英语国家概况英国课后问答题1.doc

英语国家概况 课后问答题 Book 1 Chapter 1 Questions for Thought: What was the British Empire? What do you know about it? In what way is the “Empire” still felt in Britain and in the international field? Key points: 1. Before the end of WWII, the British Empire was one of the most powerful empires; it enjoyed the name of “an empire on which the sun never set” due to its overseas colonies on the world. 2. People of the British Empire are descendents of the Anglo-Saxons. 3. A system of monarchy was observed still on today’s Britain, which went through the history. The Queen is still the Head of the Commonwealth. 4. the “Empire” still can be felt in the following ways: a. there are still close relationships between the UK and the fifty or more countries which used to be its former colonies, and which maintain links through a loose organization called the Commonwealth of Nations. b. it became one member of the European Union since 1973. c. the effect also lies in the makeup of the British population itself. Newly immigrants mainly came from the former colonies, specially from India and Caribbean area. d. today the Monarch represents the country in many occasions. e. class exists and lords and peers are obvious evident of the imperial past. Why does the author say that it is not possible to sum up the British people with a few simple phrases? Key points: Reasons: 1. regional differences---England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland 2. racial differences 3. class differences 4. cultural differences---Highland vs Lowland 5. religious differences---protestants vs Catholics (main in Northern Ireland) “British history has been a history of invasion”. Please illustrate this point with the examples from the text. How did each of the invasions influence English culture? Key points: When Who Where from Which part conquered influence 43 AD— AD.5th C Latin-speaking Roman Mediterranean countries England and Wales (not Scotland or Ireland) Brought the Mediterranean civilization, Christ