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首都伦敦介绍
2008-05-10 13:02:13
英国首都伦敦位于英格兰东南部，跨泰晤士河下游两岸，距河口88公里，是英政治、经济、文化中心。由伦敦城 (亦称金融城) 及周围32个市组成，面积1650平方公里，人口700万，伦敦始建于二千多年以前，公元四三年罗马人占领大不列颠岛时已是重要的商业中心。十一世纪成为商业和政治中心，十八世纪为世界最大的港口和国际贸易中心。伦敦金融城是世界最大的金融中心之一，集中了全国最大的银行、交易所和各种企业管理机构;西伦敦是王官、议会、政府各部门所在地，也是大商店、剧院和高级住宅区;东伦敦以下至河口为伦敦港区、船坞、码头、仓库林立。希思罗机场是世界最大的航空港之一。一八六四年第一国际在伦敦成立，马克恩和恩格斯曾在这里领导国际工人运动; 海格特墓地有马克思墓。伦敦还有许多著名建筑物，如伦敦塔、白金汉宫、西敏寺教堂、圣保罗大教堂、格林威治天文台原址等。 格林威治天文台原址(天文台1948年迁至伦敦东南96公里处)为地球经度起算点。议会大厦(Parliament)
英国议会亦称西敏寺，曾为英王室居所西敏寺宫。萨克逊王(Edward The Confessor,一O四二至一O六六年)至亨利八世国王(Henry VIII，一五O九至一五四七年)都曾在此居住。一五一五年西敏寺宫被大火烧毁。修复后，爱德华六世国王于一五四七年把该宫的圣？斯蒂芬教堂拨给下院使用。一八三四年该宫再次被大火烧毁，只剩下西敏寺大厅、教堂地下室等建筑物。一八四O年，重建新西敏寺宫，即现在的议会。一八五二年维多利亚女王正式主持议会开幕仪式。现议会大厦为查尔斯·巴里爵士所设计。整个建筑为哥德式。包括护宫河在内，总面积为12.5英亩。西敏寺大厅建于一O九七年。一三九九年，经理查德二世国王重修后保留至今。一九四一年希特勒德国轰炸伦敦时，该厅幸免于难。十三世纪至一八八二年，西敏寺大厅为英国法庭所在地，历史上有不少名人曾在此受到审判，其中有汤姆斯·摩尔爵士(SlR Thomas More，一五三O年，英国政治家)、查理士一世国王(一六四九年)等。一九六五年邱吉尔逝世后曾在此停放遗体。议会大钟造于一八五六年，以建造工程的第一名监督官本杰明？霍尔爵士的名字命名，叫"BIG BEN"(大本钟)。原钟重16吨多，钟塔高320英尺。一八五七年该钟出现裂痕，于一八五九年重新铸造。新钟重3.5吨。议会分上下两院，上院座椅为红色下院为绿色，以示区别。每年十月底或十一月初，女王在上院主持议会开幕，宣读政府施政纲领。
大英博物馆(British Museum)
大英博物馆是英最大的综合性博物馆，亦是世界上著名博物馆之一。一七五三年，英议会通过法案，决定把大批重要文物收藏集中在一起。一七五五年购置了大英博物馆现址，一七五九年首次以大英博物馆名义对外开放。以后不断扩建，从而使其呈现出今日的宏伟面貌。
该馆原由全国考古和人类学博物馆、国家图书馆和英国出版物与绘画收集博物馆三部分组成。一九七三年，图书馆部分与英其它图书馆合并组成英国图书馆，在组织上与大英博物馆脱离，但仍在大英博物馆内保留四个图书室和阅览厅。马克思曾在这里刻苦攻读，为撰写《资本论》搜集和抄录了大量资料。马克思读书时使用的座位至今尚存。1897至1898年，中国民主革命先行者孙中山在伦敦蒙难获救后，曾在大英博物馆研究当时英国资本主义制度及经济、政治、社会状况，在此基础上提出关于"民生主义"的理论。
博物馆的主要展品是古代埃及、希腊、罗马、西亚、东方和欧洲中世纪文物，以及各国铸币、纪念章、绘画和人类学方面的文物等。东方馆内藏有大批珍贵的中国文物，最著名的包括《女史箴图》、宋罗汉三彩像、敦煌经卷和宋、明两代名画等。
白金汉宫(Bukingham Palace)
一七六二年英国王乔治三世购买了当时在现址上的一所房子作为私人住宅。一八二一年开始兴建白金汉宫，从维多利亚女王登位(一八三七年)至今一直是英国国王或女王在伦敦的行官。如今女王的重要国事活动,如召见首相和大臣、接待和宴请来访的外国国家元首或政府首脑、接受外国使节递交国书等都在该宫举行。此外，来英进行国事访问的国家元首也在宫内下榻。
王宫由身着礼服的皇家卫队守卫。富有特色的换岗仪式一般在每天上午11:30举行。
王宫西侧为宫内正房，其中最大的有"皇室舞厅"，建于一八五0年，专为维多利亚女王修建。厅内悬挂有巨型水晶吊灯。蓝色客厅被视为宫内最雅致的房间，摆有为拿破仑一世制作的"指挥桌"。拿氏失败后，法国路易十八将桌子赠送给当时英摄政王乔治四世。白色客厅是用白、金两色装饰而成,室内有精致的家俱和豪华的地毯，大多是英、法工匠的艺术品。御座室内挂有水晶吊灯，四周墙壁顶端绘有十五世纪玫瑰战争的情景。正中的御座是当今女王一九五三年加冕时和王夫爱丁堡公爵使用的，室内还保存了维多利亚女王的加冕御座和英王乔治四世加冕时使用的四张大座椅。宫内音乐室的房顶呈圆形，用象牙和黄金装饰而成，维多利亚女王和王夫艾尔伯特亲王曾常在此举办音乐晚会。
皇宫花园约占地18公顷，为英王乔治四世所设计。园内有湖泊、草地、小径，并有各种花草树木。每年夏天，女王在园内举行花园招待会，邀请全国各界代表、知名人士及各国驻伦敦的外交官参加。
皇宫南侧为女王的美术馆，馆内收藏王室的艺术珍品，一九六二年起对公众开放。
格林尼治天文台(Greenwich Observatory)
格林尼治位于伦敦东部泰晤士河畔，地势险要。十五世纪三十年代英国摄政王罗斯特公爵在该处山巅建立了一个了望站。一六七五年，了望站被改建成皇家天文台。格林尼治天文台之所以举世闻名，主要是因为院内有决定世界标准时间和时区的子午线标志(用铜条线标出)，为东西半球的分界线。
一九五0年皇家天文台迁往新址后，该天文台划归国家海洋博物馆，设有天文站、天文仪器馆等，主要供展览用。展出的天文历史资料中有早期的天文望远镜、各国早期设计的时钟、地球仪、浑天仪(其中不少是当时中国的制品，和很多天象发现的经过(如哈雷慧星等)。
伦敦塔桥(London Tower Bridge)
伦敦塔桥系泰晤士河上28座桥梁之一，位于伦敦塔附近。建于一八八六至一八九四年。因桥身由4座塔形建筑联接而得名。
伦敦搭桥的两座主塔高140英尺，两塔之间跨度为200英尺。桥分上下两层，下层桥面可以开合，平时通车，桥椅开启时可容万吨船只通过;上层为一条宽阔的悬空人行道，两旁装有玻璃窗，行人登桥可欣赏泰晤士河景色。
唐宁街10号(No 10 Downing Street)
唐宁街10号建于1680年，18世纪以来为英国历届首相官邸和办公处。唐宁街为17世纪后半叶由唐宁爵士开发建筑的私人住宅街道，日前保留了四所住宅。1733年，英国王将10号辟为首相官邸。11号现为财政大臣官邸，12号是财政大臣的办公室。
唐宁街10号楼内最有名的房间是内阁室，从室内可远眺皇家禁卫军的换岗仪式和圣？詹姆士公园。二战期间，丘吉尔将地下室的一间房间用作餐厅。二楼有早餐厅、国宴厅、书房及第二会客厅．其中最大的为国宴厅。客厅内挂有名贵油画，大部分借自博物馆和画廊。
唐宁街本来可自由出入。1989年后为防恐怖分子袭击时，在街口设禁至今。
威斯敏斯特教堂(Westminster Abbey)
威斯敏斯特教堂是11世纪号称“笃信者”的英王爱德华建立 的。教堂的主要特点是大门处有一对塔楼。教堂自建以来，一直是英国历代国王或 女王加冕礼典和王室成员结婚的场所。英国历代国王死后，大部分葬在这里。英国 资产阶级革命后，许多名人死后，在教堂也占有一席之地。英国把威斯敏斯特教堂 称为“荣誉的宝塔尖”。现在，威斯敏斯特大教堂不但是名人的墓地，而且是难得 的“历史博物馆”。
“大本”钟(The Big Ben)
泰晤士河畔议会大厦的北面，耸立着高高的钟楼，镶有大钟，名 为“大本”。每隔一小时，大钟根据格林威治时间发出沉重而铿锵的响声，在数英 里之外也能听到钟声的回荡。 1859年，大钟由当时的英王工务大臣本杰明？霍尔爵士监制，大钟共重21吨， 铸造时耗资2.7万英镑。 “大本”钟被视为伦敦的象征，凡到伦敦观光的人，无不想到钟楼周围，站在 议会桥上欣赏伦敦这个独具一格的建筑。
伦敦塔
位于泰晤士河北岸，是英最古老的王宫之一。1078年，"征服者威廉"(William the Conqueror)为守卫伦敦城而建，占地18英亩。经过数代君主的扩建和修整，曾作过堡垒、王宫、监狱、皇家铸币厂和伦敦档案馆，现为王冠、王袍、兵器和盔甲陈列馆。
塔内最古老的建筑是白塔，也称大塔或中央要塞，1078年，威廉一世时开始兴建，1097年威廉二世时建成。白塔位于伦敦塔中心，是一座诺曼底式建筑，高3层，四角建有塔楼。塔高50英尺，墙的根基部分厚15英尺，上部厚11英尺。白塔四周有内外两层的多座防御性建筑。内层有13个塔，其中以威克菲塔、血塔、比彻姆塔最有名;外层有中塔、井塔等6个塔和2个棱堡;最外层的四周凿有护城壕。这里曾关押过英国历史上不少王公贵族和政界名人。第二次世界大战期间，希特勒的副手鲁道天？赫斯曾通过护城壕边圣托马塔下的叛徒门被送入伦敦塔监禁。白塔内的圣约翰教堂是伦敦现有教堂中最古老的一座。伦敦塔内的皇家珍宝馆展出17世纪以来英君主镶满宝石的皇冠、权杖等国宝。兵器馆展出历代王族所使用的各种武器、盔甲和战袍等。
马克思墓地
1956年3月14日，英国工人和各国共产党合力重建了马克思墓。 新的马克思墓在公墓东北角略宽敞的地方，墓用花岗石修建，呈方柱，高8英尺， 碑顶安放4英尺高的马克思铜铸头像。墓碑正面上刻着金光闪闪的大字：“全世界无产者联合起来!”下方镌有马克思的名言：“哲学家们只是用不同的方式解释世界， 而问题在于改造世界。”
中国城(China Town)
“中国城”地处伦敦的索霍地区，伦敦最繁华的牛津街和摄政街在此交错，英国人把这块方圆不足一平方公里的弹丸之地称为“中国城”，又曰“唐人街”。“中国城”既无高层建筑，也没有豪华的大公司，几乎所有建筑都比较矮， 在“中国城”除少数是外国人经营的商店和酒吧间外，几乎是华人的天下。漫步“中国城”，一间间用汉字书写的商号目不暇接。“中国城”餐馆林立，粗略计算至少不下100余家。“中国城”的华人，大部分来自香港、东南亚，也有少数是从上海、北京、江苏等地去的。每逢新春佳节，“中国城”张灯结彩，男女老幼穿上新 装，互相道贺“恭喜发财”，男女青年舞龙耍狮，表演中国杂技，一片欢腾景象， 吸引不少当地居民和外来观光者。
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英国简史(英文)
2008-05-10 12:55:47
HistoryUntil 1707, this section deals primarily with English history. England and Wales were formally united in 1536. In 1707, when Great Britain was created by the Act of Union between Scotland and England, English history became part of British history. For the early history of Scotland and Wales, see separate articles. See also Ireland; Ireland, Northern; and the tables entitled Rulers of England and Great Britain and Prime Ministers of Great Britain.
