英美概况名词解释(英文)

1. the Hardian’s Wall:

It was one of the two great walls built by the Romans to keep the Picts out of the area they had conquered.

2. Alfred the Great

Alfred was a strong king 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.

3. 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.

4. 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.

5. Doomsday Book

Under William, the feudal system was established. William sent officials to compile a property record known as Doomsday Book, which completed in 1086. It was the result of a general survey of England made in 1085. It stated the extent, value, the population, state of cultivation, and ownership of

the land. It seemed to the English like the Book of doom on Judgment Day.

6. the Great Charter

King John’s reign caused much discontent among the barons. In 1215, he was forced to sign a document, known as Mangna Cara, or the Great Charter. It has 63 clauses. Though it has long been regarded as the foundation of English liberties, its spirit was the limitation of the king’s powers, keeping them within the bounds of the feudal law of the land.

7. the Hundred Years’War

It referred to the intermittent war between France and England that last from 1337 to 1453. The causes were partly territorial and partly economic. When Edward III claimed the French Crown but the French refused to recognize, the war broke out. At first the English were successful, but in the end, they were defeated and lost almost all their possessions in France. The expelling of the English was a blessing for both countries.

8. Joan of Arc

She was a national heroine of France during the Hundred Years’War. She successfully led the French to drive the English out of France.

9. the Black Death

It was the deadly bubonic plague who spread through Europe in the 14th century. It swept through England without warning and any cure, and sparing no victims. It killed between half and one-third of the population of England. Thus, much land

was left untended and labor was short. It caused far-reaching economic consequences.

10. the Wars of Roses

They referred to the battles between the House of Lancaster and the House of York between 1455 and 1485. The former was symbolized by the red rose, and the latter by the white one. After the wars, feudalism received its death blow and the king’s power became supreme. Thdor monarchs ruled England and Wales for over two hundred years.

11. Bloody Mary

Henry VIII’s daughter and a devout Catholic. When she became Queen, she persecuted and burnt many Protestants. So she was given the nickname “Bloody Mary”. Mary is also remembered as the monarch who lost the French port of Calais.

12. Elizabeth I

One of the greatest monarchs in British history. She reigned England, Wales and Ireland for 45 years and remained single. Her reign was a time of confident English nationalism and of great achievements in literature and other arts, in exploration and in battle.

13. Oliver Cromwell

The leader during the Civil War who led the New Model Army to defeat the king and condemned him to death. Then he declared England a Commonwealth and made himself Lord of Protector. He ruled England till the restoration of Charles II in 1660.

14. the Bill of Rights

In 1689, William and Mary accepted the Bill of Rights to be crowned jointly. The bill excluded any Roman Catholic from the succession, confirmed the principle of parliamentary supremacy and guaranteed free speech within both the two Houses. Thus the age of constitutional monarchy began.

15. Whigs and Tories

It referred to the two party names which originated with the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The Whigs were those who opposed absolute monarchy and supported the right to religious freedom for Nonconformists. The Tories were those who supported hereditary monarchy and were reluctant to remove kings. The Whigs formed a coalition with dissident Tories and became the Liberal Party. The Tories were the forerunners of the Conservative Party.

16. James Watt

The Scottish inventor who produced an efficient steam engine with rotary motion that could be applied to textile and other machinery.

17. Winston Churchill

Prime Minister of Britain during the Second World War. He took over Chamberlain in 1940 and received massive popular support. He led his country to final victory in 1945. He was defeated in the general election of 1945, but returned to power in 1951.

18. Agribusiness

It refers to the new farming in Britain, because it’s equipped

and managed like an industrial business with a set of inputs into the farm of processes which occur on the farm, and outputs or products which leave the farm. The emphasis is upon intensive farming, designed to give the maximum output of crops and animals.

19. the British Constitution

There is no written constitution in the United Kingdom. The British Constitution is not set out in any single document, but made up of statute law, common law and conventions. The Judiciary determines common law and interpret statues.

20. Queen Elizabeth II

The present Sovereign, born in 1926, came to the throne in 1952 and was crowned in 1953. The Queen is the symbol of the whole nation, the center of many national ceremonies and the leader of society.

21. the Opposition

In the General Election, the party which wins the second largest number of seats becomes the offcial Opposition, with its own leader and “shadow cabinet”. The aims of the Opposition are to contribute to the formulation of policy and legislation, to oppose government proposals, to seek amendments to government bills, and to put forward its own policies in order to win the next general election.

22. the Privy Council

Formerly the chief source of executive power. It gave the Sovereign private (“privy”) advice on the government of the country. Today its role is mainly formal, advising the Sovereign

to approve certain government decrees and issuing royal proclamation. Its membership is about 400.

