英语国家概况名词解释英国篇[1]

英国部分

Chapter1

Official name官方名称：The official name of the United Kingdom is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

British Empire大英帝国：About a hundred years ago, as a result of its imperialist expansion, Britain ruled an empire that had one fourth of the world’s people and one fourth of the world’s land area. However, the two world wars greatly weakened Britain. The British colonies became independent one after another. The British Empire gradually disappeared and it was replaced by the British Commonwealth in 1931.

Commonwealth of Nations/the British Commonwealth英联邦：It’s a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. It was established in 1931, replacing the former British Empire. Member nations are joined together economically and have certain trading arrangements. The Commonwealth has no special power. The decision to became a member of the Commonwealth is left to each nation .At present there are 50 member countries within the Commonwealth.

Chapter2

Heptarchy七王国：During the Anglo—Saxon’s time, Britain was divided into many kingdoms. These seven principal kingdoms of Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumbria. They were given the name of Heptarchy.

Alfred the Great亚尔弗雷得大帝：Alfred was the King of Wessex, who was strong enough to defeat the invading Danes and reached a friendly agreement with them. He founded a strong fleet and is known as “the father of the British navy” .He reorganized the Saxon army, making it more efficient. He established schools and formulated a legal system. He translated books from Latin into English.

William the Conqueror征服者威廉：He was also known as William, Duke of Normandy. In 1066, he invaded England, defeated and killed Harold near Hastings in Sussex and conquered England. He confiscated almost all the land and gave it to his Norman followers. He replaced the weak Saxon rule with a strong Norman government. So the feudal system was completely established in England.

Chapter3

Domesday Book末日审判书：It’s a book compiled by a group of clerks under

the sponsorship of King William the First in 1086.The book was in fact a property record. It was the result of a general survey of England. It recorded the extent, value, state of cultivation, and ownership of the land. It was one of the important measures adopted by William I to establish the full feudal system in England. Today, it’s kept in the Public Records Office in London. The Great Charter[Magna Carta]大宪章：The Great Charter has been also known as Magan Carta which King John was forced to sign in 1215.The Great Charter has been regarded as the foundation of English liberties, a guarantee of the freedom of the Church and the spirit of it was the limitation of the powers of the King.

Joan of Arc圣女贞德：Joan of Arc was a national heroine in French history. She led and encouraged the French in driving the English out of France in the Hundred Year’s War.

Chapter4

The Wars of the Roses玫瑰战争：The name Wars of the Roses was refer to the battles between the House of Lancaster, symbolized by the white, from 1455 to 1485.Henry Tudor, descendant of Duke of Lancaster won victory at Bosworth Field in 1485 and put the country under the rule of the Tudors, From these wars, English feudalism received its death blow. The great medieval nobility was much weakened.

Bloody Mary血腥玛丽：It’s the nickname given to Mary I, the English Queen who succeeded to the throne after Henry Ⅷ.She was a devout Catholic and had so many Protestants burnt to death that shi is remembered less by her official title Mary I by her nickname Bloody Mary.

The English Renaissance英国文艺复兴：(1)Renaissance was a cultural movement in Europe from the 14th century to the 16th century.(2)It originated in Italy and began to come to England in the late 15th century.(3)The English Renaissance was largely literary, and achieved its finest expression in poetry, drama and prose.(4)The greatest literary writer of the English Renaissance was

Chapter5

The Reform Act of 1832改革法案：(1)It’s also known as the Greater Charter of 1832, it was passed by Parliament in 1832.(2)According to the Act, “rotten boroughs” were abolished, and parliament seats were redistributed more fairly among the growing industrial towns.(3)It also gave the vote to many householder and tenants who were required to have certain property.

Charles Darwin查尔斯-达文：(1)A famous British scientist in the 19th century.(2)He has been especially remembered for his important book “the Origins of Species” in which he developed his theory of evolution.(3)The theory of evolution caused evident reaction of the Victorians and contributed to the decay of Victorianism.

The Victorian Age维多利亚时期：(1)It refers to monarchy of Britain under Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901, the longest reign in British history.(2)The Victorian Age was an age of national development and national optimism.(3)The Victorians were very religious and conservative in family life. It was also, in its later stages, an age of imperialism.

The State of Westminster威斯敏斯特条例：(1)In 1931, the British Parliament passed a bill which later has been known as the Statute of Westminster, according to which, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Southern Ireland, New Foundland and South Africa turned into “Dominions”.(2)These s elf-government both internally and externally, although they still regarded the British monarch as their head of state .(3)This marked the disruption of the British Empire and the establishment of the British Commonwealth.

