英語國家概況ABRIEFINTRODUCTIONENGLISH—SPEAKINGCOUNTRIESPartOneUnitedKingdomofBritainandNorthern第一部分大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯(lián)合王國第一章國土與人民Chapter1LandPeopleⅠ英國的不同名稱及其區(qū)域1。DifferentNamesforBritainanditsParts人們說到英國時常常使用不同的名稱：稱一樣嗎?還是有所區(qū)別？WhenpeoplerefertoBritain，theyoftenusenamessuchBritain,GreatBritain，England，theBritishIsles,theUnitedKingdomortheU.K。Dotheythething？Oraretheydifferent?諸島是由兩個大島和幾百個小島組成的。兩個大島是不列顛島和愛爾蘭島，其中不列顛島較大，它與愛爾蘭島的北部一北愛爾蘭構(gòu)成聯(lián)合王國.因此,聯(lián)合王國的正式國名是大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯(lián)合王國。但一口氣說出這么長的國名太費事，因此，人們就說不列顛,聯(lián)合王國或簡單地說UK。這是不列顛島上的一個國家,首都是倫敦.另外還有一個國家，叫愛爾蘭共和國或稱愛爾蘭，也位于不列顛島上。它占據(jù)了愛1949Strictlyspeaking，theBritishIsles，GreatBritainandEnglandareallgeographicalnames。TheyarenottheoftheTheBritishIslesareofislandsandhundredsofsmallones.ThetwoislandsareGreatBritainandIreland。GreatBritainistheofthesetwoIttheUnitedKingdomwithNorthernIreland—thenorthernpartofIreland.SotheofficialoftheUnitedKingdomistheUnitedKingdomofGreatBritainandNorthernIreland.ButitismuchofamouthfultosaysuchalongforasopeoplejustsayBritain，theUnitedKingdomorsimplyU.K。ThisisonecountryontheBritishIslesanditscapitalisLondon。ThereisanothercountrycalledtheRepublicofIrelandorEiretheBritishIsles。IttakestheremainderofIreland—thesouthernpartofIreland。Ithasbeenindependentrepublicsince1949anditscapitalisDublin.大不列顛島上有三個政治區(qū)：裕。因此人們常用英格蘭指代英國，用英格蘭人指代英國人。這有時令蘇格蘭人和威爾士人不快，他們不認為自己是英格蘭人，他們有自己的文化,甚至有自己的語言。TherearethreepoliticaldivisionsontheislandofGreatBritain：England，ScotlandandEnglandthelargest,populousandgenerallyspeakingtherichestsection.Sopeopletendtouse‘England’and‘English’whentheymean‘Britain’and‘British’.ThissometimesannoystheScotsorthewhodonotregardthemselvesasEnglishandwhohaveacultureandevenalanguageoftheirown。這個帝國占有世界上四分之一的人口,四分之一的面積。它不僅在北美，而且在亞洲、非洲和澳洲都有殖民地。但是兩次世界大戰(zhàn)大大削弱了英國，英國殖民地接二連三獨立，大英帝國逐漸消失,1931年由英聯(lián)邦所取代。Britainhasbeenoneofimportantcountriestheworld。Aboutahundredyearsago,asaresultofitsimperialistexpansion,Britainruledanempirethathadonefourthofthepeopleandonefourthofthelandarea.hadcoloniesnotonlyNorthAmerica，butalsoAsia,AfricaandAustralia.thetwoworldwarsgreatlyweakenedBritain。TheBritishEmpiregraduallydisappearedandwasreplacedbyBritishCommonwealthortheCommonwealthofNationsin1931.有一定的貿(mào)易協(xié)議。英聯(lián)邦沒有特別的權(quán)力，是否參加英聯(lián)邦由各成員國自己決定.目前（1991年)，英聯(lián)邦有個成員國。Thecommonwealth（ofNations)isafreeassociationofindependentcountriesthatwereoncecoloniesofBritain。