2019-2020年高二英语Unit5 The British Isles课本原文 人教版.doc

2019-2020年高二英语Unit5 The British Isles课本原文 人教版The idea that England stands for Fish & ChipsSpeakers Corner, Big Ben and the Tower of London is pastThough many people around the world study its language，their view of British culture is sometimes narrowThe fact that Great Britain is made up of three countries is still unknown to manyWithin Great Britain for many years now，there has been a growing movement to make the most of its cultural diversity to see it as it really is：a nation of different countries held together by a mon language and cultureThe British Isles ale a group of islands that lies off the west coast of EuropeThe largest island is called Britain, which is separated from France by the English Channel，which at one point is only 20 miles wideIt forms the mainland of Great Britain and consists of three countries：Scotland in the northWales in thewest and England in the south and eastThe island just west of Britain is called IrelandBetween Britain and Ireland，in the Irish Sea, lies the small Isle of ManThe British Isles are surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west，and the North Sea to the eastThe climate of the British Isles is mild with a lot of rainIn general，Scotland is colder throughout the year，and receives more rainIt rains a lot in England and Wales too，but the temperatures are more pleasantIn the summer months the difference in temperature between London and the north can be as much as nine degrees! The coldest months are January and February，while the warmest months are July and AugustThe culture of the people of the British Isles was influenced by the culture of the people on the European mainlandIn the fifth century, people from different parts of northern Europe settled in England，bringing their own culture and language with themTheir languages formed the basis for EnglishSome of the native population moved to the inland，mountainous parts of the islands，to Ireland，Scotland and Wales，where they continued speaking their own languagesIn 1066 England was conquered by the FrenchFor the next few hundred years the upper classes spoke French while the mon people spoke EnglishThe result of this French influence was that the English language ended up with many French words such as table，animal and ageThe United Kingdom has a long historyEngland and Scotland are kingdomsThe first two countries forming the Union were England and Wales in 1536Wales had already been conquered by England in 1283，but it was not until 250 years later that they formed a single stateScotland joined later in 1707，while the southern part of Ireland was only part of the UK for some time，and is now an independent republicOnly the northern counties，making up Northern Ireland，are still part of the United KingdomThe smaller islands，such as the Isle of Man，are neither part of the United Kingdom nor independentThey are ruled by the King of EnglandIn modern times，people throughout the British Isles speak EnglishHowever，there are still people who also speak the older European languages，Welsh and IrishThere are six spoken languages that are considered to be native to the British Isles as well as two local accentsThat most of these are now threatened and may disappear is a serious matter to the people in BritainThey realize that it is of great value to record and teach them to the younger generationBIn the eighteenth century Englishmen started to develop an interest to travel around the British Isles and describe the countryside，the cities，the people and their life and cultureRead the following passage about Daniel Defoes visit to Salisbury in southern EnglandENGLAND, MY ENGLANDIt is twenty-five miles across the fields to SalisburySheep can be seen everywhere and the great number of them is really wonderfulAll around the city of Salisbury，as far as twenty-two miles to the west, and six miles south，down to the coast，farmers raise sheepThere could be as many as six hundred thousand sheep fed within six miles of Salisbury，measuring every way round and the town in the centreAs we travelled through this country，we saw many old relics from ancient times and ruins of the native population of this kingdomThese are interesting to a traveller who has read something of the history of the countryThe cathedral is famous for the height of its tower，which is without doubt the highest and the most handsome in England，being from the ground 404 feet.Salisbury itself is a large and fine cityIt is built where two rivers e together. Neither of them is very big，but they bee a large fiver when joined together，and yet larger when joined by a third river, about three miles below the cityThen，through a deep channel they flow through some gardens，and down to Christchurch，into the seaThe city of Salisbury has two important kinds of produce and trade，which employ the poor of a great part of the country round namely，making cloth and sheets，called Salisbury WhitesThe people of Salisbury are happy and richTheir business is doing well，and there is a great deal of good manners and good pany among themI have written before that this country has high hills，whose tops spread out into green fields upon which great numbers of sheep are fedBut I want to tell the reader that these hills and fields are most beautiful with many small and clear rivers，and rich fields bearing fruit and grainAll around we find nice little towns, village and houses，and among them many of good sizeSo you look at the fields and think the country wild and empty，and yet when you e down the hills you are surprised with the most beautiful and rich country in EnglandCIntegrating SkillsIRELAND：THE ISLAND IN THE WESTThe island of Ireland is just west of the UK and is the westernmost island in EuropeAlthough a small country，it has an amazing history of over 5,000 yearsFew places on the planet are as packed with history as IrelandEverywhere you look there are castles and historical placesIn Ireland the past is part of the present，part of the people and part of its cultureFor much of its history，Ireland lay hidden behind its bigger neighbour, Great BritainIn fact，Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for many centuries until the 1920sIn 1921, the southern part of Ireland became independent and the Republic of Ireland was foundedIt is a state that covers more than 70，000 square kilometres，or five-sixths of the island of IrelandIt has four provinces, which altogether consist of 26 counties and 6 urban areasNorthern Ireland is part of the UKThe Republic of Ireland is a member of the European Union，and uses the euro (欧元)Ireland has a mild sea climateThe coldest months are January and February with air temperatures between 4 to 7 during the dayThe warmest months are July and August，when it is a quite cool 14 to 16The sunniest months are May and June，with about five to seven hours of sunshine per dayAs Ireland is surrounded by water, it es as no surprise that it rains quite a lot，just as in England and WalesThe population of the Republic of Ireland is thought to be about three millionOf those，over one million live in DublinIreland has a young population, with 44of the population under the age of 25There are two official languages in Ireland：Irish，which is the national language，and English，which is the language of the majority of the populationUntil the early nineteenth century，almost everyone in Ireland spoke IrishThe change to English happened quicklyBy 1891 more than 85of the population spoke EnglishSince Ireland became independent，the Irish government has recognized that if nothing is done，this part of Irish culture will disappearA growing number of schools teach in the Irish language and radio and TV programmes have helped nearly 20of the Irish people to develop language skills in both languagesThe earliest Irish art is found carved on monuments dating from 2,5002,000 BCThe large，typical Irish stone crosses，seen across the country, date from the ninth and tenth centuriesAlthough Irish culture mostly developed under the wings of Great Britain，it has a quality of its ownIt rings with magic and there is a dark and mysterious feeling to itThe many castles that are found everywhere around Ireland add to that ideaThere is for example the famous Blarney Castle，which is known for the story of the Blarney StoneThe Stone is believed to have e from Scotland, where in early times it was used by kings because of its magic powersOne day the King of Ireland saved an old woman from drowning (淹死)The old lady turned out to be a witchTo thank the king，she told him the secret of the StoneThe spell of the Blarney Stone is that you can bee fluent in English in return for kissing the Stone