UK is the Untied Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.UK includes 4 parts: the island of Great Britain is made up of England, Scotland and Wales, and Northern Ireland.Different people who belong to different class will tend to read different newspaper, watch different television programmes, speak with a different accent, do different things in their free-time, and have different expectations for their children.Before the 1st century AD Britain was made up of many tribal kingdoms of Celtic people.In 43 AD Britain was invaded by the Roman Empire and England and Wales became a part of the Roman Empire for nearly 400 years.After Roman time, Britain was under threat from outside, this time from Germanic peoples: the Angles, and the Saxon.In the 5th century AD it is said that a great leader appeared, united the British, and with his magical sword, Excalibur, drove the Saxons back. This is the story of King Arthur. According to legend Arthur gathered a company of knights to him and conflict between his knights led to Arthur creating the famous “round table” at which all would have equal precedence.Anglo-Saxon invaders were the forefathers of the English, the founders of “Angle-land” or “England” as it has become know.From the late 8th century on raiders from Scandinavia, the ferocious Vikings, threatened Britain’s shores.The next invaders were the Normans, from northern France, who were descendants of Vikings.Under William of Normandy they crossed the English Channel in 1066.William took the English throne, and became William the First of England.Robin Hood was a Saxon nobleman oppressed by the Normans, who became an outlaw, and with his band of “merry men” hid in the forest of Sherwood in the north midlands of England and they went out to rob from the rich to give to the poor.Charles the First’ attempt to overrule parliament in the 1640s led to a civil war in which parliamentary forces were victorious, and the king was executed. And then England was ruled by parliament’s leader, Oliver Cromwell.The largest city of Scotland is Glasgow and the capital city is Edinburgh.Scotland was not conquered either by the Romans or the Anglo-Saxons.Like England Scotland began to experience Viking raid in the 9th century.Under the leadership of Robert the Bruce, the Scots were victorious at the Battle of Bannockburn, leading to 300 years of full independence.In 1603, Queen Elizabeth the First of England died childless, and the next in line to the throne was James the Sixth of Scotland, so he also became James the First of England, uniting the two thrones.In 1707 by agreement of English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the Union.The Scotland Act 1998 provided for the establishment of the Scottish Parliament and Executive.Scottish writes have given the world such well-known work as Walter Scott’s romances of highland Scotland and “Auld Lang Syne” (by Robert Burns)The capital city of Wales is Cardiff.Unit 2 A Brief Introduction to the United Kingdom IIThe capital city of Northern Ireland is Belfast.The most famous landmark of Northern Ireland is the “Giant’s causeway”, a rocky promontory made up of black hexagonal columns.From the time of Queen Elizabeth I the new settlers, loyal to the British crown and Protestant in religious persuasion, were granted land, position, and privileges which had been systematically take away from the indigenous, Roman Catholic population.“Great hatred, little room” was the way the modern poet W. B. Yeats described the situation. Until 1921 the full name of the UK was “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland”, not only “Northern Ireland”, because the whole island of Ireland was politically integrated with Great Britain.The Easter Rising of 1916 was the most spectacular event, in which the rebels took over Dublin’s Post Office, forcing the British to retake it by military means.In 1919 a group calling itself the IRA (Irish Republican Army) expanded the fighting.In the end the conflict became too great to ignore, and as the Sinn Fein party, who were supporters of the Irish terrorists, gained most of the Irish seats in the British parliament, Irish independence became inevitable.In 1921 the southern 26 counties formed an independent “free state”, while the 6 north-eastern counties remained a part the UK.In 1969, the first British soldiers were seen on Northern Irish streets.The official IRA thought enough progress had been made that they could concentrate on a political process, and run candidates for elections, but a strong faction felt that armed force was the only way to get the British out, and separated from the officials, calling themselves the “Provisional IRA”.In 1971 the Northern Irish government took the desperate step of imprisoning terrorist suspects from both sides without trial, a policy known as “internment”, which targeted primarily Catholic men in the North.In 1972 468 people were killed in Northern Ireland and that day has now been mythologiesed as “Bloody Sunday”, an important symbol of British oppression.In 1973, an agreement was reached between the main political parties in Northern Ireland, and importantly, the British and Irish governments, which led to a new form for the Northern Irish Parliament, with a Power-Sharing mechanism.The Sinn Fein party spoke of a twin campaign for union with Ireland, both political and military, which they called the policy of “The Bullet and the Ballot Box”.As a result of multi-party negotiations, aided this time by the intervention of the United States Senator George Mitchell, the Good Friday Agreement known also the Belfast Agreement, emerged on 10 April 1998.Unit 3 The Government of the United KingdomBritain is arguably the oldest representative democracy in the world, with roots that can be traced over a thousand years.The oldest institution of government is the Monarchy.The power of the monarchy was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the “divine right of kings”The opposition was so powerful the king finally granted a gang of feudal barons and the Church a charter of liberty and political rights, still know by its medieval Latin name of Magna Carta, which is still regarded as Britain’s key expression of the rights of citizens against the Crown.The civil war which brought the Roundheads to power in the 17th century was rooted in a dispute over the power of the king vis-à-vis Parliament.In 1689 Parliament passed the Bill of Rights which ensured that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament.In 1832, when a system for choosing the House of Commons by popular election replaced the monarch’s job of appointing representatives, the modern political system was born.The party with the most supporters in the Commons forms the government, and by tradition, the leader of that party becomes Prime Minister.Britain is both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy.British governance today is based upon the terms and conditions of the constitution.Israel and Britain are the only two countries without written constitutions of the sort which most countries have.The foundations of the British state are laid out in statute law, that is, laws passed by Parliament; the common laws, which are laws which have been established through common practice in the courts, not because Parliament has written them; and conventions, which are rules and practices which do not exist legally, but are nevertheless regarded as vital to the workings of government.Parliament is supreme in the British state because it alone has the power to change the terms of the Constitution.Strictly speaking, the Parliament today consists of the Queen, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.The role of the monarchy today is primarily to symbolize the tradition and unity of the British state.There are 724 Lords and 646 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons.Unit 4 Politics, Class and RaceIn 1928 it reached the current level of about 99% can vote (those excluded are Lords, certain categories of convicted criminals, the legally insane, and resident foreign citizens – except UK resident citizens of the Irish Republic)After a government has been in power for 5 years it has to resign and hold a “general election”, in which all British adults are given the chance to vote again for their constituency’s MP.Anyone who is eligible to vote can stand as an MP. It is necessary only to make a deposit of 500 pounds which is lost if the candidate does not receive at least 5% of the vote.There are three major national parties: The Conservative party and the Labour party are the two biggest, and any general election is really about which of those two is going to govern. But there is a third important party, the Liberal Democrats.The Labour party is the newest of these three, created by the growing trade union movementat the end of the nineteenth century.The Conservative party is the party that spend most time in power.The Liberal Democrats are the third biggest party, and to some extent may be seen as a party of the “middle”, occupying the ideological ground between the two main parties.Margaret Thatcher is the UK’s first woman Prime Minister.The car-worker probably reads a paper like The Sun: a newspaper with little heard news and more about TV soap operas, the Royal family, and sport. The university teacher might read The Guardian: a larger newspaper with longer stories, covering national and international news, “high” culture such as theatre and literature, and so on.Unit 5 The UK EconomyThe UK is now the world’s sixth largest economy.The UK is not only a member of the G7, G8, G20 major economies, but also a member of the World Trade Organization.Firstly, the country had gone heavily into debt in order to finance the war, selling many of its accumulated overseas assets, and borrowing large amounts from the United States and Canada.Secondly, the ear of empire was over. India, popularly known as “The Jewel in the Crown” of the British Empire, gained its independence in 1947.Thirdly, despite the relatively rapid and trouble-free process of decolonization, Britain has still forced to maintain a substantial and expensive military presence in many overseas locations until the process was completed.Fourthly, although Britain was quite badly damaged by German bombing during the war, its industry survived comparatively unaffected. This failure to invest sufficiently in industry also reflects a long-standing and continuing problem in the UK economy.National economies can be broken down into three main areas: “primary” industries, such as agriculture, fishing, and mining; “secondary” industries, which manufacture complex goods from those primary products; and tertiary industries, often described as services, such as banking, insurance, tourism, and the selling of goods.Britain’s agricultural sector is small but efficient, producing 58% of the UK’s food needs with only 2% of its workforce.Scottish ports land the majority of the fish caught.Three of the biggest ten companies in Britain are to be found in the energy sector: Shell, British Petroleum (BP), and British Gas.The World’s largest mining company, RTZ, is a UK company which operates mines all over the world.The British company Glaxo-Wellcome is the biggest drug company in the world.70% of the UK’s workforce are employed in the service sector.London is one of the top three financial centres in the world. It has the greatest concentration of foreign banks in the world, accounts for 20% of all international bank-loans, and is the world’s largest foreign exchange market. As well as banking, dealing in commodities and insurance are important processes in “The City”—the name given to the historic area at the centre of London where all this business is concentrated, at the heart of which is London Stock Exchange, one of the business share-dealing centres in the world.Aerospace is one of the UK’s highest value adding manufacturing sectors.Unit 6 British LiteratureThe major literature competition is the annual Booker Prize.Much early British writing was concerned with Christianity: Anglo-Saxons produced beautifully illustrated versions of the Bible: the most famous of these is the Book of Kells. One of the oldest of these early “Old English” litrary works is long poem from Anglo-Saxon times called Beowulf.One work from Norman Conquest times often studied today by middle school and college students is The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, who was the first court poet to write in English.There was a general flowering of cultural and intellectual life in Europe during the 15th and 16th century which is known as “The Renaissance”.Christopher Marlowe’s most famous play is The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, the story of a man who sold his soul to the devil in return for power.William Shakespeare is probably the best-known literary figure in the world.The tragedies include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth.Among the comedies are The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, and The Tempest.A permanent monument of English literature style commemorates James’s name. He ordered the translation of the Holy Scriptures known as the King James Bible(1611).The Essays of Frances Bacon made popular in English a literary form widely practiced afterward.The literary giant of the 17th century, John Milton was much bound up in Puritan Revolution. The most famous pamphlets is Areopagitica. During his retirement from public life he produced his masterpieces: Paradise Lost, its sequel, Paradise Regained, and the poetic tragedy Samson Agonistes.Johnthan Swift’s name is linked with the fanciful account of four voyages known to us as Guliver’s Travels.Scotland produced a much-loved poet, Robert Burns, who wrote in Scottish dialect.Daniel Defoe ‘s first and greatest novel appeared in 1719, which was Robinson Crusoe, the most famous tale of shipwreck and solitary survival in all literature.Two poets offered what had been called romantic poetry’s “Declaration of Independence.” This was a volume of poems called Lyrical Ballads, written by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.George Gordon, Lord Byron’s large body of work includes the partly autobiographical Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Don Juan owed its title.John Keats’s art is nowhere greater than in the two pomes “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and ”Ode to a Nightingale.”Percy Bysshe Shelley’s writing has a wide range. The lovely musical quality of his work appears in the fine verses of “Ode to the West Wind” and “To a Skylark”The spirit of Romanticism also occurred in the novel, notably in Mary Shelley’s (the poet Shelly’s wife) Frankenstein, the story of science gone wrong through the disastrous consequences of an arrogant scientist’s attempts to create life.Most of Sir Walter Scott’s themes came from medieval and Scottish history and he wrote a number of romantic novels.Jane Austen, who excelled at this form of writing, is indeed one of the greatest of all Englishnovelists. A delightful, almost flawless stylist, she has devoted admirers of her Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma, among other works.Perhaps the most famous literary family in British history are the Bronte sisters, and they too were influenced by the Romantic movement. Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily’s Wuthering Heights are the most successful.Charles Dickens produced Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Great Expectations.Later in the 19th century Robert Louis Stevenson also wrote Scottish historical romances, The Adventures in Treasure Island and Kidnapped thrill readers young and old. His most famous short novel was The strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.Among Thomas Hardy’s better-known novels are The Return of the Native, Tess of the D’urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure.20th century literature can be broadly divided into two stylistic periods: Modernism, and Postmodernism.One of the most famous of English modernist writers is Joseph Conrad, whose most famous novel is The Heart of Darkness.Virginia Woolf is another writer associated with Modernism, and one of the most famous writers of the century. Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and Orlando are among her best-known books.D.H. Lawrence wrote Sons and Lovers.Unit 7 British Education SystemMany people think school is just about teaching children what are often called “the three Rs” – “reading, riting and rithmetic”. But the purpose of the British education system is also to socialize children.The school (or college) tie is a clear marker of social class.Education in the UK is compulsory. Children are legally obliged to attend school from the age of 5 (4 in Northern Ireland) to 16.State schools are funded by local and central government. The government also sometimes assists schools established by religious groups.In the private sector there are independent schools which are commonly, but confusingly, called public schools. Independent schools receive their funding through the private sector and through tuition rates, with some government assistance.Between the ages of 5 to 11, pupils mainly attend state sector primary schools.From the age of 11 up to around the age of 19, students attend secondary schools.General Certificate of Secondary Education are the main means of assessing pupils’ progress in their final 2 years of compulsory education.Other pupils who decide not to go to university may choose to take vocational training.So far, the UK has only one privately funded university, the University of Buckingham. Oxford and Cambridge date from the 12th and 13 centuries.The Open University offers a non-traditional route for people to take university level courses and receive a university degree.Unit 8 British Foreign RelationsBritain was active in setting up the United Nations and, in recognition of its continuingimportance to world politics it was awarded a seat on the UN Security Council.The contemporary foreign policy of the UK is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits.The Prime Minister and Cabinet decide on the general direction of Britain’s foreign policy. The main government department involved is of course the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.The Ministry of Defence, although it is considered less important than the FCO, is an important play.The Department of Trade and Industry is concerned with formulating international trade policy and managing British commercial relations with other countries.A less obvious, but extremely influential play in Britain’s foreign poly is the Treasury. Britain is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, along with Russia, China, the US and France.In 1973 the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community, now EU.Through its involvement in NATO, Britain was committed to European defence cooperation Britain is also a member of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of states which is made up mostly of former British colonies.The keystone of British defence policy is its participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, more commonly known as NATO.Unit 9 The British MediaThe observer, which is still published every Sunday, first appeared in 1791, making it the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, while The Times, which began publishing in 1785, is the United Kingdom’s oldest daily newspaper.This watchdog function, keeping an eye on the government, is one of the reasons why a free press is considered so important to the functioning of parliamentary democracy.The British media all must follow the Advertising Code which ensure that advertisements are legal, decent, honest and truthful; have a sense of responsibility for consumer and society; and respect the principles of fair competition.Until the 1980s, almost all the national newspapers had their headquarters on or around Fleet Street in London, and sometimes you will hear newspaper culture referred to still as “Fleet Street”, or even, sometimes, the Street of Shame, reflecting the birth of scandals which take place.While officially speaking the British press is “free” from government control and censorship and can print what it likes, there are limits to what will appear in the daily paper.The oldest and most popular soap, which began in the 1960s, is Coronation Street.The British Broadcasting Corporation – more familiarly known as the BBC or even “the Beeb” – us Britain’s main public service broadcaster.The BBC is funded by licence fees and viewers must buy a licence each year for their TV set. Unit 10 Sports, Holidays and Festivals in Britain“Football hooligans”, supporters of rival teams, sometimes clash before, during and after matches and occasionally run riot through the town, breaking windows and beating each other up.Wimbledon, actually a London suburb, is where the world’s best players gather to compete ongrass courts. It is one of the major events of the British sporting calendar and probably the most famous tennis event in the world.Cricket was one of the very first team sports in Britain to have organized rules and to be played according to the same rules nationally.The game of golf was invented by the Scottish.The true sport of British Kings and Queens is not skiing or golfing, but horse racing.There are two kinds of horse racing: flat racing, where horses and riders compete on a flat, oval track; and steeplechasing, which is racing either across the countryside, or around a course designed to represent the obstacles you might encounter in the countryside. Christmas, December 25th, is the biggest and best loved British holiday.There are three Christmas traditions which are particularly British: one is the Christmas Pantomime, a comical musical play.Another British Christmas tradition is to hear the Queen give her Christmas message to her realm over the television and radio.A third British tradition, which is also celebrated in countries with British heritages, is Boxing Day, which falls on the day after Christmas.For church goers it is Easter, not Christmas, which is the most important Christian festival. One of Britain’s most impressive and colourful festival happens on the second Saturday in June when the Queen’s Birthday is officially celebrated by “Trooping the Colour” around Buckingham Palace in London.The UK, unlike most countries, does not have a “national day”.One truly English holiday is Bonfire Night – sometimes called Guy Fawkes Night – celebrated in the early autumn.The Twelfth is the high point of what is known as the Marching Season, when Protestant “Orangemen” take to the streets wearing their traditional unifors of bowler hats, black suits and orange sashes, marching through the streets sing, banging durms and playing in marching bands.Northern Irish Catholics celebrate the birthday of the patron saint of Ireland, St Patrick, on March 17 each year.How Hogmanay is celebrated varies throughout Scotland, but one widely practiced is “first footing”.Each year Scottish people all over the world celebrate their most beloved national poet, Robert Burns, by holding a Burns Supper on the evening of his birthday.Halloween is a Scottish festival that comes from the great feast of the pagan Celts which marked the arrival of the winter half of the year.Wales has some of the oldest and richest literary, musical and poetic traditions in Europe. Unit 11 Land, People and HistorySeen from the air, the visitor’s first impression of Ireland is an intense green or rather mixture of greens, which changes little between summer and winter.Emigration did take place before the Great Famine, mostly from the northern part of Ireland, known as the province of Ulster.The event that triggered the Great Famine was a blight on the potato crop.The stereotype of the Irish in the British popular press of this period is of a people who were, at best, lazy, impractical, and dreamy; at worse, dirty, untrustworthy, and close to animals.Thus the Great Famine became a watershed in Irish history.And yet Ireland’s history has been one of invasions of vastly different peoples – Celts, Christians, Vikings, Normans, English – each of which has made a distinctive contribution to its present population.But for all the legacies of the Celts, it is their language that has proved the most lasting.With the language, the Celts brought an instrument of social and cultural unity to the island, which transcended political and social divisions.Along with their language, the Celts also brought a legal system.From around 800 onwards Viking marauders attacked Ireland, as well as England.During the course of the 13th century, the Normans were the first to attempt to impose on Ireland a centralized administration which mimicked the parliament and legal system and administrative practices of their native England.Following its slogans of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity,” the Society of the United Irishmen was founded in 1791 to press for radical reform.After the defeat of the 1798 rebellion, the London government took drastic action to curtain any notions of Irish independence.The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; later known as the Irish Republican Army of IRA) was founded in 1858 to promote, by violence if necessary, Irish independence from Great Britain.To counter just such bloody and futile rebellions, a constitutional movement seeking Home Rule was instituted up by Issac Butt.The Home Rule bill was finally passed in 1914, but its implementation was shelved upon the outbreak of World War I.In 1916 the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army staged another, and final, rebellion against British rule, which is called The Easter Rising.In December, 1921 the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed, with the result that 26 counties gained independence as the new Irish Free State.Unit 12 Politics and EconomyIn structure, like most former colonies of Great Britain, the Irish Republic has a Prime Minister or Taoiseach and a Deputy Prime Minister or Tanaiste.Once elected, it is the Taoiseach who appoints a cabinet to execute the daily business of government.The Parliament or Dail frames and enacts all legislation for the country.Finally, the laws are enforced by an unarmed police force, called the Garda Siochana.Being a republic, rather than a monarchy, the government is headed by a President, who is elected directly by the people.Every citizen of 35 years of age or over usually is eligible to run for President.The President’s term of office is seven years. A President can be reelected once only.The executive powers of the State are exercised by, or on the authority of, the Government. The Government consists of the Taoiseach and the ministers that he or she appoints to the cabinet.The Parliament of Ireland is comprised of two houses: the Dail and the Seanad or the Senate. The elected system used in Ireland is called “proportional representation”.The civil service is divided into sixteen Government Departments, each headed by a Ministerappointed by the Taoiseach.The legal courts in Ireland are arranged in a hierarchy, while the District Court is at the bottom of the ladder, and then Circuit Court, the High Court and the Supreme Court is the court of final appeal.Ireland’s entrance into the EU in 1973 has transformed labour practice and given Ireland access to the Single Market.Mimicking the boom in Asia, the media called Ireland’s sudden wealth “The Celtic Tiger” economy.Unit 13 Irish Culture: How the Irish Live NowOn the one hand, the English political domination of Ireland has left the Republic with a secure and workable administrative, educational, and judicial system.On the other hand, the Irish are proud they do not have a monarchy: they think of themselves as citizens, not as subjects.In Ireland, the Catholic Church also exercised a firm hold over educational structure, over hospitals, over the media, and over the way people thought about themselves and their lives. What has changed dramatically in the last forty years has been the structure of Irish family life.The primary agent in effecting change in traditional family life has been the movement for women’s liberation.The communal facility in both city and countryside that is most widely patronized is the public house or “pub”.One of the reasons why these informal work practices are congenial is that there is little division in an Irish person’s life between his work and his social life.In Ireland, trade unions are an important part of job security.Traditionally, Irish education was undertaken by various religious orders, mostly Roman Catholic, with the result that forty years ago, almost three quarters of existing schools were “denominational” — that is, associated with one religious denomination or another.In 1996-1997 the Irish government extended free education to cover all public universities, as is common in most of European countries.In Ireland, education is compulsory for children aged six to fifteen years.The vast majority of children receive their primary education in “national schools”; i.e., state-aided schools.Most secondary schools are privately owned, many by Catholic religious communities — and are hence sectarian or denominational.Like the Chinese gao kao, the Leaving Certificate exams set by the Department of Education which are uniform for all Irish students.There are five public universities in the State.The University of Dublin comprises one college, Trinity College. This is the oldest university in the State, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I for the education of Protestants.Unit 14 Irish Culture: Language, Literature and ArtsThe language that is spoken universally in the Republic of Ireland is a version of standard。

