第2章　英國歷史

I. Multiple Choice.

1In England no females were allowed to vote in national elections before_____.

A. 1918

B. 1920

C. 1928

D. 1945

【答案】A

【解析】英國女性選舉權是經過兩個步驟才得以完全實現的：第一，在1918年，30歲以上女性獲得選舉權；第二，到1928年女性才最終獲得同男子同等的選舉權。

2Which of the following was the man who crushed various rebellions in Ireland and settled English and Scottish Protestants there by giving them land? (北京交大2005研；首都師范大學2008研)

A. Oliver Cromwell

B. King Charles I

C. William I

D. William III

【答案】A

【解析】克倫威爾，英國政治家、軍事家、宗教領袖；他粉碎了愛爾蘭的多次反叛，并將土地分給英格蘭和蘇格蘭新教徒。

3The British Empire was replaced by the British Commonwealth or the Commonwealth of Nations in_____.

A. 1921

B. 1931

C. 1945

D. 1950

【答案】B

【解析】第一次世界大戰后，英國懾于日益高漲的殖民地民族解放運動，調整了同原英帝國其他成員之間的關系。1926年“英帝國會議”的帝國內部關系委員會提出，英國和已經由殖民地成為自治共和國的加拿大、澳大利亞、新西蘭和南非是“自由結合的英聯邦的成員”，“地位平等，在內政和外交的任何方面互不隸屬，唯有依靠對英王的共同效忠精神統一在一起”。1931年，《威斯敏斯特法案》從法律上對此予以確認，英聯邦正式形成。不列顛帝國（the British Empire）在1931年起被英聯邦所取代。故選B。

4Which of the following kings believed the “Divine Right” to govern, and was condemned to death during the English Civil War? (首都師范大學2009研；北京交大2005研)

A. James I

B. Charles I

C. King John

D. James II

【答案】B

【解析】查理一世，英國歷史上唯一一位被公開處死的國王；1649年，克倫威爾下達了處死國王的命令，其罪名是背叛國家和人民。

5William, Duke of Normandy, is now known as _____.

A. William the Confessor

B. William Lion-Heart

C. the father of the British navy

D. William the Conqueror

【答案】D

【解析】威廉被稱為諾曼底公爵，同時也被譽為征服者威廉。1066年10月14日，威廉在黑斯廷斯戰役（Battle of Hastings）中打敗了哈羅德國王（King Harold）。在不久之后的圣誕節，William被加冕為英格蘭國王，俗稱征服者威廉（William the Conqueror）。

6British recorded history begins with _____.

A. the Roman invasion

B. the Norman Conquest

C. the Viking and Danish invasion

D. the Anglo-Saxons invasion

【答案】A

【解析】英國歷史記載從羅馬入侵后開始。

7The Wars of Roses are fought between _____.

A. France and Britain

B. England and Scotland

C. England and Wales

D. two branches of the English royal family

【答案】D

【解析】蘭卡斯特家族(House of Lancaster)和約克家族(House of York)的支持者為了英格蘭王位，分別以白玫瑰和紅玫瑰為標志，展開了長達30年的內戰,史稱玫瑰戰爭(Wars of the Roses)。玫瑰戰爭是一場爭奪王位的王室內戰。交戰的雙方是愛德華三世的子孫。故選D。

8The Black Death, which ravaged England in the 14th century, carried off_____.