The Europe Economic Community欧共体：(1)Also known as the Common Market, it was established by the Treaty of Rome on January 1,1958.(2)Originally it was composed of six Western Europe countries—France, West Germany, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium and Luxemburg.(3)Britain didn’t become a full member of the Community until 1973. Today, there are altogether 12 member in the Community.

Chapter7

The Constitutional monarchy君主立宪制：It’s a political system that has been practiced in Britain since the Glorious Revolution of 1688.According to this system; the Constitution is superior to the Monarch. In law, the Monarch has many supreme powers, but in practice, the real power of monarchy has been greatly reduced and today the Queen acts solely on the advice of her ministers. She reigns but doesn’t rule. The real power lies in the Parliament, or to be exact in the House of Commons.

The British Constitution英国宪法：It’s not written in any single document. It’s made up of Statute Law, common law and Conventions. It’s more flexible than the written constitution of other countries.

British Parliament英国议会：It includes three elements: the Sovereign, the

House of Lords and the House of Commons. It’s the Supreme law-making authority in Britain. The real center of parliamentary power lies in the House of Commons. Its other functions include: to control and criticize the executive government; to control the raising and the spending of money.

Chapter9

The Church of England英格兰国教：(1)Also called the Anglican Church, it’s one of the many Protestant sects which broke away from Roman Catholic church during the Reformation tin the 16th century.(2)It’s an established church which means that it represents the official state religion.(3)Its religious leader is the Archbishop of Canterbury and its secular leader is the British Monarch.

Free Churches自由教会：(1)Also known as Non-Conformist Churches in England, Free churches are protestant sect that have separated from the established church of England.(2)These include the Methodist, the Congregational, the Baptist, an the Quakers, and many others.(3)All these sects agree on the essentials of Christianity, but have different forms of service and points of emphasis.

The Quakers贵格派：(1)Also known as the Religious Society of Friends. The Quakers are a Protestant group that originated in England in the 17th century, under George Fox.(2)They refuse to participate in the church of England services.(3)They advocate simple living and hard work and believe in complete equality and fraternity.

Chapter10

The eleven-plus十一岁附加考试：（1）Under the old selective system of secondary education in Britain, the “eleven-plus” is the examination taken by children in their last year at primary school.(2)The results of this examination determine the kind of secondary schooling each child will receive.(3)Those with the highest marks go to grammar school ;other children may go to technical schools or secondary modern schools.(4)In the 1960s and 70s, this examination was abolished and has ever since gradually been replaced by comprehensive schools which take children of all abilities.

Grammar schools语法学校：(1)It’s a type of state secondary schools in Britain. It has been in existence since the 16th century.(2)These schools concentrate on academic subjects and expect many of their children to take higher examinations and go on to universities.(3)Now, its importance in the British educational system has been largely diminished due to the growth of

comprehensive schools.

Public school公学：(1)It’s a kind of independent privately-owned secondary boarding schools in Britain.(2)These schools are financially supported by tuition fees and private funds.(3)Most of their students come from rich families and are very likely to go on to famous universities.(4)The word “public” is a traditional one with little meaning today since far from being public these schools are restricted to a comparatively small section of the population. Prep schools准备学校：(1)Also called preparatory schools. They are private elementary schools in Britain, which prepare their students for public schools.(2)The prep school curriculum differs considerably from that of the state junior schools, and there is a distinctive emphasis on classical subjects.(3)At the age of thirteen, the pupils will take the “common entrance” examination for admission to a public school.

Open University开放大学：(1)As a new type of higher education, Open University only appeared in Britain in 1969.(2)It’s open to everybody, especially to people who have missed the opportunity for higher education.(3)It doesn’t demand the same formal qualification as the other universities.(4)It uses modern communications means such as television, radio or correspondence.(5)It’s non-residential although there is a network of study centers throughout the country for contact with tutors and fellow students.(6)After passing the examinations of all required course, students are awarded a university degree.

Comprehensive schools综合中学：Comprehensive schools take pupils without reference to ability or aptitude and provide a wide-ranging secondary education for all or most of the children in a district.

The Times泰晤士报：(1)It’s the most famous of all British national newspapers and is read by the most important British all over the world.(2)Politically it is independent, though it is traditionally inclined to be more sympathetic to the Conservative Party.(3)It’s not an organ of the British government and has a reputation for extreme caution is its attitude.

