自考英美国家概况总汇.doc

自考英美国家概况总汇

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英国部分

1.The Thames River
The Thames River is the second largest and most important river in
Britain. It is 336 KM long, rising in southwest England and flowing
through England and out into the North Sea. It flows rather slowly,
which is very favorable for water transportation.

2.The High Landers
They are the Scots who live in the mountainous regions of the Highlands
in Northern Scotland. They are a proud, independent and hardy people
who maintain their strong cultural identity. They mainly live by
farming sheep in mountain areas or fishing on the coasts and islands.

3.The British Commonwealth 英联邦
The British Empire was replaced by the British Commonwealth or the
Commonwealth of Nations in 1931.It 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 member nation. At present there are 50
members counties within the commonwealth
(1991).是曾为英国殖民地，但现在已经独立构成的自由联合体。

4.Cockney伦敦佬
A cockney is a Londoner who is born within the sound of Bow Bells-the
Bells of the church of St. Mary-LeBow in east London

5.Eisteddfodau
festivals of song and dance and poetry celebrated by the welsh through
the year. By this way the welsh keep the welsh language and welsh
culture alive.

6.The Maritime Climate 海洋性气候
The type of climate when winter is mild, not too cold and summer is
cool, not too hot, and it has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the
whole year.

7.The English Channel
A Channel that separates Britain from the rest of France is quite
narrow. A channel tunnel under this channel was built in 1994 to join
the two countries together.

8.The Chunnel英吉利海峡隧道
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.

9. London smog----In 1952, the sulphur dioxide in the four-day London
smog, an unhealthy atmosphere formed by mixing smoke and dirt with fog.
It left 4000 people dead or dying. Since then most cities in Britain
have introduced “clean air zones” whereby factories and households
are only allowed to burn smokeless fuel.

10.British isles
The British Isles is made up of two large islands and hundreds of small
ones. The two large islands are Great Britain and Ireland.

11.Stonehenge: 巨石阵
It is a circular group of large standing stones on Salisbury Plain,
Wiltshire, regarded as one of the most important monuments纪念碑 of
its kind in Europe, and very popular with visitors.

12.Thomas Becket
he was English churchman and statesman. he became Chancellor of England
under Henry II in 1155.he was appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in
1162.

13.Geoffrey Chaucer
He was an important English poet in the fourteenth century. His best
known is The Canterbury Tales, which describes a group of pilgrims
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”.

14.Joan of arc:圣女贞德
she was a national heroine of France during the hundred year’s war,
she successfully led the France to drive the English out of France.

15.lollards:罗拉德派
they were poor priests and traveling preachers who were john wyclif’s
followers. They played an important role in the mental preparations for
the peasant uprising of 1381.they preaching the equality of men before
god.

16.The Puritans清教徒
The Puritans were wealthy, well-educated gentlemen. They wanted to
purify the Church of England and threatened with religious persecution,
the Puritans leaders saw the New world as the a refuge provided by God
for those He meant to save.

17.Julius Caesar
He was a great Roman general. In 55BC and 54BC,he invaded Britain
twice. Because of the resistance of the British people, he withdrew
with hostages and prisoners. That's the beginning of the Roman
invasion.

18.The Hardrian's Wall
It was one of two great walls built by the Romans to keep the Picts out
of the area they had conquered.

19.Heptarchy七王国
During the Anglo-Saxon's time, Britain was divided into many kingdoms,
among which there were seven principal kingdoms of Kent, Essex, Sussex,
Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria. They were given the name
of Heptarchy.

20.St.Augustine
In 597,Pope Gregory I sent St.Augustine to England to convert the
English People to Christianity.He was very successful in converting the
king and the nobility. He was the first archbishop of Canterbury.

21.Witan 贤人会议
Witan was the council or meeting of the Wiseman. It was created by the
Anglo-Saxons to advise the king.It's the basis of the Privy Council
which still exists today.

