2021年1月23日发(作者：shattered)
1.

The
glorious
revolution
(
光荣革命
):
the
overthrow(
推翻、瓦解
)
of
king
James
Ⅱ

of
England
takes
place
in
1688
by
a
union
of
parliamentarians with an invading army led by William of Orange who,
as a result ascended
（上升、登高）

the English throne
（君主、王权）

as William
Ⅲ
of England. It was also known as White Revolution because
it caused no bloodshed(
流血、杀戮
). It marked the real beginning of the
constitutional monarchy in England.
2. How did the “Glorious Revolution”
break out? What was the significance of it?

In 1685 Charles II died and was succeeded by his brother James II. James,
who was brought up in exile(
流犯）

in Europe, was a Catholic; He hoped
to rule without giving up his personal religious views. But England was no
more
tolerant
of
a
Catholic
king
in
1688
than
40
years.
So
the
English
politicians rejected James II, and appealed to a Protestant king, William of
Orange, to invade and take the English throne. William landed in England
in 1688. The takeover was relatively smooth, with no bloodshed, no any
execution
of
the
king.
This
was
known
as
the
Glorious
Revolution.
William and his wife Mary were both Protestants and became co-monarchs.
They
accepted
the
Bill
of
Rights.
It’s
the
beginning
of
the
age
of
constitutional monarchy.
2.

Great charter (
大宪章
): Known as the Great Charter, it was the first
famous political document to limit the king’s powers in English history. It
was signed in 1215 by King John at a conference at Runnymede
（兰尼米
德）
, an island in the Thames River four miles downstream
（下游的、顺
流而下的）

from Windsor
（温莎）
. It contains altogether 63 clauses
（条
款）
, among which the most important ones are: no tax should be made
without
the
approval
of
the
Grand
Council
（天庭会议）
;
no
freeman
should
be
arrested,
imprisoned,
or
deprived
（缺乏教育的）

of
his
property except by the law of the land;
没有大议会批准不准征税；不得
随意逮捕，
拘禁自由民，
不依照土地法不得剥夺其财产；
The king must
promise to observe the rights of his vassals
（
诸侯、
封臣）

and the vassals
in
turn
must
observe
the
rights
of
their
men,
and
the
king
also
should
permit merchants to move about freely and should observe the privileges
of the various towns. 2. Comments: The great charter was the first step of
constitutional experiment. It tried to establish a legal relation between the
king
and
his
barons
by
defining
their
respective
rights
and
obligations.
The great charter made it possible for the new-born bourgeoisie to enter
into
politics
because
it
granted
some
power
to
the
great
council
which
was
the
embryonic
form
of
the
English
parliament.
The
great
charter
protected the rights of the merchant class. This facilitated
（促进）

the
development
of
commerce
and
handcraft.
(It
was
arguably
the
most
significant early influence on the extensive historical process that led to
rule of constitutional law today in the English speaking world.)
3.

Monarch:
In
law,
the
monarch
has
many
supreme
powers,
but
in
practice, the real power of monarch has been solely
（
单独的，
唯一的）

on
the advice of her ministers. She reigns but does not rule
（统而不治）
. The
real
power
lies
in
the
parliament,
or
to
be
exact,
in
the
House
of
Commons.
2.
The
monarch
actually
has
no
real
power.
The
monarch’s
power
is
limited
by
law
and
parliament.
The
monarch
symbolizes
the
tradition and unity of the British state, have a weekly chat with the Prime
Minister, and to give Royal Assent to Bills passed by Parliament.(
对议会
通过的法案给予御准
)
4.

The
presidential
elections:
The
general
election,
held
on
the
first
Tuesday
after
the
first
Monday
in
November
in
each
election
year,
is
technically
divided
into
two
stages.
During
the
first
stage,
states
elect
their
presidential
electors.
The
number
of
presidential
electors
for
each
state is equal to the total number of its representatives in congress plus
two senators. The total number of presidential electors for the nation is
538, with 3 from Washington D.C. I n the second stage (
十二月的第三个
星期一
) the electors meet to elect the president. (electoral college)
5.

Ivy League
（常春藤高校联盟）
: It was founded in 1954, an athletic
conference
comprising
eight
private
institutions
（体系）

of
higher
education
in
the
Northern
United
States.
The
term
is
most
commonly
used
to
refer
to
those
eight schools
considered
as
a
group
and
also
has
connotations(
含义
) of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and
social elitism
（精英主义）
.
常春藤名校联盟：
Brown University (
布朗
大
学
),
Columbia
University,
Cornell
University
（
康
奈
尔
大
学
）
,