英语国家概况考试复习要点

英语国家概况复习要点

Part One UK

The Country

1.

Different Names for Britain and its Parts

Name

：

England

Britain

Great Britain (GB/G.B.)

British Isles

British Empire

The Commonwealth

The United Kingdom(The UK)

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Parts

：

England

Scotland

Wales

Northern Ireland

2. Official name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Geographically, the British Isles includes Great Britain, the whole of Ireland, and

all the offshore islands

Politically, the British Isles is made up of U.K. and Republic of Ireland.

3. the highest mountain in Britain

：

Ben Nevis(

本尼维斯山

)

the largest mountain range in Britain

：

the Grampians

（格兰扁山脉）

4.

the longest river

：

The Severn River (

塞文河

)

The most important river in Britain and the second longest river:

Thames

（泰晤士河）

5. the largest lake in Britain

：

Lough Neagh

（内伊湖）

( Northern Ireland)

6. Backbone of

England

：

the Pennies

（奔宁山脉）

The people

first known settlers of Britain were the Iberians.

人们所知的英国最早居民是伊比利来人。

of Modern English race?

The earlist people known in Britain were nomads

（游牧者）

from mainland Europe

in the Old Stone Age

（

旧石器时代）

,followed by Neolithic

（

新石器时代）

Iberians

（伊比利亚人

) and the Beaker Folk(

比克人）

in the Bronze Age

（青铜器时代）

contributions made by Anglo-Saxons to the English state?

①

.established 'Old English'

②

.laid the foundations of the English state

③

. divided the country into shires

④

. created the 'Witan' to advise the King(the basis of the Cabinet)

ent invaders?

First invasion

—

In 55 BC, Julius Caesar

Second

—

Caesar's second raid in 54 BC

Third

and

final

—

In

43

AD,

Emperor

Claudius,

final

and

successful

Roman

invasion of Britain (recorded)

Left

—

In

410,

Germanic

barbarian

attack

Rome,

forcing

Roman

troops

to

leave

Britain, and thus ending its occupation of the island

History

9.

Who is known as

“ the father of the British navy”

?

Sir Francis Drake

10. The Norman Conquest and its consequences

The Norman Conquest (1066-1071)

Fuse: Edward ruled for 24 years and died in January, 1066. Harold was chosen to

1

be king. William, Duke of Normandy, heard the news of Harold

’

s coronation, he got

very

angry

and

claimed

that

he

had

the

sole

right

to

be

king

of

England

because

Edward

had

promised

the

crown

to

him

and

that

Harold

had

promised

to

help

him

become king of England. Duke William led army and landed on the coast. The two

armies met at Hastings.

Consequences

：

?

It increased the process of feudalism.

?

William established a strong monarchy in England.

?

He introduced new ideas in laws.

?

It brought changes in the church.

?

The French language came along with the Normans.

11.

When was the feudal system established in England?

（封建制度）

Under William, the feudal system was completely established.

Medieval Britain (1066-1485)

12. Who signed Great Charter?

King John

（签署大宪章）

13. Great Charter (time, contents, nature)

Time: Magna Carta 1215

Contents:

（内容）

A. the king was not to exact payments from the feudal vassals without their consent;

B. the laws were not to be modified by the arbitrary action of the king;

C. should the king attempt to free himself from law, the vassals had the right to force

the king to obey it, by civil war or by otherwise.

Nature:

a feudal document

14.

The Hundred Years’ War

①

. Time: intermittently from 1337 to 1453

②

. Countries: France and Britain

③

. Factors: partly territorial and partly economic

The English kings wanted to get back the lost land in France.

The economic interests of England and France clashed in Flanders.

New national consciousness of England

④

.

Fuse:

French

throne

suc cession

——

Edward

III

claimed

the

French

Crown.

The

French refused to recognize the claim.

⑤

.Three outstanding stages of the war

A. At first the English were brilliantly successful.

B. Henry V renewed the war in 1415 and he was recognized to the French throne in

1420.

C.

After

Henry

V

’

s

death

in

1422,

the

French,

encouraged

by

Joan

of

Arc,

their

national heroine, drove the English out of France.

⑥

. Two decisive reasons for French to win:

effective use of guns &

“

Joan of Arc

”

⑦

.Significance:

The war was very expensive and it cost the English great deal of death, wealth and

property, thus the feudal rule was weakened in the war.

⑧

.Effects of the war:

After this war, the ruling Normans began to:

A. regard England as their home.

2

B. regard themselves as belongings to the English nation.

C. reestablish English (language) as their official language.

D. make effort to try to develop their industry

(The expulsion of the English from France is regarded as a blessing for both countries;

the

superior

size

and

wealth

of

France

would

have

hindered

the

development

of

separate English national identity, while French national identity was hindered so long

as a foreign power occupied so much French territory.)

15.

The War of Roses (1455--1485)

①

. Rival groups

：

the House of Lancaster & the House of York

②

. The name of the war

：

The Lancastrians wore the badge of the red rose and the

Yorkists wore the badge of the white rose, so the war got such a name.

③

. Nature of the war

：

feudal civil war, for power and wealth, for the possession of the

Crown

④

.Reason

：

In

the

Hundred

Years’

War,

the

loss

was

great.

So

the

war

-like

nobles

wanted

to

recoup for the loss, thus they all wanted to get power. The English nobles began to be

divided and began to support different groups, in such a situation, the war broke out.

At that time, the House of Lancaster was in power and Henry VI(1422-1461) was the

king and the House of York wanted to displace the House of Lancaster.

⑤

.

Result:

The

Yorkist

got

complete

victory,

House

of

York

约克王朝

(1461-1485)

but

a

third

House,

the

House

of

Tudor

got

the

power.

Henry

VII

became

the

king.

So

a

new

important Dynasty began in English history.

⑥

.

Consequence

：

Henry Tudor won (descendant of Duke of Lancaster)

Although

the

Wars

of

the

Roses

were

waged

intermittently

for

30

years,

ordinary

people were little affected. From these wars feudalism

received its death blow. The

great medieval nobility was much weakened and discredited. The king’s power no

w

became supreme. This war shook off much of the feudal burden, so it paved way for

the development of capitalism.

16. The English Reformation

①

. Reasons

A.

The

church

of

the

Middle

Ages

had

not

been

only

a

religious

body,

but

also

a

political and legal power as well. The greed and laziness of the church hindered the

social and political progress of England.

B.

Henry

VIII

had

trouble

in

his

divorce.

He

realized

that

foreign

interference

in

England must be stopped.

②

. Course

A. By a special act by parliament , Henry divorced and

broke with the Pope.

B. In 1534, Act of Supremacy: Henry became the head of the English Church.

③

.Effects

A.

English

Church

became

independent

of

Rome.

The

Roman

Catholic

church

was

international, the English Church was strictly national.

B. The new landlords formed a new class--- a new nobility.

C. Those who want to change any part of the faith were called Protestants.

D. Henry’s trust in Parliament allowed the House of Commons to develop rapidly.

④

.Nature

3

The

struggle

between

the

English

Church

&

Catholicism

was

essentially

a

struggle

between

the

new

“nobility”

of

money

&

bourgeoisie

on

the

one

hand

and

the

remnants of feudalism on the other.

⑤

.

People involved

A. Edward VI(1547-1553): king after Henry

Ⅷ

’s death

B. “Bloody”

Mary(1553-1558):daughter of Catherine, reestablished Catholicism and

burnt three hundred Protestants.

C. Elizabeth I (1558-1603): Queen after Mary, restored Anglican Church.

17. Renassaince in England is largely literary. Important repersentatives?

Distinguished Representatives

：

A. Sir Thomas More, the greatest English humanist, “Utopia”

m

Shakespeare(1564-1616)greatest

dramatist

,

37

comedies,

tragedies

and

histories

C. poetry----Spenser, Sidney, Shakespeare & Donne

D. John Milton

’

s

Paradise Lost

, 1667

E. English materialism---Francis Bacon(1561-1626)also a statesman& an essayist

18.

