1、CHAPTER ONELAND AND PEOPLEDifferent Names for Britain and its Parts When people refer to Britain, they often use different names such as Britain, Great Britain, England, the British Isles, the United Kingdom or the U. K. Do they mean the same thing? 当人们提及英国时，常用不同的名称，如不列颠、英格兰、不列颠群岛、联合王国，以及缩写的U.K这些不同的
2、称呼是不是指向相同的事物？ Strictly speaking, the British Isles, Great Britain and England are all geographical names. They are not the official name of the country. The British Isles are made up of the two large islandsGreat Britain and Ireland and hundreds of small ones. The two large islands are Great Britain
3、 and Ireland. Britain, or Great Britain, is the larger of the two islands. It forms the United Kingdom with Northern Irelandthe northern part of Ireland. So the official name of the United Kingdom is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But it is too much of a mouthful to say su
4、ch a long name for a country, so people just say Britain, the United Kingdom or simply U. K. This is one country on the British Isles and its capital is London. There is another country called the Republic of Ireland or Eire on the British Isles. It takes up the reminder of Irelandthe southern part
5、of Ireland. It has been an independent republic since 1949 and its capital is Dublin.严格地说，不列颠群岛、大不列颠群岛和英格兰都是地理名称。它们并不是这个国家的官方名称。英伦群岛由两个大点的岛屿大不列颠和爱尔兰及上百个小岛屿组成。两个大岛是大不列颠和爱尔兰群岛。不列颠或称大不列颠是这两个岛屿中较大的那一个。它与爱尔兰岛的北部北爱尔兰组成联合王国。因此，联合王国的正式名称叫大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国。但是一口气说出这样长的一个国家的名称太拗口，因此人们只说不列颠、联合王国，或者更简单地称U.K它是大不列颠群岛上
6、的一个国家，首都是伦敦。岛上还有另外一个叫做爱尔兰共和国或称爱尔兰的国家。占据了爱尔兰的其余部分爱尔兰南部。1949年始成为读丽共和国，首都是都柏林。There are three political divisions on the island of Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales. England is the largest, most populous, and generally the richest section. So people tend to use England and English when they me
7、an Britain and British. This sometimes annoys the Scots or the Welsh who do not regard themselves as English and who have a culture and even a language of their own.大不列颠岛上有三个政治区：英格兰，苏格兰和威尔士。英格兰是最大的，最人口多的，一般来说也是最富裕的部分。因此人们常用“英格兰”指代“英国”，“英格兰人”指代“英国人”。有时这种情况使苏格兰人或威尔士人很生气，他们不认为自己是英格兰人，他们有自己的文化，甚至有自己的语言。
8、British has been one of the most important countries in the world. About a hundred years ago, as a result of its imperialist expansion, Britain ruled an empire that had one fourth of the worlds people and one fourth of the worlds land area. It had colonies not only in North America, but also in Asia
9、, Africa and Australia. However, the two world wars greatly weakened Britain. The British colonies became independent one after another. The British Empire gradually disappeared and it was replaced by the British Commonwealth or the Commonwealth of Nations in 1931. 大不列颠成为世界最重要的国家之一。大约一百年前，帝国主义的扩张使得大
10、不列颠统治了世界的四分之一的人口和土地。它所拥有的殖民地不仅在北美，当然也在亚洲、非洲以及澳洲。然而，第二次世界大战大大削弱了大不列颠。大不列颠的殖民地也一个接着一个地独立了。大英帝国逐渐地消失了，在1931年，它被英联邦或大英国协取而代之。 The Commonwealth (of Nations) is a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. Member nations are joined together economically and have certain
11、trading arrangements. The Commonwealth has no special powers. The decision to become a member of the Commonwealth is left to each nation. At present there are 50 member countries within the Commonwealth (1991). 英联邦是一个由许多独立国家组成的自由组织，这些国家都是大不列颠国以前的殖民地，成员国都是出于经济原因结合在一起的并有固定的贸易往来。英关邦没有特殊的权力。每一个成员国都可以自己决
12、定是否成为英联邦的成员。目前英联邦内部已有50个成员国（1991）。Geographical Features Britain is an island country. It is surrounded by the sea. It lies in the north Atlantic Ocean off the north coast of Europe. It is separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel in the south and the North Sea in the east. The English