Early Period to the Norman Conquest
Little is known about the earliest inhabitants of Britain, but the remains of their dolmens and barrows and the great stone circles at Stonehenge and Avebury are evidence of the developed culture of the prehistoric Britons. They had developed a Bronze Age culture by the time the first Celtic invaders (early 5th cent. B.C.) brought their energetic Iron Age culture to Britain. It is believed that Julius Caesar's successful military campaign in Britain in 54 B.C. was aimed at preventing incursions into Gaul from the island.
In A.D. 43 the emperor Claudius began the Roman conquest of Britain, establishing bases at present-day London and Colchester. By A.D. 85, Rome controlled Britain south of the Clyde River. There were a number of revolts in the early years of the conquest, the most famous being that of Boadicea. In the 2d cent. A.D., Hadrian's Wall was constructed as a northern defense line. Under the Roman occupation towns developed, and roads were built to ensure the success of the military occupation. These roads were the most lasting Roman achievement in Britain (see Watling Street), long serving as the basic arteries of overland transportation in England. Colchester, Lincoln, and Gloucester were founded by the Romans as colonia, settlements of ex-legionaries.
Trade contributed to town prosperity; wine, olive oil, plate, and furnishings were imported, and lead, tin, iron, wheat, and wool were exported. This trade declined with the economic dislocation of the late Roman Empire and the withdrawal of Roman troops to meet barbarian threats elsewhere. The garrisons had been consumers of the products of local artisans as well as of imports; as they were disbanded, the towns decayed. Barbarian incursions became frequent. In 410 an appeal to Rome for military aid was refused, and Roman officials subsequently were withdrawn.
As Rome withdrew its legions from Britain, Germanic peoples〞the Anglo-Saxons and the Jutes〞began raids that turned into great waves of invasion and settlement in the later 5th cent. The Celts fell back into Wales and Cornwall and across the English Channel to Brittany, and the loosely knit tribes of the newcomers gradually coalesced into a heptarchy of kingdoms (see Kent, Sussex, Essex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia, and Northumbria).
Late in the 8th cent., and with increasing severity until the middle of the 9th cent., raiding Vikings (known in English history as Danes) harassed coastal England and finally, in 865, launched a full-scale invasion. They were first effectively checked by King Alfred of Wessex and were with great difficulty confined to the Danelaw, where their leaders divided land among the soldiers for settlement. Alfred's successors conquered the Danelaw to form a united England, but new Danish invasions late in the 10th cent. overcame ineffective resistance (see ?thelred, 965?——1016). The Dane Canute ruled all England by 1016. At the expiration of the Scandinavian line in 1042, the Wessex dynasty (see Edward the Confessor) regained the throne. The conquest of England in 1066 by William, duke of Normandy (William I of England), ended the Anglo-Saxon period.
The freeman (ceorl) of the early Germanic invaders had been responsible to the king and superior to the serf. Subsequent centuries of war and subsistence farming, however, had forced the majority of freemen into serfdom, or dependence on the aristocracy of lords and thanes, who came to enjoy a large measure of autonomous control over manors granted them by the king (see manorial system). The central government evolved from tribal chieftainships to become a monarchy in which executive and judicial powers were usually vested in the king. The aristocracy made up his witan, or council of advisers (see witenagemot). The king set up shires as units of local government ruled by earldormen. In some instances these earldormen became powerful hereditary earls, ruling several shires. Subdivisions of shires were called hundreds. There were shire and hundred courts, the former headed by sheriffs, the latter by reeves. Agriculture was the principal industry, but the Danes were aggressive traders, and towns increased in importance starting in the 9th cent.
The Anglo-Saxons had been Christianized by missionaries from Rome and from Ireland, and the influence of Christianity became strongly manifest in all phases of culture (see Anglo-Saxon literature). Differences between Irish and continental religious customs were decided in favor of the Roman forms at the Synod of Whitby (663). Monastic communities, outstanding in the later 7th and in the 8th cent. and strongly revived in the 10th, developed great proficiency in manuscrīpt illumination. Church scholars, such as Bede, Alcuin, and Aelfric〞as well as King Alfred himself〞preserved and advanced learning.
Medieval England
A new era in English history began with the Norman Conquest. William I introduced Norman-style political and military feudalism. He used the feudal system to collect taxes, employed the bureaucracy of the church to strengthen the central government, and made the administration of royal justice more efficient.
After the death of William's second son, Henry I, the country was subjected to a period of civil war that ended one year before the accession of Henry II in 1154. Henry II's reign was marked by the sharp conflict between king and church that led to the murder of Thomas 角 Becket. Henry carried out great judicial reforms that increased the power and scope of the royal courts. During his reign, in 1171, began the English conquest of Ireland. As part of his inheritance he brought to the throne Anjou, Normandy, and Aquitaine. The defense and enlargement of these French territories engaged the energies of successive English kings. In their need for money the kings stimulated the growth of English towns by selling them charters of liberties.
Conflict between kings and nobles, which had begun under Richard I, came to a head under John, who made unprecedented financial demands and whose foreign and church policies were unsuccessful. A temporary victory of the nobles bore fruit in the most noted of all English constitutional documents, the Magna Carta (1215). The recurring baronial wars of the 13th cent. (see Barons' War; Montfort, Simon de, earl of Leicester) were roughly contemporaneous with the first steps in the development of Parliament.
Edward I began the conquest of Wales and Scotland. He also carried out an elaborate reform and expansion of the central courts and of other aspects of the legal system. The Hundred Years War with France began (1337) in the reign of Edward III. The Black Death (see plague) first arrived in 1348 and had a tremendous effect on economic life, hastening the breakdown (long since under way) of the manorial and feudal systems, including the institution of serfdom. At the same time the fast-growing towns and trades gave new prominence to the burgess and artisan classes.
In the 14th cent. the English began exporting their wool, rather than depending on foreign traders of English wool. Later in the century, trade in woolen cloth began to gain on the raw wool trade. The confusion resulting from such rapid social and economic change fostered radical thought, typified in the teachings of John Wyclif (or Wycliffe; see also Lollardry, and the revolt led by Wat Tyler. Dynastic wars (see Roses, Wars of the), which weakened both the nobility and the monarchy in the 15th cent., ended with the accession of the Tudor family in 1485.
Tudor England
The reign of the Tudors (1485——1603) is one of the most fascinating periods in English history. Henry VII restored political order and the financial solvency of the crown, bequeathing his son, Henry VIII, a full exchequer. In 1536, Henry VIII brought about the political union of England and Wales. Henry and his minister Thomas Cromwell greatly expanded the central administration. During Henry's reign commerce flourished and the New Learning of the Renaissance came to England. Several factors〞the revival of Lollardry, anticlericalism, the influence of humanism, and burgeoning nationalism〞climaxed by the pope's refusal to grant Henry a divorce from Katharine of Arag车n so that he could remarry and have a male heir〞led the king to break with Roman Catholicism and establish the Church of England.
As part of the English Reformation (1529——39), Henry suppressed the orders of monks and friars and secularized their property. Although these actions aroused some popular opposition (see Pilgrimage of Grace), Henry's judicious use of Parliament helped secure support for his policies and set important precedents for the future of Parliament. England moved farther toward Protestantism under Edward VI; after a generally hated Roman Catholic revival under Mary I, the Roman tie was again cut under Elizabeth I, who attempted without complete success to moderate the religious differences among her people.
The Elizabethan age was one of great artistic and intellectual achievement, its most notable figure being William Shakespeare. National pride basked in the exploits of Sir Francis Drake, Sir John Hawkins, and the other ※sea dogs.§ Overseas trading companies were formed and colonization attempts in the New World were made by Sir Humphrey Gilbert and Sir Walter Raleigh. A long conflict with Spain, growing partly out of commercial and maritime rivalry and partly out of religious differences, culminated in the defeat of the Spanish Armada (1588), although the war continued another 15 years.
Inflated prices (caused, in part, by an influx of precious metals from the New World) and the reservation of land by the process of inclosure for sheep pasture (stimulated by the expansion of the wool trade) caused great changes in the social and economic structure of England. The enclosures displaced many tenant farmers from their lands and produced a class of wandering, unemployed ※sturdy beggars.§ The Elizabethan poor laws were an attempt to deal with this problem. Rising prices affected the monarchy as well, by reducing the value of its fixed customary and hereditary revenues. The country gentry were enriched by the inclosures and by their purchase of former monastic lands, which were also used for grazing. The gentry became leaders in what, toward the end of Elizabeth's reign, was an increasingly assertive Parliament.
The Stuarts
The accession in 1603 of the Stuart James I, who was also James VI of Scotland, united the thrones of England and Scotland. The chronic need for money of both James and his son, Charles I, which they attempted to meet by unusual and extralegal means; their espousal of the divine right of kings; their determination to enforce their high Anglican preferences in religion; and their use of royal courts such as Star Chamber, which were not bound by the common law, to persecute opponents, together produced a bitter conflict with Parliament that culminated (1642) in the English civil war.
In the war the parliamentarians, effectively led at the end by Oliver Cromwell, defeated the royalists. The king was tried for treason and beheaded (1649). The monarchy was abolished, and the country was governed by the Rump Parliament, the remainder of the last Parliament (the Long Parliament) Charles had called (1640), until 1653, when Cromwell dissolved it and established the Protectorate. Cromwell brutally subjugated Ireland, made a single commonwealth of Scotland and England, and strengthened England's naval power and position in international trade. When he died (1658), his son, Richard, succeeded as Lord Protector but governed ineffectively.
The threat of anarchy led to an invitation by a newly elected Parliament (the Convention Parliament) to Charles, son of Charles I, to become king, ushering in the Restoration (1660). It was significant that Parliament had summoned the king, rather than the reverse; it was now clear that to be successful the king had to cooperate with Parliament. The Whig and Tory parties developed in the Restoration period. Although Charles II was personally popular, the old issues of religion, money, and the royal prerogative came to the fore again. Parliament revived official Anglicanism (see Clarendon Code), but Charles's private sympathies lay with Catholicism. He attempted to bypass Parliament in the matter of revenue by receiving subsidies from Louis XIV of France.
