-
I. Important facts to know about the UK.
n does not share land border with any
other countries except the Republic of
Ireland(
爱尔
兰
).
2. The climate of Britain is a mild and
temperate one.
3. The most important
river in the United Kingdom is the Thames River.
The largest /longest is the
Severn
River.
4. The famous Speaker’s Corner
is an area inside Hyde Park, London, where
speakers address the
public, especially
on Sundays.
5. The Houses Parliament
are in the City of Westminster.
6.
The
Westminster
Abbey
is
the
place
where
almost
all
English
kings
and
queens
have
been
crowned.
7. The Whitehall is
where many British government offices are located.
8. Buckingham Palace is the London
residence for the King or Queen.
9.
No.10 Downing Street in London is the official
residence of British Prime Minister.
10. London, the capital of the United
Kingdom, is situated on the Thames River near its
mouth.
11. The West End of London is
resided by richer people than the East End.
12. The British Museum is the oldest
and largest of all the museums and galleries in
the UK.
13.
Wembley
Stadium
is
the
site
of
the
FA
Cup
Final,
while
Wimbledon
is
the
site
of
the
international Lawn Tennis championship.
14. The “tube” in London is the oldest
and longest underground railway in
the
world.
15. The British state is made up
of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
16. London Tower, first built as a
fortress for the royal family, was later used as a
prison for the
King’s or Queen’s
political enemies.
17. Big
Ben is a famous clock in London.
18.
There is no longer serious “smog” in London
nowadays.
19. The UK is one
of the most densely populated countries in the
world.
20. In Britain only less than 2%
of the population are farmers but they manage
about 70% of the
land area.
21. It was the Anglo-Saxons who brought
the English language into England.
22.
The immigrants coming to Britain are mainly from
the West Indies, India and Pakistan.
23. The “upper class”, living off the
ownership of land or capital are fairly constant
at aro
und 2%.
24. A skilled
worker, however much he /she earns, is one of the
working /lower class.
25. People who do
unskilled office-work are also likely to be
described as lower (middle) class.
26.
John Bull is the nickname of Britain.
27. The UK has experienced relative
economic decline since World War II.
28. Margret Thatcher is the first and
only female Prime Minister in British history.
29. The average household size in the
UK is becoming smaller and smaller.
30.
The Teddy Boys was the first cult that emerged in
the UK in the 1950s among the working
class youth.
31. The Hippies
were from the middle class families in late 1960s.
32. Punks appeared in the 1970s.
33. The rave culture was popular among
the middle and working class in the 1990s.
34. The youngest age that a person can
get married in Britain is 16.
35. At
the age of 18, people can get legally married
without parental consent in the UK.
36.
Most British couples have their wedding ceremony
in the church with the bride dressed in a
long white dress.
37. Most
second marriages only involve a civil ceremony.
38.
Only
about
5%
of
old
people
in
the
UK
live
in
institutions
such
as
old
people’s
homes
or
hospitals.
39. The
“Eleven
-
plus” is an
examination taken at about the age of eleven, to
decide which type o
f
secondary schools a British child will
attend. This is also called “streaming” (Children
are put into
different groups according
to their ability in many British schools).
40. Comprehensive schools, where in
1999 85% of pupils go, do not select and stream
children.
41. In Britain, the great
majority of parents send their children to state
/comprehensive schools.
42. In the
United Kingdom, kids are entitled to receiving
compulsory education from the age of 5
to 16.
43. The full name of
CTC is city technology college.
44.
Grammar
schools
in
modern
Britain
emphasize
academic
studies
and
offer
more
subjects
than any other secondary schools.
45. Public schools are the foundation-
layers of the English education.
46.
Public schools in the UK are mostly private and
charge high tuitions.
47.
GCSE,
the
General
Certificate
of
Secondary
Education,
is
the
main
examination
that
all
students should take at
the age of 16.
48. GCE A level, the
General Certificate of Education Advanced level,
is an examination for “sixth
for
m” students who want to
go to universities.
49.
Of
all
the
English
universities
Oxford
University
and
Cambridge
University
are
the
most
well-
known.
