自考英语国家概况汇总版有效.doc

　Chapter 1　Land and People 一、本章知识点　　1.重点：　① Different names for Britain and its parts　　2.难点、考点： ① Britain’s official name　　② British Commonwealth　　三、课本内容　　（一）Different names for Britain and its parts　　　　Strictly speaking, the British Isles, Great Britain and England are all geographical names.　　1. The British Isles are made up of two large islands and hundreds of small islands. （see map of UK） The two large islands are Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain is the larger of these two islands. 　　2. ★The official name of the United Kingdom is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. But it is too much of a mouthful to say such a long name for a country, so people just say Britain, the United Kingdom or simply U.K. 　　（UK） capital: London　　The Republic of Ireland爱尔兰共和国 has been an independent republic since 1949 and its capital is Dublin.　　3. There are three political divisions on the island of Great Britain: England, Scotland, and Wales. England is the largest, most populous and richest, so people tend to use “England” and “English” when they mean “Britain” and “British”. 　　4. The British Empire大英帝国: one fourth of the world’s people and one fourth of the world’s land area.　　5. The British Empire gradually disappeared and it was replaced by the British Commonwealth or the Commonwealth of Nations in 1931. ★The Commonwealth is a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. Member nations are joined together economically and have certain trading arrangements. The Commonwealth has no special powers. The decision to become a member of the Commonwealth is left to each nation.如果出简答,则只需要第一句话. 　　（二）Others　　Geographical Features　　1. The United Kingdom is separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel in the south and the North Sea in the east. The English Channel lies between Britain and France. （p.4） 　　Taiwan Strait：台湾海峡　　2. “Chunnel”: channel + tunnel, opened to traffic in 1994. （p.5） 　　Smog: smoke +