英美国家概况知识点整理.doc

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Country UK Ireland Australia New Zealand American Canada Language English Irish English English Maori English English French English Original people Celtics The Aborigines Maori Indians Aboriginal Capital London ... Dublin Canberra Wellington Washington D. C. Ottawa Largest country 6th 2th Government parliamentary democracy & constitutional monarchy Washminster 3 Parliament 3 Constitution Federal system Washminster The united Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Contain 50 or more countries Commonwealth of Nations (50) → European Union (28) England London capital cultural, business, financial center Celtics original people Roman Empire combine the small kingdoms into a united one called England Anglo-Saxon Viking and Danish Norman Charles the First’s attempt to overrule parliament civil war Scotland Edinburgh capital Glassgow largest Gaelic Wales Cardiff capital Welsh Northern Ireland “The Six Counties” Belfast capital Conflict ethnically distinct from the majority of British people Geographically North and South of Ireland Religiously Protestant and Catholics Most Irish people remained Catholics, while most British people had become Protestant 1921 the southern 26 counties formed an independent “free state”, while the 6 north- eastern counties remained a part of the UK Jurisdiction : the Republic of Ireland Great Britain its own elected executive government of ten ministers Government The process of stated-building has been one of evolution rather than revolution Both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy Queen is the official head of state Governor- General fulfill the role of monarch in Australia, Canada, New Zealand Israel and Britain are the only two counties without written constitutions of the sort with most countries have Monarchy The oldest institution of government The “divine right of kings” authority from God Civil war between republican “Roundheads” led by Oliver Cromwell King should not exercise absolute power → symbolize the tradition and unity of the British state Queen non-political 1. Head of the executive 2. An intergral part of the legislature 3. Head of the judiciary 4. Commander in chief of the armed forces and “supreme governor” of the Church of England Parliament First used officially in 1236 to describe the gathering of feudal barons and representatives from counties and towns 1689 William of Orange the Bill of Rights → Function : pass laws, vote for taxation, examine government, debate the major issues Consist of the Queen, the House of Lords, the House of Commons (sovereign) (The real center of British political life) The House the Lords : the Lords Spiritual & the Lords Temporal Serve their country Do not receive salaries and many do not attend Parliament at all The House of Commons : 646 Members of Parliament (MPs) Most belong to political parties : Labour, the Conservatives, the Liberal Democrats Election 650 constituencies 5 years general election Economy 6th largest economy A member of the G7,G8,G-20, the World Trade Organization By the 1880s the British economy was dominant in the world Decline 1. War debt 2. The independence of colonies 3. Substantial and expensive military presence 4. Failure to invest sufficiently industry Britain has seen a relative shrinking of the importance of secondary industry and a spectacular growth in tertiary or service industries Literature time writer Work Early time Anglo-Saxon times Beowulf old English Geoffrey Chaucer The Canterbury Tales Middle English Thomas Malory Le Morte D’Arthur (Death of Arthur) Elizabethan Drama (the Renaissance) Marlowe The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus William Shakespeare tragedy Romeo and Juliet Hamlet Othello King Lear Macbeth comedy The Taming of the Shrew A midsummer Night’s Dream Twelfth Night The Tempest 17th Francis Bacon Essays John Milton Paradise Lost 18th Jonathan Swift Gulliver’s Travels Daniel Defoe Robinson Crusoe Romantic Period William Wordsworth Samuel Taylor Coleridge Lyrical Ballads “Declaration of Independence” George Gordon,Lord Byron John Keats Percy Bysshe Shelley Brought the Romantic Movement 19th Jane Austen Sense and Sensibility Pride and Prejudice Emma Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre Emily Bronte Wuthering Heights Charles Dickens Oliver Twist Robert Louis Stevenson Thomas Hardy Tess of the D’Urbervilles 20th D. H. Lawrence Sons and Lovers E. M. Forster Howard’s End Education Voluntary → compulsory Church → the state ( the Ministry of Education) Age Education Up to age 5 Pre-primary schooling in nursery schools, daycare, or play groups 5 to 11 State sector primary schools 11 to 19 Secondary schools 11-16 Comprehensive schools general education Grammar schools “the 11-puls” academic potential 16 GCSE exams (Northern Irish and Welsh) Quit school and find a job Prepare to sit exams for university entrance Vocational training 16-18 A-levels exams 19- University UK has only one privately funded university, the University of Buckingham The Open University offers a non-traditional route for people to take university level courses and receive a university degree Oxford the oldest university in UK Sports Tennis Wimbledon a London suburb world’s best players gather to compete Invented in Britain Golf Invented in Scottish Horse Racing The true sport of British Kings (and Queens) Holidays Holiday Date Information New Year’s Day Jan. 1st Valentine’s Day Feb. 14th Easter Day Sun. B 3.22-4.25 The most important Christmas festival The Easter egg & Easter Bunny/Hare April Fool’s Day Apr. 1st Mother’s Day 2nd Sun. in May Father’s Day 3rd Sun. in June Halloween Oct. 31st Trick-or-treating & jack-o-lanterms Thanksgiving Day 4th Thur. in Nov. Christmas Dec. 25th The biggest and the best loved British holiday Commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ 1. Christmas Pantomime 2. Hear the Queen give her Christmas message to her realm over the television and radio Boxing Day Dec. 26th Traditionally, people gave Christmas gifts or money to their staff or servants, but now, shopping National Holidays 2nd Sat. in June Queen’s Birthday Celebrated by “Trooping the Color” Buckingham Palace Bonfire Night In early autumn England St Patrick’s Day March 17th Northern Ireland Shamrock (clover) & wear something green Hogmanay Dec. 31st Scotland New Year’s Eve Eisteddfod Aug. 1st- 9th ? Wales Music, literature, performance Spread the language of Wales Ireland 7000 BC middle Stone Age period the earliest settlers arrived 6th century BC Celts their language proved the most lasting An instrument of social and cultural unity & a legal system 5th century Christianity brought by Saint Patrick The Vikings