A. 3/4 of the population

B. 1/4 of the population

C. 1/5 of the population

D. 1/2 of the population

【答案】D

【解析】黑死病是人類歷史上最嚴重的瘟疫之一，起源于亞洲西南部，約在十四世紀四十年代蔓延到歐洲。這場瘟疫造成全世界7500萬人死亡，其中2500萬為歐洲人。據估計，中世紀歐洲約有三分之一的人死于黑死病，英國有一半的人死于黑死病。

II. Fill in the blanks.

1The Romans invaded Britain in 43, and the only area they did not subdue therein was_____.(對外經貿2005研)

【答案】Scotland

【解析】羅馬人于公元43年入侵英國，但沒有征服蘇格蘭。

2The Bill passed by the Parliament in 1689 after the _____ Revolution in Britain is known as the English Bill of _____ which marked not only a sharp decline in powers of the Monarch, but also the beginning of the British _____ Monarchy. (人大2006研)

【答案】Glorious；Rights; Constitutional

【解析】1689年議會通過的民權法案削弱了英國君主的勢力，標志著英國君主立憲制的開始。

3King Arthur was a legendary hero supposed to have fought against the _____. (人大2006研)

【答案】Saxons

【解析】亞瑟王是英國神話中的英雄，他與撒克遜人斗爭。

4In the English Civil War, the “Roundhead” supported _____ while the “cavalier” supported _____. (首都師范大學2008研)

【答案】Cromwell；Charles I

【解析】英國內戰時期，支持克倫威爾的是圓顱派，支持查理一世的是騎士派。

5By the end of the 19th century, the British Empire occupied about _____ sq.km. This was about _____ times as large as Great Britain. It ruled over a population of _____ million, which was more than ten times as large as that in Britain. No wonder the British bourgeoisie boasted that their empire was a _____ empire.

【答案】33 million ; 135; 560; sun-never-setting

【解析】通過殖民擴張，在19世紀末，大英帝國占領了世界四分之一的領土，達到約3300萬平方千米，是英國本土面積的135倍。統治560多萬人口，占當時世界總人口的四分之一。由于大英帝國地域遼闊，其領土上空太陽不落，故自稱“日不落帝國”。

6In the First World War, the Grand Fleet encountered the Germans at _____ in North Sea on May 31, 1916, but failed to win a decisive victory.

【答案】Jutland

【解析】日德蘭海戰發生在1916年5月13日第一次世界大戰期間，是史上最大規模的海戰之一，被認為是英國戰略上的勝利，德國海軍從此之后再也無法與英國抗衡。

7During the _____, a lot of arable farms were turned into pastures for sheep-raising.

【答案】Enclosure Movement

【解析】15世紀末葉、16世紀初葉，英國羊毛出口業和毛織業迅速發展，養羊業成為獲利豐厚的事業，新興資產階級和新封貴族便使用暴力剝奪農民土地養羊，這就是圈地運動。

8As Protestants were the majority of the province, they controlled the local _____, and used that power to support their economic and social _____ in the area. Therefore Catholics in Northern Ireland began _____ movement in the 1960s, campaigning for _____.

【答案】parliament; dominance; a Civil Rights; equality

【解析】北愛爾蘭人分為民族派和聯合派，前者多是天主教徒，主張并入愛爾蘭共和國，后者多是新教徒，認為應同英國統一。新教徒占大多數人口，天主教徒為保障自己的利益，在20世紀60年代開始民權運動，要求受到平等對待。

9The Roman occupation of Britain lasted nearly _____ years. They brought _____ to England, and their development of the country helped this religion to spread.

【答案】400 years; Christianity

【解析】羅馬在公元前43年到公元407年期間統治英國，所以是幾乎四百年的時間。基督教曾被羅馬士兵帶到了英國，但羅馬撤兵后被帶走。

10The Tudor family ruled England from _____ to _____. Under the Tudors, England became a national state with an efficient _____ government and changed from a _____ to a _____ country.

【答案】1485; 1603; centralized; medieval; modem

【解析】都鐸王朝在1485至1630年間統治英國，推行君主集權制度，即權力集中的政府。都鐸王朝包括亨利七世、亨利八世、愛德華六世、瑪麗以及伊麗莎白一世在內的統治，務實的都鐸君王們按人民的意愿治理政府，在他們的領導下，英國經歷了從封建社會向現代國家的轉變。

11The Anglo-Saxons began to settle in Britain in _____ century.