Membernationsarejoinedtogethereconomicallyandhavecertaintradingarrangements。Thecommonwealthhasnospecialpowers.Thedecisionbecomeaofthecommonwealthislefteachnation。Atpresentthereare50membercountrieswithintheCommonwealth(1991).1Ⅱ英國的地理特征GeographicalFeatures英國與歐洲的其他部分隔開。英法之間的英吉利海峽很狹窄，最狹窄的地方叫多佛爾海峽，只有33公里寬。1985年，英法兩國政府決定在多佛爾海峽底修建一個隧道，把兩個國家連接起來.經(jīng)過八年的奮斗，這條名為查諾爾的海底隧道于1994年52441000公里，東西最寬闊的地方約為500擁有優(yōu)良的深水港。BritainisislandItissurroundedbythesea。ItliesinthenorthAtlanticOceanthenorthcoastofEurope。ItisseparatedfromtherestofEuropebytheEnglishChannelthesouthandtheNorthSeaintheeast。TheEnglishChannelbetweenEnglandandFranceisquitenarrowandthenarrowestpartiscalledtheofwhichisonly33kmacross。In1985theBritishgovernmentandtheFrenchgovernmentdecidedtobuildachanneltunnelundertheofDoversothatEnglandandFrancecouldbejoinedtogetherbyroad.Aftereightyearsofhardworkthischanneltunnelwhichiscalled’’Chunnel'’wasopentotrafficMay1994。Britaincoversareaof244,100squarekrn。Itruns1，000kmfromnorthsouthandextends,atthewidestpart,aboutkilometers。SonopartofBritainisveryfarfromthecoastandprovidesavaluableresource。TheBritishcoastislongandhasgood,providesavaluableresource。TheBritishcoastlongandgood,providingcheaptransportation。是山地。這種上升在蘇格蘭西部形成了突起的海灘――山的平地。這種海灘提供了主要的農(nóng)田、定居點、工業(yè)區(qū)及通道。東部及東南部主要是低地，是"歐洲大平原"的一部分，有著平坦的土地及肥沃的土壤。尤其是南部及英格蘭東海岸有許多良田.Britainhas,forcenturies，beenslowlytiltingwiththeslowlyrisingandtheSouth—Eastslowlysinking。ThenorthandwestofBritainaremainlyhighlands。westernpartsofScotlandthisriseinthelandhasresultedintheformationofraisedbeaches-flatareasoflandinotherwisemountainousarea，whichprovidethemainfarming,settlements,andindustrialareasaswellasrouteways。Theeastandsouth—eastaremostlylowlands.TheyarepartoftheGreatEuropeanPlain，withitslevellandandfertilesoil.ThereismuchgoodfarmlandespeciallyinthesouthandalongeastcoastofEngland。在冰川時代，英國覆蓋著大冰塊,導致英國壯觀的山景，尤其是斯諾多尼亞、湖泊區(qū)及蘇格蘭山地，DuringtheIceAgegreaticecoveredGreatBritain。IcehasbeenresponsibleforofBritain’sspectacularmountainsceneryespeciallySnowdonia，theLakeDistrict,andtheScottishHighlands。ItleftGreatBritainwithmountainswithflattops,hangingvalleyswithwaterfalls,ribbonlakes，flatvalleyfloors,steepvalleysides，boulderclayandfertilesoil.1.英格蘭1。England130000平方公里，占整個島的60％。除了塞汶河谷及柴郡――蘭開郡平原（中心為利物浦）外,其西南部和西部主要是高原，也有起伏的平原、丘陵地及少數(shù)沼澤地，但主要是高原。從北中部延伸至蘇格蘭邊境的奔寧山脈是主要山脈。但英格蘭的最高峰斯加非爾峰（978米）卻位于西北部的湖泊區(qū)。英格蘭東部主要是開闊的可耕種平原，此平原的海岸沼澤地和奔寧山脈之間變成一條狹窄的走廊（約克谷），在諾桑伯蘭郡則變成很窄的海岸帶。