Absolute Decline and RelativeDecline到19世纪80年代英国经济在世界上占主导地位产生一个世界上，一半的煤，铁，半制成品的棉花三分之一。

英国航运数额更大的世界其他地区加起来比。

但即使到1900年这不再是这样，英国有超过都被美国和德国，当然也从1945年到现在，对英国经济的故事通常是作为一个思想的下降。

这是可以理解的，而是误导，因为它实际上一直是经济稳定增长时期，迅速提高生活水平。

英国仍然是七工业经济大集团之一。

但也有描述为这一时期下降的原因之一。

中英双方作为第二次世界大战的成功盟友之一战后世界，同其主要竞争对手的一些国家，如德国和日本，经济遭到破坏。

同时英国是一个更加庞大帝国的中心。

数字显示，英国是仅次于美国在国际经济中。

因此，英国当时显然是在强大的经济地位，它的地位显然不再占据，这表明一些下降排序。

但基本的正面描述的经济规模表面上的事实，世界贸易是英国比例很高，因此在1945年，没有透露有关英国的立场，重要的负面事实即使这样。

首先该国了负债累累，以资助战争，累计出售其海外资产多，借用美国和加拿大的大量资金。

这些债务意味着英国进入一个重大的经济问题，战后时代。

其次，帝国时代已经结束。

印度，俗称为“在大英帝国的皇冠”珠宝称，1947年取得独立，只有2年后战争结束。

这是在帝国的最大元素，提供原材料，并为英国商品的大市场。

这与印度的关系已不再可用，帝国的其它国家也纷纷仿效印度独立，剩下的只是一个中等规模的欧洲国家，英国的人口只有五分之一的美国的大小，第三，尽管相对快速和顺利的非殖民化自由的过程中，英国仍然不得不维持一个庞大而昂贵的地方，许多海外的军事存在，直到该进程完成（主要是由60年代末）。

此外，政府立场的其中一个职位的塑造者，战后世界需要大量的军事贡献，作为北约的主要伙伴之一两者，作为安理会常任理事国。

所有这一切的结果是英国用于军事比其大多数竞争对手其国民财富（尤其是其研究和开发预算）的比例较高。

英国Unit 3 第6题What kind of institution(部门is the House of Lords（上议院）? What role dose it play in 部门) 部门（上议院）British government? A: It consists of the Lords Spiritual(神职议员)who are the Archbishops(大主教) and most prominent （杰出的、卓越的）bishops （主教）of the church of England ;and the Lords Temporal(世俗议员)，which refers to everyone else。

