英语国家概况(英国部分Unit2)

1、Do You Know?Focus In1GetReady-mainDo You Know?1.1Fromthefollowingvideoclip,canyoutelltheelementsofBritishness?Do You Know?1.1-videoIIHaveageneralideaoftheethnicalcompositionoftheBritishpeopleBeinformedofthestatisticsabouttheBritishpopulationKnowsomethingaboutthelanguagesinBritainUnderstandtheclassstructureinBritainKnowaboutBritishnessFocus In1.2An aging country2text-mainWhat are the elements of the British identity?Class consciousnessWhat are the ethnic groups in the UK?An English-speaking count

2、ry?How is the population distributed in the UK?In historic times, migrants from the EuropeanmainlandjoinedtheindigenouspopulationofBritainduringtheRomanEmpireandduringtheinvasionsoftheAngles,Saxons,Jutes,VikingsandNormansfromNorthern andWesternEurope.2.1.1 Names for Britain1. Ethnic originsTheIrishhavelongmadehomesinGreatBritain.ManyJewsarrivedinBritaintowardtheendofthe19thcenturyandinthe1930s.After1945largenumbersofotherEuropeanrefugeessettledinthecountry.ThelargeimmigrantcommunitiesfromtheWest

3、IndiesandSouthAsiadatefromthe1950sand1960s.TherearealsosubstantialgroupsofAmericans,Australians,andChinese,aswellasvariousotherEuropeans,suchasGreeks,Russians,Poles,Serbs,Estonians,Latvians,Armenians,TurkishCypriots,Italians,andSpaniards.Beginningintheearly1970s,UgandanAsiansandimmigrantsfromLatinAmerica,SoutheastAsia,andSriLankahavesought2.1.12. Immigrants2. Immigrants2.1.1refugeintheUK.PeopleofIndian,Pakistani, and Bangladeshi originaccountformorethanhalfofthetotal ethnic minority population,a

4、nd people of West Indian originare the next largest group. Theforeign-bornelementofthepopulationisdisproportionatelyconcentrated in inner-city areas,andmorethanhalfliveinGreaterLondon.EthnicityinEnglandandWalesRoman Empire2.1.2TheRomanEmpirewasthepost-Republicanperiodofthe ancient Roman civilization, characterised by anautocraticformofgovernmentandlargeterritorialholdingsinEuropeandaroundtheMediterranean.ThetermisusedtodescribetheRomanstateduringandafterthetimeofthefirstemperor,Augustus.Becauseo

5、ftheEmpiresvastextentandlongendurance,theinstitutionsandcultureofRome had a profound and lasting influence on thedevelopmentoflanguage,religion,architecture,philosophy,law,andformsofgovernmentintheterritoryitgoverned,particularlyEurope,andbymeansofEuropeanexpansionismthroughoutthemodernworld.Angles, Saxons, and Jutes2.1.2TheAnglesisamodernEnglishwordforaGermanic-speakingpeople.TheAngleswereoneofthemaingroupsthatsettledinBritaininthepost-Romanperiod,andtheirnameistherootofthename“England”.The Sax

6、ons were a confederation of Old Germanictribes. Their modern-day descendants are generallyconsidered ethnic Germans, Dutch, or English. Saxonsparticipated in the Germanic settlement ofBritain duringandafterthe5thcentury.2.1.2TheJuteswereaGermanicpeoplewhowereoneofthethreemostpowerfulGermanicpeoplesoftheirtime.TheJutes,alongwithsomeAngles,SaxonsandFrisians,sailedacrosstheNorthSeatoraidandeventuallyinvadeGreat Britain from the late 4th century onwards, eitherdisplacing, absorbing, or destroying th

7、e native Celticpeoplesthere.TheyfinallysettledinKent,Hampshire,andtheIsleofWight.Angles, Saxons, and JutesVikings2.1.2The term Viking is customarily used to refer to theNorse(Scandinavian)explorers,warriors,merchants,andpirateswhoraided, traded,explored andsettledinwideareas ofEurope and theNorth Atlantic islands fromthelate 8th to the mid-11th century. These Norsemen usedtheirfamedlongshipstotravelasfareastasConstantinopleandtheVolgaRiverinRussia,andasfarwestasIceland,Greenland,andNewfoundland,

