英语国家概况考试复习

1 .Discuss the difference between the terms British Isles* United kingdom* Great Britain1 and England The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include Great Britain, Ireland and over six-thousand smaller islands The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland which commonly known as the United Kingdom or UK is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands. Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK with a land border, sharing it with the Republic of Ireland. Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom.lt shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental Europe. UK economy Recent History of British Economy Economic decline After World War II, the British economy experienced a period of great difficulty and relative economic decline. Causes Policies “mixed economy an economy in which there is some public ownership as well as privately owned business During the 20th century the government has become involved in the economy through introduction of social welfare policies and laws to regulate industrial relations. Policies 1945-1979 In 1945 the Labor party carried out drastic res nationalize key industries such as coal, steel and transport laid the foundation for postwar British social and economic development Result Britain s economic growth fell behind that of western European countries The British economy went through a particularly bad period in the 1970s. The oil price rises at that time led to very high rates of inflation up to 25. This caused many workers to strike for more pay. The fall in the value of the UK currency The Pound even forced the Labor socialist government to borrow from the International Monetary Fund. Policies 1979-1997 1.1979-1997 Conservative Party 2.Margaret Thatcher Radical economic re sell back those industries to the private sector beat inflation primary objective Promote competitive spirit in economy Social welfare reduced Result Britain s economic growth still lagged behind Policies 1997-2007 In 1997 the Labor party Tony Blair the “Third Way” differ from the old the Labor partys nationalization re and the conservative party s extreme individualism made the Bank of England independent emphasized on the minimum wage and supplementing low incomes emphasized individual responsibility National economies can be broken down into three main areas primary industries, such as agriculture, fishing,