②They inherited(继承) the seat from their forefathers or been appointed by the sovereign （郡主、最高统治者）parliament 议会）they speak and vote .In （as individuals （个人）,not as representatives （代表）of the greater interests of the country. They do not receive salaries and many do not attend Parliament at all.unit5 3.What are the three main areas in national economies？Describe the development of each of the three areas in the UK economy. 答案National economies can be broken down into three main areas,”primary”industries, such as agriculture ,fishing, and mining,”second-ary”industries, which manufacture complex goods from those primary products ;and tertiary industries .often described as services,such as banking, insurance, tourism, and the selling of goods. Britain’s agricultural sector is small （producing 1.4%of the national wealth ）but efficient, producing 58% of the UK’s food needs with only 2%of its workforce.Three quarters of Britain’s land is used for agriculture. With about a quarter of that under crops-wheat and barley are the two commonest. The rest is grazing for animals, including cattle (both dariy and beef), The fishing industry provides 55%of the UK demand for fish Sconish ports land the majority of the fish caught. In the secondary sector of the economy. Manufacturing industry remains important, producing 22% of national wealth. British companies are are active in all major fields of manufacturing industry, but are particularly strong in pharmaceuticals(the British company Glaxo-Wellcrme is the biggest drug company in the world),chemicals([C]is the second largest paint manufacture in the world),aerospace overall the UK industry is third in （size in the world）and food drink (Scotch whisky being a major export). ）unit7 1. (1)What are the purposes of the British education system? (2)Please comment on these purposes. (3)What are the main purposes of the Chinese education system? (4)Are there any differences or similarities in the education of the two nations? 答：(1)The purpose of the British education system is to teach children practical skills and socialize them. (2)Children learn practical skills, and the rules and values they need to become good citizens, to participate in the community, and to contribute to the economic prosperity of an advanced industrial economy.(3)The purpose of the Chinese education is to provide children with literacy and the other basic skills they will need to become active members of society. (4) In china, people think school is just about teaching children what are often called” the three R’s---“reading, writing and ‘arithmetic”(reading, writing and arithmetic). 2. How does the British education reflect social class? British education reflect the deeper divisions in British society in which social class is still very important: class inequality can be erased or continued according to education policy. What’s more, the enduring feature o f British education is the continuing debate over how “equal” educational opportunity should be. In British, the accent you speak with, the clothes you wear, and the schools you attend are all markers that identify your social class. The school (or college)tie is a clear marker of social class. Even on informal occasions you will sometimes see men wearing their school ties as belts to hold up their trousers –proudly displaying their attendance at a certain school. In Britain, where you are educated is very important to you future.3 what are the major changes that have taken place since World war 2? Is British education moving towards more progress or more equality? Pick up some examples from the text toillustrate your points. Other major changes to the British education system were caused by world war Ⅱ。

