英国的地理特征

Ⅱ.英国的地理特征II. Geographical Features

英国是个岛国，四周是海。它位于欧洲北海岸附近的北大西洋中。南面的英吉利海峡和东面的北海把英国与欧洲的其他部分隔开。英法之间的英吉利海峡很狭窄，最狭窄的地方叫多佛尔海峡，只有33 公里宽。1985 年，英法两国政府决定在多佛尔海峡底修建一个隧道，把两个国家连接起来。经过八年的奋斗,这条名为"查诺尔"的海底隧道于1994 年5 月通车。英国的面积为244，100 平方公里。南北长1000 公里，东西最宽阔的地方约为500 公里。因此英国的任何地方离海边都不远，海岸资源丰富。英国海岸线很长且拥有优良的深水港。海上通道延伸到内陆，提供了低廉的运输。

Britain is an island country. It is surrounded by the sea. It lies in the north Atlantic Ocean off the north coast of Europe. It is separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel in the south and the North Sea in the east. The English Channel between England and France is quite narrow and the narrowest part is called the Straits of Dover, which is only 33 km across. In 1985 the British government and the French government decided to build a channel tunnel under the Straits of Dover so that England and France could be joined together by road. After eight years of hard work this channel tunnel which is called ''Chunnel'' was open to traffic in May 1994. Britain covers an area of 244, 100 square krn. It runs 1, 000 km from north to south and extends, at the widest part, about 500 kilometers. So no part of Britain is very far from the coast and it provides a valuable resource. The British coast is long and has good, provides a valuable resource. The British coast is long and has good, providing cheap transportation.

几个世纪以来，英国一直在缓慢地倾斜。西北部缓慢上升，东南部缓慢下沉。英国的北部与西部主要是山地。这种上升在苏格兰西部形成了突起的海滩――山的平地。这种海滩提供了主要的农田、定居点、工业区及通道。东部及东南部主要是低地，是"欧洲大平原"的一部分，有着平坦的土地及肥沃的土壤。尤其是南部及英格兰东海岸有许多良田。

Britain has, for centuries, been slowly tilting with the North-West slowly rising and the South-East slowly sinking. The north and west of Britain are mainly highlands. In western parts of Scotland this rise in the land has resulted in the formation of raised beaches - flat areas of land in an herwise mountainous area, which provide the main farming, settlements, and industrial areas as well as routeways. The east and south-east are mostly lowlands. They are part of the Great European Plain, with its level land and fertile soil. There is much good farmland especially in the south and along the east coast of England.

在冰川时代，英国覆盖着大冰块，导致英国壮观的山景，尤其是斯诺多尼亚、湖泊区及苏格兰山地，因此英国拥有平顶的山脉、瀑布流经的山谷、带状湖、平坦的谷底、陡峭的谷倒、冰砾土及沃土。During the Ice Age great ice covered Great Britain. Ice has been responsible for most of Britain's spectacular mountain scenery especially in Snowdonia, the Lake District ,and the Scottish Highlands. It left Great Britain with mountains with flat tops ,hanging valleys with waterfalls, ribbon lakes, flat valley floors ,steep valley sides ,boulder clay and fertile soil.

1.英格兰1. England

英格兰占了大不列颠岛南部的绝大部分面积。英格兰西面是威尔士，北面是苏格兰。面积为130，000平方公里，占整个岛的60%。除了塞汶河谷及柴郡――兰开郡平原(中心为利物浦)外，其西南部和西部主要是高原，也有起伏的平原、丘陵地及少数沼泽地，但主要是高原。从北中部延伸至苏格兰边境的奔宁山脉是主要山脉。但英格兰的最高峰斯加非尔峰(978 米)却位于西北部的湖泊区。英格兰东部主要是开阔的可耕种平原，此平原的海岸沼泽地和奔宁山脉之间变成一条狭窄的走廊(约克谷)，在诺桑伯兰郡则变成很窄的海岸带。

England occupies the largest, southern part of Great Britain with Wales to its west and Scotland to

its north. It has an area of more than 130,000 square kilometers which takes up nearly 60% of the whole island, the north-west and west except for the Severn valley and the Cheshire-Lancashire plain (round Liverpool) are largely a plateau, with rolling plains, downs and occasional moors. The Pennines, a range of hills running from North Midlands to the Scottish border, are the principal mountain chain. But the highest peak of England, Scafell (978m), is in the Lake District in north-west England. The east of England is mainly an open cultivated plain, narrowing in North Yorkshire to a passage (Vale of York) between coastal moors and the Pennines, and in Northumberland to a coastal strip.

