I. Different Names for Britain and its Parts 英国的不同名称及其各组成部分
1.Geographical names: the British Isles, Great Britain and England.
地理名称:不列颠群岛，大不列颠和英格兰。
2.Official name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
官方正式名称:大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国。
3.The British Isles are made up of two large islands-Great Britain (the larger one) and Ireland, and hundreds of small ones.
不列颠群岛由两个大岛—大不列颠岛（较大的一个）和爱尔兰岛，及成千上万个小岛组成。
4.Three political divisions on the island of Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales.
大不列颠岛上有三个政治区:英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士。
(1) England is in the southern part of Great Britain. It is the largest, most populous section.
英格兰位于大不列颠岛南部，是最大，人口最稠密的地区。
(2) Scotland is in the north of Great Britain. It has three natural zones (the Highlands in the north; the Central lowlands; the south Uplands) Capital: Edinburgh 苏格兰位于大不列颠的北部。它有三大自然区:北部高地，中部低地及南部山陵。首府:爱丁堡。
(3) Wales is in the west of Great Britain. Capital: Cardiff
威尔士位于大不列颠的西部。首府:加的夫
(4) Northern Ireland is the fourth region of the UK. Capital: Belfast.
北爱尔兰是英国第四个区域。首府:贝尔法斯特。
5.The Commonwealth (of nations) is a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. It was founded in 1931, and has 50 member countries until 1991.
英联邦是曾为英国殖民地的、但现已独立国家所构成的自由联合体。它成立于1931年，至1990年止已有50个成员国。
Britain is an island country 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.
英国是一个岛国。它位于大西洋北部，与欧洲大陆的北海岸隔海相望。南面的英吉利海峡和东面的北海将它与欧洲其它部分隔开。
2.The north and west of Britain are mainly highlands; and the east and southeast are mostly lowlands.
英国的西部和北部主要是高地，东部和东南部主要是低地。
Britain has a maritime climate-winters are not too cold and summers are not too hot. It has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year. The temperature varies within a small range.
英国属于海洋性气候:冬季不过于寒冷，夏季不过于炎热。全年有稳定可靠的降雨量，气温变化幅度小。
2.The factors influence the climate in Britain:影响英国气候的因素:
1）The surrounding waters tend to balance the seasonal differences by heating up the land in winter and cooling it off in summer;
环绕四周的海水。冬天，海水可使岛内气温升高，夏天则使气温降低，从而起到平衡季节温差的作用；
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;
一年四季盛行的西南风和西风在冬季从大西洋带来温暖、潮湿的空气，使气温适宜；
3）The North Atlantic Drift passes the western coast of the British Isles and warms them.
北大西洋暖流经不列颠群岛西海岸，使气候变暖。
3.Rainfall 降雨量:
Britain has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year. The average annual rainfall in Britain is over 1,000mm. There is a water surplus in the north and west, and a water deficit in the south and east.
英国全年降雨量稳定，平均降雨量超过1000毫米。 英国北部、西部雨量过多，但是南部、东部有所缺乏。 作者: Thursday4 时间: 2009-8-14 17:17
V. The People 人口
1.population distribution 人口分布:
Britain has a population of about 57 millions and it is very unevenly distributed. 90% of the population is urban and only 10% is rural. The population of Britain is made up mainly of the English (81.5%), the Scottish (9.6%), the Welsh (1.9%), the Irish (2.4%), the Northern Irish (1.8%) and other peoples (2.8%).
英国人口约570万，分布极不均匀，90%是城市人口，只有10%是农村人口。英国人口组成为:英格兰人（81.5%），苏格兰人（9.6%），威尔士人（1.9%），爱尔兰人、北爱尔兰人和其他民族居民。
2.The difference between the ancestors of the English and Scots, Welsh and Irish:英伦三岛民族的祖先:The ancestors of the English are Anglo-Saxons, the Scots, Welsh and Irish are Celts.
英格兰人祖先属于盎格鲁—萨克逊人，而苏格兰、威尔士和爱尔兰人属于凯尔特人。
3.The difference in character个性差别:
The Welsh are emotional and cheerful people. They are music lovers and are proud of their past.
威尔士人感情丰富，情绪高涨，热爱音乐，为过去感到自豪。
The Scots are said to be a serious, cautious and thrifty people, and they are also hospitable, generous and friendly.
