Unit1.(选择、判断、填空)
1.The flag of Britain : Union Jack 2.The capital of each country :
England London Scotland Wales Northern Ireland
Edinburgh Cardiff Belfast
3.The time joining the British parliament:
However, in 1707 by agreement of the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the Union.
4.Difference between the British Isles ,UK, Great Britain , and England:
? British Isles: the island of Great Britain the island of Ireland surrounding isles
? UK=Great Britain + Northern Ireland
? Great Britain =England +Scotland + Wales
5.The four major invasions in the history of Great Britain :
At first, England was occupied by Celtic people.
Then in 43AD Britain was invaded by the Roman empire.
Result: England and Wales became a part of the Roman empire for nearly 400 years.
the Angle-Saxon invaded.
Result: The land they lived became\Angle-land\changed into England, the language they spoken became English.
the Vikings invaded.
Result in a certain cultural divide between northerners and southerners in England, which can be expressed as \
the Normans , William of Normandy invaded this country.
Result: This marks the last time that an army from outside the British Isles succeeded in invading
London: (P18) Unit2(选择、判断、填空)
Northern Ireland (often called \
1.Activities to seek Irish independence :
? Home -rule
? The Easter Rising of 1916: was the most spectacular event, in which the rebels took
over Dublin's Post Office, forcing the British to retake it by military means.
2.Political parties:
? the Sinn Fein party legal ? SDLP: Social Democratic and Labour Party ? IRA: Irish Republican Army (illegal)
3.Political troubles in Northern Ireland (famous):
? Indigenous Roman Catholics vs. Protestant immigrates
? Partition(分割) : The southern 26 counties would form an independent \
while the 6 north-eastern counties would remain a part of the UK.
(即26 Republic Ireland ,6 Northern Ireland ) 4.the Good Friday Agreement :(了解下,P36)
Unit 3
1.Process of state building:
The process of state-building has been one of evolution rather than revolution.
2.The oldest institution of government in Britain :
Britain is both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy.
3.Divine right of kings :
It was held that the sovereign derived his authority from God, not from his subjects.
4.Magna Carta :
limits on the king's ability to abuse his royal power.
5.the Bill of Rights :
ensured that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament. ( William of Orange 时期)
6.The Constitution :(P49)
7.The functions of parliament :(P49)
8.Parliament:
? The queen : (symbolised ,traditional ) She is legally head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, mander in chief of the armed forces and \England,a confidante to the Prime Minister(了解下)
? The House of Lords : do not receive salaries ,both sexist and elitist (了解下) Lords Spiritual hereditary peers Lords Temporal life peers
? The House of mons (P49) 重要
Unit4
1.The importance of general elections:(P67) 重要 2.The electoral campaigns :(P67) 3.The formation of the government :(P67) 4.The class system in the UK:(P67)
5.Ethnic relations in the UK:(P67) 了解下
6.The main political parties in the UK:
? The Conservative party (newest) : setting up the National Health Service ? The Labour party: From 1979 to 1997, the Conservative Party won 4 elections in row
? The Liberal Democrats: a party of the \
Margaret-Thatcher 改革(There were also negative consequences) 了解下
Unit5(判断、选择、填空)
1、Absolute Decline
2、Relative Decline of the UK economy: (P81) 重要 3、the reason for its relative decline :(了解下)
the country had gone heavily into debt in order to finance the war the era of empire was over Large military expenses
Outdated industries and less-petitive products A lack of close relationship between industry and banks
4.The division of British industries :
Primary industries (mining industry 矿业) Secondary industries (steelindustry钢铁业)
Tertiary industries (insurance 保险, the selling of goods)
5.The City: The name given to the historic area at the centre of London
6.The London Stock Exchange: The heart of the City
(伦敦的中心是伦敦城,伦敦城的中心是伦敦证券交易所)
Unit6(填空、选择、判断)
1.Beowulf :
One of the oldest of these early \Anglo-Saxon times called Beowulf.
2.Geoffrey Chaucer:The Canterbury Tales
3.Elizabethan Drama:
Marlowe : The Tragical History of Dr Faustus
William Shakespeare : Romeo and Juliet The Taming of the Shrew Hamlet A Midsummer Night's Dream tragedies Othello edies Twelfth Night (重要) King Lear The Tempest Macbeth.
history plays:Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV, and Henry V. Julius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra 4.The 17th Century: John Milton : Paradise Lost
5.The 18th Century:
Jonathan Swift : Gulliver's Travels 6.The Romantic Period:
William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge:Lyrical Ballads (marked the beginning of the Romantic Period. )
George Gordon, Lord Byron Three men John Keats Percy Bysshe Shelley
7.The Nineteenth Century Novel: Mary Shelley: Frankenstein Sense and Sensibility Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice Emma Charlotte : Jane Eyre the Bronte sisters Emily: Wuthering Heights Ann Elizabeth Gaskell : North and South Oliver Twist Charles Dickens David Copperfield Great Expectations The Return of the Native Thomas Hardy Tess of the D’Urbervilles Jude the Obscure 8.Female writers in the 19th century of Britain: Mary Shelley Jane Austen the Bronte sisters Elizabeth Gaskell
9.20th Century Literature :
Twentieth century literature can be broadly divided into two stylistic periods: Modernism, and Postmodernism. Joseph Conrad : The Heart of Darkness Mrs. Dalloway Virginia Woolf To the Lighthouse Orlando A Room of One's Own D. H. Lawrence : Sons and Lovers Unit7
1.The purpose of the British education system:
① provide children with literacy and the other basic skills ② socialise children
③ children are taught practical skills ④ learn the rules and values ⑤ participate in the munity
⑥ contribute to the economic prosperity of an advanced industrial economy.
