英美概况名词解释

1.the Hardians Wall:It was one of the two great walls built by the Romans to keep the Picts out of the area they had conquered. 2.Alfred the GreatAlfred was a strong king of the wisemen. It was created by the Anglo-Saxons to advise the king. Its the basis of the Privy Council which still exists today. 3.William the ConquerorWilliam was Duke of Normandy. He landed his army in Oct, 1066 and defeated King Harold. Then he was crowned king of England on Christmas Day the same year. He established a strong Norman government and the feudal system in England. 4.the battle of HastingsIn 1066, King Edward died with no heir, the Witan chose Harold as king. William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England. On October 14, the two armies met near Hasting. After a days battle, Harold was killed and his army completely defeated. So this battle was very important on the way of the Roman conquest. 5.Domesday BookUnder William, the feudal system was established. William sent officials to compile a property record known as Domesday Book, which completed in 1086. It was the result of a general survey of England made in 1085. It stated the extent, value, the population, state of cultivation, and ownership of the land. It seemed to the English like the Book of doom on Judgement Day. 6.the Great CharterKing Johns reign caused much discontent among the barons. In 1215, he was forced to sign a document, known as Mangna Cara, or the Great Charter. It has 63 clauses. Though it has long been regarded as the foundation of English liberities, its spirit was the limitation of the kings powers, keeping them within the bounds of the feudal law of the land. 7.the Hundred Years WarIt referred to the intermittent war between France and England that last from 1337 to 1453. The causes were partly territorial and partly economic. When Edward III claimed the French Crown but the French refused to recognize, the war broke out. At first the English were successful, but in the end, they were defeated and lost almost all their possessions in France. The expelling of the English was a blessing for both countries. 8.Joan of ArcShe was a national heroine of France during the Hundred Years War. She successfully led the French to drive the English out of France. 来源：( - 英美概况备考资料!-名词解释部分1_蝉蝉angie_新浪博客 9.the Black DeathIt was the deadly bubonic plague who spread through Europe in the 14th century. It swept through England without warning and any cure, and sparing no victims. It killed between half and one-third of the population of England. Thus, much land was left untended and labour was short. It caused far-reaching economic consequences. 10.the Wars of RosesThey referred to the battles between the House of Lancaster and the House of York between 1455 and 1485. The former was symbolized by the red rose, and the latter by the white one. After the wars, feudalism received its death blow and the kings power became supreme. Thdor monarchs ruled England and Wales for over two hundred years. 11.Bloody MaryHenry VIIIs daughter and a devout Catholic. When she became Queen, she persecuted and burnt many Protestants. So she was given the nickname “Bloody Mary”. Mary is also remembered as the monarch who lost the French port of Calais. 12.Elizabeth IOne of the greatest monarchs in British history. She reigned England, Wales and Ireland for 45 years and remained single. Her reign was a time of confident English nationalism and of great achievements in literature and other arts, in exploration and in battle. 13.Oliver CromwellThe leader during the Civil War who led the New Model Army to defeat the king and condemned him to death. Then he declared England a Commonwealth and made himself Lord of Protector. He ruled England till the restoration of charles II in 1660. 14.the Bill of RightsIn 1689, William and Mary accepted the Bill of Rights to be crowned jointly. The bill excluded any Roman Catholic from the succession, confirmed the principle of parliamentary supremacy and guaranteed free speech within both the two Houses. Thus the age of constitutional monarchy began. 15.Whigs and ToriesIt referred to the two party names which originated with the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The Whigs were those who opposed absolute monarchy and supported the right to religious freedom for Noncomformists. The Tories were those who supported hereditary monarchy and were reluctant to remove kings. The Whigs formed a coalition with dissident Tories and became the Liberal Party. The Tories were the forerunners of the Conservative Party. 16.James WattThe Scottish inventor who produced an efficient steam engine with rotary motion that could be applied to textile and other machinery. 17.Winston ChurchillPrime Minister of Britain during the Second World War. He took over Chamberlain in 1940 and received massive popular support. He led his country to final victory in 1945. He was defeated in the general election of 1945, but returned to power in 1951. 18.AgribusinessIt refers to the new farming in Britain, because its equipped and managed like an industrial business with a set of inputs into the farm of processes which occur on the farm, and outputs or products which leave the farm. The emphasis is upon intensive farming, designes to give the maximum output of crops and animals. 19.the British ConstitutionThere is no written constitution in the United Kingdom. The British Constitution is not set out in any single document, but made up of statute law, common law and conventions. The Judiciary determines common law and interpret statues. 