英概名词解释

1、 British commonwealth 英联邦

British commonwealth is an intergovernmental organisation of

fifty-three independent member states.

The member states cooperate within a framework of common values and

goals .

The Commonwealth is not a political union,.

its members states have full autonomy（自治权） to manage their own

internal and external affairs.

The King or Queen of Britain is considered the head of the commonwealth.

2、 Reformation 宗教改革

Reformation was the series of events in 16th-century England.

The immediate cause for the Riligious reformation was king henry Ⅷ’s

attempt to divorse his first wife, Catherine（凯萨琳）

Hentry Ⅷ started the Reformation movement by declaring a break with

Rome.

In 1534 he issued the Act of Supremacy, and declared himself to be the

“only supreme head of the church of England”.

The Reformation was in essence a political movement in a religious

guise.（伪装）

3、 Act of supremacy 至尊法案

In 1534 King Henry VIII issued the Act of Supremacy, and declared

himself to be the “only supreme head of the church of England”.

it was made clear that Parliament was not granting the King the title

but rather it was stated as a recognized fact.

In the Act of Supremacy, Henry abandoned Rome completely.

He then went on to found a new church called Ecclesia（教堂） Anglicana.

He appointed himself and his successors as the supreme rulers of this

new church.

4、 Bank holiday 银行日

A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom.

There is no automatic right to time off(休假) on these days.

The first official bank holidays were the four days named in the Bank

Holidays Act 1871.

The very first Bank Holiday began in 1871 when banker(银行家) Henry

James Earl（伯爵）, decided to take the first Monday in May off work, closing

his bank to the public.

5、 Gunpowder plot 火药阴谋

the Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was a failed assassination（暗杀） attempt

against King James I.

The plan was to blow up（爆发） the House of Lords during the State

Opening of Parliament on 5 November 1605.

The plot was revealed（透露）to the authorities in an anonymous letter.

Details of the assassination attempt were allegedly known by the

principal Jesuit of England,

Father Henry Garnet.

Many important and loyal Catholics retained high office during King

James I's reign.

6、 Oxbridge牛津和剑桥大学

Oxford University and Cambridge University are sometimes referred to

collectively as Oxbridge.

The two university have a long history of competion with each other,as

they are the two oldest nuiversities in Britain and rival(竞争) each other

in prestige（威望）.

the term is now used to refer to them collectively(共同地), often with

implications（含意） of perceived superior social status.

Oxbridge can be used as a noun referring to either or both universities

or as an adjective describing them or their students.

7、 Constitutional monarchy 君主立宪制

the Glorious Revolution of 1688 led to a constitutional monarchy

restricted by laws.

the King ruled with an authority circumscribed（限制）by Parliament.

Today the monarchy in Britain is politically neutral and by

convention(按照惯例) the role is largely ceremonial.

Person may accept significant public office without swearing an oath（宣誓） of allegiance（效忠） to the Queen.

8、 Constitution of the UK 宪法

the British constitution is made up of three main parts: Statutory Law

(成文法) ,Common Law, (判例法) and Convention.（习惯法）

the constitution can be altered or amended（修正） by normal

parliamentary processes.

The flexibility (灵活性) of the British constitution help explain why

it has developed so fully over the years.

The constitution is subject to interpretation（解释） by different

bodies, the most important being politicians, judges, and scholars.

9、 Common law 习惯法，不成文法，判例法

Common law has never been precisely（精确地） defined.

It is deduced（推断） from custom or legal precedents（判例） and

interpreted in court cases by judges.

Commonlaw is law developed by judges through decisions of courts and

similar tribunals (法院) .

A "common law system" is a legal system that gives great precedential（有先例的） weight to common law.

on the principle that it is unfair to treat similar facts differently

on different occasions.

10、 Privy council 枢密院

the executive branch includes the Privy Council, serving as a body of

advisors, which has about 450 members.

They consist of current and former Cabinet members along with important

public figures in Britain and the commonwealth.

Formerly,the Privy Council was a powerful institution, but it is now

largely ceremonial.(正式的)

Most of its power is held by one of its committees, Cabinet.

11、 House of Lords 上议院

The House of Lords is the upper house of the Britain’s

national legislature.

