英语国家概况第一章

Chapter1

Land and People

Great

Britain

is

the

largest

island

in

Europe.

It

is

made

up

of

England,

Scotland,

and

er with Northern Ireland, it forms the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern

lreland.

This

is

the

full

name

of

the

country

which

constitutes

all

these

places.

The

United

Kingdom

of

Great

Britain

and

Northern

Ireland,

or

the

United

Kingdom,

is

“the

UK

for

short.

However,most

people

call

the

UK

”Britain

or

“Great

Britain,”

and

some

people

simply

say

“England,

According to the 2011 census, the total population of the UK was around 63 million. It is the

third

-

largest

in

the

European

Union

(behind

Germany and

France)

and

the

22nd

-

largest

in

the

world.

The UK is a developed country. According to 2013 statistics it has the sixth

-

largest national

economy in the world (and third

-

largest in Europe) measured by nominal GDP and eighth

-

largest

in the world (and second

-

largest in Europe) measured by purchasing power parity (PPP). It was

the world's first industrialized country and the world's foremost power during the 19th and early

20th

centuries.

The

UK

remains

a

great

power

because

it

still

has

considerable

economic,cultural,military,scientific and political influence internationally.

The

capital

of

the

UK

is

London,

which

is

among

the

world's

leading

commercial,

financial,and cultural centers. Other major cities include Birmingham,Liverpool, and Manchester

in England, Belfast and Londonderry in Northern Ireland, Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland, and

Swansea and Cardiff in Wales.

I.

Geographical Features

1. The UK's Geographical Location and Its Size

The UK is bordered on the south by the English Channel. It is bordered on the east by the

North Sea, and on the west by the Irish Sea and the Atlantic Ocean. The UK's only land border

with another nation is between Northern Ireland and Ireland.

The UK is separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel. The English Channel

between England and France is quite narrow and the narrowest part is called the Suraits of Dover,

which is only 33 km across. In 1985 the British government and the French government decided

to build a channel tunnel under the Straits of Dover so that England and France could be joined

together by road. After eight years of hard work this channel tunnel, which is called

was open to traffic in May 1994.

The

UK

covers

a

total

area

of

244,110

sq

km.

lt

runs

1,000

km

from

north

to

south

and

extends,at the widest part, about 500 km. So no part of the UK is very far from the coast and it

provides a valuable resource. The British coast is long and has good, deep harbors. Sea routes

extend far inland, providing cheap transportation.

England

is

the

largest,

most

populous,

and

wealthiest

division

of

the

UK.

It

makes

up

130,400 sq km of the UK's total area of Scotland is 78,800 sq km, the area of Wales is

20,800 sq km, and the area of Northern Ireland is 14,100 sq means that England makes

up 53.4% of the area of the UK, Scotland 32.3%, Wales 8.5%, and Northern Ireland 5.8%.

and Lakes

Since the UK has a moist climate with much rainfall, it has many rivers and in

central and eastern Britain tend to flow slowly and steadily all year long because they are fed by

the

frequent

rain.

Many

have

been

navigable,

and

from

the

earliest

times

they

have

served

peoples interested in either commerce or invasion. The Highlands act as a divide and determine

whether

rivers

flow

west

to

the

Irish

Sea

or

east

to

the

North

and

streams

moving

westward down from the Highlands tend to be swift and turbulent; rivers flowing eastward tend

to be long and gentle, with slowly moving waters.

The Thames and the Severn are the longest rivers in Britain and are almost equal in length.

The Severn flows south out of the mountains of central Wales to the Bristol Channel at Bristol. It

is 354 km long. The Thames,338 km long, flows eastward out of the Cotswold Hills and weaves

through the metropolis of London. The Thames provides water to the city of London and is used

to carry commercial freight. Other important rivers in England are the Mersey,which enters the

Irish Sea at Liverpool; the River Humber on the east coast,into which the Trent River and several

other rivers flow; and the Tyne River in northern England,which flows past Newcastle upon Tyne

to the North Sea.

In Scotland the important rivers are the Clyde and the Forth, which are joined by a canal.

The River Clyde flows northwest, past Glasgow, and empties into the Atlantic at the Firth of Clyde.

(Firth is the Scottish name for an arm of the sea that serves as the broad estuary of a river.) The

River Forth flows eastward into the Firth of Forth, where Edinburgh rises on its south

most important rivers in Northern Ireland are the Lagan, the Bann, and the Foyle.

Most of the large lakes in the UK are located in the upland areas of Scotland and northern

England,although Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland is the largest lake in the UK. Loch Lomond, on

the southwestern edge of the Highlands of Scotland, is the largest on the island of Great Britain,

measuring 37 km long and from 1.6 to 8 km Windermere is the largest of 15 major

lakes in the famous Lake District of northwestern is about 1.6 km wide and more than

16 km long.

Ⅱ

.Climate

1.A Maritime Climate

When

we

say

climate

we

mean

the

average

weather

conditions

at

a

certain

place

over

a

period of don’t mean the day

-

to

-

day weather conditions at a certain place. Though it

seems that people are always complaining about the weather in the UK because it is rainy and so

changeable

and

unpredictable,the

climate

in

the

UK

is

in

fact

a

favorable

one.

The

UK

has

a

maritime climate. Winters are mild,not too cold and summers are cool,not too has a steady

reliable

rainfall

throughout

the

whole

has

a

small

range

of

average

temperature in winter in the north is 4

—

6

℃

and in summer in the south is 12

—

17

℃

.So even in

winter one can still see stretches of green grass in the open country,in the parks and round the

houses.

s Which Influence the Climate

The UK is an island country which lies between latitude 50

°

to 60

°

north. It lies farther

north

than even

the

northernmost

par

of Heilonjiang

Province

of

China.

