Chapter British Social__ and______ Cultural Affairs.docVIP

Chapter 1 Britain Social and Cultural Affairs When people refer to Britain, they often use different names such as Britain, Great Britain, England, the British Isles, the United kingdom or the U.K. Do they mean the same thing? Are they different? Strictly speaking, the British Isles, Great Britain and England are all geographical names. They are not the official name of the country. The British Isles are made up of two large islands, they are Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain is the larger of these two islands. It forms the United kingdom with Northern Ireland. So the official name of the United kingdom is the United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But it is such a long name for a country, so people just say Britain, the United kingdom or simply U.K. There are three political divisions on the island of Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales. England is the largest, most populous and the richest section. So people tend to use “England” and “English” when they mean “Britain” and “British”. Britain has been one of the most important countries in the world. As a result of its imperialist expansion, Britain ruled an empire that had one fourth of the world people and land area. It had colonies not only in North America, but also in Asia, Africa and Australia. However, the two world wars greatly weakened Britain. The British colonies became independent one after another. The British Empire gradually disappeared. Ⅰ. Education There are about 9 million students in British nursery , primary and secondary schools. Education is compulsory for all between the ages of 5 and 16 in Great Britain. About 90 per cent of the state secondary school population in Great Britain attend comprehensive schools. Most other children attend grammar schools or secondary modern schools. Many of Britains public schools are long-established and have gained a reputation for their high academic standards. And there are some 90 universities. The proportion of young people