英语国家概况(汉英对照)

2021年2月17日发(作者：data)

英语国家概况

A BRIEF INTRODUCTION TO ENGLISH-SPEAKING COUNTRIES

Part One

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

第一部分

大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国

第一章

国土与人民

Chapter 1 Land and People

Ⅰ

.

英国的不同名称及其区域

1. Different Names for Britain and its Parts

人们说到英国时 常常使用不同的名称

:

不列颠、大不列颠、英格兰、不列颠群岛 、联合王国等。这些名

称一样吗

?< /p>

还是有所区别

? When people refer to Britain, they often use different names such as Britain, Great

Britain, England, the British Isles, the United Kingdom or the U.K. Do they mean the same thing? Or are they

different?

严格地讲，不列颠诸岛、大不列颠和英 格兰都是地理名称。它们并不是这个国家的正式名称。不列颠

诸岛是由两个大岛和几百个小岛组成的。两个大岛是不列颠岛和爱尔兰岛，其中不列颠岛较大，它与爱尔

兰岛的北部一北爱尔兰构成联合王国。因此，联合王国的正式国名是大 不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国。但一

口气说出这么长的国名太费 事，因此，人们就说不列颠，联合王国或简单地说

UK

。这是不列颠岛上的一

个国家，首都是伦敦。另外还有一个国家，叫爱尔兰共和国或称爱尔兰，也位于不列颠岛上。它占 据了爱

尔兰岛的其余部分，在岛的南部。

1949

年始爱尔兰独立，首都是都柏林。

Strictly speaking, the British Isles,

Great Britain and England are all geographical names. They are not the official name of the country. The British

Isles are made up of two large islands and hundreds of small ones. The two large islands are Great Britain

and

Ireland. Great Britain is the larger of these two islands. It forms the United Kingdom with Northern Ireland

—

the

northern part of Ireland. So the official name of the United Kingdom is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and

Northern Ireland. But it is too much of a mouthful to say such a long name for a country, so people just say Britain,

the United Kingdom or simply U.K. This is one country on the British Isles and its capital is London. There is

another

country

called

the

Republic

of

Ireland

or

Eire

on

the

British

Isles.

It

takes

up

the

remainder

of

Ireland

—

the southern part of Ireland. It has been an independent republic since 1949 and its capital is Dublin.

大不列颠岛上有三个政治区

:

英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士。英格兰面积最大、人口最多，一般说来也最富

裕。因此人们常用英格兰指代英国，用英格兰人指代英国人。这有时令苏格兰人和威尔士人不 快，他们不

认为自己是

英格兰人

，他们有自己的文化，甚至有自己的语言。

There

are

three

political

divisions

on

the

island

of

Great

Britain:

England,

Scotland

and

Wales.

England

is

the

largest,

most

populous

and

generally

speaking the richest section. So people tend to use

‘England’

and

‘English’

when they mean

‘Britain’

and

‘British’.

This sometimes annoys the Scots or the Welsh who do not regard themselves as English and who have a

culture

and even a language of their own.

英国一直是世界上最重要的国家之一。约一百年前，由于 推行帝国主义扩张政策，英国成为一个帝国，

这个帝国占有世 界上四分之一的人口，四分之一的面积。它不仅在北美，而且在亚洲、非洲和澳洲都有殖

民地。但是两次世界大

战大大削弱了 英国，英国殖民地接二连三独立，大英帝国逐渐消失，

1931

年由英

联邦所取代。

Britain has been one of the most important countries in the world. About a hundred years ago, as a

result of its imperialist expansion, Britain ruled an empire that had one fourth of the

world’s

people and one fourth

of

the

world’s

land

area.

It

had

colonies

not

only

in

North

America,

but

also

in

Asia,

Africa

and

Australia.

However,

the

two

world

wars

greatly

weakened

Britain. The

British

Empire

gradually

disappeared

and

it

was

replaced by the British Commonwealth or the Commonwealth of Nations in 1931.

英联 邦是一个自由联合体，由曾经是英国殖民地变为现已独立的国家构成。成员国之间实行经济合作，

有一定的贸易协议。英联邦没有特别的权力，是否参加英联邦由各成员国自己 决定。目前

(

1991

年

)

，英

联邦有

50

个成员国。

The commonwealth (of Nations) is a free association of independent countries that were

once colonies of Britain. Member nations are joined together economically and have certain trading arrangements.

The commonwealth has no special powers. The decision to become a member of the commonwealth is left to

each

nation. At present there are 50 member countries within the Commonwealth (1991).

< br>1

Ⅱ

.

