当代英国概况知识要点.docx

1、当代英国概况知识要点Contemporary British Culture and SocietyFor FinalChapter 1 IntroductionA1 Geography continued IONA ? The British Isles土A 1 Geography cont. *n.a.土National Flag The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandWALES cont.Culture:One thing that marks Wales out from the rest of the Brit

2、ain is the survival of Welsh as a living language. Welsh food is not well-known. They eat laverbread (a mixture of seaweed, oatmeal and bacon served on toast), Rarebit (cheese on toast with the added flavor of mustard and beer).NORTHERN IRELAND cont.Culture:Perform a dance known as the “jig which th

3、ey do to Irish folk music.Very festive people and dance on various occasions. Meals are based around meats like lamb, beef, and pork.Main meal is usually lunch, not dinner.SCOTLAND cont.Culture:Greatest Scottish acplishments e in the form of science, literature, and philosophy.Bagpipes are very famo

4、us in Scotland.Social gathering known as ceilidh were very popular in the traditional culture in which folk stories were told.Today, stories are substituted for drinking and dancing.Scots are known primarily for game dishes like smoked salmon and venisonA2 Population UK 59,289,194England51,138,831Wa

5、les 2,903,085Scotland 5,162,011Northern Ireland 1,685,267A2 Population continued DensityUK average 243/km2England 376/km2Scotland 65/km2Wales 141/km2N. Ireland 122/km2France 106/km2US 27/km2 A 4 ClassThe United Kingdom is increasingly described as a classless society. However many people still belie

6、ve society is ordered in terms of class and that discrimination occurs between classes.Everything a Briton does and says is influenced by class.Accent*, vocabulary*, job*, hobbies* and types of relationship all fit into the class structure. A 5 50 Years of Change The 1950s a time of great changes in

7、 fields of economy, culture, politics. The 1960s a decade of young rebellious young generation The 1970s a decade of strikes and recessionThe 1980s a decade of ThatcherismThe 1990s a decade of great expectation A 5. The Devolution 土Jeremy Johnson has been a building labourer since he left university

8、 after obtaining a degree in electronics. This was the only job he could get at the time but now he enjoys the physical work and he has decided to continue in the building industry. He says he is middle class.Which class would you say he was inthe middle class or the working class? why?There is no d

9、efinite answer to the question. There is a subjective perspective ( what class attachment the individual feels) and an objective perspective (which class the individual is allocated to by statisticians).The purpose of the activity is to impress upon the students that class is an indefinite concept i

10、n Britain.Chapter 2 Family & Personal RelationshipsA 1 The Family cont. One-parent families & their dependent children 土Sociological Explanations of the Increase in DivorceCan you work out any reasons to explain why in modern world, the divorce rate is increasing all around the world?Sociological Ex

11、planations of the Increase in DivorceThe value of marriage Conflict between spouses The ease of divorce Women, paid employment and marital conflict Ine and class AgeMarital status of parents Background and role expectations Occupation Contemporary British Culture and Society Chapter 3 Family & Relat

12、ionship ( 2 )A 2 Parents and Children Chinese vs BritishChinese parents are more protective and controlling. The main qualities appreciated in parents and shared by young people in Britain and China alike may be that they are understanding and supporting in crises, allow freedom of action within a f

13、ramework of constraints and, more pragmatically, offer financial support and contributions. For many young people, parents are obviously a primary source of advice about personal as well as more general problems, especially in relation to employment Chapter 4 Education in UKA1 Change & Reform in Sch

14、oolsBefore 1870 schools were set up by churches, 40% of children aged 10 attendedFrom 1870 onwards government took responsibility for education. (why?)It was in response to changes caused by industrial revolution and movement for social & political reformThe 1944 Act in England& Wales gave all child

15、ren the right to free secondary educationThe tripartite system at end of primary education children are selected by means of streaming. Those on the top stream (20%) went to grammar schools. The rest went to secondary modern and technical schools A 1 Change & Reform contThe National Curriculum in En