The UK EconomyTextThe United Kingdom of Great Britain is a major developed capitalist country. It is now the world’s sixth largest economy and has a gross domestic product（GDP）of US$2645 billion (2010) and is forecast to have the strongest business environment of all major European economies, but also a member of the World Trade Organization. It is a leading global nation, as the second largest exporter and third largest importer of commercial services, and the tenth largest exporter and sixth largest importer of merchandise (2007).Absolute Decline and Relative DeclineBy the 1880s the British economy was dominant in the world, producing one third of the world’s manufactured goods, half its coal and iron, half its cotton. The amount of British shipping was greater than that in the rest of the word put together. But even by 1990 this was no longer the case, the UK having been overtaken by both the United States and Germany; and certainly from1945 until the present, the story of the UK economy is usually thought of as one of decline. This is understandable but rather misleading, as it has in fact been a period of steady economic growth and rapidly increasing living standards. Britain remains one of the Group of Seven large industrial economies. But there are reasons for describing this period as one of decline. Britain entered the post-war world as one of the successful allies of the Second World War, with some of its chief competitor nations such as Germany and Japan, economically destroyed. Also Britain was the centre of a still vast empire. According to the figures, The UK was second only to the United States in the international economy. Thus Britain was then in an apparently strong economic position, a position it clearly no longer occupies, which indicates some sort of decline.But the basic positive-seeming facts describing the size of the economy, the high proportion of the world trade that was British, and so on, in 1945, did not reveal important negative facts about the UK’s position even t hen. Firstly the country had gone heavily into debt in order to finance the war, selling many of its accumulated overseas assets, and borrowing large amounts from the United States and Canada. These debts meant that the UK entered the post-war era with a major economic problem.Secondly, the era of empire was over. India, popularly known as “The Jewel in the Crown” of the British Empire, gained its independence in1947, only 2 years after the end of the war. This was the largest element in the empire, providing raw materials and a big market for British goods. This relationship with India was no longer available, and the rest of the empire quickly followed India to independence, leaving Britain as just a medium-size European country, with a population only one fifth the size of the U.S.Thirdly, despite the relatively rapid and trouble-free process of decolonization, Britain was still forced to maintain a substantial and expensive military presence in many overseas locations until the process was completed (mostly by the end of the 1960s). Also its position as one of the shapers of the post-war world required substantial military contributions-both as one of NATO’s major partners, and as a member of the UN Security Council. All this had the result that Britain spent a higher proportion of its national wealth (and especially of its research and development budget) on the military than most of its competitors. Military expenditure tends not to generate an economic return in quite the same way as other industrial investment. Fourthly, although Britain was quite badly damaged by German bombing during the war, its industry survived comparatively unaffected. This contrasted greatly with some of its competitors — especially the main losers in the conflict, Germany and Japan, who almost had to start again from nothing. This apparent disadvantage for them may have worked in their favour in that as they had to invest, they could invest in the most modern equipment and new products. British industry however could continue with its older factories and pre-war products, and given its other economic problems, did so —a problem in the long-term. It also meant that output was initially very low potentially large economies: so while Britain looked securely wealthier than them in 1945, a catching-up with the UK was inevitable as they recovered.This failure to invest sufficiently in industry also reflects a long-standing and continuing problem in the UK economy. Even without the particular circumstances of the post-war world, relatively low rates of investment (the amount of money business put aside from profits to reinvest in the business in new products and production methods) were characteristic of the British economy in relation to other developed economies. Economists have pointed to the lack of a close relationship between industry and banks in the UK — again a contrast, particularly with the two most successful post-war economies, Japan and Germany, where banks and industrial firms have very close links. Economic historians have suggested that this may be due to the fact that the UK was the first economy to industrialize, and industrial firms, without foreign competition, grew used to financing their own development, without need to borrow from banks. Banks therefore, not able to find good investment opportunities in the UK, looked overseas for investment opportunities. A low rate of domestic industrial investment coupled with a very high rate of overseas investment is still a characteristic of the UK economy. So, amongst European nations, Britain is the largest investor in China, but sells fewer of its own manufactured goods here than do Germany or France.The point to note is that the comparatively strong economic position Britain found itself in 1945 was in many ways deceptive. So the decline from Britain’s apparently good fortunes at that point until now is thus not as extraordinary as it might seem, being the result of already existing basic problems. And it should also be remembered that this was not an absolute decline: Britain is not poorer, or producing less than it was in 1945, in fact (like most countries) it is a lot wealthier and more productive than it was then. The problem is that though is has improved, other countries haveimproved more rapidly, hence the slide form being the 2nd largest economy (after the United States) to being the sixth, as it is at present. And even many smaller economies have overtaken the UK in terms of output per head of population. So the UK has experienced economic decline, but this decline is relative to some other economies rather than absolute. Nevertheless, this relative failure is a serious cause of concern to the UK governments.Recent HistoryThe British economy went through a particularly bad period in the 1970s. The oil price rises at that time led to very high rates of inflation (up to 25%). This caused many workers to strike for more pay. The fall in the value of the UK currency (The Pound) even forced the Labour (socialist) government to borrow from the International Monetary Fund. British industry, notably the car industry, appeared to be doing badly, with increasing imports relative to export. All these negative economic facts led to a change of government at the next general election, in 1979, when the British people voted in the Conservative party under Margaret Thatcher, with the promise of a radical programme of reform. Bureaucracy was reduced (foreign exchange controls were lifted, rules governing banks loosened, (for example). And throughout the 1980s an extensive programme of privatization was carried out, with many state-owned businesses (such as steel, telecom, gas, aerospace) joining the private sector. It seemed in some ways to be successful in that inflation came under control, and businesses, especially the newly privatized businesses, made profits. The negative aspect was a rapid increase in unemployment, rising to almost 12% at its worst. So while companies were more efficient, producing the same amount with less workers, and therefore being able to pay higher wages and make higher profits, the cost was paid by the unemployed who had to live on low incomes from state support. The national economy as a whole continued to grow at lower rates than its competitors. In the recession 1990-1992, the economy even shrunk by2.3%.Since then however, the picture has been brighter, with four years of steady growth, at rates higher than that in the rest of the EU. Unemployment has now fallen to 7.7%, which is among the lowest in the EU. Inflation has remained under control at very low levels. Investment has increased, encouraged by low interest rates. Britain’s membership of the EU has also made it an attractive location for inward investment by companies from outside the EU (especially the US and Japan), of which it has received a larger share than any other EU country. Overall it is second only to the US as a destination for international direct investment. It is also itself a major source of international investment — in fact it is the second biggest international investor in the world (1995).The Current UK EconomyNational economies can be broken down into three main areas: “primary” industries, such as agriculture, fishing, and mining; “secondary” industries, whichmanufacture complex goods from those primary products; and tertiary industries, often described as services, such as banking, insurance, tourism, and the selling of goods.Britain’s agricultural sector is small (producing1.4% of the national wealth) but efficient, producing 58% of the UK’s food needs with only 2% of its workforce. There quarters of Britain’s land is used for agriculture, with about a quarter of that under crops- wheat and barley are two commonest. The rest is grazing for animals, including cattle (both dairy, and beef), though sheep are the most numerous livestock. The beef industry has been hit badly by BSE disease in cattle leading to a 1996 ban on beef exports. The best agricultural land is in the south-east of England.The fishing industry provides 55% of the UK demand for fish. Scottish ports land the majority of the fish caught.Energy production is an important part of the UK economy, accounting for 5% of the national wealth. Since the 1970s, when oil and gas were discovered under the North Sea, Britain has become a major oil and gas producer, in addition to its older coal mining industry, which now only accounts for about 1/4 of energy supplies, the rest being divided between oil, gas, and nuclear energy. This abundance of energy resources means that the UK has become an overall exporter of energy. The technology required to extract oil from the difficult offshore conditions has givenUK companies a strong position in the offshore oil industry around the world. Threeof the biggest the companies in Britain are to be found in the energy sector: Shell (half Dutch), British Petroleum (BP), and B ritish Gas. The world’s larg est mining company, RTZ, is a UK company which operates mines all over