英语国家概况——名词解释

The Collection of the Important Terms (1-34)

wealth

：

It

is

a

free

association

of

independent

countries

that

were

once

colonies

of

Britain.

It

has

no

special

powers. And the nations are united because of economic reasons. Under the Commonwealth, the nations

develop.

2 .The Chunnel

：

In 1985 the British government and French government decided to build a channel tunnel, which is called

“Chunnel”, under the Straits of Dover so that England and France could be joined together by road. The

Chunnel was open to traffic in May 1994.

3. Cockney

：

It refers to the person from the East of London. He is a Londoner who is born within the sound of Bow Bell.

He has a special accent in his speech.

dfod

：

Eisteddfod is the Welsh word for “sitting” Na

tional Eidteddfod is the most famous festival of music and

verse in Wales. It takes place each August and lasts for about a week. The highlight of the festival is

competition for the best epic poem about Wales written and read in Welsh. The winner is crowned Board,

considered the supreme honour in Wales. In this way the Welsh people keep the Welsh language and

culture alive.

enge

：

It is a group of huge monuments of grant rock Slabs on salisbury plain in Southwest England built as long

ago as the New Stone Age. It is generally believed that stonehenge served some sort of religious purposes.

6. Beaker Folk

：

they were the people came to Britain from central Europe at about 2000BC. They were so called because

they were fond of drinking and buried themselves in the bell-shaped beer container

. They developed their

own farming society.

Celts

：

The Celts came to Britain in three main waves. The first wave were the Gales, the second wave were the

Brythons

and

the

Belgae

came

about

150BC.

The

Celts

were

practised

farmers.

The

Celtic

tribes

are

ancestors of the Highland Scots, the Irish and the Welsh, And their languages are the basis of both Welsh

and Gaelic. They religion was Druidism.

8. St. Augustine

：

In 597,Pope Gregory I sent St. Augustine, the Prior of St. Andrew’s Monastery in Rome, to England to

convert

the

heathen

English

to

Christianity.

That

year

,

St.

Augustine

became

the

first

Archbishop

of

Canterbury.

Augustine

was

remarkably

successful

in

converting

the

king

and

the

nobility,

but

the

conversion of the common people was largely due to the missionary activities of the monks in the north.

9. Alfred the Great

：

He was king of Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms. It was he who led the Anglo- Saxon to

flight against the invading Danes and maintained peace for a long time. Alfred was not only a brave king at

wartime, but also a wise king at peacetime. He encouraged education and introduced a legal system. He

is known as “the father of the British navy”.

w

：

It refers to the piece of land of England under the control of the Danish in the 9th century. The Danish and

the Vikings capture York, an important center of Christianity. They could not conquer Alfred and had to

stay in the north and east.

danegeld

：

It was the tax collected in 10th century. When Viking invaded England, the

King Ethelred the Unready tried paying the invaders to stay away. The Dane received the money but grew

greedier

. This marked the decline of Anglo-Saxon kingdom.

Conquest

：

The Norman Conquest of 1066 is perhaps the best-known event in English history. William the conqueror

confiscated almost all the land and gave it to his Norman followers. He replaced the weak Saxon rule with

a strong Norman government. So the feudal system was completely established in England.

13. Domesday Book

：

It was the first survey of land in Britain under William to strengthen his

rule. It aimed at getting taxes. It was one of the important measures adopted by William I to establish the

full feudal system in England. Today, it is kept in the Public Records Office in London.

law

：

It was an unwritten law common to people in Britain. It is also called “Case law ” since it was based on

former judgments and customs. It appeared under Henry

Ⅱ

and now it has become part of British law of

sources.

system

：

It was a system replaced old English and Norman way of trial in Henry II’s day. At that time a jury was

composed of twelve men and the jurors’ function was to act as wit

nesses not to hear evidences and give

verdict. Now the jury decides the issue of guilt or innocence.

ey Chaucer

：

He was an important English poet in the fourteenth century. His best known is The Canterbury Tales,

which describes a group of pilg

rims traveling to Canterbury to visit Thomas Becket’s tomb. Because he

was the first important English poet to write in English. He has been known as the “Father of English

Poetry”.

Carta

：

It was also called the barons’ Charter or the Great Cha

rter in has many clause but the important

one was that only the Grand Council could decide to collect money or not. And it has long been regarded

as the foundation of English liberties but its spirit was to limit the king’s power

.

d Year

s’ War

：

It

refers

to

the

fight-and

cease

war

between

France

and

England

that

lasted

for

more

than

120

years.(1337-457) The causes were partly territorial and partly economic. After three stages of the war was

over

, the English were driven out of France with only Calais in hand. The ending of the war is regarded as

a blessing for both countries.

