英语国家概况课后questions答案.doc

第一单元;
1. "British history has been a history of invasion". Please illustrate this point with the examples from the text. How did each of the invasions influence English culture ?
British history has been a history of invasions. Before the first century AD Britain was made up of many tribal kingdoms of Celtic people: a powerful culture originating in central Europe. Then in 43AD Britain was invaded by the Roman empire, and England and Wales (though not Scotland or Ireland) became a part of the Roman empire for nearly 400 years.Two more groups of invaders were to come after the English: from the late 8th century on, raiders from Scandinavia, the ferocious Vikings, threatened Britain's shores….
2. Are there any differences between England and Wales in terms of cultural tradition ?
Yes, there are. The close long-standing relationship means that modern Wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses—its legal system and its education system are exactly the same as in England. Often official statistics are given for "England and Wales". However, Wales is different, and one of the key markers of that difference is the Welsh language—the old British Celtic tongue which is still in daily use.
第二单元;
3、what do you think should be the right solution to the political problem in Northern Ireland?
（Margaret Thatcher's government did not give in to this demand for political status and 11 prisoners starved to death. This event revitalised the political campaign of Sinn Fein, the legal political party which supports the IRA's right to fight. Its leaders spoke of a twin campaign for union with Ireland, both political and military, which they called the policy of "The Bullet and the Ballot Box".）
The problem lay in the "commitment to peaceful methods" aspect of the possible talks. Province-wide elections are planned under a complex formula to ensure a wide range of representation on the body which will carry out these talks, in an attempt to give them legitimacy. Without the participation of Sinn Fein and the IRA it is hard to see them succeeding. Northern Ireland is poised on the brink—a new peaceful future, or a return to the violence that has claimed 3150 lives so far.
第三单元;
4、What are some of the characteristics of the British constitutional monarchy? How has the English monarchy evolved gradually to the present constitutional monarchy
There are some characters in the Britain Constitutional Monarchy:
1. The monarch is primarily to symbolize the traditional and unity of the British state. The Queen reigns but does not rule. And she is legally head of the executive and judiciary branches, an integral part of the legislature, the commander-in-chief of all armed forces and “supreme governor” of the Church of England
2. Parliament becomes the country authority centre, which have right to pass laws, bills and acts of Parliament, to vote for taxation, to scrutinize, criticize and restrain the actions of the government and so on.
3. The king must believe in Established Church (being that person succeeds to the throne not to be that Prod), catholic or same catholic get married.