【答案】the 5th

【解析】盎格魯-撒克遜人西元5世紀起移居不列顛群島，并建立起一個的王國，10世紀時發展成英格蘭王國。

12The battle of Bahnockbum led by Robert Bruce succeeded in winning the full independence of _____.

【答案】Scotland

【解析】羅伯特·布魯斯是蘇格蘭歷史中重要的國王，1314年，他帶領蘇格蘭人和英國人在班諾克本進行會戰并取得決定性勝利，不久取得民族獨立。

13The Norman Conquest was one of the most decisive events in _____ which caused a fundamental change in the way of life of the English people. It tied England’s civilization closely to that of continental Europe. Middle English (1150 —1450) was strongly modified by an extensive infusion of _____ vocabulary.

【答案】English history; French

【解析】諾曼征服后英國封建制度正式確立，所以這是英國歷史上一件大事。由于這以后法語成為英國官方語言，所以法語對英語產生了很大的影響。

III. Explain the terms or expressions in English.

1the Great Council (1265) (北外2006研)

【答案】The Great Council has been regarded as the earliest British Parliament. In 1265, Simon de Montfort restructured the Great Council, to which each county was required to send two knights and each town to send two representatives. Later, the Great Council developed into the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Its main function was to provide advice. There were no elections or parties. The Lords was the most important element in the Great Council.

2Henry VIII (北外2003研)

【答案】Henry VIII (1491—1547) was an English king who had married six times. He introduced Protestantism and launched the English Reformation as his request to divorce his first wife Catherine of Aragon had not been agreed by the Roman Pope Clement VII. As a result, the Church of England was established independently as the national church and Britain got freedom from the Roman Catholic Church. Moreover, Henry VIII became the supreme head of the Church of England and strengthened the power of the monarch.

3the Downing-Street Declaration (北外2004研)

【答案】The Downing-Street Declaration, also called Joint Declaration on Peace, was a declaration signed on December 15, 1993 by the British Prime Minister, John Major, and the Irish Taoiseach, Albert Reynolds, on behalf of the British and Irish Governments respectively. It affirmed the right of the people of Northern Ireland to self-determination, and that the province would be transferred to the Republic of Ireland from the United Kingdom if and only if a majority of its people was in favor of such a move. Because of the declaration, the Provisional Irish Republican Army announced a ceasefire in 1994.

4The Bill of Rights of 1689 (北二外2010研；四川大學2009研)

【答案】Bill of Rights was advocated by Parliament and accepted by William of Orange during the Glorious Revolution in 1688. After the Glorious Revolution in 1688, William and Mary were crowned jointly in Westminster Abbey as they had accepted the Bill of Rights of l689. It approximates a written constitution, for it states the essential principles of parliamentary supremacy: control of money, dispensation power, and frequent, regular meeting of Parliament. The bill prevented any Roman Catholic from the succession, confirmed parliamentary supremacy and guaranteed free speech within both the two houses. It marked the beginning of British constitutional monarchy.

IV. Answer the questions.

1Describe briefly the impact of the Norman Conquest on the English language. (about 100 words) (對外經貿2004研)

【答案】After the Norman Conquest that took place in 1066, Norman French became the official language of England. However, the common people still spoke their Anglo-Saxon language. Since then, French had played an important role in the development of the English language. It had mainly influenced the English vocabulary as a large amount of French words had been introduced into English. According to statistics, more than 10,000 French words had become part of English vocabulary at that time, and till now, 75% of them have been retained and made use of. French words not only have taken up a large part in English, they also cover a variety of fields.

2Analyze and assess how the end of British imperialism influenced the making of Britain’s foreign policy. (北外2004研)

【答案】One of the most important single factors that have influenced British policy-makers is its history. The contemporary foreign policy of Britain has been influenced greatly by its imperial history. Since Britain lost its empire so recently, British policy-makers frequently forget that Britain is not as influential as it used to be in international affairs. Historians hold that the British foreign policy-makers retain very conservative and traditional views of Britain’s role as a world power and point to many major foreign policy decisions as example. One instance was the controversial and expensive decision for Britain to build and maintain its own independent nuclear weapons capability to make sure that it would remain superior to most other countries in terms of military capability.

