英语国家概况名词解释英国篇[1].docVIP

英国部分 Chapter1 Official name官方名称：The official name of the United Kingdom is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.  British Empire大英帝国：About a hundred years ago, as a result of its imperialist expansion, Britain ruled an empire that had one fourth of the world’s people and one fourth of the world’s land area. However, the two world wars greatly weakened Britain. The British colonies became independent one after another. The British Empire gradually disappeared and it was replaced by the British Commonwealth in 1931.  Commonwealth of Nations/the British Commonwealth英联邦：It’s a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. It was established in 1931, replacing the former British Empire. Member nations are joined together economically and have certain trading arrangements. The Commonwealth has no special power. The decision to became a member of the Commonwealth is left to each nation .At present there are 50 member countries within the Commonwealth.  Chapter2 Heptarchy七王国：During the Anglo—Saxon’s time, Britain was divided into many kingdoms. These seven principal kingdoms of Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria. They were given the name of Heptarchy.  Alfred the Great亚尔弗雷得大帝：Alfred was the King of Wessex, who was strong enough to defeat the invading Danes and reached a friendly agreement with them. He founded a strong fleet and is known as “the father of the British navy” .He reorganized the Saxon army, making it more efficient. He established schools and formulated a legal system. He translated books from Latin into English.  William the Conqueror征服者威廉：He was also known as William, Duke of Normandy. In 1066, he invaded England, defeated and killed Harold near Hastings in Sussex and conquered England. He confiscated almost all the land and gave it to his Norman followers. He replaced the weak Saxon rule with a strong Norman government. So the feudal system was completely established i