英語國家社會與文化入門-上冊-第三版-名詞解釋

1、國概第三題the Anglo-Saxons They were two groups of Germanic people who settled down in England from the 5th century. They were regarded as the ancestors of the English and the founders of England,The Good Friday Agreement As a result of muti-party negotiations, The Good Friday Agreement was approved on 1

2、0 April 1998.This agreement assures the loyalist community that Northern Ireland remains part of the United Kingdom and it won't change its political status unless the majority of the people of Northern Ireland agree. Under the terms of the agreement, Northern Ireland should be governed by three

3、 separate jurisdictions: that of the Republic of Ireland, that of Great Britain and that of its own elected executive government of ten ministers.The House of Commons The House of Commons is the real center of British political life because it is the place where about 650 elected represent the inter

4、ests of the people who vote for them.The electoral campaigns Before a general election, the political parties would start their electoral campaigns in order to make their ideologies and policies known to the public, the campaign involves advertisements in newspapers, door-to-door campaigning, postal

5、 deliveries of leaflets and “party electoral broadcasts” on the television. The parties also try to attack and criticize the opponents policies, Therefore, these campaigns sometimes can be quite aggressive and critical.Privatization in the 1980s: The British economy went through a particularly bad p

6、eriod in the 1970s, with high ate of inflation and devaluation of the Pound. Therefore, in the 1980s, when the Conservative party under Margaret Thatcher was in power, an extensive programme of privatization was carried out . Many state-owned businesses were turned into private companies. Privatizat

7、ion was successful in controlling inflation but at the same time unemployment rate increased rapidly. The Great Famine The Great Famine took place from 184548 when successive potato crops failed and many people of Ireland starved to death , or died of the diseases which preyed on malnutrition . Many

8、 left the country for the New World. The Great Famine became a watershed in Irish history , not merely because there was mass starvation and emigration , but also because the British government appeared to be indifferent to the fate of the poorest people in its nearest colony .Naturally this period

9、is characterized by campaigns for national independence and land reform . The Dreaming The Dreaming is the belief system from ancient times that has bound indigenous group together . The central principle of the Dreaming is that the people who live on the continent have special responsibilities to t

10、he land . The people dont own the land , instead the land owns the people . The stories of the Dreaming provide principles of how people should live and interact with each other .They also provide knowledge of the land so that the indigenous people can survive in the life-threatening environment .1.

11、 Modernism Modernism refers to a form of literature mainly written before WW11.It is characterized by a high degree of experimentation. It can be seen as a reaction against the 19th century forms of Realism. Modernist writers express the difficulty they see in understanding and communicating how the

12、 world works.Often,Modernist writing seems disorganize, hard to understand. It often portrays the action from the viewpoint of a single confused individual, rather than from the viewpoint of an all-knowing impersonal narrator outside the action. One of the most famous English Modernist writers is Vi

13、rginia Woolf.16. Independent schoolsIndependent schools are commonly called public schools which are actually private schools that receive their funding through the private sector and tuition rates, with some government assistance. Independent schools are not part of national education system, but t

14、he quality of instruction and standards are maintained through visits from Her Majestys Inspectors of Schools. These schools are restricted to the students whose parents are comparatively rich.The foundations of British foreign policy: The contemporary foreign policy of the UK is greatly influenced

15、by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits. As Britain lost its empire so recently, British policy-makers frequently forget that Britain is not as influential as it used to be in world affairs. Another decisive influence upon the way Britain handles its external affairs is geopoliti

16、cal attitude to Europe.Britain and the EU. Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973 which is now called the European Union (EU). Britain's participation in the EU remains controversial. At the center of the controversy is the fact that it is not clear about what the EU is and what

17、it will become. The UK has always been interested in encouraging free trade between countries and is therefore very supportive of the EU as a free trade area. Britain likes to regard the EU as a place where economic cooperation is possible and where a flow of trained personnel and goods are possible

18、. But Britain has always been less enthusiastic about giving up its national sovereignty to a European government.The BBC.The full name is the British Broadcasting Corporation.It was founded in 1927 as a public service radio station and later moved into television.It has been Britain's main publ

19、ic service broadcaster. For a long time the BBC had mainly two channels.BBC One specialized in shows with a broad appeal while BBC Two aims at a wide range of subject matter and interests, specialising in intelligent yet popular programme genres.The BBC also provides the World Service which broadcas

20、ts in English and 43 other languages throughout the world.Relative decline of the Uk economy The UK has experienced an economic decline since 1945.But this is a relative decline rather than an absolute one. Britain is wealthier and more productive than it was in 1945,but since other countries develo

21、ped more rapidly,it has slid from being the second largest economy to being the sixth.The three tradition of christmas in Britain There are three Christmas traditions which are particularly British: one is the Christmas Pantomime, a comical musical play. The main male character is played by a young

22、woman while the main female character, often an ugly woman called “the Dame”, is played by a man. Another British Christmas traditions is to hear the Queen give her Christmas message to her realm over the television and radio. A third British tradition is Boxing Day, which falls on the day after Christmas. Traditionally, it was on Bowing Day that people gave Christmas gifts or money to their staff or servants. Now that most British people do not have servants, this