苏格兰人通常被认为严肃、谨慎而且节俭，但是他们同样也热情、大方且友好。
The Irish are charm and vivacity.
爱尔兰人充满魅力，生性活泼。
4.The difference in speech between southern England and northern England:英格兰南方人和北方人语言上的差别:
Southerners speak the type of English close to BBC English; In northern England, regional speech is usually "broader" than that of southern England.
南方人讲的英语接近BBC，北英格兰人的发音通常要比南英格兰人宽。
5.The Welsh keep their language and culture in this way:
威尔士人以这样的方式使他们的语言及文化保持活力。
Throughout the year they have festivals of song and dance and poetry called Eisteddfodau. The great event of the year is the National Eisteddfod. On these occasions competitions are held in Welsh poetry, music, singing and art.
一年中他们有称之为“艺术年会”的唱歌、跳舞、诗歌节。一年中最重要的节日是全国诗歌音乐比赛会。在那里会举行威尔士诗歌、音乐、唱歌和艺术比赛。
6.The main problem in Northern Ireland: 北爱尔兰存在的主要问题:
The fight between the Protestants who are the dominant group, and the Roman Catholics, who are seeking more social, political and economic opportunities. 作为统治者的新教徒和要求更多社会、政治及经济权利的罗马天主教徒之间的斗争。
7.Immigrants: 移民:
About three million have come to Britain to live and find work since World War II.
自从二战以来约有三百万人来英国生活、工作。作者: Thursday4 时间: 2009-8-20 17:12 标题: 第二章
1.The first known settlers of Britain were the Iberians.
人们所知的英国最早居民是伊比利来人。
2. At about 2000 BC the Beaker Folk arrived from the areas now know as Holland and Rhineland.
约公元前2000年，从现在的荷兰和莱茵兰地区来了宽口陶器人。
3. The Celts began to arrive Britain about 700 BC.
约公元前700年，克尔特人来到不列颠岛。
4. The Celts came to Britain in three main waves.
克尔特人来到不列颠有三次高潮。
The first wave were the Gaels-came about 600 BC.
第一次高潮是约公元前600年盖尔人的来临。
The second wave were the Brythons-came about 400 BC.
第二次高潮是约公元前400年布立吞（不列颠）人的抵达。
The third wave were the Belgae-came about 150 BC.
第三次是约公元前150年比利其人的到达。 作者: Thursday4 时间: 2009-8-29 17:18
II. Roman Britain (55BC-410AD)
罗马人统治时期的英国（公元前55年—410年）
1.British recorded history begins with the Roman invasion. In 55BC and 54BC, Julius Caesar, a Roman general, invaded Britain twice. In AD 43, the Emperor Claudius invaded Britain successfully. For nearly 400 years, Britain was under the Roman occupation, though it was never a total occupation.
有记录的英国历史开始于罗马人的入侵。公元前55年和54年，罗马将军朱略斯•凯撒两次入侵英国，均未成功。直到公元43年，克劳锹才成功占领不列颠。将近四百年里，英国人处于罗马人的占领下，但这并非是完全的占领。
2. Roman’s influence on Britain.The Roman built many towns, road, baths, temples and buildings. They make good use of Britain’s natural resources. They also brought the new religion, Christianity, to Britain.
罗马人修建了许多城镇网，道路，澡堂，庙宇和其他建筑物。他们还很好地利用了英国的自然资源。罗马人还把基督教这门新宗教带到不列颠。
3.Reasons for limited Roman influence on Britain.
罗马对不列颠的影响有限的原因。
First, the Romans always treated the Britons as a subject people of slave class. Second, never during the 4 centuries did the Romans and Britons intermarry. Third, the Romans had no impact on the language or culture of ordinary Britons.
首先，罗马人把不列颠人当作奴隶阶段的属民来对待。其次，在四世纪对罗马人和不列颠人通婚。最后，罗马人也未影响普通不列颠人的语言和文化。
Summary: This is the second part of Chapter 2 (The Origins of a Nation). It introduced some important events and important people in England from 446 to 1066. These most important events are The Anglos-Saxons’ invasion; The Viking and Danish Invasions and The Norman Conquest.