8、andasfarsouthasAlAndalus.ThisperiodofVikingexpansionknown as the Viking Age forms a major part of themedieval history ofScandinavia, Britain, Ireland and therestofEuropeingeneral.Normans2.1.2TheNormanswerethepeoplewhogavetheirnametoNormandy, a region in northern France. They played amajor political, military, and cultural role in medievalEuropeandeventheNearEast.TheywerefamedfortheirmartialspiritandChristianpiety.TheyquicklyadoptedtheRomancelanguageofthelandtheysettledoff,theirdialectbecoming kn

9、own as Norman, an important literarylanguage.TheDuchyofNormandy,whichtheyformedbytreatywiththeFrenchcrown,wasoneofthegreatlargefiefsofmedievalFrance.NormanadventurersestablishedakingdominSicilyandsouthernItalybyconquest,andaNorman expedition on behalf of their duke, William theConqueror,ledtotheNormanConquestofEngland.West Indies2.1.3Doyouknowwhere“WestIndies”is?WestIndiesisagroupofislandsthatextendsinanarcfromnearsouthernFloridatothecoastofVenezuela.TheWestIndiesarchipelago,whichincludesthousan

10、dsoftinyislands,formsabreakwater3,200-kmlongagainsttheAtlantic Ocean, separating it from the Caribbean Sea.EuropeanexplorerChristopherColumbusgavetheregionthatnameinerrorwhenhearrivedin1492.HeassumedthattheislandswerenearthecoastofIndia.An aging country2.2 Where Is the UK Located?Compared to the rest of theworld,theUKhasasmallerpercentageofyoungerpeopleandahigher percentage of older people,with15.8percentovertheageof65;those under the age of 14 yearsmake up only 17.7 percent of thepopulation. Li

11、fe expectancy in 2005was75.94yearsformenand80.96years for women. This pattern isexpectedtocontinue.DemographicsofUKpopulationbyage1. Population statistics2.3TheUnitedKingdomhasapopulationof60,209,500(2005estimate),withanaveragepopulationdensityof243personspersquarekilometre(629persquaremile),oneofthe highest in the world. According to 2004 statistics,EnglandisthemostpopulatedpartoftheUnitedKingdom,with50,093,800people,whichmeansaboutfour-fifthsoftheUKpopulationresidesinEngland.Ithasapopulationde

12、nsity of 383 persons per square kilometre. Scotlandpossesses5,078,400people,andapopulationdensityof65 persons per square kilometre. Wales has 2,952,500people, with a population density of 142 persons persquarekilometre.NorthernIrelandspopulationis1,710,300,andithas125personspersquarekilometre.2. Urban population2.3TheUKpopulationisoverwhelminglyurban,with89.4percentlivinginurbanareasand10.6percentlivinginruralareas.TheIndustrialRevolution(17501850)builtupmajorurbanareas,andmostofBritishpeopleliv

13、einandaroundthemtothisday.EnglandspopulationisdensestintheLondonarea,aroundBirminghamandCoventryintheMidlands,andinnorthernEnglandneartheoldindustrialcentresofLeeds,Sheffield,Manchester,Liverpool,andNewcastleuponTyne.Inthe1980sand1990ssouthernEngland,particularlythesoutheast,becameacentreofpopulationgrowth,dueinlargeparttothegrowthofthe2. Urban population2.3high-tech and service sectors of the economy. In Walestwo-thirds of the people live in the industrial southernvalleys.InScotlandthree-quarte

14、rsofthepeopleliveinthecentral lowlands, around Glasgow to the west andEdinburgh to the east. About half of the people living inNorthern Ireland reside in the eastern portion, in Belfastandalongthecoast.2. Urban population2.3LargestcitiesoftheUnitedKingdom1. Celtic languages2.4Ofthesurvivinglanguages,theearliestIndo-EuropeanlanguagetoarrivewastheCeltic,fromwhichIrish,WelshandScottishGaelic,amongothers,havedeveloped.Ofthese,Welsh,closelytiedtotheculturalnationalismofWales,isthestrongest.Todayabout