50. The service /tertiary
industry employs about three-fourths of the
working population in the
UK.
51. Visiting bars is the most commonly
pursued outdoor leisure activity for Britons.
52. The top-level football matches in
the UK are played at Premier League.
53. Cricket is among the most typical
English sports, which has been in existence since
the 16th
century.
54.
The
Boy
Scout
Association
and
the
Girl
Guides
Association
are
the
largest
voluntary
organisations
in
the
UK
to
promote
the
personal
development
and
social
education
of
young
people.
55.
All employees in the UK have the right to a
minimum of 4 weeks annual paid leave.
56. You can often get a cheaper ticket
you place an order in advance or for a particular
day of the
week.
57. In the
UK you can visit many theme parks near the seaside
or in the rural areas as well as
many
country parks and National Parks.
58.
Most people who come to visit the UK are from
Western Europe.
59. English Heritage is
a government funded agency to protect and manage
about 400 historical
buildings
and
archaeological
sites
in
Britain.
The
Biodiversity
Action
Plan
aims
at
further
conservation
of
plants
and
wildlife
while
the
Local
Heritage
Initiative
protects
local
sites
and
traditions.
60. Good Friday
falls on the Friday before the week of Easter.
61. Easter is traditionally associated
with the Resurrection of Christ, the eating of
Easter eggs and
the coming of spring.
62. May Day Holiday is not necessarily
May 1st in the UK.
63. Traditionally,
people gave Christmas gifts or money to their
staff or servants on Boxing Day,
which
is the day after Christmas.
64. By far
the majority of crimes committed in Britain
involve violence against property.
65.
Scotland
Yard
is
the
headquarters
of
the
London
Metropolitan
Police
Force,
which
is
nicknamed “Bobby”.
66. A barrister has to be called to the
Bar before going through the year of pupilage.
67. The church in England was under the
authority of the Roman Catholic Church in the
Middle
Ages.
68. In Northern
Ireland, the dominant group is made up by Roman
Catholics.
69. The person who says “Not
believing in God is a belief in itself” and “I was
no
t, I have been, I
am not,
I don’t mind” may be an atheist.
70. In the United Kingdom, free medical
care for everyone and financial help for the old,
the sick
and the unemployed, which have
been available since 1948, are the foundation of
the welfare
state.
71. Full
employment was a policy adopted by the Labour
Party.
72. The Beveridge Report of 1942
contributed to the transformation of the UK into a
high welfare
state.
73.
India was regarded as “the jewel in the Crown” of
the British Empire.
74. The
Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen. He sits
in the House of Commons. He receives
more than
￡
80,000
a year.
75. The ultimate authority for
law-making resides in the House of Commons.
76. Britain’s foreign trade nowadays is
mainly dealt with EU countries.
77. The main agricultural products in
Britain are wheat, barley, potatoes, sugar-beets
and oats.
78. The Liberal Party, the
third largest party of the United Kingdom,
developed from the Whig
Party in 1839.
79.
The
UK
is
the
first
country
to
establish
the
Parliament;
the
first
country
to
undergo
the
Industrial revolution; with the most
important language in the world.
80.
The government in the UK is not a presidential
democracy.
81. The United Kingdom is a
constitutional monarchy which began in the 9th
century.
82. The House of Commons is
chaired by Speaker, while the House of Lords is
headed by Lord
Chancellor.
82. The house of Lords is the highest
court in the UK.
83.
The
local
government
in
Britain
can
be
divided
into
three
layers:
county
councils,
district
councils, and
community /parish councils at the lowest level.
84. The UK is divided into
659constituencies with each of them represented by
a member in the
parliament.
85. A councillor represents a ward of
about 1200 people at county level.
86.
The Tories were later called the Conservative
Party while the Whigs later became the Liberal
Democrats.
87.
BBC,
British
Broadcasting
Corporation,
was
set
up
in
1926
and
was
a
public
service.
Its
External Service broadcasts
in 43 languages and its World Service
enjoys a weekly audience of
150 million
in 2000.