专八英语国家概况.pdf

英语国家概况 第一章 英国概况 一、地理 ● Geographical names: the British Isles(不列颠群岛), Great Britain(大不列颠岛) and England. ● Official name : the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland(大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国). ● The British Isles are made up of two large islands ——Great Britain (the large one) and Ireland, and hundreds of small ones. ● Three political divisions (政治区) on the island of Great Britai n: England, Scotland and Wales. a. England is in the southern part of Great Britain. It is the largest, most populous section. Capital: London. b. Scotland is in the north of Great Britain. It has three natural zones: the highlands in the north(北 部高地); the central lowlands (中部低地); the south uplands (南部丘陵). Capital: Edinburgh(爱丁堡). c. Wales is in the west of Great Britain. Capital: Cardiff(卡迪夫). d. Northern Ireland is the fourth region of the UK. Capital: Belfast(贝尔法斯特). ● The Commonwealth (of nations)(英联邦) is a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. It was founded in 1931. ● Capital: London London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom (UK). It is Britain’s Largest and most populous metropolitan area(国际大都会). ● Geographical Features a. Geographical position of Britain: Britain is an island country(岛国) surrounded by the sea. It lies in the North Atl antic Ocean(大西洋) off the north coast of Europe(与欧洲大陆的北海岸隔海相望). It is separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel (英吉利海峡) in the south and the North Sea in the east. b. The north and west of Britain are mainly highlands; and the east and southeast are mostly lowlands. ● Mountains, Rivers and Lakes a. Ben Nevis (本尼维斯山) is the highest mountain in Britain (1, 343m). b. Severn River(塞文河) is the longest river in Britain (338km). c. Thames R