13、 Channel between England and France is quite narrow and the narrowest part is called the Straits of Dover, which is only 33km across. In 1985 the British government and the France government decided to build a channel tunnel under the Straits of Dover so that England and France could be joined toget
14、her by road. After eight years of hard work this channel tunnel which is called “Chunnel” was open to traffic in May 1994. Britain covers an area of 244,100 square km. It runs 1,000 km from north to south and extends, at the widest part, about 500 kilometres. So no part of Britain is very far from t
15、he coast and it provides a valuable resource. The British coast is long and has good, deep harbours. Sea routes extend for inland, providing cheap transportation. 大不列颠是一个岛国，四周环海。它位于大西洋北部，并与欧洲北海岸隔海相望。它与欧洲的其它部分被南部的英吉利海峡和东部的北海隔开。在英格兰与法国之间的英吉利海峡十分狭窄，而这最狭窄的部分就是仅有33千米宽的多佛海峡。在1985年，英国政府和法国政府决定建造一条位于多佛海峡下面的
16、隧道，以便于实现英法两国之间的公路相连。经过八年的艰苦工作，这条叫做“英吉利海峡隧道”隧道于1994年五月开放运行。大不列颠覆盖了一个244，100平方公理的区域。从它的北部到南部的有1，000KM（run要怎么翻？），而它最宽阔的地方也只大约在500KM，因此，它每一部分都离海岸不远，并且拥有着有价值的资源。英国海岸长,而且具有良好的、深港口。海上航线延长至内陆,提供廉价的交通工具。 Britain has, for centuries, been slowly tilting with the NorthWest slowly rising and the South-East slowl
17、y sinking. The north and west of Britain are mainly highlands. In western parts of Scotland this rise in the land has resulted in the formation of raised Beaches-flat areas of land in an otherwise mountainous area, which provide the main farming, settlements, and industrial areas as well as routeway
18、s. The east and south-east are mostly lowlands. They are part of the Great European Plain, with its level land and fertile soil. There is much good farmland especially in the south and along the east coast of England. 几个世纪以来，英国一直在缓缓倾斜：西北部缓慢上升，东南部缓慢下沉。大不列颠的北部和西部主要是高地。这个上涨已经导致了土地形成了苏格兰西部地区土地的上升形成了beac
19、hes-flat区域和？另外可提供主农业、居住、工业以及通道的多山地区。它的东部和东南部主要是低地。它们是欧洲大平原的一部分，有着水平地和肥沃的土壤。这里有多良田，特别是在南部和沿着东部海岸部分。 During the Ice Age great ice covered Great Britain. Ice has been responsible for most of Britains spectacular mountain scenery especially in Snowdonia, the Lake District, and the Scottish Highlands. It
20、 left Great Britain with mountains with flat tops, hanging valleys with waterfalls, ribbon likes, flat valley floors, steep valley sides, boulder clay and fertile soil. 在冰河世纪时，大不列颠被冰雪覆盖。冰雪是绝大多数的不列颠特殊风景，特别是斯诺登峰、湖泊地区以及苏格兰高的形成原因。 1. EnglandEngland occupies the largest, southern part of Great Britain wi
21、th Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. It has an area of more than 130,000 square kilometres which takes up nearly 60% of the whole island. The south-west and west except for the Severn valley and the Cheshire-Lancashire plain (round Liverpool) are largely a plateau, with rolling plains,dow
22、ns and occasional moors. The Pennines, a range of hills running from North Midlands to the Scottish border, are the principal mountain chain. But the highest peak of England, Scafell (978m), is in the Lake District in north-west England. The east of England is mainly an open cultivated plain , narro
23、wing in North Yorkshire to a passage (Vale of York) between coastal moors and the Pennines, and in Northumberland to a coastal strip.英格兰占地最大，位于大不列颠的南部，西至威尔士北至苏格兰。其占据了大不列颠60%的土地，面积超过130,000平方公里。西南和西部除了塞文河流域和柴郡、兰开夏郡平原（环绕着利物浦海港）其余大部分是高原， 2. Scotland Scotland has an area of 78,760 square kilometres. It
24、is in the north of Great Britain with many mountains , lakes and islands.There are three natural zones: the Highlands in the north ,the central Lowlands, and the southern Uplands. The Highlands (300m over 1,200m) are a wild , rocky, mountainous plateau with a coastline deeply indented, especially in
25、 the west, Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain(1343m) is located here. The western part of Highlands and the islands of Hebrides are a very beautiful region. Great sea-lochs, or fiords, alternate with wild and empty hills, and on some of the lochs there are farms which can only be reached by