2.The influence of the church on schooling:
? education was voluntary and many of the schools that existed were set up by
churches.
? religious education was the only subject
? Daily prayers and singing hymns is still a regular part of school life
3.The National Curriculum:
? All children throughout the country must study the following subjects: English,
mathematics, science, religious education, history, geography, technology, music, art, physical education, and a modern foreign language.
? All children throughout the country must pass national tests and schools. ? All teachers are told what to teach and their schools are now ranked according to
how well they perform this task.
4.State school:
93% of pupils receive free education from the public sector.
5.Independent school(public schools/ private school):
Independent schools are not part of the national education system. Etor school Larrow school Winchester college
6.prehensive school:
Entrance exams were abolished.
Such schools provide a general education. Pupils can study everything from academic subjects like literature and sciences, to more practical subjects like cooking and carpentry.
7.Grammar school:
Those who show academic potential are admitted to the grammar schools where the emphasis is on advanced academic work rather than the more general curriculum of the prehensive schools.
8.GCSE:General Certificate of Secondary Education
9.GCEA:General Certificate of Education-Advanced
10.GNVQs:General National Vocational Qualifications
11.The universities in Britain:
British universities are public bodies,except one university, the University of Buckingham.
12.The Open University:
The Open University offers a non-traditional route for people to take university level courses and receive a university degree , through textbooks, tv and radio broadcasts, correspondence, videos, residential schools and a network of study centres. Unit8
1.Countries to establish UN:
2.The permanent members of the UN Security Council: the Soviet Union, the United States, China ,France, UK
3.The foundations of Britain's foreign policy:
The contemporary foreign policy of the UK is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits
4.The making of Britain's foreign policy:(P128)
5.The relationship between Britain and the EU (P128)
The decision joined the EEC ( psychological , natural , controversial )
The UK has always been less enthusiastic about giving up its national sovereignty to a European government.
6.The monwealth:
Britain is also a member of the monwealth, a voluntary association of states . There are 50 members of the monwealthhich is made up mostly of former British colonies.
7.NATO ( North Atlantic Treaty Organisation ) :
protect member states against aggression The purpose of NATO provide a foundation for security in Europe provide a forum for transatlantic defence cooperation
8.Special relationship with US: has gone through many up and downs
9.Independent nuclear weapons capability: Britain is a traditional sea power. Unit9
1.The division of British media: (降序排列)
① TV
② Newspaper (In Britain, most advertising is carried in newspapers) ③ Radio ④ Magazine
2.The functions of the British media:
① Entertainment
② Provide British people with information about political and social issues ③ Provide weather reports ④ Carry advertising
⑤ Used for educational purposes
⑥ Provide a forum for people to write letters or phone in to express their views or seek advice
⑦ Help Britain engender national culture
3.Oldest newspaper:
The world's oldest national newspaper : The Observer The British oldest daily newspaper: The Times
The very names of British newspapers-The Times, The Observer, The Guardian—still suggest that the function of the paper is to offer the electorate objective reports about what is happening in the country
4.Papers issued internationally:
The Financial Times is printed in Frankfurt, France, Hong Kong, New Jersey, Los
Angeles, Tokyo and Madrid. ( (Daily)Telegraph / The News of the World )
5.Quality press and gutter press:
The Daily Telegraph The Times The Guardian Quality press The Observer 6.Fleet street:
It is also known as the Street of Shame 7.BBC:(P144)
Unit10
1.Sports born in Britain :
Cricket, football, lawn tennis, golf, rugby
FA Cup:(Football Association Cup) 2.Football violent sport
Gentle sport
gutter press The Sun 3.Tennis Wimbledon
Wimbledon is where the world's best players gather to pete on grass courts. It is one of the major events of the British sporting calendar and probably the most famous tennis event in the world. 4. Cricket:
Cricket was one of the very first team sports in Britain to have organised rules and to be played according to the same rules nationally. 5. Golf:
The game of golf was invented by the Scottish.
6. Horse sports:
Flat racing ? Horse racing steeplechasing The Grand Ntional
The Royal Asot : people usually dress up and show off their fashionable cloth and elaborate hats for the social event
? Equestrianism ? Hunting
7. Three traditions of Christmas:(P163)
? the Christmas Pantomime ? the Queen's Christmas message ? the Boxing Day : Traditionally, it was on Boxing Day that people gave Christmas
gifts or money to their staff or servants.
8. Religious holiday:
crucifixion n and resurrection of Jesus Christ Easter Christmas
9.National Holidays: -----Queen's Birthday
\
10.Holidays in the 4 nations:
? England:
Guy Fawkes Night (the Bonfire Night, celebrated in November) ? Northern Ireland:
St Patrick's Day(March 17)
Orange Marches,Battle of the Boyne (July 12) ? Scotland:
Hogmanay (12.31) Burns Supper(1.25) Halloween (10.31) ? Wales:
The Eisteddfod: festival of music making and poetry
英语国家社会及文化入门知识考点总结



