英语阅读
Unit 5 The British Isles Reading The British Isles
The idea that England stands for Fish Chips,Speakers' Comer,
Big Ben and the Tower of London is past.
Though many people around the world study its language,
their view of British culture is sometimes narrow.
The fact that Great Britain is made up of three countries is still unknown to many
Within Great Britain for many years now,
there has been a growing movement to make the most of its cultural diversity to see it as it really is:
a nation of different countries held together by a common language and culture.
The British Isles are a group of islands that lies off the west coast of Europe.
The largest island is called Britain,
which is separated from France by the English Channel,
which at one point is only 20 miles wide.
It forms the mainland of Great Britain and consists of three countries:
Scotland in the north,Wales in the west and England in the south and east.
The island just west of Britain is called Ireland.
Between Britain and Ireland,in the Irish Sea,lies the small Isle of Man.
The British Isles are surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and the North Sea to the east.
The climate of the British Isles is mild with a lot of rain.
In general, Scotland is colder throughout the year,and receives more rain.
It rains a lot in England and Wales too,but the temperatures are more pleasant.
In the summer months the difference in temperature bet ween London
and the north can be as much as nine degrees!
The coldest months are January and February,
while the warmest months are July and August.
The culture of the people of the British Isles
was influenced by the culture of the people on the European mainland.
In the fifth century, people from different parts of northern Europe settled in England,
bringing their own culture and language with them.
Their languages formed the basis for English.
Some of the native population moved to the inland, mountainous parts of the islands,
to Ireland,Scotland and Wales,where they continued speaking their own languages.
In 1066 England was conquered by the French.
For the next few hundred years the upper classes spoke French
while the common people spoke English.
The result of this French influence was that the English language
ended up with many French words such as table,animal and age.
The United Kingdom has a long history.
England and Scotland are kingdoms.
The first two countries forming the Union were England and Wales in 1536.
Wales had already been conquered by England in 1283,
but it was not until 250 years later that they formed a single state.
Scotland joined later in 1707,
while the southern part of Ireland was only part of the UK for some time,
and is now an independent republic.
Only the northern counties,making up Northern Ireland,
are still part of the United Kingdom.
The smaller islands,such as the Isle of Man,
are neither part of the United Kingdom nor independent.
They are ruled by the King of England.
In modern times,people throughout the British Isles speak English.
However,there are still people who also speak the older European languages, Welsh and Irish.
There are six spoken languages that are considered to be native to the British Isles
as well as two local accents.
That most of these are now threatened
and may disappear is a serious matter to the people in Britain.
They realise that it is of great value to record teach them to the younger generation.
综合技能
Integrating skills Reading
ENGLAND,MY ENGLAND
It is twenty-five miles across the fields to Salisbury.
Sheep can be seen everywhere and the great number of them is really wonderful.
All around the city of Salisbury,as far as twenty-two miles to the west,
and six miles south,down to the coast,farmers raise sheep.
There could be as many as six hundred thousand sheep
fed within six miles of Salisbury,
measuring every way round and the town in the centre.
As we travelled through this country,
we saw many old relics from ancient times
and ruins of the native population of this kingdom.
These are interesting to a traveller
who has read something of the history of the country
The cathedral is famous for the height of its tower,
which is without doubt the highest and the most handsome in England,
being from the ground 404 feet.
Salisbury itself is a large and fine city.
It is built where two rivers come together.
Neither of them is very big,but they become a large river when joined together,
and yet larger when joined by a third river,about three miles below the city.
Then,through a deep channel they flow through some gardens,
and down to Christchurch,into the sea.
The city of Salisbury has two important kinds of produce and trade,
which employ the poor of a great part of the country round namely,
making cloth and sheets,called Salisbury Whites.
The people of Salisbury are happy and rich.
Their business is doing well,
and there is a great deal of good manners and good company among them.
I have written before that this country has high hills,
whose tops spread out into green fields upon which great numbers of sheep are fed.
But I want to tell the reader that these hills and fields are most beautiful,
with many small and clear rivers,and rich fields bearing fruit and grain.
All around we find nice little towns,villages and houses,
and among them many of good size.
So you look at the fields and think the country wild and empty,
and yet when you come down the hills you are surprised with the most beautiful
and rich country in England.
课后练习
Work book Unit 5 Integrating skills reading
IRELAND: THE ISLAND IN THE WEST
The island of Ireland is just west of the UK
and is the westernmost island in Europe.
Although a small country, it has an amazing history of over 5,000 years.
Few places on the planet are as packed with history as Ireland.
Everywhere you look there are castles and historical places.
In Ireland the past is part of the present
part of the people and part of its culture.
For much of its history,
Ireland lay hidden behind its bigger neighbour,Great Britain.
In fact,Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland for many centuries until the 1920s.
In 1921,the southern part of Ireland became independent
and the Republic of Ireland was founded.
It is a state that covers more than 70,000 square kilometres,
or five-sixths of the island of Ireland.
It has four provinces,which altogether consist of 26 counties and 6 urban areas.
Northern Ireland is part of the UK.
The Republic of Ireland is a member of the European Union,and uses the euro.
Ireland has a mild sea climate.
The coldest months are January and February
with air temperatures between 4 to 7 ~C during the day.
The warmest months are July and August,when it is a quite cool 14 to 16'C.
The sunniest months are May and June,
with about five to seven hours of sunshine per day.
As Ireland is surrounded by water
it comes as no surprise that it rains quite a lot,just as in England and Wales.
The population of the Republic of Ireland is thought to be about three million.
Of those,over one million live in Dublin.
Ireland has a young population,with 44% of the population under the age of 25.
There are two official languages in Ireland:
Irish,which is the national language,and English,
which is the language of the majority of the population.
Until the early nineteenth century,almost everyone in Ireland spoke Irish.
The change to English happened quickly.
By 1891 more than 85% of the population spoke English.
Since Ireland became independent,
the Irish government has recognised that if nothing is done,
this part of Irish culture will disappear.
A growing number of schools teach in the Irish language
and radio and TV programmes have helped nearly 20% of the Irish people
to develop language skills in both languages.
The earliest Irish art is found carved on monuments dating from 2,500 - 2,000 BC.
The large,typical Irish stone crosses,seen across the country,
date from the ninth and tenth centuries.
Although Irish culture mostly developed under the wings of Great Britain,
it has a quality of its own.
It rings with magic and there is a dark and mysterious feeling to it.
The many castles that are found everywhere around Ireland add to that idea.
There is for example the famous Blarney Castle,
which is known for the story of the Blarney Stone.
The Stone is believed to have come from Scotland,
where in early times it was used by kings because of its magic powers.
One day the King of Ireland saved an old woman from drowning.
The old lady turned out to be a witch.
To thank the king,she told him the secret of the Stone.
The spell of the Blarney Stoneis
that you can become fluent in English in return for kissing the Stone.
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