Other signs of foreign policy conservatism are in the continued debate over how much national sovereignty Britain should relinquish to the European Union. The membership in the European Union is of significance to Britain in the daily running of its affairs. The United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community in 1973. This was an important psychological decision for the country because traditionally Britain had looked beyond its European neighborhoods, feeling that in fact it had more in common with the United States and the Commonwealth. In reality, the decision to join the EEC was a natural one given that British economic, political and military interests were already deeply bound up with other European countries.

Through its involvement in NATO, Britain was committed to European defense cooperation. Although the United States was an important trade partner, so were Western European countries, especially Germany. Now for Britain, trade with Germany is about the same as trade with the US, and Western Europe as a whole offers more than half of Britain’s imports and buys more than half of its exports. To join the EEC was very controversial. At the centre of the controversy is the fact that it is not clear what the European Union is and what it will become. The UK has always been very interested in encouraging free trade between countries and is therefore very supportive of the EU as a free trade area. On the other hand, the UK has always been less enthusiastic about giving up its national sovereignty to a European government. Britain, while often at the centre of policy controversies with its fellow EU members, is nevertheless deeply committed to it.

3How does the British national flag reflect English history?

【答案】(1) The history of Britain’s Union Flag can be revealed though the fusion of three different emblems of England, Scotland and Ireland.

(2) The original English flag was white and bore-the plain red cross of St. George, who was regarded the country’s patron during the third Crusade. This flag came into being in 1277.

(3) In 1603, England and Scotland were united for the accession of James I. So in 1606, the English flag was united with St. Andrew’s, the Scottish flag.

(4) In 1801, the Parliament of Ireland was joined with that of Great Britain, so St. Patrick, the Irish flag was incorporated in the national flag.

4What are the causes of the Northern Ireland issue? Is Northern Ireland Assembly a satisfactory solution? (北外2006研)

【答案】In Northern Ireland, the causes of conflicts are the divided loyalties and unequal opportunities. The Protestants and Catholics have been fighting one another over religious and political differences. The Protestants, a dominant group, hope the country to continue to be part of Britain, while the Catholics, who are unhappy with the English rule, hope the country to be reunited with the Republic of Ireland. And the Catholics think that they do not enjoy the same chances as the Protestants in getting the jobs which they want.

Northern Ireland Assembly is the devolved legislative authority of Northern Ireland. Founded by law in 1998, it has the power to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive and to make laws in a wide range of fields which are not explicitly reserved to the British Parliament. The latest incarnation of the Assembly was established under the Good Friday Agreement of 1998, an accord with the purpose of ending Northern Ireland’s violent 30-year Troubles. Dependent on the principle of power-sharing, it aims to make sure that Northern Ireland’s largest political communities, the unionist and nationalist communities both participate in governing the country. As a result, the general situation has been improved, but conflicts still exist in Northern Ireland.

5What’s the significance of the Great Charter?

【答案】The Great Charter was signed by King John in 1215 as restriction to his power.

(1) The Great Charter was the first step of constitutional experiment and rule of law. It tried to establish a legal relation between the king and his barons by defining their respective rights and obligations.

(2) The Great Charter laid down the basic rules for the English and American legal system. It raised the problem of protecting life, property, and preventing possible abuse of power of the government.

(3) It tried to establish a due process of law for trial, of criminal and civil cases. Judgments could only come after trials and no freeman should be punished by the law unless convicted by a jury of his fellow citizens.

(4) The Great Charter paved the way for the new-born bourgeoisie to get political power because it granted more power to the Great Council, which was the embryonic form of the English Parliament.

(5) The charter protected rights of the merchant class. This facilitated the development of commerce and handicraft.

(6) However, the serfs who made up the overwhelming majority of the population gained little benefit from it.

