主讲教师：钟敏 Exchanging Platform: 英语国家概况 Survey of Britain & America

Motto If I tell you, you will forget; If I teach you, you will remember; If I involved you, you will understand.

Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day, teach a man to fish and he will eat forever!

Britain

Big Ben

Tower Bridge

London Eye

Buckingham Palace

British Museum

University of Cambridge

Britain Part One Geography Chapter I: A Brief Introduction to Physical Geography

I. Different Names for Britain and its Parts 1.Geographical names: the British Isles, Great Britain and England. 2.Official name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 3.The British Isles are made up of two large islands-Great Britain (the larger one) and Ireland, and hundreds of small ones.

II.Geographical Features Features

II. Geographical Features Britain is an island country. 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 Channel between England and France is quit narrow and the narrowest part is called the Straits of Dover, which is only 33 km across. Britain covers an area of 244,100 square km.

Three political divisions on the island of Great Britain

Great Britain is made up of: England - The capital is London.London Scotland - The capital is Edinburgh.Edinburgh Wales - The capital is Cardiff. England - The capital is London.London Scotland - The capital is Edinburgh.Edinburgh Wales - The capital is Cardiff.Cardiff

England occupies the largest. It has an area of more than 130,000 square kilometers which takes up nearly 60% of the whole island. The Pennines are the principal mountain chain.England Scotland has an area of 78,760 square kilometers. It is in the north of Great Britain. There are three natural zones: the Highlands in the north, the central Lowlands, and the southern Uplands. Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain (1,343m) is located here. Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland.ScotlandHighlandsEdinburgh

Wales is in the west of Great Britain. It has an area of 20,761 square kilometers which takes up less than 9% of the whole island. Most of Wales is mountainous. 6% of Wales is covered with forest and much of the country is pasture——land for sheep and cattle. Only 12% of the land is arable. Snowdonia (1,085m) in the northwest is the highest mountain in Wales. The capital of Wales is Cardiff.Wales

Northern Ireland takes up the northern fifth of Ireland and an area of 14, 147 square kilometers. Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland.

the Giant's Causeway

Summary: Three political divisions on the island of Great Britain England, Scotland and Wales. (1) England is in the southern part of Great Britain. It is the largest, most populous section. (2) Scotland is in the north of Great Britain. It has three natural zones (the Highlands in the north; the Central lowlands; the south Uplands) Capital: Edinburgh (3) Wales is in the west of Great Britain. Capital: Cardiff (4) Northern Ireland is the fourth region of the UK. Capital: Belfast.

III. Climate When we say climate ewe mean the average weather conditions at a certain place over a period of year. Britain has a favorable maritime climate---winters 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 degrees C. and in summer in the south is degrees C.

Best months to travel to England Probably the best months to travel in England are May, June, September and October. These months generally have the most pleasant temperatures and less rain. July and August are the warmest months, but they are also the wettest. The sunniest parts of the Britain are along the south coast of England.

IV. Rivers The longest river is the Severn River which is only 338 kilometers long. The second largest and most important river in Britain is the Thames River. Clyde is the most important river in Scotland.

Map showing main UK rivers

Chapter II Natural Resources Water Fuels Nuclear power stations Metal Ores Tin ore Lead ores Copper Saline Deposits Useful Rocks limestone

Chapter III: Economy I. The Evolution of the British Economy since the War II. Resources and Industries 1. Coal, oil and natural gas 2. Iron and steel 3. Textile 4. shipbuilding 5. Motor vehicle 6. New industries

III. Agriculture It is highly mechanized. In Britain only 3% of the population are farmers but they manage 70% of the land area. They talk bout technological farming. The new farming has been called “agribusiness”. IV. Foreign Trade Britain is the fifth largest trading nation in the world. Britain’s foreign trade is mainly with other developed countries. Which accounts for 79% of exports and 85% of imports. About half of the trade is with the EC.

Chapter IV: The People Britain has a population of 57,411,000. This is a very large population for such a small country. So it is a densely populated country with an average of 237 people per square kilometer and it is very unevenly distributed. 90% of the population is urban and only 10% is rural. The population of Britain is made up mainly of the English (81.5%), the Scottish (9.6%), the Welsh (1.9%), the Irish (2.4%), the Northern Irish (1.8%) and other peoples (2.8%). 1. Population distribution ：

2.The difference between the ancestors of the English and Scots, Welsh and Irish: The ancestors of the English are Anglo-Saxons, the Scots, Welsh and Irish are Celts.

3.The difference in character The Welsh are emotional and cheerful people. They are music lovers and are proud of their past. The Scots are said to be a serious, cautious and thrifty people, and they are also hospitable, generous and friendly. The Irish are charm and vivacity.

4.The difference in speech between southern England and northern England: Southerners speak the type of English close to BBC English; In northern England, regional speech is usually "broader" than that of southern England.

5.The Welsh keep their language and culture in this way: Throughout the year they have festivals of song and dance and poetry called Eisteddfodau. The great event of the year is the National Eisteddfod. On these occasions competitions are held in Welsh poetry, music, singing and art.

6.The main problem in Northern Ireland: The fight between the Protestants who are the dominant group, and the Roman Catholics, who are seeking more social, political and economic opportunities.

7.Immigrants: About three million have come to Britain to live and find work since World War II.

Chapter V: The Main Cities London Birmingham Glasgow Liverpool Manchester Cardiff Edinburgh Belfast

Glasgow

Belfast

Houses of Parliament viewed from the London Eye.

Edinburgh Castle

Cardiff

Homework Choose one of the questions after each chapter and answer the question on our Exchanging Platform: