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《高中英语人教必修5素材：Background Information of the British Isles》由会员上传分享，免费在线阅读，更多相关内容在教育资源-天天文库。
1、WhatisthedifferencebetweenBritishIsles(不列颠群岛),Britain,UnitedKingdomandEngland?Theseterms(术语)arefamiliar(熟悉),butpuzzlingtousChinese.TheBritishIslesaremadeupoftwolargeislands:OneisBritainandtheotherIreland.Britain,orGreatBritain,isthelargerofthetwoislands,andisdividedintot
2、hreeparts:England,ScotlandandWales.TheUnitedKingdom(UK)istheshortfortheUnitedKingdomofGreatBritainandNorthernIreland.UKconsistsofScotland,WalesandEngland(i.e.thewholeofBritain),andalsoaboutone-sixthofIreland,i.e.,thenorthernpart.TherestofIrelandwhichiscalledtherepublicof
3、Irelandisanothercountry.Englandisthelargest,andgenerallyspeaking,therichestsection.ItscapitalisLondon,whichisalsothecapitaloftheUK.LondonliesontheRiverThames.MuchofEnglandisratherflat,althoughtherearehillsinthenortheastandinthecenterofthecountry.Englishpeopletendtousethe
4、words“England”and“English”whentheymean“Britain”and“British”.Thissometimesannoys(惹恼)theScotsandtheWelsh.ScotlandliesinthenorthoftheUK,withitscapitalEdinburgh.Scotlandhasmanylakesandmountains,andisfamousforitsbeautifulcountryside.TheScotsinparticular(尤其)areveryproudoftheir
5、nationality;theyhavetheirownlegalsystem(法律制度),andsomeoftheirinternal(内部的)affairsaremanagedbyspecialScottishdepartments,thoughtheyhavenoseparateparliament(议会).WalesliestotheeastofEngland.ItscapitalisCardiff.EveryonetherecanspeakEnglish,butthefirstlanguageinnorthWalesisWel
6、sh.TheWelsh,too,donotregardthemselvesasEnglish,andhaveacultureandevenalanguageoftheirown.IrelandbecamepartoftheUKin1801,butitsoongrewdiscontented,andforfortyyearsthe“Irishquestion”becamethegreatestheadacheoftheBritishParliament.Atlast,aftermuchbloodshed(流血),Irelanddivide
7、ditselfintotwo:NorthernIrelandandtherepublicofIreland.NorthernIreland,withitscapitalBelfast,ispartoftheUK.TheRepublicofIrelandisaseparatecountry,withDublinasitscapital.TheRepublicofIrelanddoesnotregarditselfasBritish.Itisstilldiscontented,asitresents（怨恨）theexistenceofNor
8、thernIreland,andwantsthewholeofIrelandtobearepublic.TheUKisasmallcountry.Itspopulationisover58million.A