英国的地理特征

II. Geographical Features

< p>
英国是个岛国，四周是海。它位于欧洲北海岸附近的北大西洋中。南面的英吉利海峡和东面的北海把

英国与欧洲的其他部分隔开。英法之间的英吉利海峡很狭窄， 最狭窄的地方叫多佛尔海峡，只有

33

公里

宽。

1985

年，英法两国政府决定 在多佛尔海峡底修建一个隧道，把两个国家连接起来。经过八年的奋斗，

这条名为

查诺尔

< p>
的海底隧道于

1994

年

5

月通车。英国的面积为

244

，

100

平方公里。南北长

1000

公里，

东西最宽阔的地方约为

500

公里。因此英国的任何地方离海边都不远，海岸资源丰富。英国海岸线很长且

拥有优良的深水港。

海上通道延伸到内陆，提供了低廉的运输。

Britain is an island country. It is surrounded

by the sea. It lies in the north Atlantic Ocean off the north coast of Europe. It is separated from the rest of Europe

by the English Channel in the south and the North Sea in the east. The English Channel between England

and

France is quite narrow and the narrowest part is called the Straits 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 ''Chunnel'' was open to traffic in May

1994. Britain covers an area of 244, 100 square krn. It runs

1, 000 km from north to south and extends, at the widest part, about 500

kilometers. So no part of Britain is very

far from the coast and it provides a valuable resource. The British coast is long and has good, provides a

valuable

resource. The British coast is long and has good, providing cheap transportation.

几个世纪以来，英国一直在缓慢地倾斜 。西北部缓慢上升，东南部缓慢下沉。英国的北部与西部主要

是山地。这种上升在苏格兰西部形成了突起的海滩

――

山的平地 。这种海滩提供了主要的农田、定居点、

工业区及通道。东部 及东南部主要是低地，是

欧洲大平原

< /p>

的一部分，有着平坦的土地及肥沃的土壤。尤

其是南部及英格兰东海岸有许多良田。

Britain has, for centuries, been slowly tilting with the North-West slowly

rising and the South- East slowly sinking. The north and west of Britain are mainly highlands. In western parts of

Scotland this rise in the land has resulted in the formation of raised beaches - flat areas of land in an otherwise

mountainous area, which provide the main farming, settlements, and industrial areas as well as routeways. The

east and south- east are mostly lowlands. They are part of the Great European Plain, with its level land and fertile

soil. There is much good farmland especially in the south and along the east coast of England.

在冰川时代，英国覆盖着大冰块，导 致英国壮观的山景，尤其是斯诺多尼亚、湖泊区及苏格兰山地，

因此英国拥有平顶的山脉、瀑布流经的山谷、带状湖、平坦的谷底、陡峭的谷倒、冰砾土及沃土。

During the

Ice

Age

great

ice

covered

Great

Britain.

Ice

has

been

responsible

for

most

of

Britain's

spectacular

mountain

scenery

especially

in

Snowdonia,

the

Lake

District

,and

the

Scottish

Highlands.

It

left

Great

Britain

with

mountains

with

flat

tops

,hanging

valleys

with

waterfalls,

ribbon

lakes,

flat

valley

floors

,steep

valley

sides ,boulder clay and fertile soil.

1.

英格兰

1. England

英格兰占了大不列颠岛南部的绝大部分 面积。英格兰西面是威尔士，北面是苏格兰。面积为

130

，

000

平方公里，占整个岛的

60%

。除了塞汶河谷及柴郡

――

兰开郡平原

(

中心为利物浦

)

外 ，其西南部和西部主

要是高原，也有起伏的平原、丘陵地及少 数沼泽地，但主要是高原。从北中部延伸至苏格兰边境的奔宁山

脉是主要山脉。但英格兰的最高峰斯加非尔峰

(978

米

)

却位于西北部的湖泊区。英格兰东部主要 是开阔的

可耕种平原，此平原的海岸沼泽地和奔宁山脉之间变 成一条狭窄的走廊

(

约克谷

)

，在诺桑伯兰郡则变成很

窄的海岸带。

England occupies the largest, southern part of Great Britain with Wales to its west and Scotland to

its north. It has an area of more than 130,000 square kilometers which takes up nearly 60% of the whole island,

the

north-west

and

west

except

for

the

Severn valley

and

the Cheshire- Lancashire

plain

(round

Liverpool)

are

largely a plateau, with rolling plains, downs and occasional moors. The Pennines, a range of hills running from

North Midlands to the Scottish border, are the principal mountain chain. But the highest peak of England, Scafell

(978m), is in the Lake District in north-west England. The east of England is mainly an open cultivated plain,

narrowing

in

North

Yorkshire

to

a

passage

(Vale

of

York)

between

coastal

moors

and

the

Pennines,

and

in

Northumberland to a coastal strip.

2.

苏格兰

2. Scotland

2

苏格兰面积为

78

，

760

平方公里。位于大不列颠岛北部，拥有众多的山脉、湖泊及岛屿。它有三大自

然区

:

北部山地、中部低地及南部高地。北部 山地

(300

――

< br>1

，

200

多米

)

是一片荒芜而多石的高原，有弯曲

的海岸线，西面尤其如此。本奈维斯山海拔

1

，

343

米，英国的最高峰就在此地。山地西部及赫布里底群

岛

风景迷人。狭长的海湾与荒山交错 ，一些内海上的农场只有坐小船才能到达。中部低地，主要由福斯

和克莱德谷、煤矿和铁矿区及奶牛牧场组成。中部是苏格兰主要的工业区，人口最为稠密，是苏格兰最重

要的地区。南部高地是起伏的沼泽地

(< /p>

多在

240-600

米之间

)

，被众多小而肥沃的河谷所分割。苏格兰有< /p>

800

座岛屿，包括奥克尼群岛，设 德兰群岛及赫布里底群岛，此外还有几百个湖泊。爱丁堡是苏格兰的首府。

Scotland has an area of 78,760 square kilometers. It is in the north of Great Britain with many mountains, lakes

and islands.