The House of Lords as an upper chamber (议院) has the primary purpose

of scrutinising（仔细检查） Legislation.

The main legislative function of the House of Lords is to examine and

revise（修正） bill from the House of Conmons.

In recent years, the House of Lords has undergone a process of reform

to make it more democratic（民主的） and representative（有代表性的）.

12、 House of commons 下议院

House of commons often reffered to the lower House,

is the center of parlimentary power.

the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons usually becomes

the prime minister.

It performs three functions

13、 By election 候补选举

Usually a by-election occurs when the incumbent(现任者) has died or

resigned.

It may also occur when the incumbent becomes ineligiable(不合格的) to

continue in office.

By-elections have also been called as a result of a constituency

election being invalidated(无效，使作废) by voting irregularities。（不法行为）

14、 Shadow cabinet 影子内阁

Shadow Cabinet is a senior group of opposition spokespeople（发言人） of government who are together under the leadship of the leader of

the opposition.

whose members shadow or mark each individual member of the

government.

Menbers of it are often but not always appointed to a Cabinet post

if and when their party gets into government.

15、 Hung parliament 无法决定，悬浮议会

Hung parliament reffers to none of the parties achieves the 326 seats

needed for an overall majority.

It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a

legislature under no overall control.

it is common for an election to be followed by negotiations leading

to a coalition(联合)

16、 Danelaw 丹麦法区

The Danelaw is a historical name given to the part of England in which

the laws of the "Danes" held sway(支配; 统治) and dominated those of the

Anglo-Saxons.

The origins of the Danelaw arose from the Viking expansion of the 9th

century.

The term has been extended by modern historians to be geographical.

The areas that comprised the Danelaw are in northern and eastern

England.

17、 Afred the Great 阿尔弗雷德大帝

Alfred is famous for his defence of the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of

southern England against the Vikings.

Alfred recaptured（夺回） london from the Vikings in 886.

Alfred was a learned man who encouraged education and improved his

kingdom's legal system and military structure.

18、 Westminster abbey 威斯敏斯特教堂

Westminister Abbey was built by Edward the Confessor in 1052, and he

made it his royal home.

All the nation’s coronation（加冕） ceremories have been held there.

Westminster Abbey is a collegiate church（牧师会主持的教堂） governed

by the Dean（主持牧师） and Chapter of Westminster.

19、 Norman conquest 诺曼征服

The Norman conquest began on 28 September 1066 with the invasion of

England by William, who became known as William the Conqueror after his

victory at the Battle of Hastings, defeating the then king Harold II of

England.

It was the beginning of the middle English.

It was also the last invasion of England by foreigners.

20、 Canterbury tales 坎特伯雷故事集

The Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle

English by Geoffrey Chaucer(杰佛利· 乔叟) at the end of the 14th century.

The tales are told as part of a story-telling contest by a group of

pilgrims(朝圣者) as they travel together on a journey from Southwark([人名] 索思沃克) to the shrine(圣地, 圣坛, 神圣场所)of Saint Thomas Becket

at Canterbury Cathedral.( 坎特伯雷大教堂)

He uses the tales and the descriptions of the characters to paint（描绘） an ironic（讽刺的） and critical portrait of English society at

the time, and particularly of the Church.

21、 Magna carter 大宪章

Magna Carta is an English charter, originally issued in the year 1215.

It required King John of England to proclaim （宣告）certain liberties,

and accept that his will be not arbitrary.(任意的，武断的).

The Magna Carta contained 63 clauses.（条款）

The Magna Carta is regarded as the foundation of the British

constitutionalism.（立宪）

The Magna Carta was made in the interest of the privileged class.

It provides the basic principles for the protection of individual

rights in both britain and the United States.

22、 Black death 黑死病

The Black Death was one of the most devastating pandemics(全国流行的) in human history, peaking(达到高峰) in Europe between 1348 and 1350.

It is estimated to have killed 30% – 60% of Europe's population.

This has been seen as having created a series of religious, social and

economic effects.

23、 Peasant uprising 农民起义

The Peasants' Revolt was one of a number of popular revolts（叛乱）

in late medieval（中世纪） Europe and is a major event in the history of

England.