2.苏格兰2. Scotland

苏格兰面积为78，760 平方公里。位于大不列颠岛北部，拥有众多的山脉、湖泊及岛屿。它有三大自

然区:北部山地、中部低地及南部高地。北部山地(300――1，200 多米)是一片荒芜而多石的高原，有弯曲

的海岸线，西面尤其如此。本奈维斯山海拔1，343 米，英国的最高峰就在此地。山地西部及赫布里底群

岛风景迷人。狭长的海湾与荒山交错，一些内海上的农场只有坐小船才能到达。中部低地，主要由福斯

和克莱德谷、煤矿和铁矿区及奶牛牧场组成。中部是苏格兰主要的工业区，人口最为稠密，是苏格兰最重

要的地区。南部高地是起伏的沼泽地(多在240-600 米之间)，被众多小而肥沃的河谷所分割。苏格兰有800

座岛屿，包括奥克尼群岛，设德兰群岛及赫布里底群岛，此外还有几百个湖泊。爱丁堡是苏格兰的首府。

Scotland has an area of 78,760 square kilometers. It is in the north of Great Britain with many mountains, lakes

and islands. There are three natural zones: the Highlands in the north, the central Lowlands, and the southern

Uplands. The Highlands (300—over 1,200m) are a wild, rocky, mountainous plateau with a coastline deeply

indented, especially in the west. Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain (1,343m) is located here. The western

part of Highlands and the islands of Hebrides are a very beautiful region. Great sea-lochs, or fiords, alternate with

wild and empty hills, and on some of the lochs there are farms which can only be reached by boat. The Lowlands

in the center comprise mostly the Forth and Clyde valleys, coal and iron fields and dairy pasture. This is the most

important area in Scotland which contains most of the industry and population. The southern Uplands, a rolling

moorland (mainly 240—600m), are cut by small fertile river valleys. Scotland has about 800 islands including the

Orkneys. Shetlands and Hebrides and hundreds of lakes. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland.

3.威尔士3. Wales

威尔士位于大不列颠岛的西部，面积为20，761 平方公里，占整个岛的近9%。威尔士大部

分地区是

山。山脉沿海陡峭耸起，而山顶却相当平坦。威尔士6%为森林覆盖，大部分乡村是草原牧场――养牛养

羊，只有12%的可耕地。威尔士形成一个山区，但周边是狭窄的低地，最宽之处是沿英格兰边境和南海岸。

山地高度在180 米到600 米之间，北面多岩石，南面有煤。西北部的斯诺多尼亚山(1085 米)是威尔士的最

高点。威尔士首府是加的夫。Wales is in the west of Great Britain. It has an area of 20,761 square kilometers

which takes up less than 9% of the whole island. Most of Wales is mountainous: the hills rise steeply from the sea

and are rather flat on top. 6% of Wales is covered with forest and much of the country is pasture—land for sheep

and cattle. Only 12% of the land is arable. Wales forms a massif with a lowland fringe widest along the English

border and south coast. The massif is largely between 180 and 600m, rocky in the north and coal bearing in the

south. Snowdonia (1,085m) in the northwest is the highest mountain in Wales. The capital of Wales is Cardiff.

4. 北爱尔兰4. Northern Ireland

北爱尔兰是联合王国的第四个所属区域。它占据爱尔兰北部五分之一的面积――14，147 平方公里。

北爱尔兰北部海岸线荒芜多石，并有几处深陷的回地。东北部地区的安特里尔郡多高地，而向东南部逐渐

变成了洛尼格盆地所在的中央低地。贝尔法斯特是北爱尔兰的首都。Northern Ireland is a fourth region of the

United Kingdom. It takes up the northern fifth of Ireland and has an area of 14,147 square kilometers. It has a

rocky and wild northern coastline, with several deep indentations. In the north-east gradually give way to the

central lowlands of the Lough Neagh basin. Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland.

Ⅲ.河流和湖泊III. Rivers and Lakes

英国的河流冬天不结冰。河流在国民经济中起着重要作用。伦敦、利物浦和格拉斯哥这些大港口全都

通过河流与海洋连接在一起。此外，东海岸的Tweed 河、Tyne 河、蒂斯河、泰晤士河都面对着欧洲大陆上

的北海各港口，距离富饶的渔区也很近。而西海岸的克莱德河、默西河和塞汶河把原材料运到繁忙的内陆

工业城市。英国的河流并不很长，最长的塞汶河也只有338 公里长。它发源于威尔士中部，河道呈半圆形

流经英格兰中西部，注入布里斯托尔海峡。第二大河，也是英国最重要的河是泰晤士河，全长336 公里。

发源于英格兰西南部的科茨沃耳德山，流经英格兰中部到达伦敦，注入北海。泰晤士河流速相当慢，这对

水路运输极为有利。海轮可以沿着此河远至伦敦，而小船则可再上溯138 公里。牛津也在泰晤士河上。克

莱德河是苏格兰最重要的河流。它发源于邓弗里斯山，全长171 公里，流经格拉斯哥，注入克莱德河湾，

是重要的商业水路航道。Rivers in Britain do not freeze in winter. They play a very important role in the

c ountry’s economy. The great ports of London, Liverpool an

d Glasgow ar

e all connected to the sea by rivers.