Charles's brother and successor, James II, was an avowed Catholic. James tried to strengthen his position in Parliament by tampering with the methods of selecting members; he put Catholics in high university positions, maintained a standing army (which later deserted him), and claimed the right to suspend laws. The birth (1688) of a male heir, who, it was assumed, would be raised as a Catholic, precipitated a crisis.
In the Glorious Revolution, Whig and Tory leaders offered the throne to William of Orange (William III), whose Protestant wife, Mary, was James's daughter. William and Mary were proclaimed king and queen by Parliament in 1689. The Bill of Rights confirmed that sovereignty resided in Parliament. The Act of Toleration (1689) extended religious liberty to all Protestant sects; in subsequent years, religious passions slowly subsided.
By the Act of Settlement (1701) the succession to the English throne was determined. Since 1603, with the exception of the 1654——60 portion of the interregnum, Scotland and England had remained two kingdoms united only in the person of the monarch. When it appeared that William's successor, Queen Anne, Mary's Protestant sister, would not have an heir, the Scottish succession became of concern, since the Scottish Parliament had not passed legislation corresponding to the Act of Settlement. England feared that under a separate monarch Scotland might ally itself with France, or worse still, permit a restoration of the Catholic heirs of James II〞although a non-Protestant succession had been barred by the Scottish Parliament. On its part, Scotland wished to achieve economic equality with England. The result was the Act of Union (1707), by which the two kingdoms became one. Scotland obtained representation in (what then became) the British Parliament at Westminster, and the Scottish Parliament was abolished.
The Growth of Empire and Eighteenth-Century Political Developments
The beginnings of Britain's national debt (1692) and the founding of the Bank of England (1694) were closely tied with the nation's more active role in world affairs. Britain's overseas possessions (see British Empire) were augmented by the victorious outcome of the War of the Spanish Succession, ratified in the Peace of Utrecht (1713). Britain emerged from the War of the Austrian Succession and from the Seven Years War as the possessor of the world's greatest empire. The peace of 1763 (see Paris, Treaty of) confirmed British predominance in India and North America. Settlements were made in Australia toward the end of the 18th cent.; however, a serious loss was sustained when 13 North American colonies broke away in the American Revolution. Additional colonies were won in the wars against Napoleon I, notable for the victories of Horatio Nelson and Arthur Wellesley, duke of Wellington.
In Ireland, the Irish Parliament was granted independence in 1782, but in 1798 there was an Irish rebellion. A vain attempt to solve the centuries-old Irish problem was the abrogation of the Irish Parliament and the union (1801) of Great Britain and Ireland, with Ireland represented in the British Parliament.
Domestically the long ministry of Sir Robert Walpole (1721——42), during the reigns of George I and George II, was a period of relative stability that saw the beginnings of the development of the cabinet as the chief executive organ of government.
The 18th cent. was a time of transition in the growth of the British parliamentary system. The monarch still played a very active role in government, choosing and dismissing ministers as he wished. Occasionally, sentiment in Parliament might force an unwanted minister on him, as when George III was forced to choose Rockingham in 1782, but the king could dissolve Parliament and use his considerable patronage power to secure a new one more amenable to his views.
Great political leaders of the late 18th cent., such as the earl of Chatham (see Chatham, William Pitt, 1st earl of) and his son William Pitt, could not govern in disregard of the crown. Important movements for political and social reform arose in the second half of the 18th cent. George III's arrogant and somewhat anachronistic conception of the crown's role produced a movement among Whigs in Parliament that called for a reform and reduction of the king's power. Edmund Burke was a leader of this group, as was the eccentric John Wilkes. The Tory Pitt was also a reformer. These men also opposed Britain's colonial policy in North America.
Outside Parliament, religious dissenters (who were excluded from political office), intellectuals, and others advocated sweeping reforms of established practices and institutions. Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, advocating laissez-faire, appeared in 1776, the same year as the first publication by Jeremy Bentham, the founder of utilitarianism. The cause of reform, however, was greatly set back by the French Revolution and the ensuing wars with France, which greatly alarmed British society. Burke became Britain's leading intellectual opponent of the Revolution, while many British reformers who supported (to varying degrees) the changes in France were branded by British public opinion as extreme Jacobins.
Economic, Social, and Political Change
George III was succeeded by George IV and William IV. During the last ten years of his reign, George III was insane, and sovereignty was exercised by the future George IV. This was the ※Regency§ period. In the mid-18th cent., wealth and power in Great Britain still resided in the aristocracy, the landed gentry, and the commercial oligarchy of the towns. The mass of the population consisted of agricultural laborers, semiliterate and landless, governed locally (in England) by justices of the peace. The countryside was fragmented into semi-isolated agricultural villages and provincial capitals.
However, the period of the late 18th and early 19th cent. was a time of dynamic economic change. The factory system, the discovery and use of steam power, improved inland transportation (canals and turnpikes), the ready supply of coal and iron, a remarkable series of inventions, and men with capital who were eager to invest〞all these elements came together to produce the epochal change known as the Industrial Revolution.
The impact of these developments on social conditions was enormous, but the most significant socioeconomic fact of all from 1750 to 1850 was the growth of population. The population of Great Britain (excluding Northern Ireland) grew from an estimated 7,500,000 in 1750 to about 10,800,000 in 1801 (the year of the first national census) and to about 23,130,000 in 1861. The growing population provided needed labor for industrial expansion and was accompanied by rapid urbanization. Urban problems multiplied. At the same time a new period of inclosures (1750——1810; this time to increase the arable farmland) deprived small farmers of their common land. The Speenhamland System (begun in 1795), which supplemented wages according to the size of a man's family and the price of bread, and the Poor Law of 1834 were harsh revisions of the relief laws.
The social unrest following these developments provided a fertile field for Methodism, which had been begun by John Wesley in the mid-18th cent. Methodism was especially popular in the new industrial areas, in some of which the Church of England provided no services. It has been theorized that by pacifying social unrest Methodism contributed to the prevention of political and social revolution in Britain.
In the 1820s the reform impulse that had been largely stifled during the French Revolution revived. Catholic Emancipation (1829) restored to Catholics political and civil rights. In 1833 slavery in the British Empire was abolished. (The slave trade had been ended in 1807.) Parliamentary reform was made imperative by the new patterns of population distribution and by the great growth during the industrial expansion in the size and wealth of the middle class, which lacked commensurate political power. The general elections that followed the death of George IV brought to power a Whig ministry committed to parliamentary reform. The Reform Bill of 1832 (see under Reform Acts) enfranchised the middle class and redistributed seats to give greater representation to London and the urban boroughs of N England. Other parliamentary legislation established the institutional basis for efficient city government and municipal services and for government inspection of factories, schools, and poorhouses.
The competitive advantage British exports had gained from the Industrial Revolution lent new force to the arguments for free trade. The efforts of the Anti-Corn-Law League, organized by Richard Cobden and John Bright, succeeded in 1846 when Robert Peel was converted to the cause of free trade, and the corn laws were repealed. But Chartism, a mass movement for more thorough political reform, was unsuccessful (1848). Further important reforms were delayed nearly 20 years.
The Reform Bill of 1867, sponsored by Disraeli and the Conservatives for political reasons, enfranchised the urban working classes and was followed shortly (under Gladstone and the Liberals) by enactment of the secret ballot and the first steps toward a national education system. In 1884 a third Reform Bill extended the vote to agricultural laborers. (Women could not vote until 1918.) In the 1880s trade unions, which had first appeared earlier in the century, grew larger and more militant as increasing numbers of unskilled workers were unionized. A coalition of labor and socialist groups, organized in 1900, became the Labour party in 1906. In the 19th cent. Britain's economy took on its characteristic patterns. Trade deficits, incurred as the value of food imports exceeded the value of exports such as textiles, iron, steel, and coal, were overcome by income from shipping, insurance services, and foreign investments.
Victorian Foreign Policy
The reign of Victoria (1837——1901) covered the period of Britain's commercial and industrial leadership of the world and of its greatest political influence. Initial steps toward granting self-government for Canada were taken at the start of Victoria's reign, while in India conquest and expansion continued. Great Britain's commercial interests, advanced by the British navy, brought on in 1839 the first Opium War with China, which opened five Chinese ports to British trade and made Hong Kong a British colony. The aggressive diplomacy of Lord Palmerston in the 1850s and 60s, including involvement in the Crimean War, was popular at home.
From 1868 to 1880 political life in Great Britain was dominated by Benjamin Disraeli and William E. Gladstone, who differed dramatically over domestic and foreign policy. Disraeli, who had attacked Gladstone for failing to defend Britain's imperial interests, pursued an active foreign policy, determined by considerations of British prestige and the desire to protect the route to India. Under Disraeli (1874——80) the British acquired the Transvaal, the Fiji Islands, and Cyprus, fought frontier wars in Africa and Afghanistan, and became the largest shareholder in the Suez Canal Company. Gladstone strongly condemned Disraeli's expansionist policies, but his later ministries involved Britain in Egypt, Afghanistan, and Uganda.
Gladstone's first ministry (1868——74) had disestablished the Church of England in Ireland, and in 1886, Gladstone unsuccessfully advocated Home Rule for Ireland. The proposal split the Liberal party and overturned his ministry. In the last decades of the 19th cent. competition with other European powers and enchantment with the glories of empire led Britain to acquire vast territories in Asia and Africa. By the end of the century the country was entangled in the South African War (1899——1902). Great Britain's period of hegemony was ending, as both Germany and the United States were surpassing it in industrial production.
World War I and Its Aftermath
Victoria was succeeded by her son Edward VII, then by his son, George V. The Liberals, in power 1905——15, enacted much social legislation, including old-age pensions, health and unemployment insurance, child health laws, and more progressive taxation. The budget sponsored by David Lloyd George to finance the Liberals' program brought on a parliamentary struggle that ended in a drastic reduction of the power of the House of Lords (1911). Growing military and economic rivalry with Germany led Great Britain to form ententes with its former colonial rivals, France and Russia (see Triple Alliance and Triple Entente).
In 1914, Germany's violation of Belgium's neutrality, which since 1839 Britain had been pledged to uphold, caused Britain to go to war against Germany (see World War I). Although the British emerged as victors, the war took a terrible toll on the nation. About 750,000 men had died and seven million tons of shipping had been lost. In the peace settlement (see Versailles, Treaty of) Britain acquired, as League of Nations mandates, additional territories in Africa, Asia, and the Middle East. But the four years of fighting had drained the nation of wealth and manpower.
The postwar years were a time of great moral disillusionment and material difficulties. To the international problems stemming directly from the war, such as disarmament, reparations, and war debts, were added complex domestic economic problems, the task of reorganizing the British Empire, and the tangled Irish problem. Northern Ireland was created in 1920, and the Irish Free State (see Ireland, Republic of) in 1921——22.
The basic domestic economic problem of the post——World War I years was the decline of Britain's traditional export industries, which made it more difficult for the country to pay for its imports of foods and raw materials. A Labour government, under Ramsay MacDonald, was in power for the first time briefly in 1924. In 1926 the country suffered a general strike. Severe economic stress increased during the worldwide economic depression of the late 1920s and early 30s. During the financial crisis of 1931, George V asked MacDonald to head a coalition government, which took the country off the gold standard, ceased the repayment of war debts, and supplanted free trade with protective tariffs modified by preferential treatment within the empire (see Commonwealth of Nations) and with treaty nations.
