1、The society and culture of major English-speaking countries,Introduction The United Kingdom 1 、full name: The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 2、the effect of its imperial past:It gives the United kingdom an important international role .,3 、a member of EU:It became a member of E
2、uropean Union in 1973. 4 、a multiracial society:Because of immigrant,It is a multiracial society. 5 、 class -system:Britain is divided economically. 6 、region:the difference between high land and lowland 7、 economy: the difference between north and south 8、 a significant role of London,Chapter I,Gre
3、at Britain 1、It includes England,Scotland and Wales 2、 England (1) a cultural and economic dominance,largest one, capital :London (2) history of invasion:from the Roman Empire,Anglo-Saxons,the Vikings,William the conqueror.,3、 Scotland (1) the second largest one biggest city :Glasgow capital: Edinbu
4、rgh (2) physical features: highland and lowlandIt remains a cultural divide. (3) history of invasion:It was not conquered by the Roman Empire,Anglo-Saxons but invaded by the Vikings .,4、Wales (1)the smallest of the three on the mainland, capital :Cardiff, (2) history of invasion: invaded by the Roma
5、n Empire,English neighbours Norman,Northern Ireland,(1) smallest,capital Belfast (2)history:desires for independenceHome Rule Bill,The Easter Rising1916IRA,Sinn Fein (3)troubles: political problems made it significant. Civil Rights movement (by Catholics) :It was a campaigning for equality. Bloody S
6、unday:an symbol of British oppression.468 people were killed.,(4)solution:the Bullet and the Ballot put forward by Sinn Feincooperation between the British and Iresh governments future for Northern Ireland still in doubt,Chapter 3,The government of the united kingdom Britain is arguably the oldest r
7、epresentative democracy in the word. 1 、 The Monarchy: (1) The monarchy is the oldest institution of government. (2)The power of the monarchy was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the “ divine right of kings ”.,2 、the Parliament: (1) the Great Council was the beginning of the Parliament.
8、(2) the Parliament was made up of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. 3 、 the British Government Today (1)It is both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy.,4 、 The Constitution British government today is based upon the terms and conditions of the Constitution. 5 、 the Par
9、liament (today) (1) functions: It passes laws.It provides the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation.,It scrutinise government policy, administration and expenditure It debate the major issues of the day. It has the power to change the terms of the the Constitution. (2) t
10、he Parliament today consists of the Queen , the House of Lords and the House of Commons .,5 、 The Monarchy (today) It is primarily to symbolise the tradition and unity of the British state. 6 、 The House of Lords (and the House of Commons ),Chapter 4,1、General Elections (1)What the importance of gen
11、eral elections? general elections provide opportunities for people to influence future government policies and to replace those incompetent political leaders (2) When do elections occur? After a government has been in power for five years it has to resign and hold a “general election”,(3)Who can sta
12、nd for election as an MP? Anyone who is eligible to vote can stand for election as an MP 2、The Political Parties (1)the Conservative party(2) the Labour party (3)the Liberal Democrats,3、Class (I)class system in British society(seep sample answer) (2) Oxford and Cambridge : They refer to the two top
13、universities in Britain.they offer a good education and network of connections. (3)the hereditary aristocracy:It is a distinctive feature of the British class-system.Children from those aristocratic families can inherit aristocratic title as well as future.The senior of the aristocracy also inherit
14、the right to be lords in the House of Lords.,(4) life peer: They are lords for their life.but whose children can not inherit the titles.They are made life peer out of recognition for achievement in the UK society. 4、race: ethnic relations in the UK (seep sample answer),Chapter 5,The U K Economy 1、Ab
15、solute decline and relative decline : (1)By the 1880 the British economy was dominant in the world,by 1900 this was no longer the case, The UK having been overtaken by both the United States and Germany.,(2)The UK has experienced an economic decline since 1945,but Britain is wealthier and more produ
16、ctive than it was in 1945. It remains one of the Group of Seven large industrial economies. But other countries developed more rapidly. (3)causes for the relative decline :,Britain had gone heavily into debt in order to finance the war. British colonies which used to provide raw materials and big ma
17、rkets gained independence. Britain was heavily burdened with the huge military expenditure during the process of decolonisation.,Britain lacked the investment in modern equipment and new products. 2 Recent History Privatisation in 1980s: When the Conservative party under Margaret Thatcher was in pow
18、er,An extensive programme of privatisation carried out. Many state businesses were privatised.As a result ,inflation came under control,but unemployment rate increased rapidly.,3、The Current UK Economy: (1)Main sectors of the Current UK Economy: the primary industries : agriculture,fishing,mining se
