英语国家社会与文化入门名词解释Word文档下载推荐.docx

英语国家社会与文化入门名词解释Word文档下载推荐.docx

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TheGoodFridayAgreement

Asaresultofmulti-partynegotiations,theGoodFridayAgreementwasapprovedon10April1998.ThisagreementassurestheloyalistcommunitythatNorthernIrelandremainspartoftheUnitedKingdomanditwon’tchangeitspoliticalstatusunlessthemajorityofthepeopleofNorthernIrelandagree.Underthetermsoftheagreement,NorthernIrelandshouldbegovernedbythreeseparatejurisdictions:

thatoftheRepublicofIreland,thatofGreatBritainandthatofitsownelectedexecutivegovernmentoftenministers.

TheBillofRightsof1689

In1688,KingJamesII’sdaughterMaryandherhusbandWilliamwereinvitedbythepoliticiansandchurchauthoritiestotakethethrone,onconditionthattheywouldrespecttherightofParliament.TheBillofRightswaspassedin1689toensurethattheKingwouldneverbeabletoignoreParliament.

TheHouseofLords

TheHouseofLordsconsistsoftheLordsSpiritual,whoaretheArchbishopsandmostprominentbishopsoftheChurchofEngland;

andtheLordsTemporal,whichreferstothoselordswhoeitherhaveinheritedtheseatfromtheirforefathersortheyhavebeenappointed.Thelordsmainlyrepresentthemselvesinsteadoftheinterestsofthepublic.

TheHouseofCommons

TheHouseofCommonsistherealcenterofBritishpoliticallifebecauseitistheplacewhereabout650electedrepresentativesmakeanddebatepolicy.TheseMPsareelectedintheGeneralElectionsandshouldrepresenttheinterestsofthepeoplewhovoteforthem.

Theelectoralcampaigns

Beforeageneralelection,thepoliticalpartieswouldstarttheirelectoralcampaignsinordertomaketheirideologiesandpolitiesknowntothepublic.Thecampaigninvolvesadvertisementsinnewspapers,door-to-doorcampaigning,postaldeliveriesofleafletsand“partyelectoralbroadcast”onthetelevision.Thepartiesalsotrytoattackandcriticizetheopponents’policies.Therefore,thesecampaignssometimescanbequiteaggressiveandcritical.

ClasssysteminBritishsociety

TheclasssystemdoesexistinBritishsociety.MostoftheBritishpopulationwouldclaimthemselvestobeeitherofmiddle-classorworking-class,thoughsomepeoplewouldactuallybelongtotheuppermiddle-classorlowermiddle-class.Classdivisionsarenotsimplyeconomic,theyareculturalaswell.Peopleofdifferentclassesmaydifferinthekindofnewspaperstheyread,inthewaytheyspeakandinthekindofeducationtheyreceive.Oneofthedistinctivefeatures

abouttheBritishclasssystemisthataristocratictitlescanstillbeinherited.

EthnicrelationsintheUK

ThecomingofimmigrantsgroupsfromotherpartsoftheworldhasgreatlyenrichedBritishculture.Butethnicrelationsarealsosometimestense:

thelocalpeopleviewthenewcomersasathreattotheirwayofliving;

anddespitemuchofficialactionstominimizeracism,bothsubtleandovertoppressionremains.Theimmigrantpopulationisnotwell-offeconomically.Theyfaceproblemsofunemployment,under-representationinpoliticsandunfairtreatmentbypoliceandbythejusticesystem.

RelativedeclineoftheUK

TheUKhasexperiencedaneconomicdeclinesince1945.Butthisisarelativedeclineratherthananabsoluteone.Britainiswealthierandmoreproductivethanitwasin1945,butsinceothercountriesdevelopedmorerapidly,ithasslidfrombeingthesecondlargesteconomytobeingthesixth.

Privatisationinthe1980s

TheBritisheconomywentthroughaparticularlybadperiodinthe1970s,withhighratesofinflationanddevaluationofthePound.Therefore,inthe1980s,whentheConservativepartyunderMargaretThatcherwasinpower,anextensiveprogrammeofprivatizationwascarriedout.Manystate-ownedbusinesses（suchassteel,telecom,gas,aerospace）wereturnedintoprivatecompanies.Privatisationwassuccessfulincontrollinginflationbutatthesametimeunemploymentrateincreasedrapidly.

“TheCity”

“TheCity”referstothehistoricareaatthecentreofLondon.Itisoneofthebiggestfinancialcentresintheworldwiththegreatestconcentrationofbanks,insurancecompaniesandbusinessesdealingincommodities.AttheheartofthecityistheLondonStockExchange.