Recovery from the depression began to be evident in 1933. Although old export industries such as coal mining and cotton manufacturing remained depressed, other industries, such as electrical engineering, automobile manufacture, and industrial chemistry, were developed or strengthened. George V was succeeded by Edward VIII, after whose abdication (1936) George VI came to the throne. In 1937, Neville Chamberlain became prime minister.
The years prior to the outbreak of World War II were characterized by the ineffective attempts to stem the rising tide of German and Italian aggression. The League of Nations, in which Britain was a leader, declined rapidly by failing to take decisive action, and British prestige fell further because of a policy of nonintervention in the Spanish civil war. Appeasement of the Axis powers, which was the policy of the Chamberlain government, reached its climactic failure (as became evident later) in the Munich Pact of Sept., 1938. Great Britain had begun to rearm in 1936 and, after Munich, instituted conscrīption. With the signing of the Soviet-German pact of Aug., 1939, war was recognized as inevitable.
World War II and the Welfare State
On Sept. 1, 1939, Germany attacked Poland. Great Britain and France declared war on Germany on Sept. 3, and all the dominions of the Commonwealth except Ireland followed suit (see World War II). Chamberlain broadened his cabinet to include Labour representatives, but after German victories in Scandinavia he resigned (May, 1940) and was replaced by Winston S. Churchill. France fell in June, 1940, but the heroic rescue of a substantial part of the British army from Dunkirk (May——June) enabled Britain, now virtually alone, to remain in the war.
The nation withstood intensive bombardment (see Battle of Britain), but ultimately the Royal Air Force was able to drive off the Luftwaffe. Extensive damage was sustained, and great urban areas, including large sections of London, were devastated. The British people rose to a supreme war effort; American aid (see lend-lease) provided vital help. In 1941, Great Britain gained two allies when Germany invaded the USSR (June) and the United States entered the war following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (Dec. 7). Britain declared war on Japan on Dec. 8.
The wartime alliance of Great Britain, the USSR, and the United States led to the formation of the United Nations and brought about the defeat of Germany (May, 1945) and Japan (Sept., 1945). The British economy suffered severely from the war. Manpower losses had been severe, including about 420,000 dead; large urban areas had to be rebuilt, and the industrial plant needed reconstruction and modernization. Leadership in world trade, shipping, and banking had passed to the United States, and overseas investments had been largely liquidated to pay the cost of the world wars. This was a serious blow to the British economy because the income from these activities had previously served to offset the import-export deficit.
In 1945, the first general elections in ten years were held (they had been postponed because of the war) and Clement Attlee and the Labour party were swept into power. Austere wartime economic controls were continued, and in 1946 the United States extended a large loan. The United States made further assistance available in 1948 through the Marshall Plan. In 1949 the pound was devalued (in terms of U.S. dollars, from $4.03 to $2.80) to make British exports more competitive.
The Labour government pursued from the start a vigorous program of nationalization of industry and extension of social services. The Bank of England, the coal industry, communications facilities, civil aviation, electricity, and internal transport were nationalized, and in 1948 a vast program of socialized medicine was instituted (many of these programs followed the recommendations of wartime commissions). Also in 1948, Labour began the nationalization of the steel industry, but the law did not become effective until 1951, after Churchill and the Conservatives had returned to office. The Conservatives denationalized the trucking industry and all but one of the steel companies and ended direct economic controls, but they retained Labour's social reforms. Elizabeth II succeeded George VI in 1952.
In postwar foreign affairs Great Britain's loss of power was also evident. Britain had undertaken to help Greece and Turkey resist Communist subversion, but the financial burden proved too great, and the task was assumed (1947) by the United States. The British Empire underwent rapid transformation. British India was partitioned (1947) into two self-governing states, India and Pakistan. In Palestine, unable to maintain peace between Arabs and Jews, Britain turned its mandate over to the United Nations. Groundwork was laid for the independence of many other colonies; like India and Pakistan, most of them remained in the Commonwealth after independence. Great Britain joined the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (1949) and fought on the United Nations' side in the Korean War (1950——53).
The Conservative governments of Churchill and his successor, Anthony Eden (1955), were beset by numerous difficulties in foreign affairs, including the nationalization (1951) of British petroleum fields and refineries in Iran, the Mau Mau uprising in Kenya (1952——56), turmoil in Cyprus (1954——59), and the problem of apartheid in South Africa. The nationalization (1956) of the Suez Canal by Egypt touched off a crisis in which Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt. Opposition by the United States brought about a halt of the invasion and withdrawal of the troops.
The 1960s and 70s
Great Britain helped to form (1959) the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), but in 1961 the government of Harold Macmillan announced its decision to seek membership in the European Economic Community. Because of French opposition as well as Britain's request for special considerations for the countries of the Commonwealth and of EFTA, agreement on British entry was not reached until 1971. Britain finally entered what had become the European Community (now the European Union [EU]) in Jan., 1973.
Labour returned to power in 1964 under Harold Wilson, and the steel industry was renationalized. The country faced the compound economic problems of a very unfavorable balance of trade, the instability of the pound sterling, a lagging rate of economic growth, and inflationary wages and prices. A number of sterling crises were followed by government controls and cutbacks.
Britain supported U.S. policy in Vietnam. The policy of granting independence to colonial possessions continued; however, Rhodesia (see Zimbabwe) became a problem when its government, representing only the white minority, unilaterally declared its independence in 1965. Another problem was Spain's demand for the return of Gibraltar. A major crisis erupted in Northern Ireland in late 1968 when Catholic civil-rights demonstrations turned into violent confrontations between Catholics and Protestants. British army units were dispatched in an unsuccessful attempt to restore calm. In 1972 the British government suspended the Northern Ireland Parliament and government and assumed direct control of the province.
The Conservatives under Edward Heath returned to power in Britain in 1970. At the end of 1973 the country underwent its worst economic crisis since World War II. The balance of payments deficit, after improving in the late 1960s, had worsened. Serious inflation had led to widespread labor unrest in the critical coal-mining, railroad, and electrical industries, leading to a shortage of coal, Britain's main energy source. A further blow, following the 1973 war in the Middle East, was the reduction in oil shipments by several Arab states and a steep increase in the price of oil.
When coal miners voted to strike in early 1974, Heath called an election in an attempt to bolster his position in resisting the miners' demands. Neither Labour nor the Conservatives emerged from that election with a plurality in the Commons. After an unsuccessful attempt to form a minority government, Heath resigned (Mar., 1974) and was succeeded as prime minister by Harold Wilson, who moved immediately to settle the miners' dispute.
In the elections of Oct., 1974, the Labour party won a slim majority; Wilson continued as prime minister. The early 1970s brought the development of oil and natural gas fields in the North Sea, which helped to decrease Britain's reliance on coal and foreign fuel. Wilson resigned and was succeeded by James Callaghan in Apr., 1976. Neither Wilson nor Callaghan was able to resolve growing disagreements with the unions, and unrest among industrial workers became the dominant note of the late 1970s. In Mar., 1979, Callaghan left office after losing a no-confidence vote.
The Thatcher Era to the Present
In May, 1979, the Conservatives returned to power under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who set out to reverse the postwar trend toward socialism by reducing government borrowing, freezing expenditures, and privatizing state-owned industries. Thatcher also managed to break union resistance through a series of laws that included the illegalization of secondary strikes and boycotts. A violent, unsuccessful yearlong miners' strike (1984——85) was Thatcher's most serious union confrontation.
Thatcher gained increased popularity by her actions in the Falkland Islands conflict with Argentina; she led the Conservatives to victory again in 1983 and 1987, the latter an unprecedented third consecutive general election win. In 1985, Great Britain agreed that Hong Kong would revert to Chinese sovereignty in 1997. In 1986, the Channel Tunnel project was begun with France; the rail link with the European mainland opened in 1994.
A decade of Thatcher's economic policies resulted in a marked disparity between the developed southern economy and the decaying industrial centers of the north. Her unpopular stands on some issues, such as her opposition to greater British integration in Europe, caused a Conservative party revolt that led her to resign in Nov., 1990, whereupon John Major became party leader and prime minister. Despite a lingering recession, the Conservatives retained power in the 1992 general election.
A peace initiative opened by Prime Minister Major in 1993 led to cease-fires in 1994 by the Irish Republican Army and Loyalist paramilitaries in Northern Ireland. Peace efforts foundered early in 1996, as the IRA again resorted to terrorist bombings. In July, 1997, the IRA declared a new cease-fire, and talks begun in September of that year included Sinn F谷in. An accord reached in 1998 provided for a new regional assembly to be established in Belfast, but formation of the government was hindered by disagreement over guerrilla disarmament. With resolution of those issues late in 1999, direct rule was ended in Northern Ireland, but tensions over disarmament have led to several lengthy suspensions of home rule since then.
The Major government was beset by internal scandals and by an intraparty rift over the degree of British participation in the European Union (EU), but Major called a Conservative party leadership election for July, 1995, and easily triumphed. In Nov., 1995, three divisions of British Rail were sold off in Britain's largest-ever privatization by direct sale. Britain's sometimes stormy relationship with the EU was heightened in 1996 when an outbreak of ※mad cow disease§ (see prion) in England led the EU to ban the sale of British beef; the crisis eased when British plans for controlling the disease were approved by the EU. Although the EU ban was ended in 1999, France continued its own ban on British beef, causing a strain in British-French relations and within the EU. In 2001, British livestock farmers were again hurt by an outbreak of disease, this time foot-and-mouth disease.
In the elections of May, 1997, Labour won 418 seats in the House of Commons by following a centrist political strategy. Tony Blair, head of what he called the ※New Labour§ party, became prime minister. In August, Britain mourned Princess Diana, the former wife of Prince Charles, who was killed in a car accident in Paris. Blair's pledge to decentralize government was endorsed in September, when Scotland and Wales both voted to establish legislative bodies, giving them a stronger voice in their domestic affairs. A bill passed by both houses of Parliament in 1999 stripped most hereditary peers of their right to sit and vote in the House of Lords; the shape of the reconstituted upper chamber is to be studied by a commission. Blair and Labour again trounced the Conservatives in June, 2001, though the victory was not so much a vote of confidence in Labour as a rejection of the opposition.
Following the devastating Sept., 2001, terrorist attacks in the United States, the British government became the most visible international supporter of the Bush administration in its war on terrorism. Government officials visited Muslim nations to seek their participation in the campaign, and British forces joined the Americans in launching attacks against Afghanistan after the Taliban government refused to hand over Osama bin Laden. The Blair government was also a strong supporter of the United States' position that military action should be taken against Iraq if UN weapons inspections were not resumed under new, stricter conditions, and committed British forces to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq that began in Mar., 2003.
Blair's strong support for the invasion, and the failure to find any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, were factors in Labour's third-place finish in the June, 2004, local elections; the results reflected the British public's dissatisfaction with the country's involvement in Iraq. Labour, and the Conservative party as well, suffered losses in the subsequent European parliament elections, which saw the anti-EU United Kingdom Independence party double its vote to 16%. In the 2005 parliamentary elections the issue of Iraq again hurt Blair and Labour, whose large parliamentary majority was significantly reduced. Nonetheless, the election marked the first time a Labour government had secured a third consecutive term at the polls.
