Unit 2 The United Kingdom

Warming up

Do this quiz and find out how much you know about the UK.

London Heathrow Airport

2. Who rules the country: the Prime Minister or the Queen?

A. The

A. The Queen B. the Prime Minister

• 3. what are the provinces called in England?

• A. counties B. departments C. states4.What is the full

name of the UK?A.The United

Kingdom of the Great Britain and northern Ireland.

B. The United Kingdom of the Great Britain and Ireland

5. Which is the longest river in England?

A. The River Avon

B. The River Thames

C. The River Severn

reading

Puzzles in geography

Describe briefly the UK according to the following map.

Irish sea

English Channel

North Atlantic Ocean

Match the main idea of each paragraph.

A. Explains the joining of England and Wales.

B. Explains the importance of London as a cultural and political center in the UK

C. States the topic to be examined in the reading

D. Explains differences in the four countries.

E. Explains what the term “Great Britain” means and how it came about

F. Explains how England is divided into three zones.

Para 1

Para 2

Para 3

Para 4

Para 5

Para 6

Answer the following questions according each paragraph.Para 1:

What are the four countries of UK?

England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland

Para 2:

When was Wales linked to England ?

In the 13th century AD.

Para 3:

1. When did the name “Great Britain” appear?When England and Wales were joined to

Scotland. It happened in 1603 when King James of Scotland became King of England and Wales as well.

2. In the phrase “the southern part of that country”, what country does it mean?

It means the southern part of Ireland.

3.What are the differences among the flags of the UK?The flag of England is a cross, the flags of Scotland and Ireland are both like a fork. The flag of the UK, is the combination of the three flags. That is to say, the UK is a combination of the three countries: England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

4. Which country is left out in the flag of the UK?

Wales. It is usually assumed to be part of England.

England Scotland Ireland The UK

Para 4:

1. What area do the four countries work together?

In international relations

2. What are the four countries’ differences?

They have developed different educational and legal systems as well as different football teams for competitions like the World Cup.

1.Look at the map and the map on P11, finish the exercise.

Para 5:

North: Leeds, York, Sheffield, Manchester

Midlands: Coventry, BirminghamSouth: Reading, London, Brighton, Plymouth

2. What are the features of the South , the Midlands and North of England?

Most of the population settled in the South, but most of the large industrial cities in the Midlands and North of England

3.Where can you find more about British history and culture?

In older but smaller towns first built by the Romans.

Para 6:1.How many invaders invaded England?

Four invaders: the Romans (54 BC-450 AD), the Anglo-Saxons (450 AD--), the Vikings (789 AD--) and the Normans (1066AD--).

2.How did the four invaders influence England?

Because the Romans left their towns and roads; the Anglo-Saxons left their language and their government; the Normans left castles and words for food. But the Vikings influenced the vocabulary and place –names of the North.

3. Which group of invaders did not influence London? The Vikings

Part 1(Para.1):. States the topic to be examined in the reading

Part 2(Para.2—5): Explains how the UK came about, the differences between the four countries and between three zones of England.

Part 3(Para.6): Explains the important role London plays as a cultural and political center of the UK.

Countries/Capital of UK

Information from the text

England

Wales

Great Britain

Northern Ireland

London

Ireland

England: The first country people think of when speaking of the UK and the largest of the four countries. It is roughly divided into three zones: the South of England, Midlands and the North.

Wales: The first country that was linked to England in the 13th century and it is included when people refer to England.

Great Britain: The name given and used when England, Wales and Scotland were joined together, which took place in 1603, when Scotland King James became King of England and Wales.

Northern Ireland: The Northern part of Ireland that was joined to the Great Britain to become the United Kingdom, which was shown to the world in the flag called Union Jack.

London: The capital of the UK and England as well. It contains the greatest historical treasure of all, with its museums, art collections, theatres, parks and buildings. It has the oldest port, building and castle and it has been influenced by some invaders of London.

Ireland: The southern part of that country – Ireland or Southern Ireland, which broke away to form its own government and a country independent of Northern Ireland, which is part of the UK.

HADRIAN'S WALL

The most prominent and important monument( 遗迹 ) left by the Romans in Britain, it spans the width of the country.  

The highest road built by the Romans in England.

The Romans Spring Bath

The Romans

The Anglo-Saxons church

The Vikings

the Jorvik Viking Centre, for a unique insight into the life of the Vikings.

Built by the Normans around 1100, it was the largest Norman keep ever built

Colchester Castle

  It was built by the Normans in the 12th Century

St. Peter's Cathedral.

Godmersham Parish Church, originally built by the Normans.

Translate these sentences into Chinese.

1. You can easily clarify any problems if you study British history.

如果你学习了英国历史 , 很容易就能弄清楚任何问题 .

2. Although the four countries do work together in some areas (for example, in international relations), they are still different.

