The United Kingdom
Step1 The Country & People 1、Geographical location The UK is an island country. The UK is located in the northwestern Europe. The UK is a country of island surrounded by North sea (to its east), Atlantic ocean (to its north), Irish sea (to its west and between Great Britain and Ireland), English Channel（英吉利海峡）and Strait of Dover（多佛尔海峡）(to its south). 2、Common-sense knowledge National Anthem：《上帝保佑女王》\（男性君主为\） National Flower：Rose The Capital: London 3、Area and population Area: 244, 820 sqkm Population: 60.9 million(2008) The most densely populated area: England (84%) The least densely populated area: Scotland The least populated area: Northern Ireland (less than 3%) 4、British Commonwealth (1931) P9 (expressing in English)
British Commonwealth — Also known as the Commonwealth of Nations, it is an association comprising the United Kingdom and fifty or so former British colonies that are now sovereign states with a common allegiance to the British Crown, including Canada, Australia, India, and many countries in the West Indies and Africa. It was formally established by the Statute of Westminster in 1931. Among the members of the Commonwealth, sixteen sovereign states separately recognize Queen Elizabeth Ⅱ as their monarch and are named the Commonwealth Realms. It includes the UK itself, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand, among others.
英联邦(Commonwealth of Nations)，是以英国为主导的国家联合体，由英国及其自治领和其他已独立的前殖民地、附属国组成，由54个主权国家（含属地）所组成，成员大多为前大英帝国的殖民地或附属国。各自治领地地位平等，彼此的内政和外交完全独立；共同效忠于英王，皆为自由结合的英联邦的成员。该组织元首为英国女王伊丽莎白二世，同时身兼英联邦王国内的16国的国家元首。
英联邦成员国及其附属国占据了全球五分之一的土地及四分之一的人口。成员国在许多领域进行商讨和合作，包括贸易、金融、国防、教育、技术、科研、法律、医药和农业。英联邦不是一个国家，而是一个松散的组织。
英联邦是英国对联邦其他成员国在政治、军事、财政经济和文化上施加影响的组织。 5、Capital city — London
London is in the Southeast of the nation and is situated on the Thames River near its mouth. London is the largest city and largest port in the UK. The political center: Buckingham palace（白金汉宫，英国皇宫）, Palace of Westminster/ House of parliament（国会大厦）, Downing street（唐宁街）
The financial center: One of the three major international financial centers in the world. (Paris and
New York)
The heart of arts and culture: The University of London (the largest university in the UK), British museum（大英博物馆） City of Fog（雾都）
London is divided into the City of London (金融城) and the County of London ( includes all the suburbs and part of the countryside around London, is divided into 32 boroughs 区，自治市镇，城区).
6、Tourist Attractions in London Thames River（泰晤士河） Tower Bridge（伦敦塔桥）
Palace of Westminster/House of parliament（威斯敏斯特宫/国会大厦） 威斯敏斯特宫（Palace of Westminster），又称国会大厦（Houses of Parliament）是英国国会（包括上议院和下议院）的所在地。威斯敏斯特宫是哥德复兴式建筑的代表作之一。 Westminster Abbey（威斯敏斯特教堂）
Political significance：Royal wedding ceremony & Royal tomb Commemoratory significance：Tombs of many famous people ―Poet’s corner‖（诗人之角） Who was the first literary figure buried here? ----Chaucer (father of English history) Who was the last royal family member buried here? ---Diana (Rose of England) In the right picture, whose tomb is it? ---Newton Who built it? ----Edward the confessor（忏悔者） Swiss Re Tower（瑞士再保险塔） London Eye（伦敦眼）
Millennium Bridge（千禧桥）
Greenwich observatory（格林威治天文台） Canary Wharf（金丝雀码头） Millennium Dome（千年穹顶）
St Paul’s Cathedral（圣保罗大教堂） London Tower（伦敦塔）
Canary Wharf Tower（金丝雀码头塔） One Canada Square第一加拿大广场 HSBC Tower汇丰银行塔
8 Canada Square第八加拿大广场 Citigroup Centre 花旗集团中心
Buckingham Palace（白金汉宫）—the residence of the queen（女王住处） 7、Different names for Britain and its parts
8、Topography（地形）
① Rising in North-West cause highlands there; ② Sinking in South-East cause lowlands. 1
9、Filling in the blanks
1）The British Isles — a geographic term which includes two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland island, and 5,000 small islands. 2）Great Britain comprises only England , Scotland and Wales. 3）Ireland island includes Northern Ireland and southern Ireland. Northern Ireland is a part of the UK, while southern Ireland became an independent country — Republic of Ireland. 4）The UK is made up of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Northern Ireland is made up of England, Scotland and Wales. 5）Three terms
British Isles（不列颠群岛）：Two large islands and hundreds of small ones Britain：Great Britain and Northern Ireland Great Britain：England, Wales and Scotland 10、Terms & Capitals & Features Term England Capital London Features The most populous and densely populated area（人口密度最大，人口最多） its population density is the lowest（人口密度最小） The least populous（人口最少） Scotland Wales Northern Ireland Edinburgh爱丁堡 Cardiff加的夫 Belfast贝尔法斯特 11、Rivers & Lakes
The longest river: the Severn（塞汶河）
The 2nd but most important river: Thames（泰晤士河）
The largest lake in the UK: Lough Neagh（内伊湖，英国最大的淡水湖） Lough Lomond（洛蒙德湖）, on the southwestern edge of the High-lands of Scotland, is the largest on the island of Great Britain. 12、Climate & Weather
①Changeable ②Mild temperature ③Abundant rain fall 1. mid-latitude oceanic climate（中纬海洋性气候）
a. Favorable one, winters are mild not too cold and summers are cool not too hot; b. Steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year; c. Small range of temperature. 2. Factors
a. The surrounding waters tend to balance the seasonal（季节性的）differences by heating up the land in winter and cooling it off in summer;
b. The Westerlies（盛行西风带）blow over the country all the year round bringing warm and wet air in winter and keeping the temperatures moderate;
c. The North Atlantic Drift（北大西洋暖流）, which is a warm current, passes the western coast of the British Isles and warms them. 3. Rainfall
a. General: Britain has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year. The average annual rainfall in Britain is over 1,000 mm;
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b. Character: ①Water surplus in north and west; ②Water deficit in south and east;
c. Reservoirs（水库）have to be built in highland areas such as Central Wales, the Lake District and the Scottish Highlands（苏格兰高地）. Step2 History of the United Kingdom 13、A brief timeline of British history 0. Early history史前~43A.D.