The names of some of its leaders, John Ball, Wat Tyler and Jack Straw,

are still familiar in popular culture.

It served to weaken the feudal（封建的） bond over the peasants. A

new class of yeomen（自耕农） farmers emerged, paving the way for the

development of capitalism.

24、 Hundred year’s war 百年战争

The Hundred Years' War refers to the war between England and France

that lasted

intermittently from 1337 to 1453.

The conflict lasted 16 years but was punctuated by several periods

of peace, before it finally ended in the expulsion of the Plantagenets

from France.

France suffered greatly from the war, since most of the conflict

occurred in that country.

25、 Wars of the rose 玫瑰战争

The name wars of the Roses is based on the badges used by the two

sides,the red rose for the Lancastrians (兰开斯特人)and the white rose

for the Yorkists.（约克王朝的支持者）

The wars lasted for 30 years.

Almost all the noble families were involved in the war,and they

suffered great loss of life and property.

The final victory went to a relatively remote Lancastrian claimant,

Henry Tudor. The House of Tudor subsequently ruled England and Wales for

117 years.

26、 Bloody Mary血腥玛丽

Mary I was the eldest daughter of Henry VIII and only surviving child

of Catherine .

She was the first female monarch in England.

She was a Pious Catholic and she burnt many heretics.

She married a Spanish Prince Phillip, made peace with Rome and

started to rebuild Catholic Church in England. She earned the name “Bloody

Mary”.

27、 Industrial Revolution 工业革命

Industrial revolution began in the United Kingdom ,then

subsequently spread throughout Europe, North America, and eventually the

world.

The Industrial Revolution began in the textile industry.

The Industrial Revolution marks a major turning point in human

history.

By the middle of the 19th century,the Industrial Revolution was

accomplished in Britain.

At that time, there are two classes appeared. One is capitalist class,

the other is working class.

28、 Enclosure 圈地运动

Enclosure is the process which ends traditional rights on common

land.

Once enclosed, these uses of the land become restricted to the owner,

and it ceases to be common land.

The enclosure movement deprived many small landowners of their

property.

The landowners enclose all land into pastures for sheep. The peasants

must depart away .At this time, gentry class appeared.

29、 Chartered company 特许公司

Chartered company is an association formed by investors or

shareholders for the purpose of trade, exploration and colonization.

Chartered companies enabled states to use private resources for

exploration and trade beyond the means of the limited resources of the

treasury, which is a liberal form of indirect rule.

East India Company is one of Chartered companies. Their true nature

is aggression and economic penetration.

30、 Renaissance 文艺复兴

During the 15th and 16th centuries an intellectual movement known as

the Renaissance swept Europe.

It is characterized by admiration of the Greek and Latin classic

works.

The sonnet(十四行诗) and other Italian literary influences began to

appear in English literature.

The highest glory of the English Renaissance is unquestionably（无可非议的） drama.

William Shakespeare is recognized in much of the world as the

greatest of all dramatists.

31、 Oliver Cromwell 奥利弗 克伦威尔

Oliver Cromwell is a devout(虔诚的) Puritan（清教徒） and a natural

military genius.

He became the leader of the parliamentary forces and organized the

New Model Army,which fought bravely against the King’s troops.

Cromwell became the head of the Commonwealth.

He was conservative in social reforms and was committed to protecting

the interests of the property owners.

Cromwell dominated the short-lived（短暂的） Commonwealth of England

and as a Lord Protector.（护国公）

32、 Restoration 王朝复辟

The term Restoration in reference to the year 1660 refers to the

restoration of Charles II to his realms across the British Empire at that

time.

Charles II had been the lawful monarch since the execution of Charles

I. But he was exiled .

At last he was invited by the English Parliament. He was crowned at

Westminster Abbey on 23 April 1661.

33、 Glorious revolution 光荣革命

Glorious revolution was the overthrow（推翻） of King James II of

England by English Parliament.

After William landed in England with an army in November ,1688,James

Ⅱfled to France.

A new Parliament declared the throne vacant and appointed William and

Mary joint(共同的) sovereigns.（君主）

Parliament succeeded in removing a ruling monarch and establishing

a system known as constitutional monarchy.