Conqueror”). This marks the last time that an army from outside the British Isles succeeded in invading. William became William the First of England. The Normans imported a ruling class. The next three hundred years may be thought of as a Norman (and French-speaking) aristocracy ruling a largely Saxon and English-speaking population. This situation produced the legend of Robin Hood.(Zhu, 9)
The next few hundred years following the Norman invasion can be seen as a process of joining together the various parts of the British Isles under English rule. At the same time power was gradually transferred from the monarch to the parliament. In 1688, the so-called Glorious Revolution“光荣革命”， also known as the White Revolution (because it caused no bloodshed “不
流血革命”) broke out. The English king, instead of controlling Parliament, had to receive his crown from Parliament. This marked the real beginning of the constitutional monarchy in England.
※Climate and weather
England has a changeable weather. It is hard to give a correct and reliable weather forecast. Another feature of the English climate is its mild or “strange” temperature (strange-because it is “incompatible” with the latitude: in winter “ too high”, even in coldest January the average temperature is seldom below 3℃, in summer, “too low”—only about 20℃, seldom over 32℃.) Some English people argue that they have no climate but weather in
England. There are small differences between the seasons. Another feature of the English weather is its abundant rainfall which shows the English climate belongs to the oceanic type (or a maritime climate.) The rainfall is distributed almost evenly through the twelve months of the year. Strictly speaking, there is neither wet season nor dry season, though autumn is the rainiest . In England much of the rain comes down in drizzle, turning half of the days of the year into rainy days. In London the rainy days are more than 160 each year while in the west part of the country they number more than two hundred.
There is a water surplus in the north and west, and a water deficit in the south and east.
The island of Britain can be divided
roughly into two parts according to their geographical features: the Highland Zone in the north and west and the Lowland Zone in the south and southeast. The dividing line runs around from the mouth of the River Exe in the southwest to near the mouth of the River Tees in the northeast.
Chapter two The British government Britain is said to be the oldest representative democracy in the world and it is regarded as a democracy in the Western World because the real power is in the hands of the elective officials. The monarch is a kind of formality and historical legacy, therefore her powers are largely traditional and symbolic. The United Kingdom is a unitary country with its government composed of three parts— the central government, the county government, and the district
government. The central government includes the monarch, Parliament, and the cabinet.
Buckingham Palace
Royal Residences--Windsor Castle
Windsor Castle is an official residence of The Queen and the largest occupied castle in the world. A royal palace and fortress for over 900 years, the Castle