英美概况名词解释(英文)

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1. the Hardian’s 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 Great

Alfred was a strong king of the Wiseman. It was created by the

Anglo-Saxons to advise the king. It’s the basis of the Privy

Council which still exists today.

3. William the Conqueror

William 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 Hastings

In 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 day’s battle, Harold was killed and his army completely defeated.

So this battle was very important on the way of the Roman

conquest.

5. Doomsday Book

Under William, the feudal system was established. William

sent officials to compile a property record known as

Doomsday 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

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the land. It seemed to the English like the Book of doom on

Judgment Day.

6. the Great Charter

King John’s 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 liberties, its spirit

was the limitation of the king’s powers, keeping them within

the bounds of the feudal law of the land.

7. the Hundred Years’ War

It 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 Arc

She was a national heroine of France during the Hundred

Years’ War. She successfully led the French to drive the

English out of France.

9. the Black Death

It 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

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was left untended and labor was short. It caused far-reaching

economic consequences.

10. the Wars of Roses

They 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

king’s power became supreme. Thdor monarchs ruled

England and Wales for over two hundred years.

11. Bloody Mary

Henry VIII’s 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 I

One 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 Cromwell

The 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.

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14. the Bill of Rights

In 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 Tories

It 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 Nonconformists. 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 Watt

The Scottish inventor who produced an efficient steam engine

with rotary motion that could be applied to textile and other

machinery.

17. Winston Churchill

Prime 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. Agribusiness

It refers to the new farming in Britain, because it’s equipped

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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, designed to give the maximum

output of crops and animals.

19. the British Constitution

There 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 II

The 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 Opposition

In 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 Council

Formerly 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

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to approve certain government decrees and issuing royal

proclamation. Its membership is about 400.

23. common law

A written law gathered from numerous decisions of the courts

and other sources.

24. the jury

A 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 NHS

The 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 schools

State 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 schools

Fee-paying secondary schools which are long-established and

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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 Lakes

The 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 England

New 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.

30. baby boom

“baby boom” refers to the great increase of birth rate

between 1946 and 1964.

31. the Chinese Exclusion Act

It was passed by the U.S. Congress in may, 1882. It stopped

Chinese immigration for ten years.

32. the Bill of Rights

In 1789, James Madison introduced in the House of

Representations a series of amendments which later were

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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 Proclamation

During 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 Convention

In 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 Convention.

35. the Progressive Movement

The 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 Conference

The 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)

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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 Plan

On 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 Frontier

It was the President Kennedy’s 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”.

41. The New Deal

It refers to a series of measures taken by Franklin Roosevelt in

1932 to prevent the possible collapse of the American

economic and political system.

rculture movement

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It was a movement of revolt in the 1960s against the moral

values, the aesthetic standards, the personal behavior. and the

social relations of conventional society.

43. Constitutional monarchy

A constitutional monarchy is a county in which head of the

state is a king or a queen. In practice, the Sovereign reigns, but

does not rule. In English history, constitutional monarchy was

established after Glorious Revolution in 1688.

44. The Great Depression On October 24, 1929, the

American stock market crashed. Billions of dollars of paper

profits were wiped out within a few hours. This led to a long

economic depression.

45. Industrial Revolution

. The Industrial Revolution refers to the mechanization of

industry and the consequences in social and economic

organization in Britain in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

Britain was the first country to industrialize. The Industrial

Revolution in Britain first began in the textile industry.

46. Melting Pot

Since the United States is a nation of many ethnic groups, it is

also known as a “melting pot,” meaning immigrants from

different nations all over the world have mixed to make up the

American nation.

47. Black Death

Black Death was the modern name given to the deadly

bubonic plague, an epidemic disease spread by rat fleas. It

spread through Europe in the 14th century. It swept through

England in the summer of 1348 without warning. It killed

many people. As a result of the plague, much land was left

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untended and there was a terrible shortage of labor.

48. American Constitution

The Constitution of the United States is the basic instrument

of American government and the supreme law of the land. It is

the oldest written constitution in the world. It was drawn up in

1787 and went into effect in 1789. It founded federalism and

introduced checks and balances into government for the first

time in history.