4

Besides, the Tweed, the Tyne, the Tees, and the Thames rivers on the east coast all face North Sea ports on the

European continent. They are also close to rich fishing grounds. On the west coast the Clyde, the Mersey, and the

Severn rivers carry raw materials to busy manufacturing cities inland. The rivers in Britain are not very large. The

longest river is the Severn River which is only 338 kilometers long. It rises in central Wales and flows in a

semicircle through West Central England to the Bristol Channel. The second largest and most important river in

Britain is the Thames River. It is 336 kilometers long. It rises in the Cotswolds in southwest England and flows

through the Midlands of England to London and out into the North Sea. The Thames flows rather slowly, which is

very favorable for water transportation. Ocean-going ships can sail up it as far as London and small ships can sail

up it for a further 138 kilometers. Oxford is also on the Thames. River Clyde is the most important river in

Scotland. It rises in Dumfries and runs 171 kilometers, passing through Glasgow, and enters the Firth of Clyde. It

is an important commercial waterway.

英国有许多湖泊，尤其是苏格兰北部、英格兰西北部的湖泊区及威尔士北部更是如此。但是，英国最

大的湖是北爱尔兰的洛尼格湖，面积为396 平方公里。湖泊区是英国最吸引人的旅游名胜之一，它以荒野

和美丽的景色及15 个湖而名扬天下。其中较大的湖有汶德密湖、鄂思水湖、德文水湖和柯尼斯顿水湖。

湖区也是湖畔诗人的家。例如19 世纪的威廉.华兹华斯，塞缪尔.泰勒.柯勒律治和罗伯特.骚塞。There are

many lakes in Britain especially in northern Scotland, the Lake District in north-west England and North Wales.

However, the largest lake in Britain is the Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland which covers an area of 396 square

kilometers. The Lake district is one of the popular tourist attractions in Britain. It is well known for its wild and

beautiful scenery and 15 lakes. The largest ones are Windermere, Ullswater, Derwentwater and Coniston Water. It

was also the home of the Lake poets William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey of 19th

century Britain.

Ⅳ.气候IV. Climate

1.海洋性气候A maritime type of climate

当我们说到气候时，我们指的是某个地方数年时间里的平均天气状况，而非指某个地方每天的天气状况。尽管英国人似乎总在抱怨天气下雨、变化无常、不可预测，但实际上英国的气候相当宜人，是海洋性气候――冬季温和不冷、夏季凉爽不热，全年有稳定的降雨量。气温变化小，北方冬季平均气温是摄氏4－6 度，南方夏季为12-17 度。因此即使在冬天，在开阔的乡村、公园和房屋周围，也能看见大片的绿草。

When we say climate we mean the average weather conditions at a certain place over a period of years. We don’t mean the day-to-day weather conditions at a certain place. Though it seems that people are always complaining about the weather in Britain because it is rainy and so changeable and unpredictable, the climate in Britain is in fact a favorable one. It has a favorable maritime climate. Winters are mild, not too cold and summers are cool, not too hot, and it has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year. It has a small range of temperature. The average temperature in winter in the north is 4—6 degrees C. and in summer in the south is 12—17 degrees C. So even in winter one can still see stretches of green grass in the open country, in the parks and round the houses.

2.影响英国气候的因素2. Factors which influence the climate in Britain

英国是个位于北纬50-60 度之间的岛国，甚至比中国的黑龙江的最北端还要靠北。与同一纬度的其他国家相比，英国的气候最温和，主要受以下三个因素的影响。

Britain is an island country which lies between latitude 50 to 60 degrees north. It lies farther north than even the northernmost part of Heilongjiang Province of China. Compared with other countries of the same latitudes it has a more moderate climate, which is influenced mainly by three factors:

(1)四周的海水使季节差异有所平衡、冬暖夏凉。因为海洋的加热和降温作用是相对缓慢的，因此在冬

季带来暖气，夏季带来凉气。

(1) The surrounding waters tend to balance the seasonal differences by heating up

the land in winter and cooling it off in summer. As the sea heats up and cools off relatively slowly it brings warm air in winter and cool air in summer.

(2)温暖湿润的西南风吹遍全国，一年四季如此，使气温温和。

(2) The prevailing south-west winds or the Westerlies blow over the country all the year round bringing warm and wet air in winter and keeping the temperatures moderate.

(3)北大西洋暖流流经大不列颠群岛西海岸并使其温和。

(3) The North Atlantic Drift, which is a warm current, passes the western coast of the British Isles and warms them.