On July, 7, 2005, London experienced four coordinated bombing on its underground and bus system that killed more 50 people and injured some 700. The attacks, which broadly resembled the Mar., 2004, bombings in Madrid, appeared to be the work of Islamic suicide bombers; three of the suspected bombers were born in Britain. Evidence uncovered by the British police indicated that the attacks may have been directed by a member of Al Qaeda. A second set of suicide bombings was attempted later in the month, but the bombs failed to detonate.
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英国小知识
2008-05-10 12:50:11
苏格兰的政党
Political Parties in Scotland
The largest political party operating in Scotland is the Labour Party. In the course of the twentieth century, they gradually rose to prominence as Scotland's main political force. The party was established to represent the interests of workers and trade unionists. They currently operate as the senior partners in a coalition Scottish Executive.
The Scottish National Party (SNP) was formed in the 1930s with the aim of achieving Scottish independence. They are broadly on the left-of-centre and are in the European Social-Democratic mould. As the second-largest party in the Scottish Parliament, they are the official opposition to Labour.
The Liberal Democrats are currently junior partners in a coalition Scottish Executive. In the 2005 Westminster election they became the second strongest party (in terms of seats and votes) in Scotland. They have the third highest number of councillors, and are the fourth strongest party in the Scottish parliament.
The Conservative and Unionist Party has declined in popularity in recent years. They are the only party ever to have achieved an outright majority of Scottish votes at any General Election, in 1951. However at the 1997 General Election they failed to get a single Scottish MP elected and at the following General Election they returned only one, as they did in 2005. They are on the right-of-centre, but many Scots used to vote for them simply because of their unionist credentials.
The Scottish Green Party has won regional additional member seats in the Scottish Parliament, as a result of the proportional representation electoral system for the Scottish Parliament. In 1999 this gave the UK its first green parliamentarian, Robin Harper. The Greens are also for Scottish independence
The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) was formed in 1998 and operate as the foremost political party of the far-left in Scotland. They are strongest in urban west central Scotland, the traditional heartland of the Labour Party. The Socialist party is also advocating Scottish independence
The Scottish Senior Citizens Unity Party (SSCUP) was formed just in time to contest the 2003 elections to the Scottish Parliament. Unsurprisingly they were formed to work for the rights of Scotland's senior citizens. More surprisingly, thanks to the Scottish Parliament's proportional electoral system, they managed to get one MSP elected, John Swinburne, their party founder and leader.
工党是苏格兰最大的政党。在20世纪，他们逐渐成为苏格兰政坛上最重要的政治力量。工党的成立宗旨是代表工人阶级和行业工会的利益。他们目前是苏格兰行政院联盟政府的高级合作方。
苏格兰民族党（SNP）成立于二十世纪三十年代，成立之初的宗旨是寻求苏格兰的独立。他们大多党员属于中间偏左派，与欧洲的社民党如出一辙。作为苏格兰第二大党，民族党是工党的反对党。
苏格兰自由民主党是苏格兰议会中的第四大党，目前在苏格兰行政院联盟政府中居于的低级合作方的位置。在2005年的大选中，他们在席位和票数上甚至超过了民族党居苏格兰第二位，议员人数居第三位。
苏格兰保守和统一党近年来影响渐微。他们仅在1951年的大选中曾经取得最辉煌的胜利。在1997年的大选中，他们没有一人当选议员，之后两届都只有一位当选。他们是议会中的中间偏右派，许多曾经支持他们的苏格兰人都是因为他们的工会背景。
苏格兰的绿党在实行比例代表选举制以来，在议会中的份量有所增加。1999年，他们的一位成员Robin Harper首次进入议会。绿党也支持苏格兰独立。
苏格兰社会主义党成立于1998年，是苏格兰最极左的党派。他们在中西部的城市中影响力较大，也是传统上工党占优势的地区。苏格兰社会主义党也主张苏格兰独立。
苏格兰长者团结党（SSCUP）成立于2003年，正好赶上了03年的苏格兰议会选举。顾名思义，他们代表了苏格兰老年人的利益。这个最新成立的党借比例代表选举的东风，也有一位成员进入了议会，即该党的领袖及创始人John Swinburne。
英国皇家花园
Lady Salisbury restored 42 acres of gardens at Hatfield House， her home after taking up residence with her husband， the sixth Lord Salisbury， in 1972.
"Children see things in miniature，" said the onetime Miss Wyndham-Quin， now the Dowager Marchioness of Salisbury and Britain's high priestess of historic garden design. Lady Salisbury， 82， has put her stamp on a Tudor-style courtyard for a millionaire’s medieval town house in London as well as on a multi purpose street-front garden - "Americans would call it a yard，" she said - for the New York office of the World Youth Alliance on East 71st Street， a project she expects to complete in November.
In the early 1980's she designed gardens for the Prince of Wales at Highgrove and to the delight of satirists encouraged him to talk to his plants. "Don’t all gardeners do that？" she said.
Most famously Lady Salisbury spent 31 years reviving the gardens of her former home， Hatfield House， a brooding redbrick Jacobean palace 20 miles north of London.
英国詹姆士一世时期的一座皇家庄园在一位花园设计师的手下返老还童，恢复了400年前的生机和美丽。
据《纽约时报》3月3日报道，哈特菲尔德宫（Hatfield House）位于伦敦以北约20英里处，占地约7000英亩，它的主体是一座红砖房。它是詹姆士一世时期（1603—1625）的宫殿，伊丽莎白一世（1558-1603）童年时曾住在这里。
莫利·温德姆·奎因（索尔兹伯里侯爵夫人）今年82岁，是英国历史花园的高级设计师。她从小喜欢花园设计，从20世纪80年代初开始为查尔斯王储设计海格罗夫庄园（Highgrove），并鼓励王储和花园里的植物“交谈”。她说：“所有的园丁不都是这么做的吗？”
正是莫利让这个有400多年历史的皇家庄园重新恢复了生机。莫利和园丁们花了31年的时间重新打造哈特菲尔德宫的室外景观。摄影师休·斯内尔8年里用镜头记录下了哈特菲尔德宫一年四季的景色。莫利写了一本小传——《哈特菲尔德花园》，这本书有193页，里面附有斯内尔拍摄的照片。这本书将于今年4月7日出版。接着，哈特菲尔德宫的复兴展将于今年5月7日在伦敦花园历史博物馆开幕。
报道说，2004年，有6.7万多位游客前来参观哈特菲尔德宫。
英联邦运动委员会简介 CGCE
The Commonwealth Games Council for England is the organisation responsible for all matters relating to the Commonwealth Games in England.
Membership of the Games Council consists of representatives of 26 sports in the Commonwealth Games programme from which the host city selects up to 17 sports for each Games. The Officers are elected by Council and hold office for 4 years， their work being supported by four salaried staff.
England has competed in every Games since the first Empire Games in 1930 and has hosted the Games twice - in London in 1934 and Manchester in 2002.
The CGCE has been a beneficiary of Sport England funding towards the costs of the preparation of Team England since 1994. This has enabled the CGCE to run extensive management， training and educational programmes， ensuring that competitors and officials alike are fully prepared to meet the challenges ahead.
The raising of funds for the Team's participation in the Games themselves is the sole responsibility of the CGCE and is raised through sponsorship and fund-raising activities. Donations from Commerce and Industry as well as the general public towards the team's costs are always most gratefully received. Without this ongoing support Team England would not be able to participate in the Games.
The CGCE is a member of the Commonwealth Games Federation who have overall responsibility for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games.
英国旅游景点
旅游观光
翻开欧洲地图，可以看到欧洲西岸外的大海中有两个大岛，一个叫大不列颠岛，另一个叫爱尔兰岛。前者的全部，后者的北部以及其他小岛组成一个国家，全称大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国，国际上通称为联合王国。这个国家包括英格兰、威尔士、苏格兰（三者在大不列颠岛上）和北爱尔兰四个部分，面积24万多平方公里，相当于我国江苏，安徽两省大小，人口5800多万，首教为伦敦。由于英格兰是全国的重心所在，人口占绝大多数，所以在汉语中，又习惯把联合王国简称为英国。
论国土，英国不算太大。英文中有一句成语：from John O'Groats to Land's End.意思是“从英国的极北到极南”，似乎挺远。其实从John o'Groats（苏格兰最北端的小村庄）到Land's End（英格兰西南端的兰兹角），直线距离还不到1000公里。加上海岸曲折，英国任何地点距海不超过120公里。但是在这不算大的国土上，地形却丰富多彩。东南多为平原丘陵，西北部则分布着山地和高原。最有名的山脉是奔宁山，它纵贯南北200多公里，号称“英国的脊梁”，但最高的山峰却在苏格兰，叫本尼维斯，海拔1343米，差不多有泰山那么高。英国最多的湖泊分布在湖区，即湖畔派诗人们生活过的地方，以及内斯湖（一作尼斯湖）那里传说有水怪出没。然而最大的湖泊，却在爱尔兰，叫讷湖（一作内伊湖），当然它比起我国的太湖、洞庭湖来要小多了。说起英国的河流，人们自然会想到泰晤士河，不过最长的河流却要数塞文河，它源于威尔士，全长354公里。这条河有着喇叭口似的河口湾，每当大潮涌现时，激浪排空，海水向河口倒灌，蔚为壮观。
英国是个美丽的国家，文物古迹比比皆是，自然风景秀丽可餐，旅游资源丰富。许多城市，如“万城之花”伦敦，“北方雅典”爱丁堡，大学城牛津、剑桥，古色古香的约克城，莎翁故乡斯特拉特福都是享有世界声誉的旅游名城。英国还辟有湖区等几十座国家公园和风景保护区。目前，被联合国列入世界文化和自然遗产的名胜古迹和天然景观就有14处，即伦敦塔、威斯敏斯特宫（国会大厦）、布伦海姆宫（牛津附近），坎特伯雷主教堂、巴斯城、索尔兹伯里郊区的巨石阵等遗迹，铁桥峡（伍尔沃汉普顿以西），方廷斯修道院及园林（约克以北）、达勒姆的大教堂和古城堡、哈德良长城（纽卡斯尔一带），圭内斯的城堡群（威尔士卡那封一带），苏格兰的圣基尔达群岛，北爱兰的“巨人之路”和太平洋上的英国属地享德森珊瑚岛。它们富有特色、各擅其长，都是极受游客青睐的观光热点。
教育概况
一般分为五个阶段。第一阶段是3岁到5岁的幼儿园教育；第二阶段是5-11岁的小学教育；第三阶段是11岁-16岁的中学教育。5岁-16岁为法律规定的强制教育阶段。适龄儿童必须入学，由国家负责必须的学费、书籍和必要的供应。16岁-18岁是中学高级班（或大学预备班），为中学至大学的过渡期；第四阶段为大学教育。一般从18岁开始，读本科需要3年-4年（医科为5年），可取得学士学位。硕士通常为1年-2年，博士为3年-5年；第五阶段为16岁以后的继续教育。包括青年和成人的职业教育（正规大学不算在内），方式有全日、半日和业余时间。学制的长短在各地、各部门、各专业均不相同。
英国文凭介绍1.普通中学教育证书GCSE：16岁时参加这个考试，获得中学文凭。此课程一年至两年，为一般基础课程，然后升高中的继续读高级证书A-LEVEL及其他课程。准备就业的则进入职业培训学校。
2.高级水平考试A-LEVEL：是准备进入大学深造的学生通过GCSE后的大学预科班。经过一年至两年的学习，通过A-LEVEL，即可申请读大学。A-LEVEL是中学和大学的衔接课程，其考试成绩也是中学升入大学的考核标准。
3.国际基础课程文凭INTERNATIONAL FOUNDATION DIPTOMA：部分大学设有该课程。这是针对不能直接进入学士学位课程的海外留学生设置的。完成该课程，就可直接读大专或本科。 4.高级国家文凭HND：相当于我国的大专文凭。一般用两年至三年（含一年实习）时间，读完后即取得高级国家文凭。如需要，再直接读本科最后一年，并可取得学士学位。
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英语国家概况精讲系列25-27
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2. Administration in Great Britain is handled by separate executive agencies of the Department of Social Security. In Northern Ireland by the Social Security Agency.