49． The Muckrakers(黑幕揭发者)

The Muckrakers were a group of reform-minded journalists

who made investigations and exposed the dark sides of the

society.

Progressive Movement(进步运动/进步主义)（Progressivism）

it was a movement at the turn of the 20th century which

demanded government regulation of the economy and social

conditions, spread quickly with the support of large number of

people across the country. The Progressive Movement was not

an organized campaign with clearly defined goals. Rather, it

was a number of diverse efforts at political,social and

economic reforms.

z faire(放任主义)

it was an economic practice which stressed that the

management of the economy should be left to the business

people and the government should merely preserve order and

protect property.

Red scare(红色恐惧)

Between 1919 and 1920,the Red Scare happened in America

where at that time a highly aggressive and intolerance

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nationalism existed. On November 7,1919 and January

2,1920,the Justice Department launched two waves of mass

attests. Over 4000 suspected Communists and radicals were

arrested and many were forced to leave the U.S.

Ku Klux Klan(KKK)三K党

The KKK was first organized in 1866 and then reformed in

1867 after the Civil War in the South and by 1924 it claimed a

membership of four to five million. It was a violent society

which terrorized and attacked on not only blacks ,but also

progressives, Communist and socialist party members, etc.

New Deal(罗斯福新政)

it was put forward by American President Roosevelt who

wanted to do something to deal with the Great Depression at

that time. It passed a lot of New Deal laws and set up some

efficient social security systems. The New Deal helped to "save

American democracy" and to overcome the most serious

economic crisis of the capitalist system up to that time.

ionism(孤立主义)

it was the American foreign policy in the early tried to

keep the U.S out of the fighting that was going on in Europe

and Asia.

56. The Hispanics 讲西班牙语的（人或民族）

The Hispanics usually are Spanish-speaking person of

Latin-American origin who live in the United States. Now there

are three major Hispanic groups which have great influence on

the U.S. They are Mexico-American of Chicano, Puerto Ricans

and Cuban-American.[/size][/size][/size]

[U] "first American "were the Indians. The first English

colony in the Americas was founded at

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Jamestown ,Virginaia,in n 1607 and 1733 the

British established 13 colonies along the east coast of North

American.“

57. The Gunpowder Plot was the most famous of the Catholic

conspiracies. On November 5,1605, a few fanatical Catholics

attempted to blow King James and his ministers up in the

Houses of Parliament where Guy Fawkes had planted barrels

of gunpowder in the cellars .

58. The Puritans

(1) The Puritans were wealthy, well-educated gentlemen. They

wanted to purify the Church of England.

(2) Dissatisfied with the political corruption in England and

threatened with religious persecution , the Puritan Leaders

saw the New World as a refuge provided by God for those He

meant to save . So in (March)

1630 , the great Puritan migration began .

(3) The Puritans did not allow religious dissent. They went to

America to establish what they considered the one true church.

/ Puritan tradition also involved a respect for learning which

led to the establishment of schools and the spread of literacy.

59. Thatcherism

The election of 1979 returned the Conservative Party to power

and Margaret Thatcher became the first woman prime

minister in Britain. Her policies are popularly referred to as

Thatcherism. It included the return to private ownership of

state - owned industries, the use of monetarist policies to

control inflation, the weakening of trade unions, the

strengthening of the role of market forces in the economy,

and an emphasis on law and order.

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60. Diversity of American education

Diversity is considered to be an outstanding characteristic of

American education. This can be seen not only in type, size

and control of the institutions, but educational policies and

practices. As is stated by the Tenth Amendment to the United

States Constitution, education is a function of the state, not

the federal govemment. As each state has the freedom to

develop its own school system and delegates its power over

education to local districts, many variations can be found in

the education system of the 50 states.

61. The New Deal

In order to deal with the Depression, President Franklin

Roosevelt put forward the New Deal program. It passed a lot

of New Deal laws and set up many efficient social security

systems. The New Deal helped to save American democracy

and the development of American economy.

62. Sinn Fein

Sinn Fein was the Irish guerrilla movement that wrested

independence from the British in 1921. It spit in 1921 over the

Anglo - Irish Treaty and became two parties, Fianna Fail and

Fine Gael, which remains to be the two major political parties

in Ireland today.