26、boat. The Lowlands in the centre comprise mostly the Forth and Clyde valleys, coal and iron fields and dairy pasture . This is the most important area in Scotland which contains most of the industry and population. The southern Uplands , a rolling moorland (mainly 240m-600m), are cut by small fertil
27、e river valleys. Scotland has about 800 islands including the Orkneys， Shetlands and Hebrides and hundreds of lakes. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland.苏格兰占地78,760平方公里。位于大不列颠的北部，有很多山、湖和群岛。苏格兰从地理上被分为三部分：北部高地，中部低地和南部高原。北部高地（300米到1200米）是一个荒凉、很多岩石的山地高原，海岸线深深交错着，特别是在西边，不列颠最高的山本尼维斯山就在坐落在那里。西部高地和赫布里底群岛都是
28、风景优美的地方。大海或海湾，在荒凉的空山之间流转着，有一些湖泊是一些只能坐船才能到达的农田。中心低地大多由四部分组成克莱德山谷、煤田和乳牛用草地。（这句不知道怎么翻译，the forth是什么意思？）这里有很多产业和人口，是苏格兰最重要的区域。南部高地，是起伏的高沼地（主要有240米到600米），被肥沃的河谷切开。苏格兰八百多个群岛中包括有奥克尼群岛、设得兰群岛赫布里底群岛和一百多个湖泊。其首都是爱丁堡。 3. Wales Wales is in the west of Great Britain, It has an area of 20,761 square kilometres whic
29、h takes up less than 9% of the whole island. Most of Wales is mountainous:the hills rise steeply from the sea and are rather flat on top. 6% of Wales is covered with forest and much of the country is pastureland for sheep and cattle. Only 12%of the land is arable. Wales forms a massif with a lowland
30、 fringe widest along the English border and south coast. The massif is largely between 180m and 600m,rocky in the north and coal bearing in the south. Snowdonia (1,085m) in the northwest is the highest mountain in Wales. The capital of Wales is Cardiff.威尔士是在大不列颠的西边，占地20,761平方公里占了整个大不列颠的9%不到。威尔士大部分都是
31、高山：这些山都是耸立在海边而不是平坦的。威尔士6%被森林覆盖，其他部分大多都是草原用于牧羊、牛。只有12%的土地适于耕种。威尔士由一个最宽大的低地边缘沿着英国边境和南海行程了一个山丘。这山丘大都在180米和600米之间，北边有丰富的岩石而南边是产煤地。位于威尔士最西边的斯诺登尼亚是威尔士最高的山峰。威尔士的首都是加的夫。 4. Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland is a fourth region of the United Kingdom. It takes up the northern fifth of Ireland and has an area of
32、 14,147 square kilometres. It has a rocky and wild northern coastline, with several deep indentations. In the north-east lie the uplands of County Antrim, while the mountains in the south-east gradually give way to the central lowlands of the Lough Neagh basin. Belfast is the capital of Northern Ire
33、land.北爱尔兰是英国第四个区域。位于爱尔兰的北部，占据了爱尔兰五分之一土地，占地14,147平方公里。有一条都是岩石且很荒凉的海岸线，上面还有几条深深的凹痕。位于东北边高地的安特里姆县北爱尔兰的首都是贝尔法斯特。Rivers and LakesRivers in Britain do not freeze in winter. They play a very important role in the countrys economy. The great ports of London, Liverpool and Glasgow are all connected to the se
34、a by rivers. Besides, the Tweed, the Tyne, the Tees, and the Thames rivers on the east coast all face North Sea ports on the European continent. They are also close to rich fishing grounds. On the west coast the Clyde, the Mersey, and the Severn rivers carry raw materials to busy manufacturing citie
35、s inland. The rivers in Britain are not very large. The longest river is the Severn River which is only 338 kilometres long. It rises in central Wales and flows in a semicircle through West Central England to the Bristol Channel. The second largest and most important river in Britain is the Thames R
36、iver. It is 366 kilometres long. It rises in the Cotswolds in southwest England and flows through the Midlands of England to London and out into the North Sea. The Thames flows rather slowly, which is very favourable for water transportation. Ocean-going ships can sail up it as far as London and sma
37、ll ships can sail up it for a further 138 kilometres. Oxford is also on the Thames . River Clyde is the most important river in Scotland. It rises in Dumfries and rums 171 kilometres, passing through Glasgow, and enters the Firth of Clyde. It is an important commercial waterway. 不列颠的河流在冬天不会冻结。它们在国家的