15、one-fifthofthetotalpopulationofWales,especiallyinthenorthandwest,areabletospeakit.Manyschoolsinthisregionofferbilingualeducation,andthereisaWelsh-languagetelevisionchannel.In1993,afterlongandconsiderableagitationbyWelshnationalists,thegovernmentmadeWelshajointofficiallanguagewithEnglishinWalesfor2.3useinthecourts,thecivilservice,andotheraspectsofthepublicsector.ScottishGaelicisstrongestamongtheinhabitantsoftheislandsoftheOuterHebridesandSkye,although it is still heard in the nearby North WestHig

16、hlands. Because only less than 2 percent Scots areabletospeakGaelic,ithaslongceasedtobeanationallanguage.Eveninnorthwesternareas,whereitremainsthe language of religion, business, and social activity,Gaelicislosingground.Similarly,verylittleIrishisspokeninIreland.1. Celtic languages2.31. Celtic languagesWelshandEnglish2.3ModernEnglishisderivedmainlyfromtheGermanicdialectsspokenbytheAngles,Saxons,andJutes(whoallarrived in Britain in the 5th century AD) and heavilyinfluenced by the language of the

17、Danes (Vikings), whobegan raiding the British Isles in about AD 790 andsubsequently colonised parts of northern and easternEngland.Fromthe11thto14thcentury,undertheFrench-speakingNormankings,ahybridspeechcombiningAnglo-Saxon and Norman French elements developed andgraduallybecametheofficiallanguage,knownasMiddleEnglishtoday.Thishybridlanguage,alongwithmanyother2. English2.3otheradditions,subsequentlyevolvedintomodernEnglish.Today Englishistheofficial language of the UnitedKingdomandisthefirstlan

18、guageofthevastmajorityofitscitizens (being spoken monolingually by roughly 95percentoftheUKpopulation).SomepeopleinEnglandregardregionalaccentsandslang as substandard. On the other hand, many localpeople,suchasCockneysinEastLondonandpeopleinnorthernEngland,enjoytheirparticularwayofspeaking,regarding it as warmer and friendlier than StandardEnglish.ScottishpeopleappreciatetheScottishaccentsomuchvery2. English2.3thattheyinsisttheBBCcarryprogrammeswithScottish-accentedspeakers.Englishisthepredomina

19、ntlanguageinNorthernIreland,althoughatleastsomeoftheRomanCatholicminorityspeakIrish,anotherGaelicdialect,asasecondlanguage.DespitethelargevarietyofdialectsineverypartoftheUK,themostcommonformofEnglishisthatusedbytheBritishrulingclassofsoutheasternEngland.ThisformofthelanguageisassociatedwithReceivedPronunciation (RP), which is still regarded by manypeopleoutsidetheUKas“theBritishaccent”.2. English2.3CockneyHaveyouheardof“Cockney”?The term Cockney has both geographical andlinguistic associations.

20、 Geographically and culturally, itoftenreferstoworking-classLondoners,particularlythosein the East End. Linguistically, it refers to the form ofEnglishspokenbythisgroup.Class consciousness2.5Britain was once a class-ridden society. Today,multiculturalism and a changing economy are graduallyerodingtheBritishclasssystem,butsomefeaturesofthesystemstillremain.The British society has often been considered to bedividedintothreemainclasses:the Upper ClassOftenpeople withinherited wealth.Includessomeoft

21、heoldestfamilies,withmanyofthembeingtitledaristocrats.the Middle ClassThe majority of the population of Britain. They includeindustrialists, professionals, business people and shopowners.2.5the Lower or Working ClassPeople who are agricultural, mineandfactoryworkers.AlthoughsomepeopleintheUKstillrefer to themselves as “working-class”, “lower-middle” or “upper-middle” (and of course there arethose who think of themselves asthe “elite” class), to the majority oftheBritishthemeaningsdontseemtomatte

