英语国家文化背景 Cultural Background of English Speaking Countries 刘勇 外国语言文学系

 Union Jack is the national flag of the United Kingdom.  It combines the red-on-white crosses of England’s St George and Ireland's St Patrick, with the white-on- blue cross of Scotland’s St Andrew

Chapter One

 Geographical Fetchers  Climate  Mountains ， Rivers and Lakes  Natural Resources

Geographical Fetchers  Where does Britain Lie?  What is its full name?  What is the total land area of the United Kingdom?  What is British Isles?  How long does its coastline run?

 Can you describe the land features of Great Britain?  What Parts does the largest island of Great Britain consist of?  Does Britain connect with European Continent ?  What countries are neighbors of Britain?

the Map of U.K. the Map of U.K

 Britain is situated in Western Europe and is separated from the European continent by the North Sea, the Strait of Dover and the English Channel.  It is an insular country. Its coastline runs 12,429 km, It is one of the countries with longest coastline.  To the west of it lies the Atlantic Ocean, across and beyond it is America.

 The Straits of Dover between France and England is quite narrow and it is 33 km across.  In 1985 the British government and the French government decided to build a channel tunnel under the Straits of Dover so that England and France could be joined together by road.  This channel tunnel was opened to traffic in May 1994 after eight years hard work.

 Britain faces Scandinavia Peninsular (Norway, Sweden and Denmark) to the northeast and to the North lies Iceland  To the south across the English Channel lies France and Belgium and to the east across North Sea lie Germany and Holland. The neighboring countries

 The full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. usually shortened, abbreviated to the United Kingdom or U.K., Great Britain, Britain or informally England.  The total area is about 244,820 square kilometers.  It Is over 1,000 km. from south to north and it is about 500 km. from west to east.

 British Isles  Britain  Great Britain Two large islands several small ones two states The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. England, Wales Scotland

 Britain is made up of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.  Britain is divided into highland area and lowland area.  It has large mountain ranges : the Pennies,The Cumbrian Mountain Range, the Grampian Mountains, the Cambrian Mountain Range and such important rivers as Thames River,the Seven River Mercy River, the Humber, the Clyde River and the Forth.

England  England occupies the southern part of Great Britain and is important part of the Kingdom in wealth, size, and population.  It has an area of more than 130,000 square kilometers and it take up nearly 60% of the whole island.  The west and southwest is a plateau, with rolling plain, downs and moors.

 The west coast is deeply indented. They supply many splendid harbors for ships.  The south coast is fairly straight, a line of low cliffs backed by rolling down.  The long tail, which puts into sea, is called Cornwall and it has many remains of the ancient Britons.  Many of legends of King Arthur are associated with Cornwall.  London is Capital of England and Britain.

London is the Capital of Britain

London

Scotland

 Scotland is in the north of Great Britain. It retained its own parliament until 1707, when, by the Act of Union, Scotland and the Kingdom of England and Wales were constitutionally joined as the Kingdom of Great Britain.  In Scotland there are three natural zones: The Highlands in the north, the central Lowlands and the southern Uplands.

 Scotland has an area of 78,760 square kilometers.  It is situated in the north of Great Britain with a good number of mountains and islands.  There are 800 islands which contain Hebrides, Shetland and Orkney islands.  Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland.

Wales

 The capital of Wales is Cardiff.  Wales is in the west of Great Britain. It has an area of 20,761 square kilometers and it take up less than 9% of the whole island.  Most of Wales is mountainous. The hills rise steeply from the sea and rather flat on top.

 6% of Wales is covered with forest and much of the country is pastureland for sheep and cattle.  Wales united England in 14th century.

Northern Ireland  Northern Ireland takes up the northern fifth of Ireland. It has an area of 14,147 square kilometers.  It is made up of six counties that consist of fertile, drumlin [`dr ʌ mlin] 鼓丘 country surrounding Lough Neagh.  Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland

Ireland  The other 26 Irish counties obtained autonomy in  Irish, often called Erse [ ə : s ] 爱尔兰, is a form of Gaelic.

Ireland

Climate and Weather  A maritime type of climate: In Britain the weather is rainy, changeable and unpredictable. In fact it has a favorable maritime climate.  It rarely rises above 32 ℃ in summer or falls below –10 ℃ in winter. Winters are mild, not too cold and summers are cool, not too hot.

 Rainfall: Britain has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year. The average annual rainfall in Britain is over 1,ooo mm.  It is rainy and so changeable and unpredictable. One can experience four seasons in the course of a single day.  Britain is famous for its fogs. The smoke-fogs of the big town, which used to develop in winter time whenever there was not enough wind to blow the smoke away, were horrible, unhealthy and dangerous to movement.

Mountains,Rivers and Lakes