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1、 Brief Introduction to Major English-speaking Countries 英语国家概况It is useful for TEM Grade 8ContentsSection I 第一节: Britain英国概况41Geography42Population53London, the Capital94Brief History95Politics176Economy197Social Affairs208Education209Religion2110Festivals and Public Holidays2211Sports2212The Arts20
2、13The Media20Section II: 第二节America美国概况221General Introduction222Population Trends223Geography254The Formation of the Union and B. History265American Politics376Economy397Education428The Media439Holidays and Festivals4410.Architecture and Music4511.Important American Cities45Section III 第三节：Canada加拿
3、大概况411. Geography422. Population423. The Formation of Canada424. Economy425. Government and politics436. Education.447. Canadian Culture448. Media45Section IV 第四节 Australia澳大利亚概况461. Geography462. Climate 463. Population474. Political Divisions475. The Economy486. Government and Politics487. Media49
4、8. Aussie Culture49Section V 第五节 New Zealand, Irland and Singapore 新西兰 爱尔兰和新加坡概况I. New Zealand 新西兰541.Geography 542. Climate:543. Animals544. History 545. Population 556. Politics 557. Economy 55II. The Republic of Ireland 爱尔兰共和国55III. The Republic of Singapore 新加坡共和国55Section VI 第六节概况知识练习150+30题57B
5、ibliography66World population: 7,100, 570,696, 04:04 Universal Time Coordinated 世界调整时间 (EST+5) Feb. 15, 20136 billion (1999) World Population 7 billion (2011)Name: _Class: _ School Number: Part I 第一节: Britain 英国概况I Geography The British Isles are a group of islands situated off the continent of Euro
6、pe. The British state is made up of Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland) and Northern Ireland. Its official name is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island. 大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国 (in short, UK)I Geographical FeaturesWith an area of about 243, 000sq km, Britain is just about 600 miles
7、 from north to south. It is therefore possible to travel to any part of the country within one day. Britain is an island country, surrounded by the sea. It is separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel in the south and the North Sea in the east. 英国是一个岛国。它位于大西洋北部，与欧洲大陆的北海岸隔海相望。南面的英吉利海峡和
8、东面的北海将它与欧洲其它部分隔开。The English Channel between England and France is quite narrow and the narrowest part is called the Strait of Dover (多佛尔海峡). In May 1994, the “Channel” which joined England and France was open to traffic. The UK is divided politically into four parts (constituent countries子国, Admini
9、strative region行政区域) and they are:(1). England 英格兰 英国的主要部分England occupies the largest, southern part of Great Britain with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north, which takes up nearly 60% of the whole island. The Pennies (奔宁山脉) are the principal mountain chain. It is the largest, most populou
10、s section. 英格兰位于大不列颠岛南部，是最大，人口最稠密的地区。(2) Scotland苏格兰(英国的一部分,在不列颠北部) Scotland is in the north of Great Britain. There are three natural zones: 1, the Highlands in the north and Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain (1,343 meters) is located there; 2, the central Lowlands, the important area in S
11、cotland which contains most of the industry and population; 3, the southern uplands. (丘陵地, 高地)Though the Gaelic language (盖尔语) is still heard in the Highlands and the Western isles, English is spoken all over Scotland.Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is in the eastern part of the country on the F
12、irth 河口湾of Forth. Once known as “Auld Reekie” 雾气for the thick clouds of smoke that hung over its low-lying areas, the picturesque 风景如画的city is a brewing center, a popular tourist attraction, and the site of an annual international festival of the arts. Population, 446, 361. 爱丁堡: 苏格兰首府，位于苏格兰东部的福斯湾畔。由
13、于海拔较低，常有浓厚的烟雾笼罩其上，而一度被称为“美丽的烟雾之城”，这座美丽如画的城市是一个酿酒中心和旅游胜地，每年一度的国际艺术节在此召开。Glasgow is a city of southwest Scotland on the Clyde River. Founded in the late sixth century, Glasgow is a major port, an industrial center, and the largest city in Scotland. Population, 767,456. 格拉斯哥: 苏格兰西南部克莱德河上的一个城市。建于6世纪晚期，格
14、拉斯哥是主要港口和工业中心而且是苏格兰最大的城市，人口767,456。(3) Wales威尔士Wales is in the west of Britain, most of which is mountainous. A principality公国, 侯国of the United Kingdom on the western peninsula of the island of Great Britain. Incorporated with England since the Act of Union (1536), Wales has maintained its own disti
15、nct culture and a strong nationalist sentiment. Cardiff is the capital and the largest city. Population, 2,790,462. 英国大不列颠岛西部半岛之一地区。自联盟令(1536年）后与英格兰合并，它同时保持了自己的独特文化风格和强烈的民族主义情感。加的夫为其首府及最大城市。Cardiff is the capital and largest city of Wales, in the southeast part of the country on Bristol Channel. It
16、was a prosperous coal-shipping port in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Population, 281,300. 加的夫是威尔士首府和最大城市，位于威尔士东南部的布里斯托尔海峡。该市在19世纪和20世纪早期曾是一个繁荣的煤炭运输港。(4) Northern Ireland北爱尔兰Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland. The capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, in the eastern part of the c