1. Roman years 罗马人占领时期：55BC~410AD Early 2. Anglo-Saxon Britain and Anglo-Saxon Heptarch盎格鲁—撒克逊时期 Britain 与Danish invasion丹麦统治时期：449年~1066年 3. Norman Britain 诺曼底王朝1066~1154 4. House of Plantagenet 雀花王朝1154~1399 Medieval 5. House of Lancaster 兰开斯特王朝1399~1461 Britain 6. House of York 约克王朝1461~1485 7. House of Tudors都铎王朝1485~1603 Religious reformation
8. The House of Stuart斯图亚特王朝 1603~1714 British Bourgeois Revolution
9.House of Hanover汉诺威王朝1714~1917 Industrial revolution Victorian Britain World War One
10.House of Windsor温莎王朝1917~ World War Two
14、The earliest known settlers on the British Isles were Iberian.（英国土著居民是利比亚人） 15、The Normans were the last invaders in history to conquer the British Isles.（诺曼底入侵是历史上最后一次外族入侵）
16、1.什么是诺曼底征服（封建社会的开始）？
When Edward the confessor died in 1066 without a male heir, Harold claimed the throne, but 3 days later, Duke of Normandy, William, crossed the Channel, killed Harold and defeated the English army at the battle of Hastings. Weeks later, he was crowned as William at Westminster Abbey in London on Christmas Day 1066. 2. William, duke of Normandy (Northwest of France, close to British Channel)（位于法国西北部） 3. The Battle of Hastings（黑斯廷斯战役） 4. Facts
The Battle of Hastings in 1066 made William, the Conqueror the first Anglo-Norman king of England.
5. Significance
It is the last invasion of England by foreigners while English history regards it as a hidden blessing.
6. In 1067, William started building the Tower of London, the great fortress （要塞，堡垒）which demonstrated his power and dominated the city of London. 17、1. HenryⅡ在位期间三大事件： 在位国王: HenryⅡ
三大事件：①HenryⅡfounded the Plantagenet Dynasty;
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②The jury of 12 sworn men system（12人陪审团制度）were introduced; ③The royal/common law（普遍法）replaced the feudal law（封建法）. 2. King John and ―The Great Charter‖
①King John was defeated in a war with France and lost Normandy in 1204.
②The lords got angry and forced him to sign a long document on June 17th, 1215.
③This document is known as The Great Charter (also named Magna Carta), later regarded as the basis of the modern English constitution. ④Contents：（略看）
—no tax should be made without the approval of the council
—no freeman should be arrested or imprisoned except by the law of the land
—If the king attempted to free himself from law, the vassals（封臣）had the right to force the king to obey it.
⑤Significance：（略看）
—The Great Charter was made in the interest of the feudal lords, great and small. It had a progress significance.
—It granted to the towns people freedom of trade and self-government. The merchants and craftsmen in England appeared for the first time as a new political force. 3. Beginning of Parliament
①Henry Ⅲ (son of King John) heavily taxed the lords to pay tributes（贡品） to the Pope（罗马教皇）to defeat the lords.
②Simon de Montfort（蒙特福德爵士）, defender（守护者）of the Great Charter, reformed the Great Council with two knights each county（郡，县）and two representatives each town（城镇）.It later developed into the House of Lords（上议院）and the House of Commons（下议院）. ③The Earliest English Parliament （All Estates Parliament各等级议会）was summoned in 1265 in Westminster after the capture（捕获，俘虏）of Henry Ⅲ.
4. In 1295, King EdwardⅠ summoned the ―All Estates Parliament‖— more than 400 hundred members in all. As that parliament was followed as a model, it became known in history as the ―Model Parliament（模范国会）‖. 18、Hundred Years’ War（百年战争）
①A series of war waged from 1337 to 1453 by France and England. France won eventually. ②It was the longest war in the world. (1337-1453) 19、The Black Death（黑死病）P21名词解释
Black Death — Also known as the Black Plague, it was a devastating pandemic that first struck Europe in the mid-14th century, killing between a third and two-thirds of Europe’s population, including about one-third of England’s population. ①1348 -1350/ in mid-14th century
②Cause: the deadly bubonic plague（鼠疫） ③Consequence
--The lords was in shortage of the labor (about one half of the population in England died of this disease).
--Wage labor demanded higher wages and greater freedom. 20、Wat Tyler's Uprising (1381) （瓦特泰勒起义）
It marked the beginning of the end of Serfdom（农奴制）in medieval England. 21、Wars of the Roses (1455—1485)（玫瑰之战）
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