23. common law

A written law gathered from numerous decisions of the courts and other sources.

24. the jury

A legal system established in England since king Henry II. The jury consists of ordinary, independent citizens summoned by the court: 12 persons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 15 persons in Scotland. In criminal trials by jury, the judge passes sentence but the jury decide the issue of guilt or innocence.

25. the NHS

The National Health Service was established in the UK in 1948 and based first on Acts of Parliament. This Service provides for every resident a full range of medical services. It is based upon the principle that there should be full range of publicly provided services designed to help the individual stay healthy. It is now a largely free service.

26. comprehensive schools

State secondary schools which take pupils without reference to ability and provide a wide-ranging secondary education for all or most of the children in a district. About 90 per cent of the state secondary school population in GB attend comprehensive school.

27. public schools

Fee-paying secondary schools which are long-established and

have gained a reputation for their high academic standards, as well as their exclusiveness and snobbery. The boys’public schools include such well-known schools as Eton and Harrow, and girls’famous schools include Roedean. Most of the members of the British Establishment were educated at a public school.

28. the Great Lakes

The Great Lakes are the most important lakes in the United States. They are Lake Superior, which is the largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Michigan ——the only one entirely in the U.S. ——Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. They are all located between Canada and the United States except Lake Michigan.

29. New England

New England is made up of six states of the North-East. They are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It is sometimes called the birthplace of America.

30. baby boom

“baby boom”refers to the great increase of birth rate between 1946 and 1964.

31. the Chinese Exclusion Act

It was passed by the U.S. Congress in may, 1882. It stopped Chinese immigration for ten years.

32. the Bill of Rights

In 1789, James Madison introduced in the House of Representations a series of amendments which later were

drafted into twelve proposed amendments and sent to the states for ratification. Ten of them were ratified in 1791 and became the first ten amendments to the Constitution ——the Bill of Rights.

33. the Emancipation Proclamation

During the Civil war, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to get more support for the Union at home and abroad. It granted freedom to all slaves.

34. the Constitutional Convention

In 1787, a conference was held in Philadelphia to consider what should be done to make the Articles of Confederation adequate. All the delegates agreed to revise the Articles of Confederation and draw up a new plan of government. After struggle, the Constitution was ratified at last. This conference is called the Constitutional Convention.

35. the Progressive Movement

The Progressive Movement is a movement demanding government regulation of the economy and social conditions. It spread quickly with the support of large numbers of people across the country. It was not an organized campaign with clearly defined goals.

36. the Peace Conference

The Peace Conference or the Paris Conference, began on January 18, 1919. The conference was actually a conference of division of colonies of Germany, Austro-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire and the grabbing of as much as possible from the defeated nations. It was dominated by the Big Four (the United States, Britain. France and Italy)

37. the Truman Doctrine:

On March 12, 1949, President Truman put forward the Truman Doctrine in a speech to the joint session of Congress. The Truman Doctrine meant to say that the U.S. government would support any country which said it was fighting against Communism.

38. the Marshall Plan

On June 5, 1947, the Secretary of State George Marshall announced the Marshall Plan, which meant that in order to protect Western Europe from possible Soviet expansion, the United States decided to offer Western European countries economic aid.

39. the New Frontier

It was the President Kennedy’s program which promised civil rights for blacks, federal aid to farmers and to education, medical care for all and the abolition of poverty.

40. checks and balances:

The government is divided into three branches, the legislative, the executive and the judicial, each has part of the powers but not all the power. And each branch of government can check, or block, the actions of the other branches. The three branches are thus in balance. This called “checks and balances”. 41.The New Deal

It refers to a series of measures taken by Franklin Roosevelt in 1932 to prevent the possible collapse of the American economic and political system.

42.counterculture movement

It was a movement of revolt in the 1960s against the moral values, the aesthetic standards, the personal behavior. and the social relations of conventional society.

43. Constitutional monarchy

A constitutional monarchy is a county in which head of the state is a king or a queen. In practice, the Sovereign reigns, but does not rule. In English history, constitutional monarchy was established after Glorious Revolution in 1688.

44. The Great Depression On October 24, 1929, the American stock market crashed. Billions of dollars of paper profits were wiped out within a few hours. This led to a long economic depression.

45. Industrial Revolution

. The Industrial Revolution refers to the mechanization of industry and the consequences in social and economic organization in Britain in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Britain was the first country to industrialize. The Industrial Revolution in Britain first began in the textile industry.