17、ountry on Belfast Lough, 港湾an inlet of the North Channel of the Irish Sea. Conflict between Protestants and Catholics has divided the city since the 19th century. Population, 318,600 贝尔法斯特是北爱尔兰首府及最大城市，位于该国东部贝尔法斯特 -爱尔兰海北海峡的一个海湾。自19世纪以来，该城因新教徒与天主教徒的冲突而分裂。(5).The Commonwealth (of nations) is a free ass
18、ociation of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. It was founded in 1931, and has about 50 member countries until 1991. 英联邦是曾为英国殖民地的、但现已独立国家所构成的自由联合体。它成立于1931年，至1990年止大约有50个成员国。Rivers and Lakes Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Britain (1,343m). 本尼维斯山为英国最高峰，海拔1,343米。Rivers pla
19、ys a very important role in the countrys economy. The great ports of London, Liverpool and Glasgow are all connected to the sea by rivers. The longest river is the Severn River (338 km) (塞文河). The second and most important river is the Thames River (泰晤士河，流经牛津,伦敦等), which is very favorable for transp
20、ortation. 257 km (160 mi) long. Oxford is also on the Thames. River Clyde (克莱德河) is the most important river in Scotland. 171 km (106 mi)long The Lake District (湖泊地区) in northwest England is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Britain, which is the home of the famous lake poet William Wor
21、dsworth. The largest lake in Britain is the Lough Neagh (内伊湖) in Northern Ireland. The ClimateThe climate is generally mild and temperate. It often has frequent changes but has few extremes of temperature. It has a favorable maritime climatewinters are mild and summers are cool and it has a steady r
22、eliable rainfall. （a temperate maritime climate温和的海洋性气候）Since Britains climate is of the maritime, cool temperatures, frequent cloudy days and rainstorms characterize it. The weather is so changeable that sometimes one can experience four seasons in a single day.Britain is an island country, which l
23、ies between latitude纬度50 to 60 degrees north. Compared with other countries of the same latitudes, it has a more moderate climate, which is influenced by three factors: l The surrounding waters tend to balance the seasonal differences by heating up the land in winter and cooling it off in summer. l
24、The prevailing southeast winds blow over the country, bringing warm and wet air in winter and keeping the temperature moderate.l The North Atlantic current, which is a warm current, passes the western coast of the British Isles and warms them. Natural resources: coal, peat, (泥煤) petroleum, natural g
25、as, poor in other natural resourcesIIPopulation http:/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_population63,181,775March 27, 20110.89%2011 censusGreat Britain is the fourth most populous country in Europe. The English constitute more than 80% of the nations inhabitants. The Scottish makes up nearl
26、y 10%, and there are smaller groups of Irish and Welsh descent. Great Britains population has shown increasing ethnic diversity since the 1970s, when people from the West Indies, 西印度群岛India, Pakistan, Africa, and China began immigrating; in the late 1990s these groups accounted for close to 3% of th
27、e population. English is the universal language of Great Britain. In addition, about a quarter of the inhabitants of Wales speak Welsh and there are about 60,000 speakers of the Scottish form of Gaelic in Scotland. Compared with many other countries, Britain is a relatively densely populated country
28、: it is more than twice as densely populated as France (106 people per sq. km), nine times as densely populated as the USA (27 people per sq. km) and 100 times as densely populated as Australia (2 people per sq. km). Britain ranks 18th in the world in terms of population size.According to the 2011 c
29、ensus, 人口普查the total population of the United Kingdom is around 63,182,000. It is the third-largest in the European Union (behind Germany and France) and the 22nd-largest in the world. Its overall population density is one of the highest in the world at 674 people per square mile, due to the particu
30、larly high population density in England (currently over 1000 people per square mile. Almost one-third of the population lives in Englands southeast which is predominantly urban and suburban, with about 8 million in the capital city of London, the population density of which is just over 13,400 per
31、square mile.The UK population increased by 7.0 per cent since 1971, from 55.9 million. Growth has been faster in more recent years partly as a result of a greater number of births than deaths, with migration an increasing factor from the late 1990s. . Between mid-1991 and mid-2003 the population gre
32、w by an annual rate of 0.3 per cent.The population is very unequally distributed over the four parts of the UK: England more or less constantly makes up 84% of the total population, Wales around 5%, Scotland roughly 8.5 %, and Northern Ireland (since 1921) less than 3%，63,182,000 people live in the