22.Alfred the Great
Alfred was a strong king of Wessex. He defeated the Danes and reached a
friendly agreement with them. He founded a strong fleet and is known as
"The father of the British navy". He reorganized the Saxon army, making
it more efficient. He also translated books and established schools.
All this earned him the title "Alfred the Great".

23.William the Conqueror
William was Duke of Normandy. He landed his army in Oct.1066 and
defeated king Harold. Then he was crowned king of England on Christmas
Day the same year. He established a strong Norman government and the
feudal system in England.

24.The battle of Hastings
In 1066,King Edward died with no heir, the Witan chose Harold as king.
William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England. On October 14, the two
armies met near Hasting. After a day's battle, Harold was killed and
his army completely defeated. So this battle was very important on the
way of the Roman conquest.

25.The Danelaw 施行丹麦法的地区
By the middle of the ninth century, the Vikings and the Danes were
posing a threat to the Saxon kingdom of Wessex whose capital was
Winchester. Alfred, King of Wessex, was strong enough to defeat the
Danes and came to a relatively friendly agreement with them in 879.The
Danes gained control of the north and east of England(-"the
Danelaw"),while Alfred would rule the rest.
协议规定丹麦人控制英格兰北部和西部（丹麦法区），而阿尔弗雷德统治其它地区。

26.Norman 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.

27.Domesday Book
It is a book compiled by a group of clerks under the sponsorship of
King William the First in 1086. The book was in fact a property record.
It was the result of a general survey of England. It recorded the
extent, value, state of cultivation, and ownership of the land. 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.

28.The Black Death
It is a modern name given to the dearly bubonic plague, an epidemic
disease spread through Europe in the fourteenth century particularly in
1348-1349. It came without warning, and without any cue. In England, it
killed almost half of the total population, causing far-reaching
economic consequences.

29.the divine rights of kings君权神授
the theory that a king rules with the authority of god.

30.The Wars of Roses (考过)
the name Wars of the Roses was refer to the battles between the House
of Lancaster, symbolized by the read rose, and that of York, symbolized
by the white, from 1455 to 1485. Henry Tudor, descendant of Duke of
Lancaster won victory at Bosworth Field in 1485 and put ht country
under the rule of the Tudors. From these Wars, English feudalism
received its death blow. The great medieval nobility was much weakened.

31.the Spanish Armada:西班牙无敌舰队
the fleet sent to invade England by Philip II of Spain in 1588.

32.The Glorious Revolution of 1688
In 1685 Charles II died and was succeeded by his brother James II.
James was brought up in exile in Europe, was a Catholic. He hoped to
rule without giving up his personal religious vies. But England was no
more tolerant of a Catholic king in 1688 than 40 years ago. So the
English politicians rejected James II, and appealed to a Protestant
king, William of Orange, to invade and take the English throne. William
landed in England in 1688. The takeover was relatively smooth, with no
bloodshed, nor any execution of the king. This was known as the
Glorious Revolution.

33.The Gunpowder Plot of 1605火药阴谋案
The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was the most famous of the Catholic
conspiracies. On Nov. 5,1605, a few fanatical Catholics attempted to
blow King James and his ministers up in the House of Parliament where
Guy Fawkes had planted barrels of gun-powder in the cellars. The
immediate result was the execution of Fawkes and his
fellow-conspirators and imposition of severe anti-Catholic laws. The
long-term result has been an annual celebration on Nov. 5, when a
bonfire is lit to turn a guy and a firework display is arranged.

34.Blood 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.

35.rotten boroughs衰败选区
a parliamentary constituency which possessed the right to elect members
of parliament even though its population had dwindled or was
nonexistent.议会选民区都有权利去选举议会的成员即使它的人口已经下降或是不存在。

36.Mrs Pankhurst
british suffragette,she founded the women’s social and political
union, she died a month before women gained full voting equality with
men.

37.the league of nations国际联盟
an international organization of 1920—1946 set up after the first
world war to promote international cooperation and to achieve
international peace and security.