46. Melting Pot

Since the United States is a nation of many ethnic groups, it is also known as a “melting pot,”meaning immigrants from different nations all over the world have mixed to make up the American nation.

47. Black Death

Black Death was the modern name given to the deadly bubonic plague, an epidemic disease spread by rat fleas. It spread through Europe in the 14th century. It swept through England in the summer of 1348 without warning. It killed many people. As a result of the plague, much land was left

untended and there was a terrible shortage of labor.

48. American Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the basic instrument of American government and the supreme law of the land. It is the oldest written constitution in the world. It was drawn up in 1787 and went into effect in 1789. It founded federalism and introduced checks and balances into government for the first time in history.

49．The Muckrakers(黑幕揭发者)

The Muckrakers were a group of reform-minded journalists who made investigations and exposed the dark sides of the society.

50.the Progressive Movement(进步运动/进步主义)（Progressivism）

it was a movement at the turn of the 20th century which demanded government regulation of the economy and social conditions, spread quickly with the support of large number of people across the country. The Progressive Movement was not an organized campaign with clearly defined goals. Rather, it was a number of diverse efforts at political,social and economic reforms.

https://www.360docs.net/doc/7e10790578.html,issez faire(放任主义)

it was an economic practice which stressed that the management of the economy should be left to the business people and the government should merely preserve order and protect property.

52.the Red scare(红色恐惧)

Between 1919 and 1920,the Red Scare happened in America where at that time a highly aggressive and intolerance

nationalism existed. On November 7,1919 and January

2,1920,the Justice Department launched two waves of mass attests. Over 4000 suspected Communists and radicals were arrested and many were forced to leave the U.S.

53.the Ku Klux Klan(KKK)三K党

The KKK was first organized in 1866 and then reformed in 1867 after the Civil War in the South and by 1924 it claimed a membership of four to five million. It was a violent society which terrorized and attacked on not only blacks ,but also progressives, Communist and socialist party members, etc. 54.the New Deal(罗斯福新政)

it was put forward by American President Roosevelt who wanted to do something to deal with the Great Depression at that time. It passed a lot of New Deal laws and set up some efficient social security systems. The New Deal helped to "save American democracy" and to overcome the most serious economic crisis of the capitalist system up to that time.

55.Isolationism(孤立主义)

it was the American foreign policy in the early 1930s.it tried to keep the U.S out of the fighting that was going on in Europe and Asia.

56. The Hispanics 讲西班牙语的（人或民族）

The Hispanics usually are Spanish-speaking person of

Latin-American origin who live in the United States. Now there are three major Hispanic groups which have great influence on the U.S. They are Mexico-American of Chicano, Puerto Ricans and Cuban-American.[/size][/size][/size]

[U]1.The "first American "were the Indians. The first English colony in the Americas was founded at

Jamestown ,Virginaia,in 1607.Between 1607 and 1733 the British established 13 colonies along the east coast of North American.“

57. The Gunpowder Plot was the most famous of the Catholic conspiracies. On November 5,1605, a few fanatical Catholics attempted to blow King James and his ministers up in the Houses of Parliament where Guy Fawkes had planted barrels of gunpowder in the cellars .

58. The Puritans

(1) The Puritans were wealthy, well-educated gentlemen. They wanted to purify the Church of England.

(2) Dissatisfied with the political corruption in England and threatened with religious persecution , the Puritan Leaders saw the New World as a refuge provided by God for those He meant to save . So in (March)

1630 , the great Puritan migration began .

(3) The Puritans did not allow religious dissent. They went to America to establish what they considered the one true church. / Puritan tradition also involved a respect for learning which led to the establishment of schools and the spread of literacy.

59. 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 Thatcherism. It included the return to private ownership of state - owned industries, the use of monetarist policies to control inflation, the weakening of trade unions, the strengthening of the role of market forces in the economy, and an emphasis on law and order.

60. Diversity of American education

Diversity is considered to be an outstanding characteristic of American education. This can be seen not only in type, size and control of the institutions, but educational policies and practices. As is stated by the Tenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, education is a function of the state, not the federal govemment. As each state has the freedom to develop its own school system and delegates its power over education to local districts, many variations can be found in the education system of the 50 states.

61. The New Deal

In order to deal with the Depression, President Franklin Roosevelt put forward the New Deal program. It passed a lot of New Deal laws and set up many efficient social security systems. The New Deal helped to save American democracy and the development of American economy.

62. Sinn Fein

Sinn Fein was the Irish guerrilla movement that wrested independence from the British in 1921. It spit in 1921 over the Anglo - Irish Treaty and became two parties, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, which remains to be the two major political parties in Ireland today.