16、gland and Wales is divided into four Key Stages (KS), three core subjects (English, Mathematics and Science) and nine non-core foundation subjects. A 1 Reform & Change Key Stages and Tests 土The Key Stages are age-related: KS 1 goes up to age seven, KS 2 from seven to eleven, KS 3 from eleven to four

17、teen (pre-GCSE) and KS 4 from fourteen to sixteen (preparation for GCSE and equivalent vocational qualifications) - A 3 Institutions of Higher Education CambridgeCambridge University was founded in 1209 by students fleeing from Oxford after one of the many episodes of violence between the university

18、 and the town of Oxford. A 3 Institution of Higher Education OxfordOxford University. Legend has it that Oxford University was founded by King Alfred in 872. A more likely scenario is that it grew out of efforts begun by Alfred to encourage education and establish schools throughout his territory. T

19、here may have been a grammar school there in the 9th century. A grammar school was exactly what it sounds like; a place for teaching Latin grammar. The University as we know it actually began in the 12th century as gatherings of students around popular masters. The university consisted of people, no

20、t buildings. The buildings came later as a recognition of something that already existed. In a way, Oxford was never founded; it grew. A 3 Institutions of Higher Education OxbridgeThe Boat Race between Oxford & Cambridge started June 10, 1829The event is now a British national institution, and is te

21、levised live each year. The race has been won by Cambridge 77 times and Oxford 71. The 2003 race was amongst the closest in history, with Oxford winning by less than a foot. One entertainment for spectators is the possibility of a boat sinking. This has occurred on three occasions; to the Oxford cre

22、w in 1925 and to Cambridge in 1859 and in 1978. The race is currently run over a four mile and 374 yard stretch of the River Thames between Putney and Mortlake in London.Click hereA3 Institutions of Higher Learning CrisisUniversities in crisisIn most universities resources are spent on day-to-day te

23、aching and research. At the same time academic salaries have stalled: plumbers earn more than professors; research staff are paid less than school dinner ladies. So top academics are fleeing to the US and there are chronic shortages of teaching staff in areas such as law, puting, maths and putersA3

24、Institutions of Higher Education CrisisHow has all this e about?It boils down to a simple equation: government funding has remained static over the past few decades while the number of students has skyrocketed. As a result, Britain would now have to spend 3.5bn a year just to bring the amount it spe

25、nds per student up to the EU average. A 4 Further Education & Training YTSObjectives of Youth Training Scheme:To give a training opportunity to school leavers who did not get a job or go on to universityTo ensure that these young people learn how to transfer the skills they learn in one job to anoth

26、erCritiques: 1. artificially reduce unemployment figures 2.reinforce young peoples status as determined by their class background 3. jobs are not guaranteed after trainingQuestions:What do you understand by the term streaming? Is it a reasonable system?In many British schools, children are grouped t

27、ogether according to their ability, and this is known as “streaming. The word stream can be used as a noun (i.e. She is in the top stream/the A stream.) and as a verb (i.e. The school streams its pupils.)As for whether it is a reasonable system, different people may have different opinions. Some peo

28、ple may not think it fair to put children into groups according to their ability, while others may think it helpful to promote petition among children.Contemporary British Culture & Society ( 5 )Chapter 5 WorkA 4 Unions & ManagementTrade unions: first formed in the early stages of the Industrial Rev

29、olution, by groups of industrial workers who suffered from extremely low pay andbad working conditionsThere are four types of union:General Unions, which represent workers in a range of industries.Craft Unions, which represent workers from a group of industries who share a particular skillIndustrial

30、 Unions, which represent workers in a particular industry whatever their skill is, e.g. The National Union of Mineworkers (NUM)White Collar Unions, which represent non-manual workers e.g. The National Union of Teachers (NUT)A 4 Unions & Management Pros.they areessential for protectingthe interests of employees who might otherwise get a raw deal from powerful employers or in industries which are declining and where redundancies are highly likely. unions played an active part in persuading the