38.the blitz闪电战
an air attack,particularly the London blitz of 1940—1941.the world is
from the German “blitzkrieg”

39.the Beatles
one of britain’s most influential pop groups, first performing in
1959 in Liverpool.

40.Thatcherism
The election of 1979 returned the Conservative Party to power and
Margaret Thatcher became the first woman prime minister in Britain. Her
policies are popularly referred to as state-owned industries, the use
of monetarist policies to control inflation, the weaking of trade
forces unions, the strengthening of the role of market forces in the
economy, and an emphasis on law and order.

包括国有工业私有化，用货币政策控制通货膨胀，削弱工会，加强市场力量在经济中的作用，强调法律与秩序。

41.balance of payments收支平衡
it is the difference between the money from exports and the cost of
imports.

42.John Maynard Keynes
he was an influential British economist. Keynes maintained that
governments should use fiscal policy to stabilize the economy.

43.visible trade and invisible trade
visible trade is trade of goods such as machines while invisible trade
is trade of services such as banking and tourism.

44.European union欧盟EC stands for European community .EC is now
called European union(EU).it is an organization of 15 western European
countries that promotes cooperation among its members.

45.Monetarist policies(货币主义政策)
Since the American economy was plagued by stagflation, in the early
1980s, the traditional Keynesian theory (传统的凯恩斯理论)was
replaced by new monetarist, which sought to fight inflation by
increasing supply and reducing demand, On one hand ,taxes were cut to
increase economic dynamism. On the other hand, interest rates were
raised to reduce the supply of money.
增加供应，减少需求来打击通货膨胀。一方面，减少税收增加经济活力；另一方面，增加利率减少货币支出。

46.The Trade Union Act of 1871
It legalized the trade unions and give financial security. It meant
that in law there was no difference between money for benefic purposes
and collecting it to support strike action.
使工会合法化，并给其财政保障。这意味着从法律上而言，为福利募集资金与为罢工募集资金毫无二至。

47.Agribusiness农业产业
The new farming has been called “agribusiness”, because it is
equipped and managed like an industrial business with a set of inputs
into the processes which occur on the farm and outputs or products
which leave the farm

48.British disease
The term “British disease” is now often used to characterize
Britain’s economic decline.

49.Constitutional monarchy
It is a political system that has been practised in Britain since the
Glorious revolution of 1688. According to this system, the Constitution
is superior to the Monarch. In law, the Monarch has many supreme
powers, but in practice, the real power of monarchy has been greatly
reduced and today the Queen acts solely on the advice of her ministers.
She reigns but does not rule. The real power lies in the Parliament, or
to be exact, in the House of Commons.

50.Privy Council枢密院
A consultative body of the British monarch. Its origin can be traced
back to the times of the Norman Kings. After the Glorious Revolution of
1688, its importance was gradually diminished and replaced by the
Cabinet. Today, it is still a consultation body of the British monarch,
Its membership is about 400, and includes al Cabinet ministers, the
speaker of the House of Commons, the Archbishops of Canterbury and
York, and senior British and Commonwealth statesmen.

51.Common law
the traditional unwritten law of England, based on custom and the
decisions of judges over a period of years rather than on written laws
passed by parliament.
英国的不成文法，以法官的判断和习惯为依据，而不以议会的成文法为依据。

52.the state opening of parliament
the official opening of a new session of parliament, usually at the end
of October or beginning of November, or after a general election.

53.The Civil list 英国王室费(考过)
an annual allowance, approved by parliament, made to the sovereign and
members of the royal family for the expense involved in carrying out
their public duties.
议会每年一次的津贴补助对君主和皇家成员在行使公共职务时的花费。

54.the civil service公务员(考过)
the body of state officials that help s the government.

55.life peer终身贵族
a person who is given a peerage贵族地位 that is not handed of to
his or her descendants, usually as a reward for public service.

56.acquittal无罪裁决
acquittal broadly means that the individual is released or discharged
without any further prosecution for the same act or
transaction.是意味着被指控者无罪开释，并再也不可就这件特定罪行被指控。