the world.Britain has large deposits of coal, mined for more than 300 years. Today, coal can be produced more cheaply in other countries and so many British factories and mines have closed. During the 1960s, oil and gas were discovered under the North Sea. With the extraction of North Sea oil and gas that started in the 1970s, until the 2000s the UK was self sufficient in energy, and the UK was a net exporter of oil and gas in recent decades.Due to the decline in North Sea production, and the costs of mining and using coal cleanly, it is expected that the UK will become a major importer of oil and gas by 2015. To avoid this, drastic actions must be taken to reduce energy demand. After becoming a net exporter of gas in 1997, the UK became a net importer again in 2004. From the mid 1990s new renewable energy sources began to play an increasingly important role in the electricity generated. In 1997, there were 550 wind turbines and over 30 wind farms in the UK. The government has made a promise that 10%of the energy of the UK will come from renewable sources by 2010.In the secondary sector of the economy, manufacturing industry remains important, producing 22% of national wealth. British companies are active in all major fields of manufacturing industry, but are particularly strong in pharmaceuticals (the British company Glaxo-Wellcome is the biggest drug company in the world), chemicals (ICI is the second largest paint manufacturer in the world), aerospace (overall the UK industry is third in size in the world) and food and drink (Scotch whisky being a majorexport). Britain has a big electronics industry (the fourth largest in the world) but like the car industry (which includes Ford, GM, Peugeot, Nissan, Toyota) this is in many cases foreign-owned. Britain’s last major independent car company, Rover, was recently bought by the German company BMW. A high-technology engineering industry has developed around the motor-racing business, with many of the world’s racing cars, both for Formula One, and the American Indycar series, being designed and built in Britain. McClaren and Williams are two of the most successful of these companies. The recently privatized British Steel is the world’s sixth largest steel company.Although the UK is the world’s sixth largest manufacturer by output, some sectors within British manufacturing have, for some tine now, been characterized by declining employment and productivity. A major challenge comes from emerging economies which are able to produce goods more cheaply than the UK. The global economic slowdown and rising energy and materials costs have also affected manufacturers.However, it is believed that modern British manufacturing can thrive by playing to its strengths of design, technology, creativity, innovation and service. To do this successfully, British manufacturing needs a constant stream of well-qualified and multi-skilled graduates. Globalization also offers new opportunities with the discovery of new markets.Over the past decade, Britain manufacturing has become increasingly hi-tech, resulting in more standardized working hours and better conditions of service for employees.Like most developed economies Britain has seen a relative shrinking of the importance of secondary industry and a spectacular growth in tertiary or service industries, which now produce 65% of national wealth. A lot of this is domestic activity such as retailing, tourism and so on, but Britain is also a major international provider of services, accounting for about 10% of the wo rld’s exports of such services.70% of the UK’s workforce are employed in the service sector. The financial sector is an important part of this service industry, as London is one of the top three financial centres in the world. It has the greatest concentration of foreign banks in the world, accounts for 20% of all international bank-loans, and is the world’s largest foreign exchange market. As well as banking, dealing in commodities and insurance are important processed in “The City”— the name given to the historic area at the centre of London where all this business is concentrated, at the heart of which is the London Stock Exchange, one of the business share-dealing centres in the world. Advertising is another major business service in which UK companies are highly successful.The UK went into a recession in the second quarter of 2008. It is the first time that the UK GDP has contracted for six consecutive quarters. In December 2009, the Office of National Statistics revised figures for the third quarter of 2009 showed that the economy shrank by 0.2%, compared to a 0.6% fall the previous quarter.The current recession in the UK is the longest since modern records began in the 1950s. Germany, France, Japan have all come out of recession technically and the UKhasn’t. It has been suggested that the UK is lagging behind its European neighbors because the UK went into the 2008 recession later.Case Study: The Aerospace IndustryAfter those of the US, the UK’s aerospace industry is the next largest, capable of producing the full range of aerospace products from civil and military aircraft (including helicopters) to missiles, satellites, and jet engines. It produces 2% of UK national output, accounting for 8% of manufactured export goods.Aerospace is one of the UK’s highest value adding manufacturing sectors. The UK has Europe’s largest aerospace industry and the second largest after t he USA, in the word in terms of employment.The first powered flight in the world was made by the Wright Brothers in the US in 1903. It was 1908 when the first such flight was made in the UK. But only a few years later came the First World War which forced the rapid development of the aviation industry, and by 1918 the British industry was the biggest and most sophisticated in the word, producing 1250 aircraft each month.After the war the new aircraft types provided the base for the development of the civil aviation industry. A concerted First World War bomber crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1919, and a civil airline, Imperial Airways, was started in 1924. International air races provided an incentive for technological development, and a British plane, the Supermarine S6B, powered by a Rolls Royce engine, broke many speed records. Rolls Royce became the most successful aero-engine manufacturer at this time. The aircraft-building industry was reduced to a few major companies by a series of mergers.One of the most significant developments of the inter-war period was the development of radar by the UK’s Marconi company in 1922. And when English man Frank Whittle developed the word’s first practical jet engine in 1937, the foundations had been laid for the three major branches of the aviation industry: aircraft, engines and aviation electronics, with British companies prominent in each field.Sadly, in 1939 war came again to provide another spurt of technological change, with many successful British aircraft designs in action, such as the Spitfire fighter and Lancaster bomber, and culminating in the jet-powered Meteor. The Rolls Royce Merlin engine became the best-selling aero-engine of all time with 166 000 produced. The wartime government, seeing the importance that the aircraft industry had gained (it employed 1.8 million workers by the end of the war), planned a range of civil aviation types to take over from wartime production. These included the world’s first jet-powered civil airliner: The Comet.However, the years following the Second World War were problematic for the UK industry. It continued to produce the full-range of products, even selling some of its aircraft to the United States. But in most markets British companies were in head on competition with American companies such as Boeing and McDonnel-Douglas, which were larger, having the advantage of being preferential customers for the enormous US market, both civil and military. The British industry merged into two main aircraft groups: the British Aircraft Corporation, and Hawker-Siddeley Aviation, withRolls-Royce as the main engine builder, and Westland in helicopters,. Nevertheless British civil airliners of the 1960s such as the Trident and the VC10 sold much less well than their American equivalents. Nor did British military aircraft sell very well overseas, with the exception of the unique Vertical Take-off and Landing Harrier, bought by the US Marines amongst others.The answer to the problem lay in collaborative projects with other European aircraft manufacturers which faced the same problems. The first of these was between Britain and France to produce the world’s first supersonic civil airliner, Concorde. The aircraft was a technical success but a commercial failure, only 16 being built for British Airways and Air France. However the successful collaboration led to more such programmes between Britain and France, including the Jaguar combat aircraft, and three types of helicopter, including the Lynx, which holds the world speed record for helicopters.Many other collaborative programmes between Britain and other European countries developed, including the Tornado combat aircraft – a project between Britain, Germany, and Italy. The current European Fighter Aircraft is another such venture. Westland have developed their latest helicopter in association with an Italian company.But the most successful programme has been in civil airliners where the Airbus series of aircraft has effectively competed with American companies. This is an ongoing programme between France, Germany, Britain and Spain. British companies build the wings. British Aerospace build their own range of regional jets, including the successful 146 (popular with Chinese airlines) famous for being the quietest jet airliner. It is likely that these smaller aircraft will go into a European joint-venture too. The industry has been through some major changes of ownership in the last twenty-five years. Rolls-Royce, in attempting to build a revolutionary new engine for the American company, Lockheed, went bankrupt, and had to be rescued by the government in 1971. BAC and Hawker Siddeley were also nationalized – as one company, British Aerospace, in 1977 by the Labour government. But bothRolls-Royce and British Aerospace were privatized in the 1980s by the Conservatives and have since been very successful both in individual projects and in international joint-ventures. The third main arm of the current industry is GEC Avionics, producing a wide range of electronic systems including the technologically advanced cockpit of the latest Boeing 777 airliner. Smaller companies produce a wide range of equipment from ejection seats to landing gears.The Aerospace industry is profitable, with over 300 companies employing 170 000 people. Its overseas sales accounted for around 12% of total world aerospace exports. It has been through difficult times, particularly in the 1970s, moving in and out of public ownership. But it has found success in links with Europe – a pattern it shares with the rest of the UK economy.。

