英语国家概况P171.Britain is now a multiracial society which produces a population ofwhich 1 in 20 are of non-European ethnicity.2.Britain is a country with a history of invasions. In 43 AD Britain wasinvaded by the Roman Empire in the 11th century they suffered invasions from Normans.3.Charles the first, king of Britain, was executed, because he attemptedto overthrow parliament in the English Revolution. two Scottish cities which have ancient and internationallyrespected universities: Edinburgh and Glasgow.5.Both the Scottish and Welsh people elect their members ofparliaments to the London Parliament and each holds 72 and 38 seats respectively.P476.The doctrine of the “divine right of kings”held that the sovereignderived his authority from God not from his subjects.7.During the civil war in the 17th century, those who represented theinterests of Parliament aare called roundheads, and those who supported the King were called loyalists.8.In 1215, some feudal barons and the Church forced King John to signthe Magna Carta to place some limits on the King’s power.9.In medical times, kings would summon a group of wealthy barons andrepresentatives of countries, towns and cities—called the Great Council to raise money.10.I n 1689, Parliament passed the Bill of Rights to ensure that the kingwould never be able to ignore Parliament.11.I n Britain, the official head of state is the Queen while the real centreof political life is in the House of Commons.12.S trictly speaking, the Parliament today consist of the Queen, theHouse of Lords and the House of Commons.13.L ife peers should be nominated by Prime minister and appointed bythe sovereign.P6714.T he UK is divided into 650constituencies with each of themrepresented by a member in the parliament.15.T he party which wins the majority seats in parliament forms thegovernment and its party leader becomes the Prime Minister.16.N ormally, a government can be in power for 5 years, and then it hasresign and hold a general election.17.N ational Health Service was established by the Labour government in1948, providing health care for all the people.18.O ne distinctive feature about the class system in British is that it stillretains a hereditary aristocracy.P11719.T wo famous public schools mentioned in the text are Eton andWinchester.20.C hildren in Britain must receive a full-time education legally from theage of five to sixteen.21.P upils from the age of 5 to11mainly attend state-run primaryschools.22.S tudents attend secondary schools from the age of 11 up to aroundthe age of 19.23.C omprehensive schools provide a general education, teachingstudents everything from academic subjects like literature and science to more practical subjects like cooking and carpentry.24.N ame two of the four Scottish Universities dating from the 14th and15th centuries St. Andrews and Glasgow.25.I n Britain, people can go to the Open University without having anyformal educational qualifications.26.G CSE stands for General Certificate of secondary Education27.G CEA stands for General Certificate of Education-Advanced28.G NVQs stands for General National Vocational Qualifications名词解释1.The Anglo-SaxonsThey were two groups of Germanic peoples who settled down inEngland from the 5th century. They were regarded as the ancestors of th English and the founders of England.2.The Bill of Rights of 1689In 1688, King James II’s daughter Mary and her husband William were invited by the politicians and church authorities to take the throne, on condition that they would respect the rights of parliament. The Bill of Rights was passed in 1689 to ensure that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament.3.The ConstitutionBritain has no written Constitution. The foundations of the British state are laid out in statute law, which are laws established through common practice in the courts; and conventions.4.The functions of ParliamentThe function of Parliament are: to pass laws, to vote for taxation, to scrutinize government policy, administration and expenditure and to debate the major of the day.5.The House of LordsThe House of Lords consists of the Lords Spiritual, who are the Archbishops and most prominent bishops of the Church of the England; and the Lords Temporl, which refers to those lords who either have inherited the seat from their forefathers or they have been appointed. The Lords mainly represented themselves instead ofthe interests of the public.6.The House of CommonsThe House of Commons is the real center of British political life because it is the place where about 650 elected representatives (Members of Parliament) make and debate policy. These MPs are elected in the General Elections and should represent the interests of the people who vote for them.prehensive schoolsComprehensive schools are the most popular secondary schools in Britain today. Such schools admit children without reference to their academic abilities and provide a general education. Pupils can study everything from academic subjects like literature to more practical subjects like cooking.8.Grammar schoolsIt is a type of secondary schools in Britain .Grammar schools select children at the age 11, through an examination called “the 1-plus”.Those children with the highest marks go to grammar schools. These schools lay emphasis on advanced academic subjects rather than the more general curriculum of the comprehensive schools and expect many of their pupils to go on to universities.9.Independent schoolsIndependent schools are commonly called public schools which are actually private schools that receive thir funding through the private sector and tuition rates, with some government assistance.Independent schools are not part of national education systm, but the quality of institution and standards are maintained through visits from Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools. These schools are restricted to the students whose parents are comparatively rich.10.T he Open UniversityThe Open University was founded in Britain in the 1960s for people who might not get the opportunity for higher education for economic and social reasons. It’s open to everybody and does not demand the same formal educational qualification as the other universities.Universities courses are followed through TV, radio, correspondence, videos and a net work of study centers. At the end of their studies at the Open University, successful students are awarded a university degree.。