20.Queen Elizabeth IIThe present Sovereign, born in 1926, came to the throne in 1952 and was crowned in 1953. The Queen is the symbol of the whole nation, the center of many national ceremonies and the leader of society.21.the OppositionIn the General Election, the party which wins the second largest number of seats becomes the offcial Opposition, with its own leader and “shadow cabinet”. The aims of the Opposition are to contribute to the formulation of policy and legislation, to oppose government proposals, to seek amendments to government bills, and to put forward its own policies in order to win the next general election. 22.the Privy CouncilFormerly the chief source of executive power. It gave the Sovereign private (“privy”) advice on the government of the country. Today its role is mainly formal, advising the Sovereign to approve certain government decrees and issuing royal proclamation. Its membership is about 400. 23.common lawA written law gathered from numerous decisions of the courts and other sources. 24.the juryA legal system established in England since king Henry II. The jury consists of ordinary, independent citizens summoned by the court: 12 persons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 15 persons in Scotland. In criminal trials by jury, the judge passes sentence but the jury decide the issue of guilt or innocence. 25.the NHSThe National Health Service was established in the UK in 1948 and based first on Acts of Parliament. This Service provides for every resident a full range of medical services. It is based upon the principle that there should be full range of publicly provided services designed to help the individual stay healthy. It is now a largely free service. 26. comprehensive schoolsState secondary schools which take pupils without reference to ability and provide a wide-ranging secondary education for all or most of the children in a district. About 90 per cent of the state secondary school population in GB attend comprehensive school. 27.public schoolsFee-paying secondary schools which are longestablished and have gained a reputation for their high academic standards, as well as their exclusiveness and snobbery. The boys public schools include such well-known schools as Eton and Harrow, and girls famous schools include Roedean. Most of the members of the British Establishment were educated at a public school. 28.the Great LakesThe Great Lakes are the most important lakes in the United States. They are Lake Superior, which is the largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Michigan the only one entirely in the U.S. Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. They are all located between Canada and the United States except Lake Michigan. 29.New EnglandNew England is made up of six states of the North-East. They are Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut. It is sometimes called the birthplace of America. 来源：( - 英美概况备考资料!-名词解释部分2_蝉蝉angie_新浪博客 30.baby boom“baby boom” refers to the great increase of birth rate between 1946 and 1964. People born in this period are called baby bammers31. the Chinese Exclusion ActIt was passed by the U.S. Congress in may, 1882. It stopped Chinese immigration for ten years. 32.the Bill of RightsIn 1789, James Madison introduced in the House of Representations a series of amendments which later were drafted into twelve proposed amendments and sent to the states for ratification. Ten of them were ratified in 1791 and became the first ten amendments to the Constitution the Bill of Rights. 33.the Emancipation ProclamationDuring the Civil war, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation to get more support for the Union at home and abroad. It granted freedom to all slaves. 34.the Constitutional ConventionIn 1787, a conference was held in Philadelphia to consider what should be done to make the Articles of Confederation adequate. All the delegates agreed to revise the Articles of Confederation and draw up a new plan of government. After struggle, the Constitution was ratified at last. This conference is called the Constitutional Convertion.35. the Progressive MovementThe Progressive Movement is a movement demanding government regulation of the economy and social conditions. It spread quickly with the support of large numbers of people across the country. It was not an organized campaign with clearly defined goals. 36.the Peace ConferenceThe Peace Conference or the Paris Conference, began on January 18, 1919. The conference was actually a conference of division of colonies of Germany, Austro-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire and the grabbing of as much as possible from the defeated nations. It was dominated by the Big Four (the United States, Britain. France, and Italy) 37.the Truman Doctrine:On March 12, 1949, President Truman put forward the Truman Doctrine in a speech to the joint session of Congress. The Truman Doctrine meant to say that the U.S. government would support any country which said it was fighting against Communism.38. the Marshall PlanOn June 5, 1947, the Secretary of State George Marshall announced the Marshall Plan, which meant that in order to protect Western Europe from possible Soviet expansion, the United States decided to offer Western European countries economic aid.39. the New FrontierIt was the President Kennedys program which promised civil rights for blacks, federal aid to farmers and to education, medical care for all and the abolition of poverty.40.checks and balances: The government is divided into three branches, the legislative, the executive and the judicial, each has part of the powers but not all the power. And each branch of government can check, or block, the actions of the other branches. The three branches are thus in balance. This called “checks and balances