Englandoccupiesthelargest，southernpartofGreatBritainwithitswestandScotlandtoitsnorth.Ithasanareaofmorethan130,000squarekilometerswhichtakesupnearly60％ofthewholeisland，thenorth—westandwestexceptfortheSevernvalleyandtheCheshire-Lancashireplain（roundLiverpool)areaplateau,withrollingplains,downsandoccasionalmoors.ThePennines，arangeofhillsrunningfromNorthMidlandstheScottisharetheprincipalmountainchain。ButthehighestpeakofEngland，Scafell(978m）,isintheLakeDistrictnorth—westEngland。TheeastofEnglandismainlyanopencultivatedplain，narrowingNorthtoapassageofbetweencoastalmoorsandthePennines,andinNorthumberlandtoacoastalstrip.2.蘇格蘭2。Scotland2蘇格蘭面積為78760然區(qū):（300――200多米的海岸線,西面尤其如此。本奈維斯山海拔1，343米，英國的最高峰就在此地。山地西部及赫布里底群島風景迷人.狹長的海灣與荒山交錯，一些內(nèi)海上的農(nóng)場只有坐小船才能到達。中部低地，主要由福斯和克萊德谷、煤礦和鐵礦區(qū)及奶牛牧場組成。中部是蘇格蘭主要的工業(yè)區(qū)，人口最為稠密，是蘇格蘭最重（多在240-600米之間800座島嶼,包括奧克尼群島，設(shè)德蘭群島及赫布里底群島，此外還有幾百個湖泊。愛丁堡是蘇格蘭的首府。Scotlandhasanareaof78，760squarekilometers.ItisinthenorthGreatBritainwithmountains,lakesandislands.Therearethreenaturalzones:theHighlandsthenorth,thecentralLowlands,andthesouthernUplands。TheHighlands（300—over1,200m)areawild，mountainousplateauwithacoastlinedeeplyindented,especiallythewest.BenNevis，thehighestmountainBritain(1，343m）islocatedhere.ThewesternpartofHighlandsandtheislandsofHebridesareaverybeautifulregion。Greatsea—lochs,orfiords,alternatewithwildandemptyhills，andonofthelochstherearefarmswhichcanonlybereachedbyboat。TheLowlandsinthecentercomprisemostlytheForthandClydevalleys,coalandironfieldsanddairypasture。ThisistheimportantinScotlandwhichcontainsoftheindustryandpopulation。ThesouthernUplands,arollingmoorland(mainly240—600m),arecutbysmallfertilerivervalleys.Scotlandhasabout800islandsincludingOrkneys。ShetlandsandHebridesandhundredsoflakes。EdinburghisthecapitalofScotland.3。威爾士3。威爾士位于大不列顛島的西部，面積為20，761平方公里，占整個島的近9%。威爾士大部分地區(qū)是山。山脈沿海陡峭聳起，而山頂卻相當平坦。威爾士6％為森林覆蓋，大部分鄉(xiāng)村是草原牧場――養(yǎng)牛養(yǎng)12%山地高度在180600米之間，北面多巖石，南面有煤。西北部的斯諾多尼亞山(1085米)是威爾士的最高點。威爾士首府是加的夫。isthewestofGreatBritain.Ithasanareaof20,761squarekilometerswhichtakeslessthanofthewholeisland。Mostofismountainous:thehillsrisesteeplyfromtheseaandareratherflatontop。6%ofiscoveredwithforestandmuchofthecountryispasture—landforsheepandcattle.Only12%ofthelandisarable。amassifwithalowlandfringewidestalongtheEnglishborderandsouthcoast.Themassifislargelybetween180androckyinthenorthandcoalbearinginthesouth。Snowdonia（1，085m）inthenorthwestisthehighestmountainThecapitalofisCardiff。4.北愛爾蘭4。Northern北愛爾蘭是聯(lián)合王國的第四個所屬區(qū)域。它占據(jù)愛爾蘭北部五分之一的面積――14，147平方公里。