ElizabethanDrama

ThegeneralfloweringofculturalandintellectuallifeinEuropeduringthe15thand16thcenturiesisknowadtheRenaissance.InBritishculture,oneofthemostsuccessfulandlong-lastingexpressionsofthisdevelopmentlayindrama.ThatwastheperiodofthereignofQueenElizabeth.ThefirstprofessionaltheatreinLondonopenedin1576,andothersfollowed,performingtheplaysofmanynotableplaywrights,includingChristopherMarlowe,BenJonsonandWilliamShakespeare.

Romanticism

Roughlythefirstthirdofthe19thmakesupEnglishliterature’sromanticperiod.Writersofromanticliteraturearemoreconcernedwithimaginationandfeelingthanwiththepowerofreason..AvolumeofpoemscalledLyricalBalladswrittenbyWilliamWordsworthandSamuelTaylorColeridgeisregardedastheromanticpoetry’s’’DeclarationofIndependence’’.Keats,ByronandShelley,thethreegreatpoets,broughttheRomanticMovementtoitsheight.ThespiritofRomanticismalsooccurredinthenovel

Modernism

ModernismreferstoaformofliteraturemainlywrittenbeforeWorldWar2.Itischaracterizedbyahighdegreeofexperimentation.Itcanbeseenasareactionagainstthe19thcenturyofformsofRealism.Modernistwritersexpressthedifficultytheyseeinunderstandingandcommunicatinghowtheworldworks.Often,Modernistwritingseemsdisorganized,hardtounderstand.Itoftenportraystheactionfromtheviewpointofasingleconfusedindividual,ratherthanfromthe

viewpointofanall-knowingimpersonalnarratoroutsidetheaction.OneofthemostfamousEnglishModernistwritersisVirginiaWoolf.

Comprehensiveschools

ComprehensiveschoolsarethemostpopularsecondaryschoolsinBritaintoday.Suchschoolsadmitchildrenwithoutreferencetotheiracademicabilitiesandprovideageneraleducation.Pupilscanstudyeverythingfromacademicsubjectslikeliteraturetomorepracticalsubjectslikecooking.

Independentschools

Independentschoolsarecommonlycalledpublicschoolswhichareactuallyprivateschoolsthatreceivetheirfundingthroughtheprivatesectorandtuitionrates,withsomegovernmentassistance.Independentschoolsarenotpartofnationaleducationsystem,butthequalityofinstructionandstandardsaremaintainedthroughvisitsfromHerMajesty’sInspectorsofSchools.Theseschoolsarerestrictedtothestudentswhoseparentsarecomparativelyrich.

TheOpenUniversity

TheOpenUniversitywasfoundedinBritaininthe1960sforpeoplewhomightnotgettheopportunityforhighereducationforeconomicandsocialreasons.It’sopentoeverybodyanddoesnotdemandthesameformaleducationalqualificationsastheotheruniversities.UniversitycoursesarefollowedthroughTV,radio,correspondence,videosandanetworkofstudycentres.AttheendoftheirstudiesattheOpenUniversity,successfulstudentsareawardedauniversitydegree,

ThefoundationsofBritishforeignpolicy

ThecontemporaryforeignpolicyoftheUKisgreatlyinfluencedbyitsimperialhistoryandalsobyitsgeopoliticaltraits.AsBritainlostitsempiresorecently,Britishpolicy-makersfrequentlyforgetthatBritainisnotasinfluentialasitusedtobeinworldaffairs.AnotherdecisiveinfluenceuponthewayBritainhandlesitsexternalaffairsisgeopoliticalattitudetoEurope.

TheCommonwealth

Intheauthor’sopinion,theCommonwealthisavoluntaryassociationofstateswhichismadeupofBritainandmostlyofformerBritishcolonies.Thereare54membersoftheCommonwealthincludingonecurrentlysuspendedmember:

manyofthesearedevelopingcountrieslikeIndiaandCyprus;

otheraredevelopednationslikeAustralia,CanadaandNewZealand.TheCommonwealthwassetupasaforumforcontinuedcooperationandasasortofsupportnetwork.

Qualitypapers

Theybelongtooneofthecategoriesofthenationaldailies.Thequalitypaperscarrymoreseriousandin-deptharticlesofparticularpoliticalandsocialimportance.Theyalsocarryreviews,suchasbookreviews,andfeaturearticlesabouthighculture.Thesepapersarealsoreferredtoas“thebroadsheets”becausetheyareprintedonlarge-sizepaper.Thereadersofsuchnewspapersaregenerallyawell-educatemiddleclassaudience.

Tabloids

Atabloidisasmallformatnewspaperwithcolorphotosandcatchyheadlines.Tabloidsareinterestedinscandalsandgossipusuallyaboutfamouspeople.Theyalsocarrylotsofcrime,sportsandsensationalhumanintereststoriessoastoattractreaders.Storiesareshort,easytoreadandoftenrelymoreonopinionsthanfact.Theybelongtoacategoryofnationalpapersdifferentfromqualitypapers.

ThethreetraditionsofChristmasinBritain

TherearethreeChristmastraditions