BBC英国广播公司：(1)It’s the abbreviation of British Broadcasting Corporation.(2)It has both radio and television services.(3)For radio broadcasting, it uses 39 languages and broadcasts to the whole world.(4)There is no advertisement on any BBC program.(5)It’s financed by payments which must be made by all people who own television sets.(6)It has a Board of Governors, who are appointed by the Government.

英国文学名词解释

Allegory is a tale in verse or prose in which characters, actions, or settings represent abstract ideas or moral qualities. Thus, an allegory is a story with two meaning, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning. Bildungsroman: a novel that traces the initiation, development, and education of a young person. Examples are Dickens’s David Copperfield and James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. Byronic hero is a character-type found in Byron’s narrative Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. He is a boldly defiant but bitterly self-tormenting outcast, proudly contemptuous of social norms but suffering for some unnamed sin. Emily Bronte’s Heath cliff is a later example. Conceit: a kind of metaphor that makes a comparison between two startlingly different things. A conceit usually provides the framework for an entire poem. An especially unusual and intellectual kind of conceit is the metaphysical conceit, used by certain 17th-century poets, such as John Donne.. Comedy of manners is a kind of comedy representing the complex and sophisticated code of behavior current in fashionable circles of society, where appearances count for more than true moral character. Its humor relies chiefly on elegant verbal wit and repartee. In England, the comedy of manners flourished as the dominant form of Restoration comedy in the works of Etheredge, Wycherley and Congreve. It was revived in a more subdued form in the 1770s by Goldsmith and Sheridan, and later by Oscar Wilde. An epic is a long narrative poem in elevated or dignified language, typically one derived from ancient oral tradition, narrating and celebrating the deeds and adventures of heroic or legendary figures or the past history of a nation. Epiphany(顿悟）: a sudden revelation of truth about life inspired by a seemingly trivial incident Heroic couplet is the rhymed couplet of iambic pentameter. Intrusive narrator: an omniscient narrator who, in addition to reporting the events of a novel’s story, offers further comments on characters and events, and who sometimes reflects more generally upon the significance of the story. Iambic pentameter: a poetic line consisting of five verse feet, with each foot an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable. Iambic pentameter is the most common verse line in English poetry. Metaphysical poetry: the poetry of John Donne and other 17th-century poets who wrote in a similar style. It is characterized by verbal wit and excess, ingenious structure, irregular meter, colloquial language, elaborate imagery, and a drawing together of dissimilar ideas . Metaphysical Poetry Metaphysical Poetry is commonly used to name the work of the 17th century writers who wrote under the influence of John Donne. With a rebellious spirit, the metaphysical poets try to break away from the conventional fashion of the Elizabethan love poetry. They are characterized by mysticism in content and fantasticality in form. John Donne is the lead ing figure of the “metaphysical school.” Naturalism: a post--Darwinian movement of the late 19th century that tried to apply the laws of scientific determinism to fiction. The naturalists went beyond the realists’ insistence on the objective presentation of the details of everyday life to insist that the materials of literature

英语国家概况_习题集(含答案)

《英语国家概况》课程习题集西南科技大学成人、网络教育学院版权所有 习题 【说明】：本课程《英语国家概况》（编号为12010）共有单选题,名词解释题,简答题,填空题2等多种试题类型，其中，本习题集中有[简答题]等试题类型未进入。 一、单选题 1. Celts were different groups of ancient people who came originally from________ A. France B. Denmark C. Ireland D. Germany 2. Who invaded and conquered Britain for the first time in 55 BC? A. Emperor Claudius B. Julius Caesar C. King Alfred D. King Ethelred 3. Who is the author of Murder in the Cathedral? A. Christopher Marlowe B. T. S. Eliot C. Ben Johnson D. Thomas Becket 4.When Oliver Cromwell died in 1658, and was succeeded by his son, ______, the regime began immediately to collapse. A. Henry B. Hamilton C. Richard D. Charles 5. The 18th century saw selective breeding of cattle, sheep and houses by _________. A. Jethro Tull B. Thomas Coke C. George III D. Robert Bakewell 6. Which of the following is not one of the members of the Lords Temporal? A. all hereditary peers and peeresses of the England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom (but not peers of Ireland) B. lire peers created to assist the House in its judicial duties C. senior bishops of the Church of England D. all other life peers 7. Two years after the ending of the Hundred Years’ War with France, England was thrown into another series of civil wars, ________. A. the War of the Celts