6What were the causes and effects of the Hundred Yeas’ War?

【答案】The Hundred Years’ War refers to the war between France and England from 1337 to 1453 which ended in victory for the French.

The war was caused by both territorial and economic disputes. (1) The Anglo-Norman king had once possessed large tracts of land in France. But King John lost almost all these possessions except a tiny spot. The English nobility was eager to get back the lost territory on the Continent. (2) In the early fourteenth century, the English bourgeoisie grew rapidly. The new class desired to expand foreign markets. As a big power in western Europe, France also wanted to enlarge its spheres of influence. (3) The English king suspected that France had been giving aid to the Scots in their opposition to England. These conflicts were the major causes of the Hundred Years’ War. (4) The direct cause of the war was dispute over succession to the French throne. When the French king died without leaving a legitimate successor, Edward III claimed that he should succeed to the French throne. The French nobles denied his claim. In 1337, Edward III landed in Normandy with an English army. The war broke out.

Effects: (1) The ending of the Hundred Years’ War deprived the English king of his possessions in France. (2)It cut down the strength of the feudal lords and pushed the growing bourgeoisie onto a higher rung of the social ladder in England. (3)The war also spurred the development of woolen textile industry. (4)The separation of the two states paved the way for the development of separating English and French national identities. By the end of the fourteenth century, the English language was reestablished as the official language and the French language was no longer used in daily life. The hi-linguistic period in English history came to an end.

7What was the aftermath of the First World War for Britain?

【答案】(1) The War left Britain in difficult situations: ①It cost Britain roughly 3 million casualties and resulted in large numbers of veterans with disabilities. ②As large numbers of soldiers returning from the war pushed up prices and drove down wages, between 1919 and 1920 there were close to 2000 strikes. ③By 1921 close to one-quarter of the British workforce was unemployed, overwhelming the national program that provided unemployment insurance.

(2) As to the results of the War, according to the Treaty of Versailles in 1919, Britain took Palestine and Mesopotamia from Turkey, seized a large number of German colonies in Africa and in the Pacific Ocean and received a small part of the reparation payments.

(3) Britain was challenged by some other countries. ①It was challenged by the United States for commercial supremacy in overseas markets since the latter got a stronger economy out of the war. ②Britain also suffered a decided decline in production and foreign trade compared with its prewar status when European markets were opened to the expanding economies of the United States and Asia.

(4) The British colonies, influenced by the October Revolution, began national liberation movement. ①The Indians had been demanding Home Rule and established a constitutional government according to the Government of India Act passed by the British Parliament in 1920. ②Egypt got independence in 1922 but a British army was maintained there to guard the Suez Canal. ③The question of Ireland emerged again. The Republic of Eire, came into existence in October 1992. The six northern counties of previous Ireland maintained the historical relationship with Great Britain which later became the United Kingdom of Britain and Northern Ireland.

8State briefly the Irish Troubles in Britain.

【答案】The Irish troubles underwent the period of both tensions and resolutions.

(1) The Anglo-Irish Treaty signed in 1921 made the southern 26 states of Ireland a free state and the northern 6 states a part of the United Kingdom due to the Protestant majority in the north. However, throughout the twentieth century, terrorism by both Catholics and Protestants was a problem in Northern Ireland and in England.

(2) Independent government for Northern Ireland (Home Rule) was repealed in 1972.

(3) In 1998, there appeared a historical turning point. Irish leaders worked with British leaders to remove sources of discord. Northern Ireland was granted semi-autonomous rule. The Republic of Ireland relinquished its claim to Northern Ireland. A Council was established to discuss matters of common concern to Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Political prisoners were released. British forces remained in Northern Ireland, but in reduced numbers and with reduced powers.

(4) In 1999 the leading Protestant party decided to begin the formation of a coalition government of Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland. A remaining problem was whether the warring factions in Northern Ireland should disarm before the formation of the coalition government or after its formation.