大不列颠的社会保险由社会保险部独立执行机构管理，在北爱尔兰则是社会保险局。
3. contributory social security benefits, it include：（ 1） retirement pension； （2） unemployment pension； （3） sickness and invalidity benefit and （4） Maternity allowance and widows's benefits.
需要先交费的社会安全福利（个人有工作收入时交，无收入时领），其中包括：退休金，失业金，病残福利金，孕产期补助金，寡妇补助金。
4. non-contributory social security benefits, it include： （1） war pensions；（2） industrial injuries disablement benefit；（3） child benefit and （4） family credit.
不需要先交费的福利金，包括战争伤亡抚恤金，工伤致残救济金，儿童补助金，低收入家庭补助金。
III. Religion宗教
1. Everyone in Britain has the right to religious freedom with out interference from the community or the State. He may change his religion at will may manifest his faith in teaching, worship and observance. Except that the Lord Chancellor may be a Roman Catholic, public offices are open without distinction to members of all churches or none.
在英国，人人都有信仰宗教的权利，社会和政府不得干涉。他可以随意改变宗教信仰，可以在教职，礼拜或仪式中表明他的信仰。除了娃哈哈官不可以是罗马天主教徒外，公共职务对各种信仰或没有信仰的人一律公开。
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Established churches
国教
There are two established church in Britain： in England the church of England and Scotland the Church of England.
英国有两大国教，在英格兰是英格兰国教，苏格兰是苏格兰教会（长老教）。
3. Church of England is uniquely related to the Crown in that the Sovereign must be a member of that Church and as "Defender of the Faith". The Church is also linked with the State through the House of loads. The church of England is not free to change its form of worship, as laid down in the Book of Common Prayer without the consent of Parliament.
英格兰国教与君主有独特的联系。因为君主作为"国教的捍卫者"必须是此教会的一员，他在登基时必须承诺维持国教。国教还通过上议院与政府联系。没有议会同意，英格兰教会不可随意改变"国教祈祷书"中规定的礼拜仪式。
4. The government of the Church of Scotland is Presbyterian, that is, government by ministers and elders, all of whom are ordained to office. The Monarch is normally represented at the general assembly by the Lord High Commissioner.
英格兰教的管理时长老制，也就是由教士和长老治理。他们被授予圣职，王室高级代表通常代表君主光临会议。
5. Unestablished churches
非国教教会
There are include： the Anglican Churches（圣公会），the Free Churches（自由教），the Roman Catholic Church（罗马天主教）。
IV. Festival and Public Holidays
节假日
The Christian festival of the year and Christmas, Easter, and Whit Sunday.
其主要的节日有圣诞节，复活节，圣灵降临节
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Sports
体育运动
1. Many international sports were introduced by the British who take their leisure time very seriously. There is widespread participation in sport in Britain.
许多国际体育项目是由认真对待休闲时间的英国人引进的，在英国，人们广泛参与体育。
2. Football （ or "soccer" as it is colloquially called ）, the most popular sport in England as well as in Europe, has its traditional home in England where it was developed in the 19th century.
足球（口语叫"soccer"）,在英格兰和欧洲是最受欢迎的运动，其传统老家在英格兰，出现于19世纪。
3. The game "Rugby" was invented at Rugby School in Warwich shire in the early 19th century.
拉格比球比赛19世纪初创立于沃尔威克郡的拉格比学校，因此而得名。
4. Cricket, the most typically English of sports, has been in existence since the 16th century. On an international level, 5-day Cornhill Test Matches.
板球，是英国人最典型的体育运动，自从16世纪以来已存在。国际比赛是5天的康希尔决赛。
5. Although tennis has been played for centuries, the modern game originated in England in late 19th. The main tournament is the annual Wimbledon fortnight, one of the 4 tennis "Grand Slam" tournaments.
尽管网球已打了好几个世纪，但现代比赛却起源于19世纪末的英格兰。主要比赛是一年一度的温布尔登两周赛，这是四大满贯网球锦标赛之一。
6. There is a considerable following and participation of athletics in Britain. For example, the London Marathon, which takes place every spring.
英国参加田径的人很多，例如伦敦的马拉松塞，每年春季举行。
7. The home of golf is Scotland where the game has been played since the 17th century and naturally the oldest golf club in the world is there： The Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers. The Walker Cup for amateurs and the Ryder Cup for professionals.
高尔夫球的故里是苏格兰，自从17世纪以来这项运动就在那儿盛行。全世界最古老的高尔夫俱乐部也在那里：爱丁堡高尔夫球会员荣誉公司。业余球员参加沃尔克公开赛，职业球员参加雷德尔杯。
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II. Criminal Courts
刑事法庭
1. Criminal Courts in England and Wales
英格兰和威尔士的刑事法庭
Magistrates' Courts which try summary offences and "either way" offences. A magistrates' court, which is open to the public and the media, usually consists of three unpaid "lay" magistrates-known as justices of the peace-who are advised on point of law and procedure by a legally qualified assistant. A Magistrates' court sits without a jury.
治安（警事）法庭，负责审理判决犯罪，也审理"任意方式"罪行。治安法庭对公众和媒体公开，通常由三位无薪的"外行"地方官——地方治安官组成，由懂得法律知识的书记员和助手给他们提供法律规定和程序方面的建议。治安法庭审察时没有陪审团。
Youth Court which try most cases involving people under 18.
青少年法庭，负责审理18岁以下青年的大多数案件。
The Crown Court tries the most serious offences and 'either way" offences referred to it by magistrates. The Crown Court is presided over by High Court judges, full-time circuit Judges and part-time Recorders England and Wales are divided into six circuits for the purpose of hearing criminal case. Each circuit is divided into areas containing one or more centers of High Court and Crown Court.
皇家刑事法庭。负责审理最严重的罪行和由地方法官提交的"任意方式"罪行。皇家刑事法庭由高级法院法官，全职巡回法官和兼任刑事法官主持。为审理刑事案，英格兰和威尔士被分为六个巡回区，每个巡回区又分区域，每个区域有一个或多个高级法庭和皇家刑事法庭。
2. Criminal courts in Scotland
苏格兰的刑事法庭
There are three criminal courts in Scotland.（1）the High Court of Justiciary；（2） the sheriff court；（3） the district court. Scotland has two types of criminal procedure, know as solemn procedure and summary procedure. In solemn procedure, a defendant is tried by a judge sits without a jury.
英格兰有三种刑事法院：（1）高级法院；（2）郡法院；（3）区法院。英格兰有两种刑事诉讼：庄重诉讼和即决诉讼。庄重诉讼里，被告由陪审团和法官审理。在即决诉讼中，法官独自审理，不用陪审团。
3. Criminal courts in Northern Ireland
北爱尔兰的刑事法庭
Cases involving minor summary offences are heard by magistrates' courts presided over by a full-time legally qualified resident magistrate. County courts are primarily civil law courts. The Crown Court deals with criminal trails on indictment.
涉及轻微即决犯罪的案件由治安法庭听审，法庭由全职的法律合格的常驻治安法官主持。郡法庭主要是民事法庭。皇家刑事法庭根据起诉进行刑事审判。
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III.Civil Courts
民事法庭
1. Civil Courts in England and Wales
英格兰和威尔士的民事法庭
Magistrates' Courts have limited civil jurisdiction, The main courts of civil jurisdiction are County Courts, the High Court deals with the more complicated civil case. Its jurisdiction covers mainly civil and some criminal cases. It has three divisions： （1） the family Division； （2） the Chancery Division； （3） the Queen's Bench Division.
治安法庭只有一定的民事审判权。主要行使民事司法权的是民事法院，高等法院处理更为复杂的民事案。主要包括民事案和一些刑事案，高等法院有三个分支：（1）家事庭；（2）娃哈哈官庭；（3）王室庭。
2. Civil Courts in Scotland
苏格兰的民事法庭
The Civil Courts are the sheriff court and the Court of session.
民事法院包括郡法院和巡回法院（最高中心法院）。
3. Civil Courts in Northern Ireland
北爱尔兰的民事法院
County Court are primarily civil law courts. The magistrates' court also deal with certain limited classes of civil cases. The high Court of Justice the superior civil law court.
郡法院主要是民事法院。治安法庭也审理某些有限类型的民事案件。高等法院就是高级民事法院。
IV. The Judiciary
司法机构
There is no ministry of justice in the United Kingdom. Central responsibility lies with the Lord Chancellor the Home Secretary and the Attorney General. In England and Wales, lay magistrates are appointed on behalf of the Crown by the Lord Chancellor who is advised by committees in each county. The Lord Chancellor recommends the High Court and circuit judges. The highest judicial appointments and made by the Queen on the advice of the Prime Minister.
英国没有司法机构。中央政府的司法工作主要由娃哈哈官内政大臣和检察总长负责。在英格兰和威尔士，娃哈哈官根据各部委员会的建议任命外行人员为治安官。娃哈哈官推荐高等法官和巡回法官。最高级别的司法官任命由女王根据首相的建议做出。
V. Police
警察
The police service for United Kingdom is organized and controlled on a local basis under the Home Secretary and the Scottish and Northern Ireland Secretaries. London's Metropolitan Police Force is directly under the control of Home Secretary. Police officers are not allowed to join a trade union or go on strike. They do not normally carry firearms.
在内政大臣和苏格兰及北爱尔兰国务大臣的指导下，英国警察分地组建，并以地方管理为基础。但伦敦警察署直接与内政大臣管辖。警察不得加入工会或罢工。他们通常不佩带手枪。
VI. Treatment of offenders
对违法者的处理
The chief aims of the penal system are to deter the potential lawbreaker and to reform the convicted offender.
刑罚制度的主要目的是阻止潜在的违法者，并改造已判的违法者。
Capital punishment （ a sentence of death ） for murder has been abolished in the U.K, through proposal for its reinstatement are regularly debated by Parliament, and it remains the penalty for treason and piracy.
英国已废除对谋杀罪的死刑，但议会仍经常辩论要恢复死刑，判国罪和海盗罪仍可判死刑。
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Social Affairs
英国社会
I. Health and Social Services
全国医疗保健计划
1. Britain is regarded as a welfare state. This system is funded out of national insurance contributions and taxation. In Britain the term applies mainly to the National Health Service （NHS）, national insurance and social security.
