The weather forecast for the eldest son is 30 days.

Chapter I Land and People

Section 1 England and Great Britain

I. Name and location

When reading English books, you should understand the following nouns:

(a) the english islands;

B) Britain (Great Britain);

England, Scotland and Wales;

D) northern Ireland

E) United Kingdom-United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

On the western edge of the European continent and beyond, there are thousands of islands, which are often called the English Islands. The largest island in the archipelago is called Great Britain. For simplicity, it is called Britain for short, but its official name is still Great Britain. It is nearly 1000 kilometers long from north to south, about 500 kilometers long from east to west, and covers an area of about 230,000 square kilometers. However, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland has a total area of just over 240,000 square kilometers and a population of 57.4 million (65,438+0,990).

As far as the island of Great Britain itself is concerned, it is divided into three parts and is also considered as three countries: England in the south, Scotland in the north and Wales in the southeast.

England is the largest and most developed part of the three political entities, with a land area of over 6,543,800 square kilometers, accounting for nearly 60% of the whole island of Great Britain. The population is more than 47 million, accounting for about 85% of the country. England's position in Great Britain is so important that foreigners call the whole of Great Britain "England", and this custom is also used to address people. Most British people are regarded as "British".

In terms of area and population, Scotland ranks second, with 78,760 square kilometers of land accounting for less than 30% of the British island, and the population of 5 million is less than one tenth of the whole island.

Wales has the smallest area and the least population, with an area of 20,700 square kilometers, only 9% and a population of 3 million, accounting for about 5% of the island.

Before18th century (1707), the whole island was not called Great Britain. In the 5th century, the invaders from Northern Europe, the Angles, Saxons and Jutes, occupied the southern part of the island and took it for themselves. Only then did they adopt the name England. Their language was "English" and later became the official language of the whole country. Part of "English" comes from "Angles", and "English" means "what belongs to", and the whole "English" is the language belonging to "Angles".

However, when the Angles and Saxons who occupied England tried to occupy the southwest, which was traditionally called Wales, it had little effect, so their base camp was stationed in England, which was also the place where Roman invaders retreated from the local Celts in the 1 th century. In A.D. 1282, the Anglo-Normans invaded Wales from England and killed Prince Llewellyn of Wales. King Edward of Anglo-Norman gave his successor the title of "Prince of Wales", which has always been the patent of the eldest son of the British monarch. Although defeated, Welsh people are unwilling to give up their own culture, so the difference between England and Wales has been continuing, although it is not obvious today. Northern England was originally ruled by a tribe called Scots, who are said to be descendants of the Celts. Their territory is called Scotland, and Scottish tribes were founded in the 9th century. Scots are proud of their history and have never been conquered by England. Many Scottish traditions have survived to this day. Many Scots' names begin with "M", "Mc" and "Mac", which means that they are the inheritors of the Scottish indigenous language, ancient Celtic, which now exists in some parts of Scotland. English is the lingua franca of the whole country, because many Scots are not descendants of Celts, and students only receive formal English education at school.

1603, Queen Elizabeth I died without an heir, and King James VI of Scotland was invited to become the king of England, that is, James I. 1707, the British Parliament passed the Joint Action Act, which merged England and Scotland into one, and officially adopted "Great Britain" to refer to the whole island.

Generally speaking, Scots are serious, cautious, thrifty, warm and friendly.

To the west of Great Britain is Ireland, the second largest island. Before the Anglo-Norman invasion and conquest in13rd century, Ireland was an independent country, which was continued by several generations of kings. /kloc-During the English Civil War in the 0/7th century, oliver cromwell invaded Ireland, which opened the curtain for British Protestants to explore immigration. Irish people opposed merger and fought for independence. They finally won the struggle and established the Republic of Ireland in 1927. However, because British immigrants refused to leave their motherland, they occupied the north corner of the island-about 14000 square kilometers, and were included in the territory of Britain, thus forming the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The population of Northern Ireland is about10.5 million, of which about one third are Roman Catholics, and they oppose the unification of Northern Ireland and Great Britain. After the Dublin Uprising was suppressed, Catholic extremists organized the Irish Peace Army on 19 16. At first they fought for the independence of Ireland, and now they use terrorism to promote the unification of Northern Ireland and Ireland. Terrorism has caused many casualties. Because they have received assistance from overseas forces and even the support of American Catholicism, this problem is a headache for the British government. Now the British government is cooperating with the Irish government to restore peace in Northern Ireland.

Ireland used to be a poor country, relying too much on agriculture for a living. Because of underdevelopment and Catholic religious belief, Irish immigrants to the United States suffered discrimination for several years in history, but they made outstanding contributions to the development of the United States.

Britain has no territorial boundaries with any country except Ireland. The sea route in the north is open, and it can go directly to the North Pole through Iceland and Norway. In the northern waters, Britain faces the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark and Norway and reaches the Arctic Ocean. The English Channel is in the southeast, facing France across the sea, and the western channel is only 33 kilometers wide. South is the Atlantic Ocean, opposite the Bay of Biscay is Spain and Portugal; The United States and Canada are located on the west coast of the Atlantic Ocean.

In the course of historical development, the geographical position of the British Island in the world is not ideal, especially when Jerusalem is considered as the center of a flat world and separated from heaven by blue curtains. People usually think that Britain is on the edge and belongs to the dangerous edge of the world. After Columbus discovered America in 1492, he finally denied the unfavorable geographical position of the British Isles, and Britain became a very important position. From the densely populated and highly industrialized places in northern Europe to the corresponding places in America, the shortest sea route is thus presented to the British Isles. European ships bound for the United States always call at the pier on the south coast of England, which makes London the most important commercial center in the world.