19、condary industries :to manufacture complex goods from primary products tertiary(service):banking,insurance, Tourism and retailing.,(2)The City:One of the biggest financial centres .At the heart of it is the London Stock Exchange. 4、Case Study: The aerospace industry (1)It is the third largest in the
20、 world. (2)Concorde:the world first supersonic civil airliner produced collaboratively by Britain and French aircraft manufacturers.,Chapter 6,British Literature 1、 Early Writing Much of it was concerned with Christianity. (1)Beowulf :a long poem from Anglo-SaxonIt was the beginning of “ Old English
21、 ”literary works,(2) Geoffrey Chaucer and his works Canterbury TalesGeoffrey Chaucer : He was the first court poet to write in English.He was the most famous and great writer, One of his main works was Canterbury Tales Canterbury Tales(seep sample answer),(3) the legend of King Arthur : The king of
22、England in the fifth century. 2 、 Elizabethan Drama (It was called the Renaissance) (1) Elizabethan Drama (see sample answer) (2)William Shakespeare:He was English dramatist and poet in the Elizabethan age.He is generally regarded as the greatest playwright in English literature. His plays fall into
23、 three catagories: tragedies such as Hamlet ,Comedies such as Merchant of Venice ,historical such as Charles II.,3 、The Nineteenth century Novel (1)The romantic movement:It started at the 18th century and the beginning of 19th century.The Romantics emphasis on nature, originality , the emotional and
24、 personal. (2) romantic poets:Keats,Shelley,and Wordsworth (3)romantic writers:The Bronte sisters(seep101 sample answer) Charles Dickens:He was one of the greatest English writers. his main works :Oliver Twist , A Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield.,Walter Scott: He was the most famous Scottish n
25、ovelist ,some of his novels were concerned with Scottish history,such as Rob Roy 4 、Twentieth Century Literature (1)Characteristics of twentieth century literatureIt can be divided into two stylistic periods: Modernism and Postmodernism. (2) Modernism (seep sample answer) (3) Modernist writers:Josep
26、h Conrad, His works such as The Heart of Darkness Virginia Woolf , Her works such as Mrs.Alloway,D.C Lawrence and E.M foster (4)Postmodernism:literature after the second world war .It is characterized by a high degree of experimentation. (5) Postmodernist writers:John Fowles, his works The French Li
27、eutenant s WomanGeorge Orwell, his works 1984,Chapter 7,British Education System1 、 kinds of school: (1) comprehensive school (综合学校） (2)grammar school（语法学校） (3)independent school（ called public school or private school 公学） (4)open university,2 、 two famous public schools: Eton and Winchester 3 、 two
28、 oldest universities: Oxford and Cambridge 4 、 certificates： （1）GCSE：It stands for General Certificate of Secondary Education(中学毕业证书） （2）GCEA: It stands for General Certificate of Education-Advanced(高级水平测试结业证书） （3）GNVQs : It stands for General National Vocational Qualifications(国家专业资格证书）,Chapter 8,B
29、ritain Foreign Relations 1 、 The Foundation of Britains Foreign Policy (seep sample answer) 2 、 The Making of Britains Foreign Policy (seep sample answer) 3 、 Britain and International Institutions,（1）International Institutions：the United Nations 联合国 the United Nations Security Council联合国安理会the Euro
30、pean Union 欧洲联盟 the Commonwealth 欧洲共同体 The North Atlantic Treaty Organization北大西洋公约组织,(2)Britain and the EU (seep sample answer) (3) The Commonwealth (see sample answer) 4 、 Britain and the United States(see sample answer) 5 、 British Security and Defence Policy The Rapid Reaction Corps 快速反应部队 It is
31、 a land based force established by the NATO.The purpose is to provide an early military response to a crisis,Chapter 9,The British Media popularity and function of media:The medias are central to British leisure culture. British leisure activities: watching TV,reading newspapers,listening to the rad
32、io.Briton use the media for entertainment. The medias provide British people with information about political and social issues, weather report, advertisement, etc.,1 、 British newspapers: (1)It has one of the world oldest established newspaper industries.British newspaper culture is unusual , class
33、 and educational differences are reflected in the newspaper people read. (2)newspapers: The Observer: the world s oldest national newspaperThe Times :the United Kingdom s oldest daily newspaper,the Guardian: quality paper It is interested in society and social problems.and radical in politics. the T
34、elegraph the News of the World the Financial Times Tabloid(seep sample answer) 2 、 The Broadcast media: BBC (seep sample answer) The Independent Television Commission,Chapter 10,Sports ,Holidays and Festivals in Britain 1 、 football (1)football in Britain: (seep sample answer) (2)the FA Cup :the foo
35、tball Association Cup (3) Football hooligans:It reflects the violence associated with football.,2 、 tennis Wimbledom (seep sample answer) 3 、 Criketone of the very first team sports in Britain to have organized rules and to be played according to the same rules nationally. 4 、 Golf invented by the S
36、cottish.golf course in St Andrews,5 、 Horse racing:the true royal sport the Royal Ascot: a biggest social event associated with horse racing 6 、 Holidays and Festivals in Britain: (1)The three traditions of Christmas in Britain:the Christmas pantomime Boxing Dayto hear the Queen give her Christmas message,Easter:It occurs in the spring ,the most important Christian festival The Orange March （seep sample answer） Halloween:It is on the 31 October , Scottish festival The Eisteddfod （seep sample answer）,