北愛爾蘭北部海岸線荒蕪多石,并有幾處深陷的回地。東北部地區(qū)的安特里爾郡多高地，而向東南部逐漸NorthernIrelandisafourthregionoftheUnitedKingdom.IttakesthenorthernfifthofIrelandandhasareaof14，147squarekilometers.Ithasarockyandwildnortherncoastline，withseveraldeepindentations.thenorth—eastgraduallygivewaycentrallowlandsoftheLoughNeaghbasin.BelfastisthecapitalofNorthernIreland.Ⅲ.河流和湖泊III.RiversandLakes的北海各港口，距離富饒的漁區(qū)也很近。而西海岸的克萊德河、默西河和塞汶河把原材料運到繁忙的內(nèi)陸338流經(jīng)英格蘭中西部，注入布里斯托爾海峽。第二大河，也是英國最重要的河是泰晤士河，全長336發(fā)源于英格蘭西南部的科茨沃耳德山，流經(jīng)英格蘭中部到達倫敦，注入北海。泰晤士河流速相當慢，這對水路運輸極為有利。海輪可以沿著此河遠至倫敦，而小船則可再上溯138萊德河是蘇格蘭最重要的河流。它發(fā)源于鄧弗里斯山，全長171公里，流經(jīng)格拉斯哥，注入克萊德河灣，是重要的商業(yè)水路航道.RiversinBritaindonotfreezeTheyplayaveryimportantroletheThegreatportsofLondon，LiverpoolandGlasgowareallconnectedtoseabyrivers。3Besides，thethetheandtheThamesriversoneastcoastfaceNorthportsontheEuropeancontinent.Theyalsoclosetorichfishinggrounds。OnthewestcoasttheClyde,theandtheSevernriverscarryrawmaterialstobusymanufacturingcitiesinland。TheriversBritainnotveryThelongestriveristheSevernRiverwhichisonly338kilometerslong。ItrisesincentralandflowsasemicirclethroughCentralEnglandtotheBristolChannel。ThesecondlargestandmostimportantriverBritainistheThamesItis336kilometerslong。ItrisesintheCotswoldssouthwestEnglandandflowsthroughtheMidlandsofEnglandtoLondonandoutintotheNorthSea.TheThamesflowsratherwhichisveryfavorableforwatertransportation。Ocean-goingshipscansailitasfarasLondonandsmallshipscansailupitforafurther138kilometers.OxfordisalsoontheThames。RiverClydetheimportantriverScotland.risesDumfriesandruns171kilometers，passingthroughandenterstheFirthofClyde.isanimportantcommercial大的湖是北愛爾蘭的洛尼格湖，面積為396和美麗的景色及15個湖而名揚天下。其中較大的湖有汶德密湖、鄂思水湖、德文水湖和柯尼斯頓水湖.湖區(qū)也是湖畔詩人的家。例如世紀的威廉。華茲華斯,塞繆爾.泰勒.柯勒律治和羅伯特.騷塞。TherearemanylakesinBritainespeciallyinnorthernScotland,theLakeDistrictinnorth—westEnglandandNorththelakeBritainistheLoughNeaghinNorthernIrelandwhichcoversareaof396squarekilometers。TheLakedistrictisoneofthepopulartouristattractionsinBritain。Itwellknownforitswildandbeautifulsceneryand15lakes.TheonesareDerwentwaterandConistonItwasalsothehomeoftheLakepoetsSamuelColeridgeandRobertSoutheyof19thcenturyBritain.Ⅳ.氣候Climate1。海洋性氣候Amaritimetypeofclimate況。盡管英國人似乎總在抱怨天氣下雨、變化無常、不可預(yù)測，但實際上英國的氣候相當宜人,是海洋性氣候――冬季溫和不冷、夏季涼爽不熱，全年有穩(wěn)定的降雨量。