Second, the terrain features

The coastline of Britain Island is more than 1000 km from north to south, and 1000 km makes it one of the countries with the longest coastline in Shanghai. Nowhere in this country is the distance from the sea more than120km.

Except Ireland, the whole island of Great Britain can be roughly divided into two parts according to the topographic features: the highlands in the west and north, and the flats in the southeast and south. The dividing line is probably from the mouth of Exe River in the southwest to the mouth of Tees River in the northeast of England.

High area

Areas with higher altitude can be divided into six parts according to their geographical characteristics.

A) Scottish highlands

The highlands of Scotland include many Scottish mountains in the north, which run from southeast to northwest and tilt from west to east. They are very old mountains, and the Scottish highlands no longer show young mountains with sharp hills. Under the action of natural conditions, these ancient mountains have become plateaus. Its average altitude is 600-900 meters. On the Scottish Plateau, the highest mountain is Ben Nevis, which is about1300m above sea level.

The Highlands of Scotland occupy more than half of Scotland, but its land is still barren. Whether people can survive in a given land, altitude, climate and geographical characteristics play a great role. A large part of this land is used for raising cattle and sheep, but the population density is still very small.

B) the valley of central Scotland

To the south of the Scottish Highlands is a relatively low Scottish valley, which used to be a narrow bay. Because it is too narrow, it is very suitable for forming swamps and forests, leaving some traces of coal mines. The coal field in England is in the middle of this low mountain, so it is the most important part of Scotland. This place is home to three quarters of Scotland's population and most industrial centers and farms.

C) southern mountainous areas

Still far from the southernmost tip, the valleys in central Scotland are bordered by bare southern mountains, and the higher places are mainly surrounded by wilderness. To its east is a country where farms and forests are mixed. The mountain extends all the way to the Irish Sea, and there are many low plains with grasslands.

D) pennines (the place name is not in the dictionary and cannot be translated).

Pennines, which is considered as the "backbone of England", is located in the north of England and is also a mountain range. The mountain stretches from north to south 120 km, with the highest point at the edge of the west, and gradually descends from west to east, reaching the North Sea. This fast mountain area is still dominated by wilderness.

E) Lake cambria

To the west of pennines is the Lake District, which is famous for its lakes and radial drainage system. 15 The lake is like a wheel with a collection point in the middle. The ridge landform in this area has created the best rock landscape and flat mountains in England, although their altitude is relatively low.

Some famous English poets, such as william wordsworth (1779- 1859), samuel coleridge (1772- 1834) and robert southey, wrote their appreciation of the beautiful scenery in this area into their poems. In the history of English literature, they are called lake poets.

F) Welsh hills

This place has hilly landforms in Wales and western England, but it does not include southern England. This place was once covered by swamps and forests, so it was rich in coal.

Low area

A) central England

Most of this area is low-lying plains and V-shaped land. The southern end of pennines is in the center of the V-shape, the lowlands of the left arm are connected with the lowlands of Cheshire and Lancashire, and the right arm is connected with the lowlands of York. The western part of this area borders on the Welsh Mountains.

B) Lancashire plain

It forms an extension of the Central Plain, between pennines and the Irish Sea.

C) northeast lowlands

It is the eastern edge of pennines and borders Lancashire Plain in the west, forming a banded lowland.

These three plains are fertile and suitable for developing agriculture.

3. Climate and weather

It is said that the British are more reticent and don't like to talk much. Personal problems such as marital status, age, income and religious belief when talking with people. It's not convenient to ask. But British people like to talk about the weather, and sometimes they argue about the development trend of the weather very enthusiastically. Maybe it's just a small habit, but it has something to do with the changeable weather in Britain.

As we all know, the weather in Britain is changeable, and it is difficult for even the most experienced meteorologists to give reliable weather forecasts. Therefore, the British have gradually formed a habit of talking about the weather whenever and wherever possible.

The "strange" temperature is the main feature of the British climate. We call it "strange" because it is out of harmony with latitude. The temperature in winter is "too high" and the temperature in summer is "too low", as we will see next.

Some British people think that they have no climate, only weather. They say this based on the fact that the weather is changeable and there is little difference between seasons. On the other hand, there are seasons in Britain.

Generally speaking, summer in Britain includes June, July and August. The days are long and the nights are short. The sun rises before 4 o'clock in the morning and doesn't set until after 8 o'clock in the evening. In Britain, the summer dusk is surprisingly long, and it is completely dark after 10 at night. The temperature in summer is not too high, most of the time it is only about 20 degrees Celsius, and rarely exceeds 32 degrees Celsius.

Winter includes 65438+February, 65438+ 10 and February, and 65438+ 10 is the coldest month of the year. Even in the coldest month, the average temperature is above 3 degrees Celsius and rarely drops below zero. British people usually put drainage pipes outside their houses. Sometimes it snows, but the meager snowflakes fall to the ground and melt quickly. Heavy snow happens occasionally, but it is very rare. Skiers want to go to the high mountains in Scotland. If they want to ski for a long time, they have to go out of Britain.

Autumn is the season of maturity and harvest, and crops that thrive throughout the summer can be harvested. The leaves of all trees change from green to dark brown or dark yellow, and then float down. The weather in autumn is very pleasant, warm and fresh.

Spring is the season when everything revives. Trees began to sprout, migratory birds migrated, blooming flowers decorated the earth with colorful colors, and farmers planted seeds in the fields.

There is an important festival in spring, called May Festival.