Death

：

It was a disease or plague spread by rat fleas in 14th cen. It spread through Europe. Many people died

and the population of England shrank. It caused labor shortage and other social problems.

of Roses

：

It was a barons’ war in 15th century in England. War of roses was so called because the warring sides

used white & red roses as their families symbols. And the War lasted for decades/ many years. Many local

nobles died and the feudal system got a heavy blow.

Dynasty:

：

It refers to the dynasty established by Henry Tudor after the War of Roses. Five Tudor monarchs ruled

England and Wales for just over two hundred years. In a short time span they achieve a great deal. Henry

VIII’s and Elizabeth I are significant monarchies in English history.

English Reformation

：

It is a religious reform started in England during Henry VIII’’s rule. It was a gradual reform which lasted for

years. As Henry became the Supreme Head of the Church of England, the Church of England was thought

as a national church, especially after Bloody Mary, Protestantism and nationalism meant the same.

Mary

：

It is the nickname given to Mary I, the English Queen who succeeded to the throne after Henry VIII. She

was a devout Catholic and had so many Protestants burnt to death that she is remembered less by her

official title Mary I by her nickname Blood Mary.

Armada

：

It was the name for the Spanish fleet in the 16th century. As Mary Stuart of Scots was killed, the Spanish

king sent his Armada to invade England. But it was defeated by the English at English Channel. Ever since

then, England began to control the sea for many years and its Reformation survived.

sance

：

It was the revival of classical literature and artistic styles in European history. It was the transitional period

between the Middle-Ages and modern times,. It was period of significant achievement and changes.

English Renaissance

：

It was the rebirth of classical literature and artistic styles in English history in 15th -17th century. It had its

own characteristics. And many great minds were produced.

eth Drama

：

It refers to the literature form appeared under Elizabeth I. It began to excel only in the last decade of the

16th century and reached its height in the first 15 years of the 17th century. Its finest exponents were

Marlowe, Johnson and Shakespeare.

peare

：

William Shakespeare was a dramatist and poet during the English Renaissance. He wrote many (37) plays,

such as Merchant of Venice, Romeo and Juliet, and Hamlet , and Sonnets. He is generally regarded as the

greatest writer in the English language

der Plot

：

It

was

a

secret

plan

of

the

Roman

Catholics

to

overthrow

James

1.

The

Catholics

planted

barrels

of

gunpowder in the cellars of the House to kill James 1 but the plan failed. Now it is celebrated as a national

holiday.

m Fathers

：

They were a small group of the first puritans who came to America in 1620 in a ship called Mayflower

.

They escaped religious persecution and wanted to

practice

their religion in other places. At last, they

founded Britain’s first settlement in the New World.

Civil Wars

：

It refers to the wars between Charles I and parliament in the 17th century in England. The wars had two

stages. After the wars were over

, Charles I was beheaded and a Commonwealth was established. It is also

called the Puritan Revolution and generally regarded as the beginning of modern world history.

Glorious Revolution

：

It was a takeover or palace coup d’etate with no blood shed in 1688. When James II hoped to rule as a

Catholic, the English politicians rejected James II, and appealed to a Protestant king, William of Orange,

to invade and take the English throne. James II was forced to leave Britain. William and Mary who were

the relatives of James II took power as joint monarchy.

Bill of Rights of 1689

：

It refers to the law accepted by William and Mary after the Glorious Revolution. It includes: no Roman

Catholic

can

be

a

monarchy,

parliament

hav

more

powers

than

the

Monarchy

and

free

speech

in

parliament. It marked the beginning of constitutional monarchy in England.

arianism

：

A theory in the early 19th century which wanted governments to help majority of people happy. And the

governments must reform to be efficient & not to interfere people’s lives.

z faire

：

It was an economic theory. Later

, it became a radical idea of free trade of the economic policies of Britain

in the 18th cen. Because they believe that the import and export duties interfered with the natural flow of

trade.

Enclosure Acts

：

It was the policy in 18th century. Wealthier landowners were allowed to seize any land to which tenants

prove no legal title and to divide it into enclosed fields. It became more frequent after the mid-40s and

climaxed during the turn of the century .It had good as well as bad results.

Industrial Revolution

：

It refers to the use of machines in industry and the social and economic changes in Britain in the late 18th

and

early

19th

century.

The

real

‘

revolution’

happened

in

textiles.

Britain

was

by

19th

century

the

‘ workshop of the world:”

Chartist Movement

；

A proletarian movement or campaign in the 19th century in Eng. It was to call for political changes. The

People’s Charter was put forward during the movement. But it ended in a failure.

Suffragettes

：

It was the militant feminist movement led by Mrs. Pankhurst before the First World War

. Women’s position

in the society was gradually improved. Votes were granted to women over 30 as soon as the war was over

and to all women in the same terms as men ten years later

.

Beatles

：

It is the name of a band formed by four Liverpool boys in the sixties. They wrote their own music and

words,

using

“

beat”,

a

new

pop

culture.