(简要:这是第二章“国家的起源”的第二部分。在这一部分里，主要是介绍了英国从公元446年到1066年所发生的重要事件及人物。这些重要事件分别是盎格鲁—撒克逊人的入侵，北欧海盗和丹麦人的入侵及诺曼征服)。作者: Thursday4 时间: 2009-9-3 17:02
III. The Anglo-Saxons (446-871)
盎格鲁—撒克逊人（公元446—871年）
1. Basis of Modern English race: the Anglo-Saxons.
盎格鲁—萨克逊时代（奠定了英国的基础）
In the mid-5th century a new wave of invaders, Jutes, Saxons, and Angles came to Britain. They were three Teutonic tribes.The Jutes, who fished and farmed in Jutland, came to Britain first. A Jutish chief became the King of Kent in 449. Then the Saxons, users of the short-sword from northern Germany, established their kingdom in Essex, Sussex and Wessex from the end of the 5th century to the beginning of the 6th century. In the second half of the 6th century. In the second half of the 6th century, the Angles, who also came from northern Germany and were to give their name to the English people, settled in East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria. These seven principal kingdoms of Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria have been given the name of Heptarchy.
五世纪中叶，朱特人、撒克逊人和盎格鲁人不断入侵不列颠。这是三支日耳曼（条顿）部落。居住在朱特兰岛（现丹麦南部）上从事打渔农耕的朱特人先抵不列颠。后来从德国北部来的使用短剑的撒克逊人在埃撒克斯、苏塞克斯和威塞克斯建立了王国，统治期从五世纪末至六世纪初。六世纪后半叶，同样来自德国北部的盎格鲁人，在东盎格利亚、麦西亚以及诺森伯利来定居，同时也他们也把名字给了英国人。这七个主要王国（肯特、埃塞克斯、苏塞克斯、威塞克斯、东盎格利亚、麦西亚和诺森伯利亚），合称为七王国。作者: Thursday4 时间: 2009-9-10 16:30
2.The early Anglo-Saxons converted to Christianity.
最早的盎格鲁—撒克逊人改信基督教。
The Anglo-Saxons brought their own Teutonic religion to Britain. Christianity soon disappeared, except among the Celts of Cornwall, Wales, Scotland and Ireland. In 597, Pope Gregory I sent St. Augustine, the Prior of St. Andrew’s Monastery in Rome, to England to convert the heathen English to Christianity. In 579 St. Augustine became the first Archbishop of Canterbury. He was remarkably successful in converting the king and the nobility, but the conversion of the common people was largely due to the missionary activities of the monks in the north.
盎格鲁—撒克逊人把日耳曼宗教带到了英国。除了康瓦尔、威尔士、苏格兰和爱尔兰中的克尔特人还信奉基督教外，基督教很快就消失了。公元597，教皇格里高一世把罗马圣安德鲁修道院的副院长圣奥古斯丁派遣到英格兰，其使命是使异教徒的英国人皈依基督教。公元579年圣奥古丁成为坎特伯雷大主教。在使国王和贵族皈依基督教方面，奥古斯丁特别成功。但是普通人的皈依很大程度上归功于北部修士们的传教活动。
3.The Early Anglo-Saxons make the contributions to the English state.
早期盎格鲁—撒克逊人为英国做出的贡献。
The Anglo-Saxons laid the foundations of the English state. Firstly, they divided the country into shires, with shire courts and shire reeves, or sheriffs, responsible for administering law. Secondly, they devised the narrow-strip, three-field farming system which continued to the 18th century. Thirdly, they also established the manorial system. Finally, they created the Witan（council or meeting of the wisemen） to advise the king, the basis of the Privy Council which still exists today.
盎格鲁—撒克逊人为英国国家的形成打下了基础。首先，他们把国家划分为郡，郡法庭和郡法官、或行政司法长官负责执法。其次，他们设计的窄条三圃田农耕制延用至18世纪。此外，他们还建立了领地制。最后，他们还创立了议会(贤人会议)，向国王提供建议，这就成为了今天仍存在的枢密院的基础。作者: wenghaixi 时间: 2010-2-14 21:05
we are studying this book too. i think it is quite difficult for me,because i know nothing about Englishspeaking countries. i have little knowlege of history作者: 谢圻怕kte 时间: 2012-12-9 12:35
10# Thursday4 
