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ENGLAND
England is one of the four nations of the British Islands:ENGLAND
SCOTLAND
WALES
IRELAND
Their political unification was a gradual process that took several hundred years and was completed at the beginning of the 19th century when the Irish Parliament was joined with the Parliament for England, Scotland and Wales in Westminster, so that the whole of the British Islands became a single state – THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND.
At one time the four nations were distinct from each other in almost every aspect of life. In the first place, they were different racially. The people in Ireland, Wales and highland Scotland belonged to the Celtic race; those in England and lowland Scotland were mainly of Germanic origin. The difference was reflected in the languages they spoke. People in the Celtic areas spoke Celtic languages: Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh. People in the Germanic areas spoke Germanic dialects (including the one which has developed into modern English). The nations also tended to have different economic, social and legal system. Today the differences have become blurred, but they have not completely disappeared. Although there is only one government for the whole of Britain, and people have the same passport regardless of where in Britain they live, some aspects of the government are organized separately (and sometimes differently) in the four parts of the United Kingdom. Moreover, Welsh, Scottish and Irish people feel their identity very strongly.
GEOGRAPHY
It is certainly true that the land and climate in Britain have a notable lack of extremes. Britain has mountains, but none of them are very high, it also has flat land, but you cannot travel far without encountering hills; it has no really big rivers; it doesn’t usually get very cold in the winter or very hot in the summer. It has no active volcanoes, and an earth tremor which does no more than rattle teacups in a few houses is reported in the national news media. The climate of Britain is more or less the same as that of the north-western part of the European mainland. The popular belief that it rains all the time in Britain is simply not true. The image of wet, foggy land was created two thousand years ago by the invading Romans and has been perpetuated in modern times by Hollywood. In fact, London gets more rain in a year than most other major European cities, and less than some. Britain’s climate has got such a bad reputation, because of its changeability. There is a saying that Britain doesn’t have a climate, it only has weather. It may not rain very much altogether, but you can never be sure of a dry day. There can be cool (even cold) days in July and some quite warm days in January.
LONDON
London (the largest city in Europe) dominates Britain. It is home for the headquarters of all government departures, Parliament, the major legal institutions and the monarch. It is the country’s business and banking centre and the centre of its transport network. It contains the headquarters of the national television networks and of all the national newspapers. It is about seven times larger than any other city in the country. About a fifth of the total population of the UK lives in the Greater London area.
THE POLITICAL SYSTEM
Britain is a constitutional monarchy. That means it is a country governed by a king or a queen who accepts the advice of a parliament. It is also a parliamentary democracy. That is, it is a country whose government is controlled by a parliament which has been elected by the people. The queen has almost absolute power, it’s her government not “the people’s” as in the USA. She can dismiss the ministers and choose anybody she likes to run the government for her, in other words Queen Elisabeth is above the law. In fact, of course the realty is very different. In order to choose anyone one to be the Prime Minister, she has to choose someone who has the support of the majority of MPs in the House of Commons. In reality the Queen has almost no power at all, but the monarch has some very practical roles to play such as: being a figurehead and representing the country. The monarchy is however very popular with the majority of the British people because it gives them a symbol of continuity, and a harmless outlet for the expression of national pride.
‘A CONSTITUTION’
Britain has no ‘a constitution’ at all. Of course, there are rules, regulations, principals and procedures for the running of the country, but there is no single written document which can be appealed to as the highest law of the land and the final arbiter in any matter of dispute. There is no written law in Britain that says anything about who can be the Prime Minister or what the powers of the Prime Minister are, even though he or she is probably the most powerful person in the country. The Parliament has absolute control over its own affairs and in fact, the highest power in the land. All these features, together with the long years of political stability have led to a genuine habit of co-operation among politicians of different parties. When you hear politicians arguing in the House of Commons or in a television studio, you might think that the hate each other. This is rarely the case. Often they are good friends.
RELIGION
Three main strands of belief can be identified.
1. EVANGELICAL or “LOW CHURCH”
This places great emphasis on the contents of the Bible and is the most consciously opposed to Catholicism. It rejects Papal doctrines and is suspicious of the hierarchical structure of the Church. It prefers plain services with a minimum ceremony.
2. ANGLO- CATHOLIC or “HIGH CHURCH”
It is virtually identical to Catholicism- except that it does not accept the Pope as the ultimate authority. High church services are more colourful and include organ music and elaborate priestly clothing.