22、rmuchthesedays.ClassidentityincontemporaryBritainClass consciousnessWhat are the elements of the British identity?2.6While the content of “Britishness” is shared acrossmostgroups,thereareimportantdifferencesinthewaysinwhichdifferentgroupsandindividualsarerelatedto,andidentifiedwith,Britishness.UKpassportholdersallknowtheyareBritishcitizens,butnoteveryoneattachesvalueorsignificancetobeingBritish.InScotlandandWales,whiteandethnicminoritypeopleidentifymorestronglywitheachrespectivecountrythan with

23、Britain. In England, white English perceivethemselves as English first and as British second, whileethnic minority people perceive themselves as British,secondWhat are the elements of the British identity?2.6notEnglish,alabeltheyassociateexclusivelywithwhitepeople.Thus,thepeoplewhoidentifymoststronglywithBritishness are those from ethnic minority backgroundsresidentinEngland.Ethnicminoritypeoplealsodrawonothersourcesofidentification:religion(forMuslimsonly);ethnicity(region,countryorcontinentofo

24、rigins,andtheirassociated cultures); and race or colour (for blackCaribbean and black African participants only). Thesevariousidentitiesbecomemoreorlesssalientindifferentsituations. They are seen as being compatible withBritishness.What are the elements of the British identity?2.6Thesefeaturessuggestthatthecontemporary British are a verydiversepeoplewithvaryingidentities. There has been strongvoicearguingformulticulturalismorseparate development of culturalgroupsandthepreservationoftheiridentiti

25、es.Others,however,advocateculturalveryElementsofBritishnessassimilation. The latter implies an acceptance of basiccommonvalues,includingthoserepresentedbycivicsocialandpoliticalstructures,whichhaveprimacyoverculturalidentities.3.1True or FalseMultiple ChoiceDiscussion 1.TheEnglish,theScots,andtheWelshareAnglo-Saxons,buttheIrishareCelts.2. London and England as a whole have greatinfluence over the rest of the United Kingdombecauseoftheirlargepopulation.3.PeopleofIndian,Pakistani,andBangladeshiori

26、ginarethelargestgroupofimmigrantsinBritain.4.Compared totherestoftheworld,theUKhasasmaller percentage of older people and a higherpercentageofyoungerpeople.F( )True or False3.1T( )T( )F( )3.1T( )F( )T( )F( )F( )5.TheWelshlanguageistheofficiallanguageinWales.6.ScottishGaelicistheofficiallanguageinScotland.7.TheEnglishlanguageisthepredominantlanguageinNorthernIreland.8. English people all strive to free themselves ofregional or local accents in order to sound likeeducatedEnglish-speakingpeople.9.

27、Social class in the UK lays more emphasis onmoneyandproperty.True or False3.110.Britishnessisassociatedwithpolitical,historical,technological,sporting,andculturalachievementsinBritain.T( )True or False1.TheEnglishpeopleandtheEnglishlanguagewerebornfromtheunionof_.A.theAnglesandtheSaxonsB.RomansandtheNormanFrenchC.DanesorVikingsandtheNormanFrenchD.NormanconquerorsandthedefeatedAnglo-SaxonsMultiple Choice3.23.22.ThefirstknownsettlersofBritainwere_.A.theIberiansB.theBeakerFolkC.theCeltsD.theRomansM

28、ultiple Choice3.23.About80,000ScotsspeakGaelicwhichisanancient_.A.ScottishlanguageB.EnglishlanguageC.IrishlanguageD.CelticlanguageMultiple Choice3.24.AboutthreemillionpeoplehavemigratedtoBritainsinceWorldWarII.TheyaremainlyfromtheWestIndies,Indiaand_.A.IndonesiaB.SingaporeC.HongKongD.PakistanMultiple Choice3.25.InBritain_ofthepopulationisurbanand_isrural.A.90%;10%B.80%;20%C.70%;30%D.60%;40%Multiple Choice3.26.TheancestorsoftheWelshweretheancient_.A.CeltsB.RomansC.NormansD.BritonsMultiple Choice3

