1、Brainstorming We have learned the passage Canada-land of the maple tree.What subjects are covered in the reading passage?How are these subjects organized?Canada-land of the maple tree Area Climate Landscape Flora and fauna Resources Population Lifestyle Cities Language History Society SymbolBrainsto
2、rming If we were to write a book about The United Kingdom,what subjects should be covered in the book?DiscussionThe united Kingdom Geography History Society Commerce CultureThe united Kingdom GeographyAreaClimateLandscapeFlora and faunaResourcesCities HistoryPrehistoryEarly inhabitantsInvasions from
3、 EuropePost-war immigrants SocietyPopulationLanguageGovernmentRule of the monarchyModern politicsLawEducationEconomyAgriculture CommerceTrade and industryManufacturingTransport CultureReligionTraditionCustomsLifestyleThe arts appendixQuiz Now lets have a quiz about Britain.Lets see how much do you k
4、now about BritainWhat is the area of Britain?Total 244,820 km(79th)94,526 sq mi It is a sovereign state to the northwest of mainland Europe.It includes the island of Great Britainand the north-east part of the island of Ireland,together with many small local islands.Northern Ireland is the only part
5、 of the UK with a land border,sharing it with the Republic of Ireland.What is the climate like in The UK?England has a temperate climate,with plentiful rainfall all year round,though the seasons are quite variable in temperature.However,temperatures rarely fall below 4 C and will only rise above 32
6、C in the height of the summer.The prevailing wind is from the southwest,bringing mild and wet weather to England regularly,from the Atlantic Ocean.It is driest in the east,warmest in the southwest in winter,and warmest in the southeast in summer.Snowfall can occur in winter and early spring.What is
7、the Landscape like in the UK?The United Kingdom is bounded by the Atlantic Oceanand its ancillary bodies of water,the North Sea,the English Channel,the Celtic Sea,St Georges Channel and the Irish Sea.It is linked to France by the Channel Tunnel.What about the resources in The UK?Compare with many ot
8、her countries,Britain has comsiderable reserves of coal.Today British coal mining is called a sick industry.Natural gas and oil was discovered in 1965 and oil in 1970 under the North Sea.Britain was the first nation to build a large iron and steel industry.Rich deposits of iron ore were found in cen
9、tral England.As with the coal industry,Britains steel industry is declining.What about the cities in The UK?London-7,172,091(though the City of London proper is one of the smallest cities in England)Birmingham-970,892 Other major cities with urban sub-area populations in excess of 250,000 inhabitant
10、s are Belfast,Bradford,Bristol,Cardiff,Coventry,Edinburgh,Glasgow,Kingston Upon Hull,Leeds,Leicester,Liverpool,Manchester,Nottingham,Sheffield,Stoke on Trent and Wolverhampton.Something about the history of the UK.PRO-FEUDALISM HISTORY The first known setters of Britain were the Iberians.Julius Caes
11、ar,the great roman general,invaded Britain for the first time in 55BC.For nearly 400 years,Britain was under roman occupation.The roman built two great walls to keep the Picts:There were the Hadrians wall and the Antonine wall.In the mid5th century a new wave of invaders,Jutes,Saxons,and Angles came
12、 to Britain,they were three Teutonic(Germanic)tribes.In 597,pope Gregory I sent st.Augustine to England to convert the heathen English to Christianity.Alferd,king of Wessex,was strong enough to defeat the Danes.He is known as the“father of Britain navy”.The Norman conquest of England isthe bestknown
13、 event in English history.Under William,the feudal system in England was established.FEUDALISM PERIOD The Doomsday Book,completed in 1086,was the result of general survey of England made in 1085 Henry II was the first king of the House of Plantagenet.He ended the disorders of king Stephen.Something
14、about the history of the UK.The barons charter,or Magna Carta,as it came to be known was presented by a delegation of their class to the king and his advisers in the summer of 1215.It was a statement of feudal and legal relationship between the crown and the barons,a guarantee of the freedom of the
15、church and a limitation of the power of the king.The statute of Wales in 1284 placed the country under English law and Edward presented his new-bornson to the Welsh people as the Prince of Wales,a title held by the heir to the throne ever since.Something about the history of the UK.When Edward claim
16、ed the French Crown by the right of his mother Isabella,the French refused to recognize the claim because the Salic Law debarred females from the succession.In 1337 Edward declared a war that was to last a hundred years.Black Death swept through England in the summer of 1348 without warning.It kille
17、d between one half and one third of the population of England.Something about the history of the UK.What is the population of The UK?Population2007 estimate 61,100,835(22nd)2001 census 58,789,1945 What about the languages spoken in the UK?languagesOfficial languages English In addition to English(us
18、e established by precedent),Welsh is recognised in Wales as a language of equal standing Since 2005,Scottish Gaelic has enjoyed the status of an official language of Scotland commanding equal respect to the English languageGovernment The United Kingdom is a Constitutional Monarchy,with executive pow
19、er exercised on behalf of the monarch by the Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers.The current Prime Minister is Tony Blairof the Labour Party.He will be replaced by Gordon BrownWhat do you know about the government of the UK?What do you know about the rule of the monarchy of the UK?Queen Eliza