Civil War (1642-1649)

（内战）

①

.Background of

the war

（战争的背景）

The

absolutist

rule

of

Charles

I

aroused

the

resistance

of

the

people

and

the

bourgeoisie, Charles took counteraction, the war broke out.

②

. Groups of the war

A. Roundheads--supporters of Parliament

free farmers; tradesmen; craftsmen

B. Cavaliers/Royalists-- King

’

s supporters

Catholics; feudal lord

③

.Consequence

1649,

Charles

’

army

was

defeated,

he

was

beheaded;

in

May

1649,

England

was

declared a Commonwealth

（共和政府时期）

.

In 1653, Cromwell was made Lord Protector

（护国公）

for life and started his military

dictatorship openly. The Commonwealth became the Protectorate

（摄政时期）

and

Parliament was dissolved. He became a

“

king< /p>

”

in all but name.

19.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688

（

1688

After three years’ struggle, the Whig and Tory leaders at last united against James II.

Being afraid of another revolution, the leaders of the two parties planned a coup Detat.

In June 1688, the leaders of Parliament invited William of Holland to come and take

the throne. William landed with army and he was so welcomed that James II ran away

to France. William and Mary were then crowned as joint rulers. This was known in

history as The Glorious Revolution.

20. Whigs and Tories

（辉格党和保守党）

The Roundheads

—

The Whigs

—

The Liberal Party

The Cavaliers

—

The Tories

—

The Conservative Party

21. The Industrial Revolution (1780-1830)

（工业革命）

①

.Definition

（定义）

During

the

latter

half

of

the

eighteenth

century,

a

rapid

series

of

extensive

changes

began, especially in the field of manufacturing. There were so many new inventions

that the whole series of changes is often described as the “Industrial

Revolution”.

4

②

. Inventions

（发明）

A. In 1750s iron smelting was revolutionized.

B. In 1769, the steam engine was created by James Watt.

C. In 1785, the power loom the application of power to machinery

D. The use of iron and coal

E. In 1764, the Spinning Jenny was invented

G

. In 1814, the first successful steam locomotive

③

. Consequences of the Industrial Revolution

（工业革命的后果）

A. The Industrial Revolution was not only a technological revolution but also a great

social upheaval. It exerted a great influence on both British society and the world.

B.

The

Industrial

Revolution

promoted

the

development

of

production.

It

began

to

produce large quantity of low- priced goods in a more efficient manner.

C. New cities came into being; population increased; the home market was enlarged.

D. British goods almost achieved a monopoly situation in the world market. It laid a

foundation for the “ factory of the world”.

E. A factory system was established. Workers were employed and managers became

capitalists.

F. Two conflicting classes were born .

G

．

A series of important inventions in the textile industry marked the beginning of

Industrial Revolution:

（工业革命）

?

Spinning Jenny

珍妮纺纱机

?

Spinning mule

走锭细纱机

?

Power loom

动力纺纱机

?

Steam engine

蒸汽机

H

．

Means of transportation

（交通方式）

?

canals were dug to ship goods

?

the locomotive invented in 1814

?

the first railway completed in 1825

?

large merchant fleet

I

．

By

the

middle

of

19th

century,

the

Industrial

Revolution

was

accomplished

in

Britain

J

．

Its influence

：

Britain changed in many ways

（

1

）

dramatically increased industrial productivity

（

2

）

the process of urbanization

（

3

）

changes in class structure

（

4

）

The conflict between the capitalists and the proletarians

—

the most important

political issue

22.

James Watt’s steam engine in 1765.

Government and Politics

23. constitutional monarchy, the head of state is a king or a queen.

君主立宪制国家

,

国家的首脑是国王或女王。

24.

the monarch is supposed to reigns but not rule.

To reign but not to rule: perform ceremonial duties; symbolic

25.

three elements of parliament

（议会组成）

The Crown

The House of Lords

The House of Commons

5