29、.27.TheaveragepopulationdensityinBritainis_peoplepersquarekilometer.A.250B.370C.800D.500Multiple Choice3.28. During the 5th century when the Roman Empirefell, the Germanic _ invaded andconqueredBritain.A.AnglesandCeltsB.AnglesandPictsC.AnglesandBrythonsD.AnglesandSaxonsMultiple Choice3.29.TheupperclassinBritainconsistsofthefollowingexcept_.A.peerageB.gentryC.landownersD.professionalsMultiple Choice3.210.“Britishness”canbereflectedinthefollowingexcept_.A.UnionJackB.conservativenessC.theBeatlesD.T

30、hanksgivingDayMultiple ChoiceDiscusshowtheEnglish,Welsh,IrishandScottishhavedefinedthemselvesintermsoftheirindividualnationalities.Discussion3.3Thecomplication indefining theEnglish isacommontendencyforthewords“English”and“British”tobeusedinterchangeably.“Welsh people” may refer to anyone born or living inWales.PeoplefromNorthernIrelandareBritishcitizensbutmayadditionallyberecognisedasIrishpeople.In modern use “Scottish people” or “Scots” refers toanyoneborninScotland.H ints:Britains Dirty Secre

31、t: Class Still MattersJenniRussell4FURTHER READINGOn rare days I feel sorry for members of thegovernment.Runningthecountrymustbeasfrustratingasbeingaparent:itsonlyinretrospectthatyourealisewhereyouwentwrong.Butyournew-foundwisdomisofnousebecausethecrucialmomentshavepassed,andyoucanthaveyourtimeagain.4-1Thats whats happened with the governmentsbelatedengagementwiththequestionofclass.Foryearsnew Labour avoided the word. It was too divisive. Itthreatened the partys delicate position in the centregr

32、ound. Itwas too easily linked with the uncomfortableword “struggle”. It was much better to talk instead ofaspirationanddisadvantage,inclusionandsocialmobility.InLaboursviewoftheworld,anyonecouldgetonaslongastheyraisedtheirsightsandworkedhard.Thetwinproblems facing the less privileged were those ofmoney4-2andambition.Thegovernmentwouldprovidemoreofthefirst through redistribution, and more of the secondthrough educational reforms and exhortation. Schoolswould drive up standards, the poor would pas

33、s moreexaminations,educationalinequalitywouldberedressedandwewouldenteranewageofmeritocracy.The strategy hasnt worked. True, people from thelowerandmiddle-incomegroupshavemorequalifications,butitsdonenothingfortheirrelativeposition.Inequalityhaswidenedslightly,socialmobilityremainsamongthe4-3worstinEurope,andthewell-offdominatetopuniversitiesand the professions just as they always did. It failedbecause it ignored the truth. Labour acted as if socialdisadvantagewaslargelyapracticalproblem.Foralon

34、gtimeitavoidedaddressingthebarriersthatdivideBritonsfrom one another and make attempting to move out ofones group as risky and as psychologically difficult aprocessasemigration.4-4The apparent emergence of a classless society, inwhichanyonemightwearjeans,watchThe X FactororspeakinavariantofestuaryEnglish,disguisesthefactthat Britain is still a highly stratified society, in whichdifferent classes are brought up to follow different rulesabouthowtothink,talkandbehave.Theseclassesprefertosocialisean

35、dworkwiththosewhosharetheirvalues.Joiningthesegroupsisnotasimplematterofgainingtherightacademicqualifications.Theywilladmitandpromoteonlythosewhocanreadalltheirunwrittenandunspokenrulesofbehaviour.4-5Ithasbeenonlyinthepastyearorsothatpartsofthegovernmenthavesuddenlywokenuptothefactthatthestrategy to create a fairer society isnt working. AlanMilburns blistering report on social mobility recognisedhow split Britain was becoming, divided between thosewhohadnetworksandsocialskillsandthosewithout.Itp