3. THE LIBERAL WING
It questions some of the traditional Christian beliefs. it is more inclined to view the Bible as merely a historical document and is more tolerant towards homosexuality and was the first to support moves to ordain women priests.
4. CATHOLICISM
After the establishment of Protestantism in Britain, Catholicism was for a time an illegal religion and then barely tolerated. Not until 1850 was a British Catholic hierarchy reestablished. Although Catholics can now be found in all ranks of society and in all occupations, the comparatively recent integration of Catholicism means that they are still under-represented at the top levels. For example, although Catholics comprise more than 10% of the population, they comprise only around 5% of MPs.
FOOD AND DRINKS
Britain and good food are two things which are not commonly associated. Visitors to Britain have widely varying opinions about all sorts of aspects of the country, most of them seem to agree that the food is terrible! The most common complaint is not so that British food has a strange, unpleasant taste, but rather that is has very little taste at all. The vegetables , for example, are overcooked, it is all too bland. Britain has neither a widespread “restaurant culture” nor a “café society”. In the middle of the day, people just want to eat up quickly and are not interested much in quality. By now, however, the British are extremely open to the cuisine of other countries. The country’s supermarket shelves are full of the spices and sauces needed for cooking dishes from all over the world. In addition, there is increasing interest in the pure enjoyment of eating and drinking.
SPORT AND COMPETITION
Sport probably plays a more important part in people’s lives in Britain than it does in most other countries. Millions take part in some kind of sport at least once a week. Many millions are regular spectators and follow one or more sports. There are hours of televised sport each week. Every newspaper, national or local, quality or popular, devotes several pages entirely to sport. The importance of participation in sport has legal recognition in Britain. Every local authority has a duty to provide and maintain playing fields and other facilities, which are usually very cheap to use and sometimes even free.
CRICKET
Cricket is much more than just a sport. It symbolizes a way of life – a slow and peaceful rural way of life. Cricket is associated with long sunny summer afternoons, the smell of new-mown grass and the sound of leather (the ball) connecting with the willow (the wood from which cricket bats are made). Cricket is special because it combines competition with the British dream of rural life.
FOOTBALL
Everywhere in the country except south Wales, it is easily the most popular spectator sport, the most-played sport in the country’s state schools and one of the most popular participatory sports for adults. In terms of numbers, football, not cricket, is the national sport, just as it is everywhere in Europe.
RUGBY
Similar to American football in the ball it uses (egg-shaped) and its aim (to carry the ball over the opposing team’s line). But very different in details – most notably, you cannot interfere with a player who does not have the ball. Also different in that, like all British sports, there are no ‘time-outs’ and the players do not wear body armour.
Based upon “Britain” by James O-Driscoll, Oxford University Press
Music: Celtic Experience
Vocabulary:
unification - zjednoczenie
a gradual process - stopniowy proces
state – państwo, stan
to distinct from – odróżniać się od
racially – pod względem rasowym
to be of Germanic origin – mieć germańskie korzenie
to be reflected in – znajdować odzwierciedlenie w
to become blurred – zamazać się
regardless of – bez względu na
identity - tożsamość
a notable lack of extremes – wyraźny brak skrajności
to rattle – brzęczeć, stukać
to encounter - napotkać
to perpetuate – utrzymywać się, utrwalać się
changeability - zmienność
the headquarters of – główna siedziba
to be governed by – być rządzonym przez
to dismiss sb – zwolnić kogoś
to run the government – kierować rządem
to have the support of the majority – mieć poparcie większości
a figurehead – głowa państwa
a genuine habit of co-operation – rzeczywisty zwyczaj współpracy
the main strands of belief – głowne wierzenia
consciously – świadomnie, umyślnie
to reject Papal doctrines – odrzucać doktryny Papieskie
plain services – proste msze
the ultimate authority – ostateczny autorytet
elaborate priestly clothing– wyszukane ubrania do księży
comprise – stanowić
commonly associated with- powszechnie kojarzony z
varying opinions about – różne opinie na temat
bland – mdły, nijaki
cuisine – kuchnia (rodzaj przyrządzania)
take part in – brać udział w
participation in - uczestnictwo
to maintain facilities – utrzymywać, konserwować obiekty
peaceful rural way of life – spokojne wiejskie życie
new-mown grass – świeżo skoszona trawa
participatory sports – sporty z udziałem widowni
most notably – w szczególności
interfere with – przeszkadzać w, mieszać się w
wear body armour – nosić pancerz ochronny na ciało
Martin
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