33、U.K. not in BritainAdministrative DivisionArea size(sw km)Population(2011)England 130,28153,012,456(83.9%)NorthernIreland 13,576 1,810,863(2.9%)Scotland 77,925 5,295,000(8.4%)Wales 20,732 3,063,456(4.8%)United Kingdom 242,514 63,182,000RankCityArea m 面积Population ( 2001) 1London1,580 km (620 mi)7,17
34、2,0912Birmingham283 km (109 mi)970,8923Leeds552 km715,4044Glasgow177 km (68 mi)577,8695Sheffield513,2346Bradford467,6657Edinburgh260 km (100 mi)448,6248Liverpool439,4779Manchester392,819Britains population is expected to reach 71.6 million in 2033, rising from 61.9 million in 2009, according to the
35、Office of National Statistics. At the same time, the Department of Work and Pensions养老金, 退休金 predicts a significant increase in the number of people over 65, with nearly one in five people alive today expected to see their 100th birthday. The number of households is on the rise too, from 21.5 millio
36、n in 2006 to an estimated 27.8 million in 2031.1. The structure of the population (Demographic composition人口组成) The total population of the UK is around 63,181,775 in 2011 census, with the largest number of people living in England. The population of Britain is made up mainly of the English, the Sco
37、ttish, Welsh, the Irish, the Northern Irish and other people.The English are Anglo-Saxons and they have many differences in regional speech. The Welsh are emotional and cheerful people. They are music lovers and are proud of their past.The Scots are hospitable and generous.Irish is the official lang
38、uage of the Republic of Ireland and English is the second. Irish is the favored language of Irish nationalists who wish to preserve cultural apartness from Britain. The ancestors of the English are Anglo-Saxons. The Scots, Welsh and Irish are Celts. 英格兰人祖先属于盎格鲁萨克逊人，而苏格兰、威尔士和爱尔兰人属于凯尔特人。2. The differe
39、nce in character个性差别：The Welsh are emotional and cheerful people. They are music lovers and are proud of their past. 威尔士人感情丰富，情绪高涨，热爱音乐，为过去感到自豪。The Scots are said to be a serious, cautious and thrifty people, and they are also hospitable, generous and friendly. 苏格兰人通常被认为严肃、谨慎而且节俭，但是他们同样也热情、大方且友好。The
40、 Irish are charm and vivacity. 爱尔兰人充满魅力，生性活泼。3. The difference in speech between southern England and northern England: 英格兰南方人和北方人语言上的差别：Southerners speak the type of English close to BBC English. In northern England, regional speech is usually broader than that of southern England. 南方人讲的英语接近BBC，北英格
41、兰人的发音通常要比南英格兰人宽。4. Ethnic Groups (少数民族)Because of its long tradition of accommodating immigrants and refugees and because it is part of a multiracial多民族的 Commonwealth，Britain contains a diversity of peoples. The highest concentration of ethnic minorities is in London and some other large cities. III
42、. London, the CapitalThe oldest part of the capital, the City of London is situated on the north bank of the River Thames. Here are also the Royal courts of Justice and St. Pauls Cathedral. Further up the Thames is the City of Westminster where are the Houses of Parliament containing the bell of Big
43、 Ben and the government offices of Whitehall (怀特霍尔也叫白厅, 英国政府). Nearby are the National Gallery, Westminster Abbey (修道院) and the royal residences of Buckingham Palace (白金汉宫) and St. James Palace. Tower of London, one of the most famous buildings in the world, sitting alongside the Thames River, was c
44、onstructed following the Norman Conquest in the 11th century by William the Conqueror. As a world cultural center London contains museums and galleries of all kinds, of which the largest and oldest is the British Museum.Wembley Stadium is the site the Football Association Cup Final and Wimbledon, (温
45、布尔登,著名的国际网球比赛地)the site of the International Lawn Tennis Championship. IVBrief History1. Early Settlers (早期居民) 2，0003，000 years B. C. The first known settlers of Britain were the Iberians (伊比利亚人). The Celts (凯尔特人) began to arrive about 700 B.C. from the upper Rhineland莱茵河 and kept coming until the a
46、rrival of the Romans. They were ancestors of the highland Scots, the Irish and the Welsh. 2. Romans Britain (55 B.C.-.410.A.D.) 罗马人统治时期的英国Between 1st to 5th centuries, Britain was under the Roman occupation. Julius Caesar invaded Britain for the first time in 55 B.C. and in 43 A.D. Emperor Claudius
47、克劳迪亚斯invaded Britain successfully.The Romans remained in control of Britain for nearly 400 years. However, they had no impact on the language or culture of ordinary Britons. British recorded history begins with the Roman invasion. In 55.B.C. and 54.B.C, Julius Caesar, a Roman general, invaded Britai
48、n twice. In A.D. 43, the Emperor Claudius invaded Britain successfully. For nearly 400 years, Britain was under the Roman occupation, though it was never a total occupation. 有记录的英国历史开始于罗马人的入侵。公元前55年和54年，罗马将军朱略斯凯撒两次入侵英国，均未成功。直到公元43年，克劳迪亚斯才成功占领不列颠。将近四百年里，英国人处于罗马人的占领下，但这并非是完全的占领。3. The Anglo-Saxons (公元446-8