The Normans 1541 Henry Ⅷ declared himself King of Ireland - the first English monarch 1789 the French Revolution “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity” 1798 rebellion 1870-1914 Home Rule by Isaac Butt 1905-1908 Sinn Fein 1916.4 the Easter Rising 1919-1921 the War of Independence Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed , with the result that 26 counties gained independence as the new Irish Free State Education Irish education was undertaken by various religious orders, mostly Roman Catholic Dominant religious belief All children in the Republic must learn the Irish language The University of Dublin, Trinity College, is the oldest university in the State which don’t need to learn Irish Art culture riverdance Australia 6th largest country in the world The largest island in the world The smallest, flattest and driest continent in the world 50th most populous country in the world Sydney largest city Tasmania smallest state New South Welsh populous state James Cook named it West Australia the largest state Animal: platypus, kangaroo,koala, wombat Two most distinctive physical features: the Great Diving Range & The Great Barrier Reef “The Father of Australia” Lachlan Macquarie the Governor of NSW A member of the APEC, G20, OECD, WTO organization There is now a much higher proportion of settlers arriving from Asia although Anglo Australia migrants still predominate The peoples People of Dreaming “The Dreaming” or ”The Dreamtime” is the most enduring religion in Australia today People who live on the continent have special responsibilities to the land - that the land owns people, creating and providing everything The Dreaming is the belief system from ancient times that has bound indigenous groups together Terra Nullius British who took over the country in the late 18th century, declaring it to be “terra nullius” Australia as a penal colony The impact of Colonisation 1. Expropriation of land and the killing of the peoples 2. Segregation and protection 3. Assimilation destroy the culture of the Dreaming 4. Citizenship and the fight against racism Religion Christianity The Dreaming most enduring Protestantism most dominant Buddhism is now the fastest growing belief system in Australia Islam, Hinduism, Judaism Sport The principal games a form of football ARL, AFL, RU, soccer The most popular game netball The second most popular fishing Other games and sports cricket, hockey, basketball, beach volleyball, athletics, swimming The Formation of the Australian Political System Washminster US Political structure is based on a Federation of States Has a three-tier system of government The House of Representatives (the Lower House) & the Senate (the Upper House) UK The chief executive is a Prime Minister Two houses of parliament Headed by the Governor-General The members of parliament generally belong to one of the two major political parties: The Australia Labour Party (ALP) & the Coalition the Liberals & the Nationals Services 1st Tourism Most popular tourist features: the Great Barrier Reef, Ulura Kakadu and the key city attractions and beaches of Sydney, the Gold Coast, and the other metropolitan centers 2nd Coal and iron ore 3rd Education New Zealand Aotearoa : another name, means “land of the long white cloud” The North Island and the South Island are separated by Cook Strait Auckland the largest urban area Mt. Cook the highest mountain In colloquial English, a Kiwi, capitalized, means a New Zealander 80% European ancestry 15% Maori 7% from the Pacific Islands Christianity is the most common religion Maoritanga Means “Maori culture” Maori : the original inhabitant of New Zealand are the largest non-European group, however, in recent years, Maori culture and perspectives have experienced a sort of renaissance Although some Maori still live in their tribal areas, over 80% of the Maori population live in urban areas The best known internationally of all Maori traditions is the haka History 1000 years ago voyagers from East Polynesia settled there 1642 first European explorer Abel Tasman found it 1840 over 500 chiefs signed the Treaty of Waitangi Government Governed by a democratically elected parliament The Head of State is the British monarch Queen Elizabeth II represented by a Governor-General The House of Representatives : the National Party & the Labour Party The Prime Minister chooses up to 20 MPs to form the Cabinet Education Compulsory between the ages of 6 and 16 Age Education 2-4 Kindergartens 5-6 Infant classes 6-12 Primary school 12- Secondary school 9 universities & 22 polytechnics the Correspondence School the largest school the Open Polytechnic the biggest education provider Economy Agriculture The world’s largest farm A world leader in agriculture research and advisory services Pastoral farming remains the main land use Forestry & Fishing Constitute new natural resource-based industries with exciting potential for further development Overseas Trade New Zealand lives by trade American Two long-continuing immigration movements : Asia (Indians) & Europe and Africa 1492 Columbus found The first new force was the development of capitalism The second major force is the Renaissance The third influential force was the Religious Reformation The first English permanent settlement was founded in 1607 in Virginia 1619 two events 1. A start of election 2. A start of Negroes being brought to US Puritan New England was established in Massachusetts Catholic Maryland Quaker Pennsylvania 1773 “Boston Tea Party” 1774 the First Continental Congress met in Philadelphia 1775 the first shot thus the American War of Independence began July 4,1776 Declaration of Independence proclaimed the independence of 13 North American colonies 1781 the War of Independence came to an end 1789 Washington began to set up the new federal government and frame his administration 1861 Civil War broke out 1865 ended Constitution Set up a federal system one in which power is shared between a central authority and its constituent parts, with some rights reserved to each Legislative Branch the Congress The only branch that can make federal laws, levy federal taxes, declare war or put foreign treaties into effect The House of Representatives & the Senate The main duty of the Congress is to make laws, including those which levy taxes that pay for the work of the federal government Executive Branch the President four-year term only two terms Commander-in-chief of the armed forces Under the Constitution, the president is primarily responsible for foreign relations with other nations Judicial Branch the Supreme Court : a chief justice & eight associate justices Checks and Balances Two major political p

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