20、beth II The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy comprising four constituent countries:England,Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland.The current monarch is Queen Elizabeth II who is also Queen and Head of State of fifteen other Commonwealth Realms including Canada,Australia,New Zealand and Jama
21、ica.What do you know about the law of the UK?The United Kingdom has three distinct systems of law.English law,which applies in England and Wales,and Northern Ireland law,which applies in Northern Ireland,are based on common-law principles.Scots law,which applies in Scotland,is a hybrid system based
22、on both common-law and civil-lawprinciples.The Act of Union 1707 guarantees the continued existence of a separate law system for Scotland.The United Kingdom contains some of the worlds leading seats of higher education,such as the universities of Oxford and Cambridge,along with Imperial College,the
23、London School of Economics,Kings College London(KCL)University College(UCL)of the University of London,University of Edinburgh,St Andrews University.In 2007 there are 112 universities/university colleges in the UK.This amounts to 138 university-level institutions if the distinct constituent colleges
24、 of the University of London and University of Wales are defined as separate universities.Most of the UKs major cities are home to two or more universities.What do you know about the education of the UK?The Britain were pioneers in modern agriculture and were among the first to bring science and mac
25、hinery to farming.The new farming has been called agribusiness.There are mainly six farming types in Britain.They are arable farning,dairy fariming,stock farming,mixed farming,hill farming and market gardening.Because of the cool climate,apples,pears and plums grow very well in Britain.The North Sea
26、 has very good fishing grounds.What do you know about the agriculture of the UK?Britain is the fifth largest trading country in the world.Napoleon called it a nation of shopkeepers.Britains foreign trade is mainly with other developed countries.which accounts for 79%of exports and 85%of imports.Abou
27、t half with EC.Traditionally,Britain has had a deficit on visible trade and a surplus on invisible trade.How about the trade of the UKThe textile is one of Britains oldest.Textiles were on of the countrys most vauluable exports.Britain became a world leader in shipbuilding during the middle of the 1
28、9th century.The two main centres for shipbuilding were on the River Tyne near Newcastle,England and on the Clyde near Glasgow in Scotland.The Britain motor industry now dominated by four firms(Ford,theRover Group,GM-Vauxhall,and Peugeot)There are three areas in Britain which have seen some high-tech
29、 industrial growth.Scotland has Europes largest collection of foreign-owned chip factories.Over 90%of the companies are from the U.S.A.,Japan,the Netherlands and germany.How about the industry of the UK The governments Department for Transport oversees the well-developed transport system in the Unit
30、ed Kingdom.A radial road network of 29,145 miles(46,632 km)of main roads is centred on London,Edinburgh and Belfast,whilst,in Great Britain,a motorway network of 2,173 miles(3,477 km)is centred on Birmingham and London.There are a further 213,750 miles(342,000 km)of paved roads.How about the transpo
31、rt of the UKSomething about the culture in the UK Cinema of the United Kingdom The United Kingdom has been influential in the development of cinema,with the Ealing Studiosclaiming to be the oldest studios in the world.Despite a history of important and successful productions,the industry is characte
32、rised by an ongoing debate about its identity,and the influences of American and European cinema.Famous films include the Harry Potter,Star Wars,Indiana Jones,and James Bond series which,although made by American studios,used British source materials,locations,actors and filming crew.Something about
33、 the culture in the UK British literature The countries that make up the United Kingdom have provided some of the worlds most notable and popular authors,poets and literary figures.William Shakespeare:Charles Dickens Something about the culture in the UK British Music Notable composers from the Unit
34、ed Kingdom have included William Byrd,Henry Purcell,Sir Edward Elgar,Sir Arthur Sullivan(most famous for working with librettist Sir W.S.Gilbert),Ralph Vaughan Williams,and Benjamin Britten,pioneer of modern British opera.London remains one of the major classical music capitals of the world.Somethin
35、g about the culture in the UK Religion in the United Kingdom Canterbury Cathedral is the mother church of the Church of England,which itself is the mother church of the Anglican Communion.The UK is today a predominantly secular state with only 38%of the population believing in a God.People identify
36、themselves with religion in the UK for both cultural and religious reasons and this is reflected by the disparity between the figures for those believing in a god and those identifying themselves with a particular religion.Great Other Commonwealth nations,e.g.,Canada and AustraliaThe British Commonw
37、ealth of nationsThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandNorthern IrelandEnglandWalesScotlandGreat BritainWhat is the British commonweath of nationsAnswer to C 1.history 2.society 3.England 4.government 5.monarchy merce 7.trade 8.Agriculture 9.resources 10.population 11.lifestyle 12.customsMonarchy(2)_Political partyKing/(1)_Prime(3)_MinistersMembers of Parliament(4)_PartyConservative(5)_Liberal Democrat PartyQueenGovernmentMinisterLabourPartyAnswer to D