They

won

the

affection

of

people

of

all

ages

and

social

backgrounds.

h Disease

：

It is the economic decline in Britain because of decades of balance of payment deficits. A lot of measures

were taken to cure it but all failed.

ianism

：

A theory of British economist Keynes. The main idea is to have full employment and low inflation. Though

it was welcome in the 50s and 60s, later it was rejected by the western countries.

erism

：

A theory by British Prime minister

, Thatcher in the 80s. The main idea is to privatize and to control inflation.

It also turned out to be a failure in “curing” British diseases;

tutional Monarchy

：

A political system in Britain. The head of the State is a king or a queen. In practice, the Sovereign reign,

but does not rule. It was established after the Glorious Revolution.

List

：

The money given to the monarchy. An annual grant to cover the expenditure/cost of the monarchy.3/4 of

it goes to the Royal Household. And the rest to meet the need for public duties.

Purse

：

The revenue/income of the Duchy of Lancaster

. It is used to cover the monarchy’s private expenditure.

And taxes should be paid.

cabinet

：

It refers to the group of the official Opposition in the British parliament. The party wins the second largest

number

of

seats

form

it.

The

aim

of

it

are

to

improve

the

party’s

public

image

by

actively

join

the

policy- making the parliament so as to win the next general election.

ment

：

It

is

the

legislative

branch

in

Britain.

The

term

“parliament”

originally

meant

a

meeting

for

parley

or

discussion.

It

appeared

in

1265.

It

consists

of

the

Sovereign,

the

House

of

Lords

and

the

House

of

Commons.

Service

：

It is the dept. to hire govt. servants. Civil servants have to pass examinations. And Civil Service grades

them.

Open Structure

：

It is the system of filling the senior levels of government posts with civil servants in Britain. There are

common grades throughout the Civil Service 1 to7 , which cover grades from Permanent Secretary level to

Principal level. Within the unified grades each post is filled by the person best qualified.

way offences

：

They are the crimes in Britain. The crimes can be either serious or minor depend on the consequences/

results. And they are tried at two courts: the magistrate & crown court..

：

It is the short form of the justices of the peace. They are also called lay magistrates and appointed on

behalf of the Crown by the Lord Chancellor

. The oldest appeared in the 14th cen.

e system

：

It is a system of govt. The govt. give money support to its citizens through its health centers and other

facilities. In Britain, it is funded out of national insurance contribution and taxes.

54..NHS

：

It is short form of National Health Service in Britain. It came into being in 1948. It is a largely free service.

And its money mainly comes from general taxes.

：

It is the short

form of a general practitioner in Britain. Sometimes he is known as a“ family doctor” since

he may visit patients’ houses. He treats patients but doesnot prepare medicine. He is self

-employed and

have contracts with the NHS.

social security system

：

It is the system to secure a basic standard o living for people needed money support in Britain. Large

amount of money goes to the system and benefits are contributory and non-contributory ones. In this

way , social stability is reached.

57..Contributory benefits

：

They are the kinds of benefits people receive through the social security system in Britain. They are so

called

because

people

have

to

pay

when

they

are

at

work

before

they

receive/gain.

They

include

retirement pension etc. The principle is to be mutually benefited.

of England

：

It is one of the two most important churches of Britain. It has strong connection/relation with politics. ex.

the Crown is its head. It has two provinces. And only Parliament can make changes to it./ its form

Salvation Army

：

It is the organization of the Methodist Church in Britain. William Booth is the founder and within Britain it

is second only to the Government as a provider of social services. It is served by hundreds of officers and

runs many worship centers.

mas

：

It

is

the

greatest

of

Christian

festivals

to

celebrate

the

birth

of

Christ

on

December

25th

every

year

.

Though it becomes too over- commercialized as to such a sacred holiday, still a great deal of genuine

Christmas spirit remains. During the day, common people observe the custom of giving gifts and the habit

of spending it with the family.

：

It is the chief/main Christian festival on the first Sunday after the first full moon. It is to celebrate the

rebirth of Christ. Easter eggs are eaten during the season. It is also closely associated with the coming of

spring.

school

：

It

refers

to

the

independent

schools

for

older

pupils

which

are

long-established

and

have

gained

a

reputation

for

their

high

academic

standards.

The

schools

are

single

sex

and

expensive.

Most

of

the

members of the British Establishment were educated at a public school.

Open University

：

It refers to a non-residential university based in Buckinghamshire. It is so called beca

use it is “ open” to all

to become students. Founding in 1969, it offers degrees and other courses for adult students of all ages in

Britain and the other member countries of the European Union.

ime

：

It is a kind of play based on a traditional fairy tale and performed at Christmas time. It is developed out of

dumb show with many forms such as dancing. Dan Leno was the one of the great pantomime actors. After

the First World War

. it began to decline.

Famine

：