I.Land and People 國土與人民
Different Names for Britain and its Parts
英國的不同名稱及其各組成部分
1.Geographical names: the British Isles, Great Britain and England.
地理名稱：不列顛群島，大不列顛和英格蘭。
2.Official name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
官方正式名稱：大不列顛及北愛爾蘭聯合王國。
3.The British Isles are made up of two large islands-Great Britain (the larger one) and Ireland, and hundreds of small ones.
不列顛群島由兩個大島—大不列顛島（較大的壹個）和愛爾蘭島，及成千上萬個小島組成。
4.Three political divisions on the island of Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales.
大不列顛島上有三個政治區：英格蘭、蘇格蘭和威爾士。
(1) England is in the southern part of Great Britain. It is the largest, most populous section.
英格蘭位於大不列顛島南部，是最大，人口最稠密的地區。
(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
蘇格蘭位於大不列顛的北部。它有三大自然區：北部高地，中部低地及南部山陵。首府：愛丁堡。
(3) Wales is in the west of Great Britain. Capital: Cardiff
威爾士位於大不列顛的西部。首府：加的夫
(4) Northern Ireland is the fourth region of the UK. Capital: Belfast.
北愛爾蘭是英國第四個區域。首府：貝爾法斯特。
5.The Commonwealth (of nations) is a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. It was founded in 1931, and has 50 member countries until 1991.
英聯邦是曾為英國殖民地的、但現已獨立國家所構成的自由聯合體。它成立於1931年，至1990年止已有50個成員國。
II. Geographical Features 英國的地理特征
1.Geographical position of Britain:
英國的地理位置：
Britain is an island country surrounded by the sea. 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.
英國是壹個島國。它位於大西洋北部，與歐洲大陸的北海岸隔海相望。南面的英吉利海峽和東面的北海將它與歐洲其它部分隔開。
2.The north and west of Britain are mainly highlands; and the east and southeast are mostly lowlands.
英國的西部和北部主要是高地，東部和東南部主要是低地。
III. Rivers and Lakes 河流與湖泊
Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Britain (1,343m).
本尼維斯山為英國最高峰，海拔1,343米。
Severn River is the longest river in Britain (338km).
塞文河是英國最長的河流。全長338公裏。
Thames River is the second longest and most important river in Britain. (336km).
泰晤士河是英國第二大河，也是英國最重要的河。全長336公裏。
Lough Neagh is the largest lake in Britain which is located in Northern Ireland. (396 square kilometres).
訥湖（內伊湖）是英國最大的湖，位於北愛爾蘭。面積為396平方公裏。
River Clyde is the most important river in Scotland.
克萊德河是蘇格蘭最重要的河流。
Snowdonia is the highest mountain in Wales.（1,085m）
斯諾多尼亞是威爾士的最高點，海拔1,085米。
IV. Climate 氣候
1. Britain's favorable climate 英國有利的氣候條件：
Britain has a maritime climate-winters are not too cold and summers are not too hot. It has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year. The temperature varies within a small range.
英國屬於海洋性氣候：冬季不過於寒冷，夏季不過於炎熱。全年有穩定可靠的降雨量，氣溫變化幅度小。
2.The factors influence the climate in Britain:
影響英國氣候的因素：
1）The surrounding waters tend to balance the seasonal differences by heating up the land in winter and cooling it off in summer;
環繞四周的海水。冬天，海水可使島內氣溫升高，夏天則使氣溫降低，從而起到平衡季節溫差的作用；
2）The prevailing south-west winds or the Westerlies blow over the country all the year round bringing warm and wet air in winter and keeping the temperatures moderate;
壹年四季盛行的西南風和西風在冬季從大西洋帶來溫暖、潮濕的空氣，使氣溫適宜；
3）The North Atlantic Drift passes the western coast of the British Isles and warms them.
北大西洋暖流經不列顛群島西海岸，使氣候變暖。
3.Rainfall 降雨量：
Britain has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year. The average annual rainfall in Britain is over 1,000mm. There is a water surplus in the north and west, and a water deficit in the south and east.
英國全年降雨量穩定，平均降雨量超過1000毫米。 英國北部、西部雨量過多，但是南部、東部有所缺乏。
V. The People 人口
1.population distribution 人口分布：
Britain has a population of about 57 millions 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%).
英國人口約570萬，分布極不均勻，90%是城市人口，只有10%是農村人口。英國人口組成為：英格蘭人（81.5%），蘇格蘭人（9.6%），威爾士人（1.9%），愛爾蘭人、北愛爾蘭人和其他民族居民。
2.The difference between the ancestors of the English and Scots, Welsh and Irish:
英倫三島民族的祖先：
The ancestors of the English are Anglo-Saxons, the Scots, Welsh and Irish are Celts.
英格蘭人祖先屬於盎格魯—薩克遜人，而蘇格蘭、威爾士和愛爾蘭人屬於凱爾特人。
3.The difference in character個性差別：
The Welsh are emotional and cheerful people. They are music lovers and are proud of their past.
威爾士人感情豐富，情緒高漲，熱愛音樂，為過去感到自豪。
The Scots are said to be a serious, cautious and thrifty people, and they are also hospitable, generous and friendly.
蘇格蘭人通常被認為嚴肅、謹慎而且節儉，但是他們同樣也熱情、大方且友好。
The Irish are charm and vivacity. 愛爾蘭人充滿魅力，生性活潑。
4.The difference in speech between southern England and northern England:
英格蘭南方人和北方人語言上的差別：
Southerners speak the type of English close to BBC English; In northern England, regional speech is usually "broader" than that of southern England.
南方人講的英語接近BBC，北英格蘭人的發音通常要比南英格蘭人寬。
5.The Welsh keep their language and culture in this way: 威爾士人以這樣的方式使他們的語言及文化保持活力。
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.
壹年中他們有稱之為“藝術年會”的唱歌、跳舞、詩歌節。壹年中最重要的節日是全國詩歌音樂比賽會。在那裏會舉行威爾士詩歌、音樂、唱歌和藝術比賽。
6.The main problem in Northern Ireland: 北愛爾蘭存在的主要問題：
The fight between the Protestants who are the dominant group, and the Roman Catholics, who are seeking more social, political and economic opportunities.
作為統治者的新教徒和要求更多社會、政治及經濟權利的羅馬天主教徒之間的鬥爭。
7.Immigrants: 移民：
About three million have come to Britain to live and find work since World War II.
自從二戰以來約有三百萬人來英國生活、工作