英语国家社会与文化入门名词解释.docx
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英语国家社会与文化入门名词解释.docx
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英语国家社会与文化入门名词解释
TheEasterRising
Inordertogainindependence,differentIrishgroupshadbeenfightingagainsttheBritishinstitutionsandtheBritishmilitaryforces.OnesuchactivitywastheEasterRisingwhichtookplacein1916.therebelsoccupiedDublin’sPostOfficeandforcedtheBritishtotakeitbackbymilitaryforce.TheleadersoftherebellionwereexecutedbytheBritishauthorities.
SinnFein
SinnFeinisalegalpoliticalpartyinNorthernIrelandwhichsupportstheIRAtofightfortheunionofIreland.TheleadersofSinnFeinpreferunionwithIrelandbyatwincampaign,bothmilitaryandpoliticalwhichtheycallthepolicyof“theBulletandtheBallotBox”.ItbelievesthatwithouttheparticipationofSinnFeinthepoliticalproblemofNorthernIrelandcannotbethoroughlysolved.
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
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