英国被认为是福利制度的国家。此制度的所需资金来源于全国保险税和赋税。在英国，这主要是指国民保健制度，国民保险和社会保障制度。
2. The National Health Service provides for every resident, regardless of income, a full range of medical services. The service was established in the U.K. in 1948. Over 82 per cent of the cost of the health service in Great Britain id funded out of general taxation. The rest is met from： （1） the NHS element of National Insurance contributions； （2） charges towards the cost of certain items such as drugs prescribed by family doctors, and general dental treatment； （3） other receipts, including land sales and the proceeds of income generation schemes.
不管个人收入如何，国民保健制度为每个居民提供全面医疗服务。英国于1948年确立此制度。英国国民保健制度82%以下的费用来自普通税收，其他部分来自（1）国民保险金中的国民保险金部分；（2）象对家庭一生开的药单和普通牙科治疗所收的费用；（3）其他收入，包括出售土地和增收计划的收益。
3. There are proportional charges for most types of HNS dental treatment, including examinations. Sight test are free to children. No one is liable to be charged by the National Health Service for treatment in an accident, emergency or for an infectious disease. Central government is directly responsible for the NHS, which is administered by a range of local health authorities and health boards throughout the U……
国民保健制度中多数牙科治疗都要收取一定比例的费用，包括检查费。视力检查对儿童免费。国民保健制度对事故，急诊或传染病的治疗不收费，中央政府直接负责国民保健制度，由全国各地的保健机构和卫生委员会实施。
英语国家概况精讲系列 (24)
4. The family health services are those given to patients by doctors, dentists, opticians and pharmacists. In order to obtain the benefits of the NHS a person must normally be registered on the list of a general practitioner （GP, sometimes knows as a "family doctor"）。
家庭保健服务由医生、牙医、眼科大夫和药剂师提供给病人。为获得国民保健制度的服务，人们必须在普通开业医生的名册上注册。
5. A full range of hospital services is provided by district general hospital. There are also specialist hospital or units for children, people suffering from mental illness, those with learning disabilities, and elderly people, and for the treatment of specific diseases.
地区普通医院提供全面的医院服务。也有为儿童，精神病人，有学习障碍者，老人和特殊病人开设的专门医院或病区。
6. The National Health Service is the largest single employer of labour in the U.K. NHS has suffered from underfunding in recent decades, as a result of which many better-off people have been turning to private medical health care.
国民保健制度是英国最大的用人机构。近几十年来，因为资金不足，许多比较富裕的人正逐渐转向私人的医疗保健机构。
7. Personal social services in Britain assist elderly people, disabled people, people with learning disabilities or mental illness, children, and families facing special problems. These statutory service are provided by local government social services authorities.
在英国，个人社会服务向老人，残疾人，有学习障碍者，精神病人，有特殊家庭困难的人等。地方政府社会服务委员会提供法定援助。
II. social Security
社会保险
1. The social security system is designed to secure a basic standard of living for people in financial need. Nearly a third of government expenditure is devoted to the social security programme which provides financial help for people who are elderly, sick, disabled, unemployed, widowed, bringing up children or on very low incomes.
社会保险制度设立的目的是保障经济困难的人们的基本生活水平，政府开支的近三分之一用于社会保险计划。此计划给老人，病人，残疾人，失业者，寡妇，抚育幼儿者或低收入者提供经济帮助。
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英语国家概况精讲系列17-20
2008-05-10 12:32:17
英语国家概况精讲系列 (17)
The main textile producing regions of Britain are the East Midlands, Yorkshire, Humberside, and Northern Ireland.
New Industries
New industries include microprocessors and computers, biotechnology and other high-tech industries. There are three areas in Britain which have seen some high-tech industrial growth： （1）。the area between London and South Wales, （2）。the Cambridge area of East Anglia and （3）。the area between Glasgow and Edinburgh in Scotland. The third area is the most spectacular of the three and is now often referred to as the "Silicon Glen". By the end of 1985 half of Britain's microchip output was estimated to have come from Scotland.
英国主要纺织基地是现在的中东部，约克郡和汉伯塞德郡及北爱尔兰。
The reasons behind the decline of Britain's textile industry are：
英国纺织业的衰退原因如下：
（1） Exports of textiles have not competed well with those of other foreign producers who have managed to produce cheaper goods.
纺织品出口不能很好地与设法生产出更便宜商品的国外产家竞争。
（2） There has been a rise in cheaper imports of textiles to Britain from foreign producers.
英国增加了从外国产家进口更廉价纺织品。
（3） Poor and outdated management decisions have caused problem.
薄弱及过时的管理决策导致许多问题。
（4） Substitutions of human-made fibres have been made for natural fibres.
人造纤维代替品已取代了天然纤维。
（5） An improvement of output per worker has been achieved, due to mechanization.
由于机械化，每个工人的生产量有了提高。
英语国家概况精讲系列 (18)
Government and Administration
英国政府机构
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, the head of state is a king or a queen. The United Kingdom is governed, in the name of the Sovereign by His or Her Majesty's Government. The System of parliamentary government is not based on a written constitution, the British constitution is not set out in any single document. It is made up of statute law, common law and conventions. The Judiciary determines common law and interprets statutes.
联合王国是君主立宪制国家,国家的首脑是国王或女王。联合王国以君的名义,由国王或女王陛下政府治理。英国的议会制度并不是基于成文宪法,英国宪法不由单一文件构成,而由成文法,习惯法和惯例组成。司法部门裁定习惯法或解释成文法。
I.The Monarchy
君主制
1.Elizabeth II, her title in the United Kingdom is "Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and Her Other Realms and Territories, Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith.
伊莉莎白二世，她的全称是"上帝神佑，大布列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国以及她的其他领土和领地的女王，英联邦元首，国教保护者伊莉莎白二世。"
2.The Queen is the symbol of the whole nation. In law, She is head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces and the "supreme governor" of the Church of England. She gives Royal Assent to Bills passed by parliament.
女王是国家的象征。从法律上讲，她是行政首脑，立法机构的组成部分，司法首脑，全国武装部队总司令，英国国教"至高无上"的领袖。她任命首相和重要的政府官员。对议会通过的法案给予御准。
3.The monarch actually has no real power. The monarch's power are limited by law and Parliament. Constitutional monarchy began after the Glorious Revolution in 1688.
君主政体实际已无实权。它的权力受限于法律和议会。君主立宪制是从1688年的光荣革命后开始。
III.Parliament
议会
1.The United Kingdom is a unitary, not a federal, state. Parliament consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
英国是中央集权国家，而不是联邦制国家。议会由君主，上议院和下议院组成。
2.The main functions of Parliament are： （1） to pass laws； （2） to provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government； （3） to examine government Policy and administrations, including proposal for expenditure； and （4） to debate the major issues of the day.
议会的主要作用是：（1）通过立法；（2）投票批准税为政府工作提供资金；（3）检查政府政策和行政管理，包括拨款提议；（4）当天的议题辩论。
3.The House of Lords is made up of the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal. The main function of the House of Lords is to bring the wide experience of its members into the process of lawmaking. In other words, the non-elected House is to act as a chamber of revision, complementing but not rivaling the elect House.
贵族院（上议院）由神职贵族和世俗贵族组成。它的主要作用是用议员的丰富经验帮助立法。换而言之，非选举的上议院是修正议院，补充而非反对由选举产生的下议院。
4.The House of Common is elected by universal adult suffrage and consists of 651 Members of Parliament （MPs）。 It is in the House of Commons that the ultimate authority.
下议院（平民院）由成人普选产生，由651名议员组成。下议院拥有最终立法权。
5.Britain is divided 651 constituencies. Each of the constituencies returns one member to the House of Commons. A general Election must be held every five years and is often held at more frequent intervals.
英国被划分为651个选区，每个选区选一名下议院议员。大选必须五年举行一次，但经常不到五年就进行一次选举。
6.Britain has a number of parties, but there are only two major parties. These two parties are the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. Since 1945, either the Conservative Party or the Labour Party has held power. The party which wins sufficient seats at a General Election to command a majority of Government. The leader of the majority party is appointed Prime Minister. The party which wins the second largest number of seats becomes the Official Opposition, with its own leader and "shadow cabinet ". The rule of Opposition is to help the formulation of policy. Criticizes the Government and debate with the Government.
英国有很多政党，但有两个主要的政党-保守党和工党。从1945年以来，两党一直轮流执政，在大选中获多数议席因而在下议院拥有多数支持者的政党组建政府，多数党领袖由君主任命为首相。获得第二多数议席的政党则正式成为"反对党"，有自己的领袖和影子内阁。反对党的目的是帮助制定政策，它可以经常给政府提出批评性的建议和修正议案。
英语国家概况精讲系列 (19)
III.The Cabinet and Ministry
内阁和内阁部长
1. The Prime Minister presides over the Cabinet, is responsible for the allocation of functions among ministers and informs the Queen at regular meetings of general business of the Government. Cabinet members hold meetings under the chairmanship of the Prime Minister for a few hours each week to decide Government policy on major issues.
首相主持内阁，负责分配大臣们的职能，在定期会见女王时向女王报告政府事务。内阁在 首相的主持下，每周开会几小时，以决定在重大问题上政府的政策。
2. Ministers are responsible collectively to Parliament for all Cabinet decisions； individual Ministers are responsible to Parliament for the work of their department.
内阁的所有决定由大臣集体向议会负责，各大臣又为各自部门的工作向议会负责。
IV.The Privy Council
枢密院
1. The Privy Council was formerly the chief source of executive power in the state and give private advice to the King. So the Privy Council was also called the King's Council in history. Today its role is largely formal, advising the sovereign to approve certain government decrees.
枢密院原来是政府行政权力的源泉，给君主提供"私人"建议。它在历史上也称为国王议会。今天它的主要作用是礼节性的，如建议君主批准政府的法令。
2. Its membership is about 400, and includes all Cabinet ministers, the speaker of the House of Common and senior British and Commonwealth statement.
它的主要成员有400人左右，包括内阁阁员，下议院院长及英国，英联邦的高级政治家等。
V.Government Department and the Civil Service
政府各部和公务员部
1. The principal Government department main includes： the Treasury, the House of office, the Foreign and Commonwealth office, the Ministry of Defense…
主要的政府部门包括：财务部，内务部，外交部，国防部等。
2. Members of the Civil Service are called Civil Services. They staff government departments. Civil Servants are recruited mainly by competitive examination. Civil servants do not belong to any political party. Changes of Government do not involve changes in departmental staff, There are about 541800 civil servants in Britain now.
文职人员部的成员被成为公务员。公务员主要是通过竞争考试录用。公务员部门不属于任何政党，政府的变更并不影响部门职员的变更。英国现约有541800名公务员。
VI.Local Government
地方政府部门
1. There are two main tiers of local authority throughout England and Wales： counties and the smaller districts. Now, England and Wales are divided into 53 counties which are sub-divided into 369 districts.
英格兰和威尔士实行两级地方政府制-郡和比郡小的区。现在英格兰和威尔士分为53个郡，郡下分为369个区。
2. Greater London is divided into 32 boroughs.
大伦敦被分为32个行政区。
英语国家概况精讲系列 (20)
Justice and the law
法律与司法机构
There is no single legal system in the United Kingdom. A feature common to all systems of law in the United Kingdom is that there is no complete code. The sources of law include （1） statutes； （2） a large amount of "unwritten" or common law； （3） equity law； （4） European Community. Another common feature is the distinction made between criminal law and civil law.
