英美文化 - 解释术语

1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The United Kingdom is that part of the British Isles ruled over by the Queen. It consists of Scotland, Wales and England, and also the Northern part of Ireland. The full title of the United Kingdom is therefore “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”.

2. highland zone

The highland zone is an area of high hills and mountains in the north and west. And the highest elevations in the Britain Isles are in the highland zone. The highland zone is cooler than the lowland zone, and receives more rainfall and less sunlight. 3. lowland zone

The lowland zone in the south and east of Britain consists mostly of rolling plains with a gentle, undulating surface and extensive areas of almost-level ground. It receives less rain and more sunshine than the highland zone and much of the soil in the zone is fertile. Most of Britain’s population lives densely packed into the lowland zone, which covers most of England. The metropolis of London and most of Britain’s large cities are located in the lowland zone.

4. Pennine Chain

The Pennine Chain is the backbone of England. It is a massive upland area extending 260km north to south, starting at the Cheviot Hills on England’s border with Scotland and ending it the Midlands of central England. It is made up of several broad, rolling, windswept moorlands separated by deep river valleys. Many of England’s major industrial areas lie on the flanks of the Pennine Chain, where there are many coalfields.

5. Thames

The Thames is the second longest river in Britain. It is 338km long, and flows eastward out of the Cotswold Hills and weaves through the metropolis of London. The Thames provides water to the city of London and is used to carry commercial freight.

1. The Church of England

It is the established church of the English nation, with the king or queen as the head of the Church and being crowned by the Archbishop of Canterbury in Westminster.

2. Free Churches

They are Protestant churches outside the Church of England, including Baptists, the United Reformed Church, Quakers and Methodists. They suffered religious and political persecution in the 17th century, and were excluded from many offices and places, until the early 19th century. They were once called “dissenters” and “non-conformists”, now they are called members of Free Churches.

3. Easter

It is a Christian festival, kept on the first Sunday after the first full moon of the vernal equinox, com memorating Christ’s resurrection. Parents usually color hard-boiled eggs before Easter. Late Saturday night or early Sunday morning the eggs are hidden, and the children have an Easter egg. Little children believe the Easter rabbit comes and leaves the eggs for them.

4. Westminster Abbey

It is an ancient church where kings and queens are crowned and where, particularly in Poets’ Corner, many famous men and women are buried.

5. Reformation

It began as a political movement as much as religious one: when the Pope would not let Henry VIII divorce his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, Henry declared himself head of the English Church and dissolved the monasteries. Protestantism, of a Calvinist type, was introduced under Edward VI, Mary I brought a Catholic reaction, but with Elizabeth I the Church of England was established on a moderate Protestant basis.

1. William Shakespeare

William Shakespeare(1564-1616):English playwright and poet, whose body of works is considered as the greatest in English literature. His plays, many of which were performed at the Globe Theater in London, include historical works, comedies and tragedies. He also composed 154 sonnets and 36 plays.

2. Sir Francis Bacon

Sir Francis Bacon(1561-1626): English philosopher,essayist, courtier, jurist, and statesman. His writings include The Advancement of Learning (1605) and The Novum Organum(1620),in which he proposed a theory of scientific knowledge based on observation and experimentation that came to be known as the inductive method.

3. Gunpowder Plot

Gunpowder Plot: Conspiracy of a group of English Catholics to blow up the Houses of Parliament where King James I was present on 5 November is celebrated with bonfires, fireworks and the burning of the effigies. 4. Great Fire of London

Great Fire of London(2-5 September, 1666):Worst fire in London’s history. It destroyed a large part of the city, including most of the civic buildings, St. Paul’s Cathedral, 87 parish churches, and about 13,000 houses. It began accidentally at the house of the king’s baker in Pudding Lane near London Bridge.

5. Suez Canal Crisis

Suez Canal Crisis: A major international incident that arose in 1956 from the decision by Gamal A. Nasser, President of Egypt, to nationalize the Suez Canal, which long had been controlled by Great Britain. After Nasser took over the canal, Britain and France induced Israel to provoke a conflict with Egypt that would serve as a pretext for an Anglo-French invasion of Egypt. The United States, which had been excluded from the planned invasion, denounced it. The incident severely damaged Anglo-American relations.

6. John Major

John Major(1943- ):British banker and conservative politician, who served as Prime Minister from 1990 to 1997. During his administration, he advocated privatisation, anti-inflationary budget discipline, and negotiations for peace in Northern Ireland.

1. Presbyterian

Presbyterian: a member of a branch of the christian Protestant Church that is the national Church of Scotland.

2. Episcopal

Episcopal: (of a Christian Church) that is governed by bishops.

3. Anglican

Anglican: a member of the Church of England or of a Church connected with it in another country.

4. Kirk

Kirk: a name often used for the official Church of Scotland.

5. diocese

diocese: a district for which a bishop is responsible.

6. secularism

secularism: the belief that religion should not be involved in the organization of society, education, etc.

7. Non-conformist

Non-conformist: a member of a Protestant Church that does not follow the beliefs and practices of the Anglican Church.

1. Britain’s relative decline

The UK has experienced an economic decline since 1945. But this is a relative decline rather than an absolute one. Britain is wealthier and more productive than it was in 1945, but since other countries developed more rapidly, it has slid from being the second largest economy to being the sixth.

2. Privatization in the 1980s

The British economy went through a particularly bad period in the 1970s, with high rates of inflation and devaluation of the Pound. Therefore, in the 1980s, when the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher was in power, an extensive programme of privatisation was carried out. Many state-owned businesses (such as steel, telecom, gas, aerospace) were turned into private companies. Privatisation was successful in controlling inflation but at the same time unemployment rate increased rapidly.

3. The City

“The City”refers to the historic area at the centre of London. It is one of the biggest financial centres in the world with the greatest concentration of banks, insurance companies and businesses dealing in commodities. At the heart of the city is the London Stock Exchange.

4. Britain’s aerospace industry

The UK’s aerospace industry is the third-largest in the world, producing the full range of aerospace products from civil and military aircrafts to missiles, satellites ad jet engines. It produces 2% of the UK national output, accounting for 8% of manufactured export goods.