38、经济上扮演着很重要的角色。伦敦最大的港口，利物浦和格拉斯哥都是用河流和大海连接在一起的。除此之外，位于东海岸的邓恩河、泰河、迪斯河和泰晤士河都是迎向对欧洲大陆开放的北海港。它们与丰富渔业有着密切的关系。在西边的干口克莱德河，默西河和塞文河都用于运载原生材料去使得内陆城市工业的兴旺。不列颠的这些河流都不是很大。最长的塞文河也只有338公里长。它的源头在威尔士中部，以英格兰为中心在左边绕成一个半圆通向布里斯托尔海峡。不列颠第二大也是最重要的河流是泰晤士河。它有366公里长。位于英格兰西南方的克茨沃尔德，流经英格兰中部到伦敦最后流向北海。泰晤士河流动得相当慢，十分有利于水路运输。远洋船可以再上面溯流
39、而上直达伦敦，而小船则可以往前再开138公里。牛津大学也是在泰晤士河边上。邓恩河是苏格兰最重要的河流。它位于敦夫里斯郡流经171公里，经过格拉斯哥港口并流入了五分之一。这是十分重要的商业航道。There are many lakes in Britain especially in northern Scotland, the Lake District in north west England and North Wales. However, the largest lake in Britain is the Lough Neagh in Northern Ireland which
40、covers an area of 396 square kilometres. The Lake District is one of the popular tourist attractions in Britain. It is well known for its wild and beautiful scenery and 15 lakes. The largest ones are Windermere, Ullswater, Derwentwater and Coniston Water . It was also the home of the Lake poets Will
41、iam Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey of 19th century Britain.英国有好很多的湖泊特别是在苏格兰北部，英格兰西北部和威尔士北部的湖泊区。然而，英国最大的湖畔是北爱尔兰的内伊湖占地396平方公里。其中，湖泊区是受欢迎的旅游景点之一，它以荒野、美丽景色以及15个湖泊而闻名于世。最大的那几个湖是温德米尔湖，奥斯湖，Climate 1 . A maritime type of climate When we say climate we mean the average weather conditi
42、ons at a certain place over a period of years. We dont mean the day-to-day weather conditions at a certain place. Though it seems that people are always complaining about the weather in Britain because it is rainy and so changeable and unpredictable , the climate in Britain is in fact a favourable o
43、ne . It has a favourable maritime climatewinters are mild, not too cold and summers are cool, not too hot , and it has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year. It has a small range of temperature. The average temperature in winter in the north is 4-6 . And in summer in the south is 12-1
44、7 . So even in winter one can still see stretches of green grass in the open country, in the parks and round the houses. 2 . Factors which influence the climate in BritainBritain is an island country which lies between latitude 50N to 60N. It lies farther north than even the northermost part of Heil
45、ongjiang Province of China . Compared with other countries of the same latitudes it has a more moderate climate, which is influenced mainly by three factors:(1) The surrounding waters tend to balance the seasonal differences by heating up the land in winter and cooling it off in summer. As the sea h
46、eats up and cools off relatively slowly it brings warm ait in winter and cool air in summer. (2) The prevailing south-west winds or the Westerlies blow over the country al the year round bringing warms them.(3) The North Atlantic Drift, which is a warm current , passses the western coast of the Brit
47、ain Isles and warms them. Since Britains climate is of the maritime type, it is characterised by cool temperatures, frequent cloudy days and rainstorms. It changes from day to day, and this makes it difficult to forecast. It is so changeable that sometimes one can experience four seasons in the cour
48、se of a single day . Day may break as a fine spring morning; an hour or so later black clouds may have appeared from nowhere and rain may be pouring down. At midday conditions may really be wintery with the temperatures down to about 8. Then in the later afternoon the sky will be clear, the sum will
49、 begin to shine again, and for an hour or two before darkness falls, it will be summer. It has ben said that the uncertainty about the weather has had a definite effect upon the Englishmans character. It tends to make him cautious, for example . You may laugh when you see an Englishman going out on a brilliantly sunny morning wearing a raincoat and carrying an umbrella. However, most frequently it comes in drizzle