Compared

with

other

countries of the same latitudes it has a more moderate climate. This is influenced mainly by three

factors:

(1)

The surrounding waters tend to balance the seasonal differences by heating up the land

in

winter

and

cooling

it

off

in

summer.

As

the

sea

heats

up

and

cools

off

relativelyb

slowly

it

brings warm air in winter and cool air in summer.

(2)

The prevailing southwest winds or the Westerlies (winds which come from the west)

blow over the country all the year round, bringing warm and wet air in winter and keeping the

temperatures moderate.

(3) The North Atlantic Drift, which is a warm current, passes the western coast of the British

Isles and warms them.

Since

the

UK's

climate

is

of

the

maritime

type,

it

is

characterized

by

cool

temperatures,

frequent cloudy days and rainstorms. It changes from day to day, and this makes

it difficult to

forecast. It is so changeable that sometimes one can experience four seasons in the course of a

single day. Day may break as a fine spring morning; an hour or so later black clouds may have

appeared

from

nowhere

and

rain

may

be

pouring

down.

At

midday

conditions

may

really

be

wintery with the temperatures down to about 8

°

C. Then in the Jater atfternoon the sky will be

clear, the sun will begin to shine again, and for an hour or two before darkness falls, it will be

summer. It has been said that the uncertainty about the weather has had a definite effect upon

the Englishman's character. It tends to make him cautious, for example. You may laugh when you

see an Englishman going out on a brilliantly sunny morning wearing a raincoat and carrying an

umbrella.

However,

most

frequently

it

comes

in

drizzles

and

you

don't

necessarily

need

an

umbrella.

ll

The UK has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole average annual rainfall in

the UK is over 1,000 mm. It has 750 mm to 1,250 mm of rainfall along the coast in the east and

south except a small area in the southeastern corner of the country which receives less than 750

mm. In the west there is as much as 1,250 mm to 2.000 mm of rainfall and in some areas in the

northwest it is over 2,000 Westerlies blow over the UK all the year round, bringing warm

and

wet

air

from

the

Atlantic

Ocean.

They

rise,

climb

the

highlands

and

the

mountains

in

the

west,

become

colder

and

then

cause

heavy

rainfall.

There

is

not

so

much

rainfall

in

the

east

because after climbing over the highlands and mountains the air gets warmer and drier when it

descends and does not give so much rain.

As a result of the rainfall distribution in Britain there is a water surplus in the north and west,

and a water deficit in the south and east. Reservoirs have therefore to be built in such highland

areas as Central Wales,the Lake District and the Scottish Highlands, so that water can be stored

here and then transferred to the more populated and industrial areas of lowland Britain.

Generally speaking,the climate in the UK is favorable and equable (neither too hot nor too

cold).Extremes

of

heat

or

cold,

or

of

drought

or

prolonged

rainfall

are

rarely experienced.

It

is

estimated that on average about 3

-

6 cubic meters of rain per person per day fall over the UK. This

is

far

more

than

is

needed,but

problems

still

remain.

Sometimes

there

are

several

months

of

drought, and at other times too much rain causes flooding. Fog,smog, frost and severe gales are

not uncommon and often cause great damage to crops and to people's life. In 1952 the sulphur

dioxide in the four

-

day London smog,an unhealthy atmosphere formed by mixing smoke and dirt

with fog, left 4,000 people dead or then most cities in the UK have introduced “clean

air zones” whereby factories and households are only allowed to burn smokeless fuel.

Although the UK does not experience hurricanes, that is,storms with a strong fast wind such

as typhoons or cyclones, many areas are subjected to severe gales, especially in winter.

and Animal Life

Life

The mild climate,ample rain, and long growing season in the UK support a great variety of

plants,which

grow

exceptionally

well.

Most

of

the

UK

was

once

covered

with

thick,deciduous

forests in which oak trees predominated.(Deciduous trees are those that lose their leaves every

year.)The impact of centuries of dense human polpulation has massively altered the flora of the

UK, and only tiny remnants of these forests remain today.

Before

they

were

affected

by

centuries

of

clearing

and

human

use,

the

great

oak

forests

spread over the best soils in Britain. Forests were unable to establish themselves in the poorer

soils of the mountains,wetlands,heath,and plants common to these wilder areas

are heather,gorse and peat regions have been altered by heavy grazing of livestock

and by controlled lled burning creates environments suitable for game birds,which

feed

on

the

shoots

of

the

new

covered

by

towns

and

marginal

wetlands

that

remain continue to be threatened by reclamation for farms and homes,and some wetland plant

species now grow only in conservation areas.

2. Animal Life

Britain has many smaller mammals, and the larger ones tend to be gentle. The only surviving

large mammals are red deer, which live in the Scottish Highlands and in Exmoor in southwestern

England,

and

roe

deer,

foud

in

the

woodlands

of

Scotland

and

southern

England.

At

one

time

boars (wild pigs) and wolves roamed Britain, but they were hunted to extinction.

Many

smaller

mammals

inhabit

Britain,

including

foxes,otters,

red

squirrels,

and

wildcats.

Otters are found mainly in southwestern England and in the Shetland and Orkney red

squirrel, driven out of most of its range by the imported gray squirrel, is now limited mainly to

the Isle of Wight and Scotland. Wildcats are found only in parts of Scotland.

Bird

-

watching is a popular national pastime. Britain is home to a large variety of birds, due in

lange measure to its position as a focal point of a migratory network.

Saltwater fish were once important to Britain's economy. Cod, herring and mackerel are still

caught

off

the

coasts

of

Britain,

although

quotas

are

now

imposed.

Lobster,

crab,and

other

shellfish are caught along inshore waters.

IV. People

Groups