There

are

three

natural

zones:

the Highlands in

the

north,

the

central

Lowlands,

and

the

southern

Uplands.

The

Highlands

(300

—

over

1,200m)

are

a

wild,

rocky,

mountainous

plateau

with

a

coastline

deeply

indented, especially in the west. Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain (1,343m) is located here. The western

part of Highlands and the islands of Hebrides are a very beautiful region. Great sea- lochs, or fiords, alternate with

wild and empty hills, and on some of the lochs there are farms which can only be reached by boat. The Lowlands

in the center comprise mostly the Forth and Clyde valleys, coal and iron fields and dairy pasture. This is the most

important area in Scotland which contains most of the industry and population. The southern Uplands, a rolling

moorland (mainly 240

—

600m), are cut by small fertile river valleys. Scotland has about 800 islands including the

Orkneys. Shetlands and Hebrides and hundreds of lakes. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland.

3.

威尔士

3. Wales

威尔士位于大不列颠岛的西部，面积为

20

，

761

平方公里，占整个岛的近

9%

。威尔士大部分地区是

山。山脉沿海陡峭耸起，而山顶却相当平坦。威尔士

6%

为森林覆盖，大部分乡村是草原牧场

――< /p>

养牛养

羊，只有

12%

的可耕地。威尔士形成一个山区，但周边是狭窄的低地，最宽之处是沿英格兰边境和南海岸。

山地高度在

180

米到

600

米之间，北面多岩石，南面有煤。西北部的斯诺多尼亚山

(1085

米

)

是威尔士的最

高点。威尔士首府是加的夫。

Wales is in the west of Great Britain. It has an area of 20,761 square kilometers

which takes up less than 9% of the whole island. Most of Wales is mountainous: the hills rise steeply from the sea

and are rather flat on top. 6% of Wales is covered with forest and much of the country is pasture

—

land for sheep

and cattle. Only 12% of the land is arable. Wales forms a massif with a lowland fringe widest along the English

border and south coast. The massif is largely between 180 and 600m, rocky in the north and coal bearing in the

south. Snowdonia (1,085m) in the northwest is the highest mountain in Wales. The capital of Wales is Cardiff.

4.

北爱尔兰

4. Northern Ireland

北爱尔兰是联合王国的第四个所属区域。它占据爱尔兰北部五分之一的 面积

――

14

，

147

平方公里。

北爱尔兰北部 海岸线荒芜多石，并有几处深陷的回地。东北部地区的安特里尔郡多高地，而向东南部逐渐

变成了洛尼格盆地所在的中央低地。贝尔法斯特是北爱尔兰的首都。

Northern Ireland is a fourth region of the

United Kingdom. It takes up the northern fifth of Ireland and has an area of 14,147 square kilometers. It has a

rocky

and

wild

northern

coastline,

with

several

deep

indentations.

In

the

north-east

gradually

give

way

to

the

central lowlands of the Lough Neagh basin. Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland.

Ⅲ

.

河流和湖泊

III. Rivers and Lakes

英国的河 流冬天不结冰。河流在国民经济中起着重要作用。伦敦、利物浦和格拉斯哥这些大港口全都

通过河流与海洋连接在一起。此外，东海岸的

Tweed

河、

Tyne

河、蒂斯河、泰晤士河都面对着欧洲大陆上

< br>的北海各港口，距离富饶的渔区也很近。而西海岸的克莱德河、默西河和塞汶河把原材料运到繁忙的内陆< /p>

工业城市。英国的河流并不很长，最长的塞汶河也只有

338

公里长。它发源于威尔士中部，河道呈半圆形

流经英格兰中西部，注入布里斯托尔海峡。第二大河，也是英国最重要的河是泰晤士河，全长

< p>

336

公里。

发源于英格兰西南部的科茨沃耳德山，流经英格兰中部到达伦敦，注入北海。泰晤士河流速相 当慢，这对

水路运输极为有利。海轮可以沿着此河远至伦敦， 而小船则可再上溯

138

公里。牛津也在泰晤士河上。克

莱德河是苏格兰最重要的河流。它发源于邓弗里斯山，全长

171

公里，流经格拉斯哥，注入克莱德河湾，

是重要的商业水路航道。

Rivers

in

Britain

do

not

freeze

in

winter.

They

play

a

very

important

role

in

the

country’s

economy.

The great

ports

of

London,

Liverpool

and

Glasgow

are

all

connected

to

the

sea

by

rivers.

3