36、ointed out that the ordinary middle classes were nowalsolosingouttothoseintheuppermiddle,whohadtheconnections.Itcalledfornationalmentoringschemesandinternshipsandforschoolstobejudgedonwhethertheyeducatedthewholechild.HarrietHarmanproducedthe4-6Equality Bill, aimed among other things at reducingdiscriminationonthebasisofclass.AndlastweekJohnDenham,thecommunitiesminister,saidclasswasnowaslikelyacauseofdiscriminationasraceusedtobe.Thisisdifficultterritorybecauseitinvolvesuncomfortable issues. It is

37、 not a simple story aboutprejudice.Ontheonehand,thereareissuesofpowerandexclusion. On the other, society is now becoming sodividedthatinsomepoorareaspeoplearebeingraisedwithoutdevelopingthecharacterandattitudestheyneedtosurvive.Theyareemergingwithoutbasicmannersand4-7skills. One former Downing Street adviser says that itremainshardtohaveanhonestconversationaboutthis.Labourdoesntwanttolooktoocloselyatbehaviourandcharacter. The Tories, on the other hand, dont want toconfronttherealitiesofstructura

38、lprivilege.That seemed ominously true last week when DavidCameronpraisedsocialmobilitywhileconfirmingthathewillnotaimtoclosetheincomegapbetweentherichestandthepoorest.Hedidntacknowledgethatthesecondwouldmakethefirstfarmoredifficult.Inthesameway,whiletheToriesCentreforSocialJusticehasproduced4-8someimpressiveandconvincinganalysesofwhatkeepspeoplepoor,classisnotoneofthefactorsmentioned.Aspokesmantoldmethatclasswasnolongeroneofthethingsthatheldpeopleback.Societywasmorefluid,andtothinkotherwisewasba

39、ckwardandsterile.ThisissofarfromthetruththatitleavesonewithnohopethattheTorieswillbeanymoreeffectiveatsecuringsocialmobilitythanLabourhasbeen.Socialmobilitymattersbecauseitisthesmallgesturewe make towards fairness. If it is to get any easier,politiciansmustbemorehonestaboutwhatsneededto4-9movefromoneclasstoanother,andtheyhavetocreatepathwaystoachieveit.Withoutthat,theirconstanttalkofaspiration will be meaningless, because all well be leftwithistheentrenchmentofprivilege.WilliamJeffersonHagueThe

40、X Factor: A British television singing competitioncontestedbyaspiringsingersdrawnfrompublicauditions,whichstartedinSeptember2004.ItistheoriginatoroftheinternationalXFactorfranchise.ThesevenseriesoftheshowtodatehavebeenbroadcastfromAugust/SeptemberthroughtoDecember.AdhocEstuary English: A dialect of English widely spoken inSoutheast England, especially along the River Thamesanditsestuary.PhoneticianJohnC.WellsdefinesEstuaryEnglishas“StandardEnglishspokenwiththeaccentofthesoutheastofEngland”.The E

41、uropean CommissionAlan Milburn:ABritishLabourPartypolitician,whowastheMemberofParliament(MP)forDarlingtonfrom1992until2010.HeservedforfiveyearsintheCabinet,firstlyasChiefSecretarytotheTreasuryfrom1998to1999,andsubsequentlyasSecretaryofStateforHealthuntil2003.Shadow Cabinet Harriet Harman:ABritishLabourPartypolitician,whoisthe Member of Parliament (MP) for Camberwell andPeckham.ShewastheinterimLeaderoftheLabourPartyand Leader of the Opposition from 11 May to 25September2010.David Wright MilibandJ

42、ohn Denham:ABritishLabourPartypoliticianwhohasbeen the Member of Parliament (MP) for SouthamptonItchen since 1992. He has previously served in theCabinet,asSecretaryofStateforInnovation,UniversitiesandSkillsfrom2007to2009,andthenastheSecretaryofStateforCommunitiesandLocalGovernmentfrom2009to2010.Sir Walter Menzies “Ming” CampbellTories: A term colloquially referred to the ConservativePartyintheUnitedKingdom.Denis MacShaneDavid Cameron:ThecurrentPrimeMinisteroftheUnitedKingdom,FirstLordoftheTreasury,MinisterfortheCivilServiceandLeaderoftheConservativeParty.

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