英语国家社会与文化入门课后题答案.docx

1、英语国家社会与文化入门课后题答案Book1 Unit 11.What was the British Empire? What do you know about it? In what way is the “Empire” still felt in Britain and in the international field?The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the Uni

2、ted Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.In the international field, Britain has great voice in politics, economy and culture and so on.2.Why impossible to sum up British people with a few simple ph

3、rases: The UK is made up of different elements. It includes 4 parts within the one nation-state. It is now a multiracial society with different religion believes. It is divided economically and it is a society with a class-structure. And within each of the four countries there are different regions.

4、 Since this country was so complicated both in history or humanity, it is impossible to sum up their people.3.A history of invasions: (1) Before the 1st century AD Britain was made up of tribal kindoms of Celtic people. They brought the central Europen culture to Britain. Then in 43AD, Roman Empire

5、invaded Britain and controlled it for slave society but also disseminated their Catholicism. (2)However, in the 5th century, the Roman Empire rapidly waned in power and Britain was conquered by the Angles and the Saxons. In order to defend the Saxons, a great leaderKing Arthur appeared. He created t

6、he round table to satisfy all the knights requirement of having equal precedence. Thus it gradually formed the monarchy in Britain as a more democratic system. Whether Arthurs a real person in the history or not, Anglo-Saxons did succeed in invading Britain and they were the forefathers of the Engli

7、sh. (3)In the 8th century, the Vikings from Denmark controlled the nothern and eastern England. A Anglo-Saxon herio, king Alfred the Great fought against the vikings with the truly English. And thats why theres a certain cultural difference between northerners and southerners in England (4)Later, th

8、e Nomans from northern France, under the leading of William of Normandy, killed the king and William became the Frist of England. They imported a rulling class that French-speaking Norman aristocracy rulled Saxon and English-speaking population. In this condition, there werent a lot of rebellions am

9、ong the English people. That directly formed an English unique character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. Even today, we can still find this personality from the British people through their lifestyles.How did they influence culture:接着上边一起看 (2) a lot of storie

10、s of King Arthur, which brought a lot of singers, poets, novelists and filmmakers. Places associated with his legend. Round table was ween as an indicator of the way in which the English have wished to see their monarch as something other than a remote dictator. (3)anglo-saxon invaders were the fore

11、fathers of the English. By Vikings settlements the Enlish heroes were truly English. There remains to this day a certain cultural divide between northerners and southerners in england. (4)Norman aristocracy ruling a largely Saxon and English-speaking population. the legend of Robin Hood.4.General ch

12、aracteristic of Scotland: Scotland is the second largest of the four nations, both in population and in geographical area. It is also the most confident of its own identity because alone amongst the non-English components of the UK it has previously spent a substantial period of history as a unified

13、 state independent of the UK. (1) rugged. (2) not conquered by the Romans (3) maintain its separate political identity for more than a hundred years.(4) eager for independence.How Scotland became part of the union of Great Britain: in 1707 by agreement of the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotla

14、nd joined the Union. In 1745 there was a brutal military response from the British army. The rebel army was destroyed at the battle of Culloden in northern Scotland.5.Describe Wales and the unification with Britain: (1) wales was an important element in Britains industrial revolution, as it had rich

15、 coal deposits. It is successful in attracting investment from abroad. Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. (2)Wales has been do

16、minated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. In 1536, wales was brought legally, administratively, and politically into the UK by an act of the British p

17、arliament. This close long-standing relationship means that modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses - its legal system and its education system are exactly the same as in England.6.Differences between England, Scotland and Wales in terms of cultural tradit

18、ion: 书上说的比较散，建议参考festival那章的答案，这里只有一些零散的不系统的比较 (1) English character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. But young people are not all stereotypes. But it is certainly true that the lifeless fronts of many english houses conceal beautiful back gardens. (2)The drea

19、m of an independent Scotland has not vanished. They are always eager for freedom. Scotland has a great tradition of innovation in the arts, philosophy and science. Superficially fully integrated into the UK, but concealed beneath this is a still-strong Scottish identity. Some people speak Gaelic.(3)

20、Wales is different, and one of the key markers of that diffenece is the Welsh language - the old British Celtic tongue which is still in daily use. Modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses. (its legal system and education system are exactly the same as in E

21、ngland)Unit 21. Why is Northern Ireland so significant in the UK: Though Northern Ireland is small it is significant because of the political troubles there.Its political problem: The problem is in Northern Ireland in 1921 in southern Ireland independence from Britain, Ireland North and South follow

22、ing the separation of issues left over by history, mixed it with historical, political, ethnic and religious conflicts, extremely complex. Irelands independence, to remain under British rule within the framework of the 6 in the northern island of Ireland residents of the pro-British Protestant major

23、ity (about 51%), the Catholic nationalist minority (about 38%), as a result of the two major forces in Northern Ireland On the contrary position of ownership and lead to confrontation, conflict. 因为发现实在太难sum up了，所以就搜了一下，以下是wikipedia版本Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitte

24、r ethno-political conflict the Troubles which was caused by divisions between nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and unionists, who are predominantly Protestant. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain as a part of the United Kingdom,6 while nationalists wish for it to be politica

25、lly reunited with the rest of Ireland, independent of British rule. 网络其它版本Until 1921 the full name of the UK was The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, not only Northern Ireland, because the whole island of Ireland was politically integrated with Great Britain, and had been since 1801, whi

26、le Britains domination of the Irish dated back centuries even before that date. But Irish desires for an independent Irish state were never lost, and one of the key issues in late nineteenth century British politics was a campaign in parliament for what was called home-ruleIrish political control of

27、 Irish affairs. The Home Rule Bill was finally passed in 1914, but the process was overtaken by the First World War and was suspended for the duration of the war.2.Factors in Irish and English history that affect the situation in Northern Ireland today: Along with the political campaign for home-rul

28、e there were groups who followed a more direct method of pursuing Irish independence, engaging in guerilla or terrorist activities against British institutions and the British military forces. During the First World War and immediately after, this activity increased, sometimes brutally suppressed by

29、 British forces.3.Sum up solutions to NIs political problems of different parties and groups in the UK: Margaret Thatchers government did not give in to this demand for political status and 11 prisoners starved to death. This event revitalised the political campaign of Sinn Fein, the legal political

30、 party which supports the IRAs right to fight. Its leaders spoke of a twin campaign for union with Ireland, both political and military, which they called the policy of The Bullet and the Ballot Box.4.What do you think should be the right solution to the political problem in Northern Ireland: I thin

31、k they can ask the UN for help. / Keep the present status. Turn to other countries for help. 自由发挥啦 Unit 31.Characteristics of the British constitutional monarchy: The monarch of the country has limited rights because of Bill of Right. For example, while the official head of state is the queen, her p

32、owers are largely traditional and symbolic. The government at national and local levels is elected by the people and governs according to British constitutional principles.How the English monarchy evolved to present constitutional monarchy: Originally the power of the monarch was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the divine right of kings. For a thousand years Britain has had a hereditary king or queen as the head of the state. While the King in theory had God on his side, in practice even in medieval times it was thought that he should not exercise absolute power. Ki