氣溫變化小,北方冬季平均氣溫是攝氏4－612-17Whenwesayclimatewemeantheaverageweatherconditionsatacertainplaceoveraperiodofyears.meantheday-to-dayweatherconditionsacertainplace.ThoughseemsthatpeoplearealwayscomplainingabouttheweatherinBritainbecauseisrainyandchangeableandunpredictable,theclimateBritainisinfactafavorableone.Ithasafavorablemaritimeclimate.aremild，nottoocoldandsummersarecool，nottoohot，andhasasteadyreliablerainfallthroughoutthewholeIthasasmallrangeoftemperature.averagetemperaturewinterinthenorthis4—6degreesC。andininthesouthis12—17degreesC.Soevenwinteronecanstillseestretchesofgreengrassintheopentheparksandroundthehouses。2。影響英國氣候的因素2.FactorswhichinfluencetheclimateinBritain英國是個位于北緯50—60度之間的島國,甚至比中國的黑龍江的最北端還要靠北。與同一緯度的其他Britainanislandcountrywhichliesbetweenlatitude5060degreesnorth。ItliesfarthernorththaneventhenorthernmostpartofHeilongjiangProvinceChina。Comparedwithothercountriesofthelatitudesithasamoremoderateclimate,whichisinfluencedmainlybythreefactors:（1)季帶來暖氣，夏季帶來涼氣。(1）ThesurroundingwaterstendtobalancetheseasonaldifferencesbyheatingupthelandinwinterandcoolingitinAstheseaheatsupandcoolsrelativelyslowlyitbringswarmairwinterandcoolair（2)(2)Theprevailingsouth-westwindsortheblowoverthecountryalltheyearroundbringingwarmandwetairinwinterandkeepingthe4temperaturesmoderate.（3）北大西洋暖流流經(jīng)大不列顛群島西海岸并使其溫和。(3)TheNorthAtlanticDrift,whichisawarmcurrent，passesthewesterncoastoftheBritishIslesandwarmsthem.預(yù)測。有時甚至同一個人在同一天可以經(jīng)歷四季。早上是天氣晴朗的春天，一兩個小時后,烏云不知從哪里跑出來,大雨傾盆而下。到了中午,氣溫下降約8照，天黑前的一兩個小時里又是夏天.據(jù)說天氣的不確定對英國人的性格有很大影響，例如使他們謹慎行事。當你看到一個英國人在陽光燦爛的早上穿著雨衣拿著雨傘出門時,你可能會笑話他。但是更經(jīng)常的是一會兒就下起了毛毛細雨，當然你未必需要雨傘。Sinceclimateisofthemaritimetype,characterizedbycooltemperature,frequentcloudyandrainstorms。Itchangesfromdaytoandthismakesitdifficultforecast.Itischangeablethatoneexperiencefourseasonsinthecourseofasinglebreakasafinespringmorning；hourorsolaterblackcloudshaveappearedfromnowhereandrainbepouringdown。Atmiddayconditionsreallywinterywiththetemperaturestoabout8degreesC.Thenthelaterafternoontheskywillbethesunwillbeginshineagain，andforhourortwobeforedarknessfalls,willbeIthasbeensaidthattheuncertaintyabouttheweatherhashadadefiniteeffectuponIttendshimcautious,forexample.laughwhenyouanEnglishmangoingoutabrilliantlysunnymorningwearingaraincoatandcarryinganumbrella.frequentlyitindrizzlesandyounecessarilyneedumbrella。3。降雨量3。Rainfall1000750－1250毫米，只有東南部的少數(shù)地區(qū)降雨量不足750毫米。在西部，降雨量可達1250—2000毫米,西北部一些地區(qū)則超過2000毫米。從大西洋吹來的暖流給整個英國一年四季帶來暖濕空氣。在西部，暖流遇到高地就上升變冷，導致了大量的降雨。而東部降雨不多是因為西來的空氣爬過高地后，就變暖變干，雨水就不多了。BritainhasasteadyreliablerainfallthroughouttheTheaverageannualrainfallBritainisover1，000Ithas750mm—1250ofrainfallalongthecoasttheeastandsouthexceptasmallar