联合王国不实行完全统一的法律制度。联合王国所有法律制度的一个共同特点是没有以部完整的法典。法典来源包括：（1）成文法；（2）大量的"不成文法"或习惯法；（3）衡平法；（4）欧共体法。另一个共同的特点是刑法和民法之间的区别。
I.Criminal Proceedings
刑事诉讼程序
1. In England and Wales, once the police have charged a person with a criminal offence, the crown Prosecution Service assumes control of the case reviews the evidence to decide whether to prosecute.
在英格兰和威尔士，一旦警察指控某人犯有刑事罪，皇家检察总署就要接管此案，并独立地审核证据以决定是否起诉。
2. In Britain all criminal trial are held in open count because the criminal law presumes the innocence of the accused until he has been proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt. The prosecution and the defense get equal treatment. No accused person has to answer the question of the police before trial. He is not compelled to give evidence in count. Every accused person has the right to employ a legal adviser to conduct his defense. If he can not afford to pay, he may be granted aid at public expense. In criminal trial by jury, the judge passes sentence, but the jury decided the issue of guilt or innocence. The jury composed of 12 or ordinary people. If the verdict of the jury can not be unanimous, it must be a majority.
在英国，所有的刑事审判都在法院公开进行。因为刑法认为，在消除合理怀疑证明被告有罪之前，他是无辜的。原告与被告同样平等，审判时被告不必回答警察的问题，不许强迫被告提供证据。每位被告都有权雇佣律师为其辩护。如果他不能支付律师费，可以用公用费用提供帮助。在由陪审团进行的刑事审判中，法官判刑，但陪审团决定是否有罪。陪审团一般由12人组成。如果陪审团不能做出一致判决，也必须是多数决定。
3.A verdict of " not guilt" means acquittal for the accused, who can never again be charged with that specific crime.
"无罪"裁决意味着被告无罪，并且永远不得再以此罪名对其指控。
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英语国家概况精讲系列13-16
2008-05-10 12:29:06
英语国家概况精讲系列 (13)
I. Trade Unions and the Labour Party
工会和工党
1. The Trade Union Act of 1871 legalized the trade unions and gave financial security.
1871年通过的《工会法》使工会合法化并给其财政保障。
2. The Labor Party had its origin in the Independent Labor Party（ILP）, which was formed in January, 1893. In 1900, representatives of trade unions, the ILP, and a number of small socialist societies set up the Labor Representation Committee （LRC）。 The LRC changed its name to the Labor Party for the general election called for in 1906.
工党起源于独立工党，于1893年1月成立。1900年，工会代表，独立工党和许多小型社会主义社团一起成立了工人代表委员会。1906年的大选迫使工人代表委员会及时更名为工党。
II. Colonial Expansion
殖民扩张
1. The growth of dominions
自治领的兴起
English colonial expansion began with the colonization of Newfoundland in 1583. Encouraged by Britain's control of the seas, especially by the rising tide of emigration, British colonialists stepped up their expansion to Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, in the late 18th and the early 19th centuries. By 1900, Britain had built up a big empire, "on which the sun never set". It consisted of a vast number of protectorates, Crown colonies, spheres of influence, and self-governing dominions. It included 25% of the world's population and area.
英国殖民扩张开始于1583年纽芬兰的殖民化。在18世纪末、19世纪初，受到海外移民浪潮的鼓舞，英国殖民者很快加他们的扩张到加拿大、澳大利亚、新西兰。到1900年英国已建立了"日不落"的大英帝国，包括受保护国、英国殖民地、势力范围和自治领，占世界人口与面积的25%.
Canada was ceded to Britain by the 1763 Treaty of Paris. French rights were guaranteed by the Quebec Act of 1774. The Canada Act of 1791 divided Canada into Upper Canada where the British had settled, and Lower Canada populated by the French. The British North America Act of 1867 established Canada as a dominion.
1763年签订的《巴黎条约》将加拿大割让给英国。1774年的《魁北克法》保证了法国的权益。之后，1791年《加拿娃哈哈》把加拿大分为上加拿大和下加拿大，前者是英国人的定居地，后者是法国人的居住点。1867年《英国北美法案》确定加拿大为自治领。
English began to transport convicts to Australia in 1788. Free settlement began in 1816, and no convicts were sent to Australia after 1840. The gold rushes （1851-1892） brought more people to Australia, and in 1901 the six self-governing wer united in one dominion-the independent Commonwealth of Australia.
1788年英国人开始把囚犯流放到澳大利亚。1816年开始可以自由定居，1840年后囚犯不再流放到澳大利亚。1851年至1892年的淘金热使更多的人拥到澳洲。1901年，六个自治领统一为一个自治领-澳大利亚独立联邦。
New Zealand became a separate colony of Britain in 1841, achieved self-government in 1857, became a dominion under the British crown in 1907 and was made completely independent in 1931.
1841年新西兰成为独立殖民地，1857年实现自治，1907年成为英皇属下的自治领，1931年完全独立。
1. The Conquest of India
征服印度
The British East India Company established in 1600. By 1819 the British conquest of most India was almost complete. After the muting of Bengal army in 1857, the control of India passed to the British Crown and Queen Victoria became Empress of India in 1877.
1600年英国东印度公司的建立是经济渗透的实例。到1819年英国对印度的征服已基本完成。1857年东印度公司孟加拉军队的当地士兵发动兵变后，1858年印度改由英国君主统治。1877年维多利来女王正式成为印度女皇。
2. The Scramble for Africa
对非洲的掠夺
At the beginning of the 19th century British possessions were confined to forts and slave trading posts on the west coast. Over the 19th century the interior of Africa was gradually discovered and colonized by Europeans. Britain led the way in the race. Apart from the colonies in the South and West, Britain was also involved in the North East in Egypt and the Sudan.
19世纪初英国的占领地局限于西海岸的堡垒和奴隶交易点。整个19世纪欧洲人逐渐发现并殖民了非洲内陆。在这场瓜分竞赛中英国占了较大的优势。除了不断扩张的南部和西部殖民地后，英国又凯觎东北的埃及和苏丹。
3. Aggression against China
侵略中国
In 1840, the Opium War broke out between Britain and China. Since then, Britain gradually invaded many coastal areas and imposed a series of unequal treaties upon China.
1840年英国和中国发动了鸦片战争。从那时起，英国逐渐侵略了中国的许多沿海城市，并签定了许多不平等条约。
英语国家概况精讲系列 (14)
VI. Twentieth Century
二十世纪
1. Britain and the First World War
英国和第一次世界大战
The Work War I was fought from 1914 to 1918 primarily between two European Power blocs： "the Central power". Germany and Austria-Hungary, and the "Allies", Britain, France and Russia. During the war, the Britain lost much. Apart from the loss of manpower, there had been considerable disruption of the economy and society. Out of the war settlement came the establishment of the league of Nations.
第一次世界大战是从1914年至1918年，战争主要在两大欧洲集团间进行："同盟国"，包括德国和奥匈帝国，和"协约国"，包括英国、法国和俄罗斯。一战中英国损失惨重。除了劳动力损失，还有巨大的经济与社会瓦解。
2. Britain Between the Two World Wars
两次世界大战期间的英国
The effects of the New York Stock Market Crash of 1929 soon spread throughout Europe and by 1931 Britain was entering the Great depression.
1929年纽约股票交易所崩溃的影响迅速波及欧洲，到1931年英国进入经济大萧条。
3. Britain and the Second World War
英国与第二次世界大战
As Adolf Hitler and Nazism showed off their aggressive momentum in Europe, Chamberlain, the Prime Minister, found his policy of appeasement of German aggression was no longer tenable, and was forced to declare war on Germany on September 3,1939.
当阿道夫希特勒及纳粹主义显示他们对欧洲的侵略意图时，首相张伯伦发现他的绥靖政策已站不住脚，只得于1939年9月3日对德宣战。
4. Postwar Britian
战后的英国
（1） One of the most far-reaching consequences of the War was that it hastened the end of Britain's empire.
二战最为深远的结果之一是加速了大英帝国的瓦解。
（2） In 1952 Princess Elizabeth was crowned Queen Elizabeth II. Many people through television saw the ceremony.
1952年伊莉莎白公主加冕成为伊莉莎白女王二世。新发明的电视使许多人看到了加冕仪式的过程。
（4） In January 1973, Britain became a full member of the European Economic Community which was still called the Common Market in 1973. Britain witnessed the first oil shock in 1973.
1973年1月，英国终于成为欧洲经济共同体的正式成员国。1973年仍称为共同市场。1973年英国经历了第一次石油禁运。
（5） Mrs Thatcher
撒切尔主义
Thatcherism referred to the policies put forward by Margaret Thatcher, the first woman prime minister in England in 1979. The main contents of her policies included the return to private ownership of state-owned industries, the use of monetarist policies to control inflation, the weakening of trade unions the strengthening of the role of market forces in the economy, and an emphasis on law and order. To some extent her program was successful and she led one of the most remarkable periods in the British economy.
1979年撒切尔夫人成为英国第一任女首相。她提出的政策被为"撒切尔主义".其内容包括国有工业私有化，采用货币主义政策以控制通货膨胀，削弱工会的影响，加强市场因素在经济中的作用，强调法律和秩序。在一定程度上讲，她的计划是成功的。她领导英国经济度过了一段最繁华的时期之一。
英语国家概况精讲系列 (15)
The Economy 英国经济
I. The Evolution of the British Economy since the War
The evolution of the British economy since WWII falls into three periods：
二战后英国经济发展可分为三个阶段：
（1） Steady development in the 50s and 60s： The British economy in this period is characterized by slow but steady growth, low unemployment and great material prosperity with rising standards of consumption.
（1）战后50-60年代平稳发展时期。其主要特点是经济缓慢而持续增长，失业率低，物质丰富，人民消费水平不断增长。
（2） Economic recession in the 70s： In the 1970s among the developed countries, Britain maintained the lowest growth rate and the highest inflation rate, and the high record of trade deficits.
（2）70年代经济滞胀。在70年代，英国在所有的发达资本主义国家中，始终保持最低经济增长率，最高的通货膨胀率，和最高的贸易赤字纪录。
（3） Economic recovery in the 80s： An outstanding feature of the economic recovery in the 80s was its length, lasting seven years. Another was the improved financial position of the government, with stronger current account of the balance of payments.
（3）80年代经济复苏。一个显著特点是时间长，复苏持续了7年。另一个特点是国际收支大大盈余，政府金融地位最高。
Measures taken by Mrs. Thatcher's government to improve the economy
Mrs. Thatcher's government took numerous measures to improve the efficiency of the economy during the past decade, using both macroeconomic and microeconomic policies.
撒切尔政府运用宏观经济政策和微观经济政策，采取许多措施提高经济效益。
（1） Macroeconomic measures were directed towards bringing down the rate of inflation and achieving price stability.
宏观经济政策直接针对降低通货膨胀率和维持物价稳定。
（2） Microeconomic policies were aimed at working with the grain of market forces by encouraging enterprise, efficiency and flexibility.
微观经济政策旨在通过鼓励实业，效率和灵活性共同努力提高市场竞争力。
Reasons for the British coal mining is called a "sick" industry today.
英语国家概况精讲系列 (16)
Reasons for the British coal mining is called a "sick" industry today.
英国煤矿被称为"生病"工业的原因。
Today the coal industry in Britain is on the decline，the number of miners, collieries and the total output have been falling.
如今的英国煤矿