Until the end of the 17th century, British monarchs were an executive monarch, which means that they had he right make and pass legislation. But even in early time there were occasions when the Sovereign had to act in accordance with the law and take into account the will of the paper. With the signing Magna Charta in 1215, for example, the leading noblemen of England succeeded in forcing King John to accept that they and other freemen had rights against the Crown. In 17th century, the Stuart kings propagated the theory of the divine right of kings, claiming that the Sovereign was subject only to God and not to the law. Widespread unrest against their rule led to civil war in the second half of the 17th century. In 1688-1689 Parliamentarians drew up the Bill of Rights, which established basic tenets such as the supremacy of Parliament. The constitutional monarchy we know today really developed in the 18th and 19th centuries, as day-to-day power came to be exercised by Ministers in Cabinet, and by Parliaments elected by a steadily-widening electorate.
第四单元：
5、How are people in the UK divided into different classes? What are some of the main features in the division? Is the class system similar with the United States?
(1)The British people are divided into classes economically, culturally, educationally and etc. The different idea of class is related to the group or class. Upper class , middle class, lower class. People in the UK divided into different classes also according to their jobs.
(2) The British people are divided into classes economically, culturally, educationally and etc. The people of different classes have different levels of income, the education they get is totally different.
(3)The answer to the last question is “no”. British class system is not so similar to the U.S. Which marks British class system different from the American, is that it has also retained a hereditary aristocracy.
第五单元：
6.What are the three main areas in national ecnomies？Describe the development of each of the three areas in the UK economy.
（1）National economies can be broken down into three main areas：
primary industries, such as agriculture, fishing, and mining,
Second-ary industries, which manufacture complex goods from those primary produets;
And tertiary industuies often described as services, such as banking, insuranc, tourism, and the selling of goods.
(2)Britan’s agricultural sector is small（producing 1.4%of the national wealth）but efficient, producing 58% of the UK’s food needs with only 2%of its workforce. Three quarters of Britain’s land is used for agriculture. with about a quarter of that under crops-wheat and barley are the two commmnests. The rest is grazing for animals, including cattle.The fishing industy provides 55%of the UK demand for fish.
In the secondary sector of the economy. manufacturing industry remains important, producing 22% of national wealth.British companies are are active in all major fields of manufacturing industry, but are particulary strong in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, aerospace and food drink.
第六单元：
7、What are some of the features of Romantic Literature?
Roughly the first third of the 19th century makes up English literature's romantic period. Writers of romantic literature are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason, which marked the 18th century. Perhaps the rather violent and ugly world about them drove 19th-century writers to a literary refuge.
第七单元：
8、What are the purposes of the British education system? What are the main purpose of the Chinese education system? Are there any differences or similarities in the education of the two nations?
British;
n To develop students’ creativity and imagination
n To have better communication skills to getting along with different people
n To have various knowledge about life and nature which is out of textbooks
n To be not so good at controlling knowledge—— especially the accounting ability about figures
China；
n To pass the exams
n To let everyone accepts education, have knowledge and skills to make life
n To get a good job and make money
n To be able to cope with life on the whole
n To improve students’ quality
Compulsory ——(1)Both the UK and China have compulsory education.
(2)The general education systems in two countries are quite similar. They both have primary schooling, secondary and university education.
(3)Both countries have vocational schools providing study and training for those who want to follow a certain career instead of seeking university education.
differences——Chinese Education System and Western Education System have their own advantages and disadvantages. Chinese emphasizes foundational knowledge whereas Western thinks highly of creativeness.
Teaching Philosophy (1)the main concept of education
(2)In Britain,education aims to develop individual abilities. But in China, we always kill students’ ability of creation and imagination to some degree.
Teaching Method(1) In Britain, their homework doesn’t have a unified right answer. If the answers given by students are reasonable, marks will be given. while in China, the knowledge we learn most have little relationship with our own life, they‘re more basic courses .
第八单元
8、Why does the author think that Britain has the "special relationship" with the United States? Does this relationship still exist?
Another major factor which influences British foreign policy is its relationship with the United States. This was quite natural, as the two were closely allied during World War II, and continued to work together closely in the post war years because they shared many of the same worries about the Soviet Union.
Even today, in many respects British and American policy-makers agree generally on, for example, how the global economy should be managed, how a warlike state should be dealt with, issues about arms control and so on.
第九单元
9、The author says that "the media are central to British leisure culture", why does the author say so? Comparison between British Media and Chinese Media
(1)On an average day, 90 per cent of Britons over the age of 15 read a national or local paper. And in the evening, most Britons settle down to watch some television: 96 percent of the population watch TV at least once a week, making it Britain's most popular leisure activity. The third most popular pastime, after watching telly and reading newspapers, is listening to the radio, an activity in which 73 per cent of the population engages in on a weekly basis. It is obvious, then, that the media are central to British leisure culture.
(2) similarities: Firstly, like British Media, the role that Chinese Media plays has become more and more important.
Secondly, both the two media have some organizations which are dominant and influential.
Thirdly, British Media and Chinese Media are accelerating integration of the traditional media and IT.
Differences: Paper media in the UK is still a huge industry no matter at present or in future. But in China, more and more people begin to rely on Internet and hanging around online even with nothing at all to do.
In addition, British Media has more freedom than their Chinese colleagues to criticize politic.
第十单元
10、How do the British celebrate this holiday? In what way does this holiday and the ways of celebration in British reflect Western cultural tradition in general and British traditions in particular?
(1)Nowadays, Christmas is celebrated by most Britons by exchanging gifts and Christmas cards preparing holiday foods, and decorating homes and workplaces with coloured lights, Christmas trees and ornaments.
(2)

第十一单元
11、Discuss the features of the Celts and their influence on Ireland.
Tribe: Celts consisted of a patchwork of tribal areas , each with its own king .
Classifications of Celtic language: Proto-Celtic divided into four sub-families .Gaulish ,Hispano-Celtic ,Brythonic ,Goidelic
Religion : The Celts believed in many gods and goddesses
After Life
The Celts believed that the human soul had an afterlife, so when a person died they were buried with many things they would need for the after life.
l House : They lived in round houses with thatched roofs of straw or heather .
Cloth: 'The way they dress is astonishing

The influence on Ireland: Irish culture came from Celtics culture, including languages, costumes, dancing , instruments and so on
Irish dress mainly is lattice costumes(格子服装), for women, is linen skirt（麻布裙子）, which is made by Irish traditional manual cloth. As for man, their folk dress is skirt.
v Languages: All the legacies of the Celts, it is their language that has proved the most lasting

v Irish is the first official language of the Republic of Ireland (the second being English)

v With the language, the Celts brought an instrument of social and cultural unity to the island, which transcended political and social division

Irish tap dance（踢踏舞） is enthusiastic and jazzy, and its melody is very beautiful
what are the unique features of the Australian continent
Isolated from other major land masses, Australia’s distinctive flora and fauna evolved through its long period as an island continent.