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III. Teaching Time: Four periods IV. Background Information 1. Britain Britain lies off the north-west coast of mainland Europe. Its full name is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Great Britain comprising England, Scotland and Wales. Although Britain is a unitary state, the constituent countries have separate national identities, variations in culture and tradition, and different physical characteristics. With an area of some 242 000 sq. km(93 000 sq. mil. ) ,Britain is just under 1 000 km(about 600 miles)from the south coast to the extreme north of Scotland and just under500 km(300 miles)across in the widest part. England is predominantly a lowland country, with upland regions in the north (such as the Pennine Chain. tile Cambrian mountains and the Yorkshire moorlands) and the downs in central southern England, which are low chalk hill ranges. Wales is a country of hills and mountains, the highest being Snowdon at 1 085 m(3 560 ft). Britain's highest mountain, Ben Nevis(1 343 m, 4 406 ft), is in the central highlands of Scotland, which contains large areas of wild, unspoilt landscape. Northern Ireland is at its nearest point only 21 kin(13 miles)from Scotland. It has a 488 km(303 mile)border in the south and west with the Irish Republic. At its centre lies Lough Neagh, Britain's largest fresh- water lake (396 sq. km 153 sq. miles). Britain has frequent weather changes through the seasonal cycle of winter, spring, summer and autumn, although temperatures rarely exceed 32 ℃ or fall below --10 ℃. Rainfall is fairly well distributed throughout the year. 2. Where Do They Come from? People in the four lands of Britain derive from a host of ancestral sources, notably: ·the prehistoric cultures which produced such impressive monuments as the stone circles of Avebury and Stonehenge; · the ancient Celtic peoples who inhabited western and central Europe; · the Romans who occupied Britain for over 300 years from the invasion in AD 43; · the Angles, Saxons and Jutes--Germanic peoples who began raiding and settling in Britain from the third century; · Scots from Ireland, who began to settle in what became known as Scotland in the sixth century (merging with the indigenous Pacts to form one kingdom under Kenneth Macalpin in the ninth century) · the Vikings from Scandinavia, who pillaged and settled areas of Britain and Ireland from the end of the eighth century; and · the Normans from France, who invaded England in 1066. The last thousand years have witnessed the assimilation of all these strands--and many new ones besides, following on from global exploration, the expansion of trade and international rivalry, and the growth of the Empire. At the same time political, social, economic and religious trends, pressures and crises have all evolved to create the beliefs, lifestyle and expectations that are prevalent among the people today. (责任编辑：admin) |