判定题第一单元一、Britain is no longer an imperial（帝国）country(T)二、The Commonwealth（英联邦）of Nations includes all European countries(F)3、1 in 10 of the British population are of non-European ethnicity（种族）(F)4、The stereotype（刻板印象）of the English gentleman never applied to the majority of the British people(T)五、When people outside the UK talk about England, they mistake it as Britain sometimes(T)六、The Scots and Welsh（苏格兰和威尔士）have a strong sense of being British(F)7、Scotland（苏格兰）was never conquered by the Romans（罗马人）(T)八、Most people in Scotland speak the Celtic（凯尔特）language, called “Gaelic”(F)九、Scotland was unified with England through peaceful means(T)10、Wales（威尔士）is rich in coal（煤炭）deposits（存款）(T)1一、Cardiff（卡迪夫）, the capital of Wales, is a large city(F)1二、The title of Prince（王子）of Wales is held by a held by a Welsh according to tradition(F)第二单元一、Ireland is part of Great Britain(F)二、“Ulster（阿尔斯特）”, referring to Northern Ireland, was once an ancient Irish Kingdom（王国）(T)3、The capital of Belfast（贝尔法斯特）is a large city with half a million people(F)4、Northern Ireland is significant（重要的）because of its manufacturing（制造业）industry(F)五、The majority of Irish people were descendants（后代）of the original Celtic（凯尔特）people who inhabited British Isles（群岛）before the Romans arrived 2000 years ago(T)六、Most British people are Protestants（新教徒）while most Irish people are Catholics（天主教徒）(T)7、The British government does not have direct rule from London over Northern Ireland(T)八、Sinn Fein（新芬党）is a legal political party in Northern Ireland(T)九、The Anglo-Irish（岗格鲁-爱尔兰）Agreement of 1985 guaranteed the loyalist（政府军）Protestant community（社区）their to decide their future in Northern Ireland(T)10、The Good Friday Agreement（协议）was approved on 10 April 1998(T)1一、Northern Ireland today is governed by separate jurisdictions（司法管辖区）: thatf Republic（共和国）of Ireland that of Great Britain(F)第三单元一、It is no doubt that Britain is the oldest representative democracy（民主）in the world(F)二、In Britain, the process of state-building（国家建设）has been one of evolution rather than revolution, contrast to France and the US（与法国和美国相较）(T)3、The oldest institution（机构）of government in Britain is the Monarchy（君主政体）(T)4、The divine（神圣的）right of the king means the sovereign（主权）derived（派生的）his authority （权威）from his subjects（主题）(F)五、As the king in theory had God on his side, it was thought that he should exercise absolute（绝对）power(F)六、The term “parliament（议会）”was first officially used in 1066 to describe the gathering of feudal barons（封建贵族）and representatives from counties and towns(F)7、Britain is both a parliamentary democracy（议会民主制）and a constitutional monarchy（君主立宪制）(T)八、Britain, like Israel, has a written constitution of the sort which most countries have(F)九、Common laws are laws which have been established（成立）through common practice（实践）in the courts（法院）(T)第四单元一、In the UK, a government cannot stand for longer than five years except in exceptionalcircumstances（情形下）(T)二、Anyone who is eligible（符合条件的）to vote with 500 pounds as deposit（存款）can stand as an MP（国会议员）(F)3、Each main party is given some time on national TV to “sell”their policies. The time is not given free and has to be paid by the party(T)4、The amount spent in national campaign（运动）is not limited other than that on TV(F)五、Secrecy（保密）is not an important part of the voting process(T)六、There are two major national parties in the . according to the text(F)7、Liberal Democratic（自由民主）party is the newest of the major national parties(F)八、Children from the upper-middle-class（中上层阶级）usually have a better education than those from the working or middle-class(T)九、The majority of middle-class people today have working class parents or grandparents(T)10、One of the distinctive features（独特的特点）about the British class-system is that it has also retained（保留）a hereditary aristocracy（世袭的贵族）(T)1一、The majority of Britain’s recent immigrants have mainly come from North Asia（北亚）and Caribbean（加勒比）countries(F)1二、Most immigrants earn a living by opening restaurants or becoming musicians(F)13、The majority have problems of unemployment published its Household Energy Management Strategy（家庭能源治理策略）(T)14、On March 2, 2010, the British government publish its Household Energy Management Strategy(T) 1五、On December 27, 2009 the TN Climate（气候）Change Conference was held in Copenhagen(T) 1六、According to the Kyoto Protocol（京都议定书）, the government has agreed that the UK will meet tough targets（艰巨的目标）to reduce carbon emissions incrementally（增量）between now and 2020(F)第五单元一、By the 1880’s the British economy was dominant（主导）in the world(T)二、Both the US and Canada overtook Britain in economy by 1900(F)3、By the end of World War II, Britain had gone heavily into debt（债务）in order to develop its manufacturing industry and borrowed large amounts from the US and France(F)4、Another reason for British decline is the loss of its colonies（殖民地）, especially India, which gained its independence in 1947(T)五、In the 1970s, with the soaring（飙升的）price of oil and high rates of inflation（通货膨胀）, Britain went through a bad period. In 1979, the Labour party had to step down（下台）from the government (T)六、The leader of the Conservatives（保守派）, Margaret Thatcher（玛格丽特-撒切尔）started a series of reforms. An extensive（普遍的）programme of privatization（私有的）was carried out, and she was successful in an all-round（全面的）way (F)7、Tertiary（三级）industries include banking, insurance（保险）, tourism（旅行）, agriculture and the selling of goods (F)八、Britain has a large sector（部门）of agriculture producing % of its national wealth (F)九、According to the text, the tertiary（三级）industry produces approximately（大约）two-thirds of the national wealth (T)10、The service industry in the UK employs 70% of the total work force (T)1一、As a member of the World Trade Organization, the UK is playing a very important role in the world trade (T)1二、The UK is the third biggest international investor（投资者）in the world (F)第六单元一、Much early British literature was concerned with Christianity（基督教）, and Anglo-Saxons（盎格鲁-撒克逊人）produced many versions（版本）of the Bible（圣经）(T)二、Beowulf（贝奥武夫）was a sea monster（海怪）killed by a Swedish warrior（瑞典战士）(F)3、“The Wife of Bath（浴的妻子）”is one of the tales（故事）contained in The Canterbury Tales（坎特伯雷故事集）(T)4、There was a general flowering of culture and intellectual（知识）life in Europe during the 17th and 18th century which is known as “The Renaissance（文艺振兴时期）”(F)五、William Shakespeare（威廉·莎士比亚）is a great poet and much is known of his life (F)六、Keats, Shelley and Byron（济慈、雪莱和拜伦）brought the Romantic Movement（浪漫主义运动）to its height (T)7、Robinson Crusoe（鲁宾逊漂流记）tells the story of a shipwreck and solitary survival（海难和孤独的生存）(T)八、Writers of romantic literature（浪漫主义文化）are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason (T)九、Don Juan（唐璜）is an epic poem（史诗）composed by John Milton（约翰·弥尔顿）(F)10、Thomas Hardy（托马斯·哈代）, the author of Tess of the D’Urbervilles（德伯家的苔丝）, was also a first-class（一流的）poet (T)第七单元一、The purpose of British education is not only to provide children with literacy（读写能力）and the other basic skills but also to socialize（社交）children (T)二、The state seldom interferes（干扰）with the decision of when, where, how and what children are taught (F)3、The enduring feature（持久特点）of British education is the continuing debate over what should be taught in schools (F)4、The 1944 Education Act made entry to secondary schools（中学）and universities “meritocratic （精英）”(T)五、Public schools are part of the national education system and funded by the government (F)六、British universities are public bodies which receive funds from central government (T)7、All secondary schools in Britain are run and supervised（监督）by the government (T)八、In Oxford and Cambridge the BA converts to an MA several years later, upon payment of a fee (T)九、Independent schools get money mainly through the private sector（部门）and tuition（学费）rates, with some government support (T)10、Grammar schools select children at the age of 11 and provide them with a general education (F)第八单元一、When the Second World War ended, Britain no longer was the largest military（军事）power in Western Europe (F)二、The UK was awarded（授予）a seat on the UN（联合国）Security Council（安理会）in recognition （识别）of its contribution in setting up the United Nations (F)3、According to the text, the most important single factor which influences British policy-maker is its history (T)4、The Prime Minister and Cabinet（内阁）decide on the general direction of Britain’s foreign policy (T)五、The main government department involved is the Foreign and Commonwealth Office（外交和联邦事务部）(FCO) (T)六、Britain is a parliamentary monarch（议会君主）(F)7、There are about 60 members of the Commonwealth（英联邦）(F)八、The British host a large American Military（军事）presence and there are 63 American military bases in the UK (T)九、Britain is not a member of the NATO（北约）due to its disagreement with some European countries on defence policy (F)第九单元一、On an average day, an overwhelming（压倒性的）majority of Britons over the age of 15 red a nation or local paper（报纸）(T)二、The British media play an important role in shaping（塑造）a national culture (T)3、In the late seventeenth and early 18th century, as the British economy began to industrialise, and as literacy levels rose through the introduction of mass education, more and newspapers began to appear (F)4、Free press has the function of keeping an eye on the government, and therefore it is called the watchdog（监管机构）of parliamentary democracy（议会民主制）(T)五、The Advertising Code（广告代码）ensures that advertisements are legal, decent（体面地）, honest and truthful; have a sense of responsibility for consumer and society; and respect the principles of fair competition（竞争）(T)六、It is incorrect to say that class and educational differences are reflected in the newspapers people read (F)7、The Telegraph readers, for example, will be soft on crime（犯法）, be quite feminist（女权主义）and interested in green politics (F)八、The tabloids（小报）are smaller format（格式）newspapers with colour photos and catchy headlines （吸引人的题目）. They are often called “the gutter press（黄色小报）”(T)九、The British Broadcasting Corporation is funded by licence（许可证）fees and viewers must buy a licence each year for their TV set (T)10、The BBC（英国广播公司）World Service, the international branch of the BBC, broadcasts in English and 42 other languages throughout the world (T)第十单元一、The tradition of having Sunday off derived from（来自）the Christian Church（基督教堂）(T)二、The origin of Bowling（打保龄球）lies in the victory celebration ceremony（仪式）by the ancient warriors (T)3、Tennis（网球）is usually regarded as a winter and spring sport (F)4、The game of golf was invented by the Scottish（苏格兰）(T)五、The animal-lovers’groups would like to have horse racing banned（禁止）(T)六、Easter（复活节）is the biggest and best loved British holiday (F)7、Christmas Pantomime（哑剧）is one of the three Christmas traditions that are particularly British (T)八、It is commonly believed that Boxing Day involves the sport of boxing (F)九、The biggest Bonfire Night（篝火之夜）celebration is held in London (F)10、In Ireland, New Year’Eve called Hogma除夕）(December 31st) is the major winter celebration (T)选择题第一单元一、which of the following is NOT considered a characteristic of London? (D/The sports centre)二、Which of the following is NOT true about the characteristics of Britain? (B/Differences of social systems between Scotland and Wales（威尔士）)3、Which of the following is NOT True about Britain? (D/It used to be one of the superpowers in the world)4、Three of the following are characteristics of London. Which of the four is the EXCEPTION? (C/London is not only the largest city in Britain, but also the largest in the world)五、The Tower of London, a historical sight, located in the centre of London, was built by (D/William the Conqueror)六、Who were the ancestors of the English and the founders of England? (A/The Anglo-Saxons（盎格鲁-撒克逊人）)7、Which is the largest city in Scotland? (C/Glasgow（格拉斯哥）)八、Why did the Scottish Kings decide to form an independent singular Scottish（奇异的苏格兰）state in the century? (A/They needed a unified independent nation to fight against Viking raids（维京人攻击）)九、Where do the majority of people in Scotland live? (B/In the Lowlands（低地）)10、Which of the following statements is NOT true? (B/Wales was occupied by the Anglo-Saxons（盎格鲁-撒克逊人）)1一、Which of the following parties in Scotland still wants an independent Scotland? (C/The Scottish Nationalist（民族主义）Party)1二、When did Scotland join the Union by agreement of the English and Scottish parliaments（议会）?(D/In 1701)13、Llywelyn ap Gruffudd is not a simple historical figure for the Welsh. He is almost considered the legendary（传奇）hero of Welsh nationalism because (D/he unified Wales as an independent nation)第二单元一、In the 17th century the English government encouraged people from Scotland and Northern England to emigrate to the north of Ireland, because (A/they wanted to increase its control over Ireland)二、In 1969, the first British soldiers were seen on Northern Ireland street. They came first (B/to protect Catholics（天主教徒）)3、Northern Ireland is the smallest of the four nations, but is quite well-known in the world for (D/its endless political problems)4、Faced with conflicting demands the British government chose a compromise（妥协）and organizeda partition of Ireland in 1921, because (B/the British government intended to satisfy both sides-Catholics（天主教）and Protestants（新教）)五、Which of the following statements is NOT true? (C/The Social Democratic（社会民主党）and Labour Party（劳动党）is a very important political party in Britain)六、In the early 1970s, the IRA（爱尔兰共和军）(D/carried out a series of bombing and shooting and attacked the security force as their main target)7、1972 was the worst year of the political troubles in Northern Ireland, because (B/468 people were killed in Northern Ireland)八、Why did the British government decide to replace the power-sharing policy with “direct-rule（直接统治）”from London? (D/All the above)九、Which of the following statements is NOT true? (C/Margaret Thatcher（玛格丽特-撒切尔）’s government gave in to their political demand)10、How many counties are there in Northern Ireland? (B/6)1一、Which of the following agreement is accepted by both Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland? (C/The Good Friday Agreement)1二、According to the Good Friday Agreement, Northern Ireland today should be governed by the following jurisdictions（司法管辖区）except (B/the jurisdiction of loyalist minist(部长))第三单元一、Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of British government? (A/It offers the Queen high political status and supreme power)二、Which of the following kings was executed(执行）in the civil war? (C/Charles（查尔斯）1)3、What happened in 1215? (B/Forced by barons（贵族）, King John signed the Magna Carta（大宪章）)4、Which of the following is NOT true about the Great Council? (C/It later developed into what we now know as the Cabinet（内阁）)五、Under whose reign（统治）was the Bill of Rights passed? (B/William of Orange)六、Which of the following is NOT related to the Constitution? (A/It is a written document which lists out the basic principles for government)7、Which of the following statements is NOT correct? (D/Parliament（议会）has no power to change theterms of the Constitution)八、Which of the following is NOT a true description of the Queen’s role? (A/The Queen selects the Prime Minister and the Cabinet（内阁）)九、Which of the following is NOT a feature of the House of Lords（上议院）? (C/The lords（领主）are expected to represent the interests of the public)10、Which of the following is NOT based on the fact? (A/Members of Parliament（议会）elect the Prime Minister and the Cabinet)第四单元一、Which group of people cannot vote in the general election? (B/Lords（领主）in the House of Lords)二、By whom is a “vote of no confidence”decided? (A/The House of Commons)3、Which of the following is NOT true about the electoral campaigns（选举活动）? (A/Big parties can buy time to broadcast their policies on the television)4、How many seats in the House of Commons should a part hold at least in order to win the election? (B/326)五、Which of the following description about the Conservative（保守的）party is NOT true? (D/It is known as a party of high taxation（税收) levels)六、Which period of time in British history was described as “private affluence and public squalor(龌龊）”? (C/The 1980s)7、Who is the leader of the Labour party at present? (C/Gordon Brown)八、Which of the following is NOT true abort life peers（同行）? (B/They cannot sit in the House of Lords)九、Which of the following statements is NOT true about class system in the UK? (B/Class division is only decided by people’s income)10、Which of the following is NOT characteristic of the hereditary aristocracy（世袭贵族）in the UK? (C/They are the richest people in the UK)1一、Which of the following is NOT an effect of immigration on British society? (B/Class tension has increased)1二、Which of the following is Not a true description of the situation of ethnic minorities（少数民族）in the UK? (A/They are well represented in the British Parliament（议会）)13、Which of the following is NOT included in Household Energy Management Strategy（能量治理策略）? (C/Every household will have produced their electricity from renewable（可再生）energy resources)第五单元一、Which of the following statements is NOT true about the UK economy? (C/There has been a period of steady decreasing of living standards)二、Which of the following was NOT the reason for the relative economic decline since 1945? (C/Britain had carried out the nationalization of the businesses)3、Which of the following livestock（牲畜）has the biggest number in the UK? (D/Sheep)4、Where is the best agricultural land in Britain? (A/In the southeast of England)五、Which of the following is NOT a company in the energy sector（部门）? (B/ICI)六、Which of the following used to be the last independent car company in the UK? (C/Rover（探测器）)7、In the aerospace（航空航天）industry, which of the following, countries is ahead of Britain? (B/The .)八、Which civil airline was started in 1924 after the First World War? (A/Imperial Airways（帝国航空公司）)九、What did Frank Whittle（弗兰克·惠特尔）do in 1937? (B/He developed the first jet（飞机）engine)10、Which company became an important aero-engine（航空发动机）manufacturer after WWI? (B/Rolls Royce（劳斯莱斯）)1一、Which of the following two companies merged into British Aerospace（航空航天）? (A/The British Aircraft Corporation and Hawker-Siddeley Aviation)1二、Which of the following countries is the last to come out of recession（大萧条）? (C/Britain)第六单元一、Which of the following books is written by Geoffrey Chaucer（杰弗里·乔叟）? (A/The Canterbury Tales （坎特伯雷故事集）)二、Which literary form flourished（蓬勃进展）in Elizabethan age（伊丽莎白时期）more than any other form of literature? (C/Drama)3、Among the following writers, who was NOT one of the great 三人组）（? (C/Thomas Malory)4、Which of the following did NOT belong to Romanticism（浪漫主义）? (D/Defoe（笛福）)五、Which of the following is a tragedy written by Shakespeare? (B/Macbeth（麦克白）)六、Which of the following writers was the most famous Scottish novelist? (D/Sir Walter Scott（沃尔特·斯科特爵士）)7、Several gifted women played a significant part in the 19th-century literature. Which of the following is an exception? (A/Virginia Woolf（弗吉尼亚·伍尔夫）)八、Which of the following writers was NOT associated with Modernism（现代主义）? (C/Charles Dickens （查尔斯·狄更斯）)九、Which of the following is generally considered to be the masterpiece（杰作）by Joseph Conrad （约瑟夫·康拉德）? (B/The Heart of Darkness（黑暗的心）)10、Which of the following writers wrote the book 1984 that began “Postmodernism（后现代主义）”in British literature? (A/George Orwell（乔治·奥威尔）)第七单元一、In Britain, the great majority of parents send their children to (C/state schools)二、In Britain, children from the age of 5 to 16 (B/can legally receive completely free education)3、If a student wants to go to university in Britain, he will take the examination called (B/General Certificate of Secondary Education)4、Which of the following is a privately funded university in Britain? (D/The University of Buckingham)五、Which of the following is NOT true? (D/Parents send their children to public schools because their children prefer to go to public schools)六、Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the Open University? (C/No university degree is awarded)7、In the examination called “the 11 plus”, students with academic potential go to (A/grammar schools)八、Which of the following is NOT included in the National Curriculum（课程）? (B/Children must sit in A-level exams)九、Which of the following is NOT true about the British education system? (D/It’s dominated by the state)10、Which of the following schools would admit children without reference to their academic abilities? (A/comprehensive（全面的）schools)第八单元一、The author holds that Britain has a big influence on the postwar international order because (B/It had a strong military（军事）power and prestige（声望）)二、Which countries are the permanent members of the UN Security Council? (C/China, Russia, France, Britain and the United States)3、How much of the globe did Britain rule in its imperial prime（帝国主义）? (C/A third of the globe)4、The present British foreign policy is mainly influenced by some of the following factors. Which one is an exception? (D/Its schizophrenic（精神割裂症）attitude to Europe)五、Which of the following is not involved in making the British foreign policy? (A/The Queen of Britain)六、Nowadays the British foreign policy is largely shaped by its participation in (C/the United Nations, the EU, NATO（北约）, etc)7、Which of the following statements is not true? (B/63 American military（军事）bases are under the command of Britain)八、Which of the following countries does not have nuclear weapons capabilities? (C/Italy)九、Three of the following factors have contributed to Britain’s special relationship with the United States to a certain degree. Which is the exception? (B/They have common interests in every respect) 10、Why does Britain have its nuclear naval force? (B/Because it’s a traditional sea power)第九单元一、Which of the following is the world’s oldest national newspaper? (C/The Observer（观看者）)二、Which of the following is the British oldest daily newspaper? (D/The Times)3、Which of the following statements is not true about the British media? (B/They are mainly interested in making huge profits by publishing advertisements)4、A free press is considered very important to the functioning of parliamentary（议会）democracy （民主）because (A/ it plays a watchdog function（监督功能）, keeping an eye on the government )五、In Britain most advertising is carried (A/ in newspapers)6,、Which of the following about the BBC（英国广播公司）is NOT true? (C/The BBC has four channels)7、How many newspapers are there in Britain? (B/About 1400)八、Which of the following newspapers is printed internationally? (C/The Financial Times)九、Which of the following newspapers is a tabloid（小报）? (A/The News of the World)10、Which of the following about the tabloids is not true? (A/They are bormat（格式）newspapers)第十单元一、Which of the following was NOT an activity in Shakespeare’s time? (D/Attending the Grand National)二、Which of the following sports was NOT invented in Britain? (C/Basketball)3、Which of the following is NOT true about football in Britain? (C/It was invented by the Scottishpeople)4、Where are international tennis championships held? (B/Wimbledon（温布尔登网球公布赛）)五、Which of the following is truly a sport of the royal family? (D/Horse racing)六、Which one of the following is NOT particularly British Christmas tradition? (C/eating chocolate eggs on Easter（复活节）Day)7、Easter commemorates（为了纪念）(D/ the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ（耶稣基督的受难和复活）)八、Which community observes the traditional Ramadan（斋月）? (D/Muslim（穆斯林）)九、Which celebration particularly happens on the Queen’s birthday? (C/Trooping（阅兵仪式）the Colour)10、Which of the following commemorates（为了纪念）the Battle of Boyne（博因河战役）? (D/The Orange March in Northern Ireland)1一、Of which people is Robert Burns（罗伯特·彭斯）a national poet? (C/The Scottish people)1二、On which day is Halloween（万圣节）celebrated? (A/October 31st)。