英语国家概况-名词解释汇总A

英语国家概况-名词解释汇总,分为A,B,C三部分The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandThe Republic of Ireland The United States of America Canada Australia New Zealand

★★★ ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES -- A SURVEY: EXPLANATIONS. ★★★


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***　 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland　　 ****
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●the Highlanders
They are the Scots who live in the mountainous regions of the Highlands in the Northern Scotland. They are
a proud,　independent and hardy people who maintain their strong cultural identity. They mainly live by
farming sheep in mountain areas or fishing on the coasts and islands.

●the British Commonwealth
It is a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. It was established
in 1931,replaced the former British Empire. Member nations are joined together economically and have
certain trading arrangements. Today there are about 50 member countries within the Commonwealth.

●the Roman Occupation
The Romans first invades Britain in 55B.C. It was not until AD 43 that they eventually conquered the Celts
living in what is today England and Wales.　The Roman Occupation of Britain lasted for nearly 400 years,　but
it was never a total occupation,　so the Romans did not leave very impact upon the Britons.

●Heptarchy
It is a collective name for the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms from the 7th century to the 9th century. They
are Kent,Essex,Sussex,Wessex,East Anglia,Mercia and Northumbria. After the 9th century,　the seven kingdoms
were conquered one after another by the invading Danes.

●Stonehenge
It is a group of huge monuments of giant rock Slabs on salisbury plain in Southwest England built as long
as the New Stone Age. It is generally believed the stonehenge served some sort of religious purpose.

●Alfred the Great
He was king of Wessex, one of the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. It was he who led the Anglo-Saxons to fight
against the invading Danes and maintained peace for a long time. Alfred was not only a brave king at
wartime, but also a wise king at peacetime. He encouraged education and introduced a legal system. He is
known as "the father of the British navy".

●William the Conqueror
He was also known as William, Duke of Normandy. In 1066,he let the Normans to cross the English Channel and
conquered England. He became William the First .His reign marked the beginning of the full feudal system in
England.

●The Norman Conquest
The Norman Conquest of 1066 is perhaps the best-known event in English history. William the Conqueror
confiscated almost all the land and gave it to his Norman followers. He replaced the weak Saxon rule with
a strong Norman government. So the feudal system was completely established in England.

●The Angles
People came from n
orthern Germany in the second half of the 6th century and settled in East Anglia,
Mercia and Northumbria.

●Geoffrey Chaucer
He was an impor

英语国家概况-名词解释汇总,分为A,B,C三部分The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandThe Republic of Ireland The United States of America Canada Australia New Zealand

tant English poet in the fourteenth century. His best known work is The Canterbury Tales,
which describes a group of pilgirms travelling to Canterbury to visit Thomas Becket's tomb. Because he
was the first English poet to write in English, he has been known as the "Father of English Poetry".

●the Magna Carta
Also known as the Great Chater, it was a document signed in 1215 by King John under compulsion by the
powerful barons. Its purpose was to make the monarch recognize the rights of the barons, or in other
words, to limit the powers of the monarch. It has been popularly regarded as an important political
document in the history of England.

●the Black Dealth
It is a modern name given to the deadly bubonic plague, an epidemic disease spread through Europe in the
fourteenth century, particularly in 1348-1349. It came without any warning, and without any cure. In
England, it killed almost half of the total population, causing far-reaching economic consequences.

●the Wars of the Roses
It is the name given to the struggle for the English throne between two branches of the English royal
family; the House of Lancaster, whose badge was a red rose, and the House of York, whose badge was a white
rose. The wars lasted for thirty years from 1455 to 1485. From these wars, English feudalism received
its death blow. The feudal nobility was much weakened.

●Bloody Mary
It is the nickname given to Mary I, the English Queen who succeeded to the throne after Henry VIII. She
was a devout Catholic, and so many Protestants burnt to death that she is remembered less by her official
title Mary I than by her nickname Bloody Mary.

●the English Renaissance
Renaissance was a cultural movement in Europe from the 14th century to the 16th century. It originated
in Italy and began to come to England in the late 15th century. The English Renaissance was largely
literary, and achieved its finest expression in poetry, drama and prose. The greatest literary writer of
the English Renaissance was William Shakespeare.

●the Gunpowder Plot
It refers to the most famous of a number of Catholic conspiracies against king James I. The plot was to
blow up the king and the parliament on …… 此处隐藏：14758字，全部文档内容请下载后查看。喜欢就下载吧 ……