尽管这四个国家在某些方面 ( 如国际关系方面 ) 是合作的 , 但他们还是不同的

3. However, these industrial cities built in the nineteenth century do not have the historical attractions of other places.

然而 , 这些在十九世纪建立起来的工业城市却没有其他地方所具有的历史魅力 .

4. If you look around the British countryside, you will find evidence of all these invaders.

如果你在英国的乡村四处走走的话 , 就会发现这些入侵者的痕迹 .5.You must keep your eyes open if you are going to make your trip to the United Kingdom worthwhile.

如果你想使你在英国的旅程有意义 , 你必须睁大双眼 .

Language points:

1. consist vi. 1) 由……组成 ; 由……构成 ( 与of 连用，不用于进行式）

２）在于；存在于；以……为主（与 in 连用，无被动式）

委员会由七名成员组成．The committee consist of seven members.

Water consists of hydrogen and oxygen.

水由氢和氧构成．

　　什么才算是幸福呢？　 What does happiness consist in?

The beauty of Venice consists in the style of its ancient buildings.

　威尼斯之美就在于它具有古代建筑物的风格．2. puzzle n. 1) 谜；难题；玩具

　 2) 迷惑；困惑（只用单数）A Chinese puzzle （中国玩具）［比喻］复杂难懂之事．

A cross-word puzzle （纵横填字游戏）

• I am in a puzzle about the matter.　　 我对这件事大惑不解．be in a puzzle about 对……大惑不解

vt. 把……难住；　使……迷惑（这个问题使我很迷惑）The question puzzled me./I am puzzled with the question.

vi. 迷惑；苦思这个问题我想了好半天．I puzzled over the question for quite a while.

3.clarify vt. 　澄清；讲清楚；阐明　 vi. 澄清；清楚；明了；易懂

• Could you clarify the question?

• 你能解释这个问题吗？

• 他的头脑突然清醒了．

• His mind suddently clarified.

• 由动词 work 构成的词组 :

work well 做得好 work in/into 　　渗透；渗入 work at something 　　从事 work out 　　　算出 work one’s will on /upon somebody 　

将某人的意志强加于别人

4.work together 为一习惯用语，不能按其字面意思直译． Work 在此处应被译为“起反应；起作用”

5. attraction n. 1) 吸引；吸力　 2) 吸引人的东西；喜闻乐见的东西；精彩节目

He can’t resist the attraction of the sea on a hot day.

酷暑天他经不住海的诱惑．• attraction of gravitation 　重力

• 大城市有多种多样吸引人的东西．A big city offers many and varied attractions.

• 今晚的拿手节目是什么？

What are the principle attractions this evening?

6.invader n. 入侵者；侵略者invade vt. 侵入；侵略；拥入；挤满• Doubts invade my mind. 满腹狐疑．• Disease invades the body. 疾病侵袭身体．

7.You must keep your eyes open if you are going to make your trip to the United Kingdom worthwhile.

如果想使你在英国的旅程有意义，你必须睁大双眼．keep one’s eyes open 睁大双眼．

Worthwhile adj. 值得做的；值得出力的；值得花时间的

take spend cost pay

• It _____him an hour to do his homework in the evening.

• He ______a lot of time (in) working for human rights and progress.

• It _____between $500 and $600 million to build.

• I like it, but it _____ too much.• I ___ for the house.• I _____Brown $500 for the horse.

spent

takes

cost

costs

paypaid

• take “花费”“占用”，主要指需要占用空间，时间，精力．主语可以是人也可以是物，经常跟双宾语．

• spend “花费”正式用语，指含有特定的和有价值的目的而花金钱，时间，精力，而且通常花费数额较大，通常主语是人，宾语可以是人也可以是时间．

• cost 在作“花费”讲时，只能以物作主语，不能以人做主语．可跟双宾语．

• pay“付给钱”“偿还”，主语是人，可跟双宾语．

divide separate divide 整体分为若干部分．　separate 　指把原来合在一起的或靠在一起的人和物分离开来．

• The apple was ______ in two.

• We _______the money equally.

• Oxygen can be _________from water.

• The Taiwan Strait _________ Taiwan from Fujian.

divideddivided

separated

separates

Complete the sentences on the screen.

1. Water ________ ( 组成 ) of hydrogen( 氢 ) and oxygen( 氧 ).2. The question ________( 迷惑 ) me. It took me a long time to work it out.

3. My mind suddenly ________( 澄清 ). It worked very fast and efficiently.4. A big city offers many and varied

_________( 吸引的东西 ). They are worth visiting.

5. These wheels are ___________( 构造 ) smaller.

consists

puzzled

clarified

attractions

constructed

Make a short summary of the passage.

The passage mainly clarifies how the UK developed as an administrative union and shows how England is divided into different zones according to its geographical position. It also explains how London was influenced by some invaders and turned out to be the cultural capital of England as well as the UK.

Homework

1. Get ready to retell the text in your own words.

2. Go over “Learning about Language” 1,2 and 3 on pages 11 and 12.