因为英国具有典型的海洋性气候，因此气候特点为气候凉爽，多云，多阵雨。气候每天都在变，很难预测。有时甚至同一个人在同一天可以经历四季。早上是天气晴朗的春天，一两个小时后，乌云不知从哪里跑出来，大雨倾盆而下。到了中午，气温下降约8 度，像寒冷的冬天。傍晚时分，天空晴朗，阳光普照，天黑前的一两个小时里又是夏天。据说天气的不确

定对英国人的性格有很大影响，例如使他们谨慎行事。当你看到一个英国人在阳光灿烂的早上穿着雨衣拿着雨伞出门时，你可能会笑话他。但是更经常的是一会儿就下起了毛毛细雨，当然你未必需要雨伞。

Since Britain’s climate is of the maritime type, it is characterized by cool temperature, frequent cloudy days and rainstorms. It changes from day to day, and this makes it difficult to forecast. It is so changeable that sometimes one can experience four seasons in the course of a single day. Day may break as a fine spring morning; an hour or so later black clouds may have appeared from nowhere and rain may be pouring down. At midday conditions may really be wintery with the temperatures down to about 8 degrees C. Then in the later afternoon the sky will be clear, the sun will begin to shine again, and for an hour or two before darkness falls, it will be summer. It has been said that the uncertainty about the weather has had a definite effect upon the Englishman’s character. It tends to make him cautious, for example. You may laugh when you see an Englishman going out on a brilliantly sunny morning wearing a raincoat and carrying an umbrella. However, most freque ntly it comes in drizzles and you don’t necessarily need an umbrella.

3.降雨量3.Rainfall

英国全年有稳定的降雨量。平均年降雨量为1000 多毫米。在东部和南部海岸，平均降雨量为750－1250毫米，只有东南部的少数地区降雨量不足750 毫米。在西部，降雨量可达1250-2000 毫米，西北部一些地区则超过2000 毫米。从大西洋吹来的暖流给整个英国一年四季带来暖湿空气。在西部，暖流遇到高地就上升变冷，导致了大量的降雨。而东部降雨不多是因为西来的空气爬过高地后，就变暖变干，雨水就不多了。

Britain has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year. The average annual rainfall in Britain is over 1,000 mm. It has 750 mm—1250 mm of rainfall along the coast in the east and south except a small area in the south-eastern corner of the country which receives less than 750 mm. In the west there is as much as 1,250 mm to 2,000 mm of rainfall and some areas in the north-west it is over 2,000 mm. The Westerlies blow over Britain all the year round bringing warm and wet air from the Atlantic Ocean. It rises, climbs the highlands and the mountains in the west, becomes colder and then causes heavy rainfall. There is not so much rainfall in the east because after climbing over the highlands and mountains the air gets warmer and drier when it descends and does not give so much rain.

英国降雨量的分布使得北部和西部雨量过多，而南部和东部有所缺乏。因此，在像威尔士中部湖区、苏格兰高地这样的山区就需修建水库储水，然后送到人口更多的低地工业区。

As a result of the rainfall distribution in Britain there is a water surplus in the north and west, and a water deficit in the south and east. Reservoirs have therefore to be built in such highland areas as Central Wales, the Lake District and the Scottish Highlands, so that water can be stored here and then transferred to the more populated and industrial areas of lowland Britain.

4.自然灾难4. Natural calamities

通常说来，英国的气候宜人而稳定不变，酷热严寒、干旱及漫长的雨季都很少见。据估计英国人均日降雨量为3-6 立方米，远远超过实际需要，但还是有些问题。有时连续几个月干旱，有时降雨太多引起水灾。雾、烟雾、霜冻及大风时常给农作物及人们的生活造成较大损害。在1952 年持续四天的伦敦烟雾(由烟、脏物和雾混合而成的不健康的空气)中所含的二氧化硫，使4000 人死亡或生命垂危。从那时起，英国大多数城市实行了"清洁空气区"，根据此规定，工厂和家庭只许燃烧无烟燃料。

Generally speaking the climate in Britain is favorable and equable. Extremes of heat or cold or of

drought or prolonged rainfall are rarely experienced. It is estimated that on average about 3—6 cubic metres of rain per person per day fall over Britain. This is far more than is needed, but problems, still remain. Sometimes there are several months of drought, and at 6

other times too much rain causes flooding. Fog, smog, frost and severe gales are not uncommon and often cause great damage to crops and to people’s life. In 1952 the sulphur dioxide in the four-day London smog, an unhealthy atmosphere formed by mixing smoke and dirt with fog, left 4,000 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.

尽管英国没有飓风――像台风、龙卷风之类速度极快的强风，许多地区也易遭受强风的袭击，冬天尤其如此。大风会导致洪水、船舶失事及人员伤亡。

Although Britain does not experience hurricanes, that is, storms with a strong fast wind such as typhoons or cyclones, many areas are subjected to severe gales, especially in winter. Gales can cause flooding, shipwrecks and loss of life.__