英美概况名词解释

The bill of rights The bill of rights consists of the first 10 amendments which were added to the Constitution in 1791 .the bill of rights was passed to guarantee freedom and individual rights such as freedom of speech , the rights to assemble in public places , the rights to own weapons and so on . The great depression The Great Depression was the worst economic slump ever in U.S. history, and one which spread to virtually all of the industrialized world. The depression began in late 1929 and lasted for about a decade. WASP It stands for the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant. it is the dominant group in the US controlling economic assets and political power The civil rights movement The American civil rights movement (1955-1968)refers to the reform movements in the united states aimed at abolishing racial discrimination against African American and restoring suffrage in southern states The westward movement American Westward Movement, movement of people from the settled regions of the United States to lands farther west. Between the early 17th and late 19th centuries, Anglo-American peoples and their societies expanded from the Atlantic Coast to the Pacific Coast. George Washington George Washington was one of the founding fathers of the America republic , he was the commander-in –chief of the Continental Army in the war of Independence against the British colonial rule and the first president of the the United States Industrial Revolution in American After independence ,America was principally an agricultural country ,the industrial revolution in England brought many to American industry between 1776 and 1860 , one key development was the introduction of the factory system , A second development was the application of new technologies to industrial tasks ,A fourth development was the emergence of new forms of business organization-the bank and the corporation Three faiths in the US By the 1950s ,the three faiths model of American religion had developed , American were considered to come in three basic varieties : protestant , catholic and Jewish ,in terms of numbers ,the protestants and Jewish are the smallest among the groups Boards of education Boards of education refer to groups of people who make policies for schools at the state and district level ,they also make decision about the school curriculum , teachers standards and certification ,and the overall measurement of student progress Consumer economy an economy driven by consumer spending as a percent of its gross domestic product, as opposed to the other major components of GDP

英语国家概况名词解释新

英语国家概况名词解释 1、The Constitution:Britain has no written foundations of the British state are laid out in statute law,which are laws passed by Parliament; the common laws, which are laws established through commom practice in courts;and conventions. 2、The house of Common: It’s the real center of British political life because it is the place where about 650 elected representatives(Members of Parliament) make and debate policy,These MPs are elected in the General Elections and should represent the interests of the people who vote for them. 3、The electoral campaign:Before a general election,the political parties would start their electoral campaigns in order to make their ideologies and policies known to the campaign involves advertisements in newspapers, door-to-door campaigning,postal deliveries of leaflets and ‘party electoral broadcasts” on the parties also try to attack and critisise the opponents’,these campaigns sometimes can be quite aggressive and critical. 4、Class system in British society:The class system does exist in British of British population would claim themselves to be either of middle-class or working-class,though some people would actually belong to the upper middle-class or lower divisions are not simply economic,they are cultural as of different classes may defferent may differ in the kind of newspaper they read,in the way they speak and in the kind of education they of the distinctive features about the British class system is that aristocratic titles can still be inherited. 5、Relative decline of the UK economy:The UK has experienced an economic decline since this is a relative decline rather than an absolute is wealthier and more productive than it was in 1945,but since other countries developed more rapidly,it has slid from being the second largest economy to being the six. 6、Comprehensive schools:are the most popular secondary schools in Britain schools admit children without reference to their academic abilities and provide a general can study everything from academic subjects like literature to more practical subjects like cooking 7、Grammar school s:it’s a type of secondary schools in schools select children at the age 11,through an examination called “the 11-plus”.Those children with the highest marks go to grammar schools lay emphasis on advanced academic subjects rather than the more general curriculum of the comprehensive schools and expect many of their pupils to go on to universities. 8、Independent schools:are commonly called public schools which are actually private schools that receive their funding through the private sector and tuition rates,with some government schools are not part of national education system,but the quality of instruction and standards are maintained through visits from Her Majesty’s Inspectors of schools are restricted to the students whose parents are comparatively rich. 9、the first English settle in North America:The first English permanent settlement was organized in 1607 by the London Company with a charter from the English colonists settled in Virginia and survived by imposing strict discipline on themselves and by transplanting tobacco into the colony of 1619,the settlers elected their delegates and set up the House of Burgesses,and the same time they bought and enslaved

英国文学名词解释及课后答案

名词解释 Renaissance:The Renaissance indicates a revival of classical (Greek and Roman) arts and sciences in Europe beginning in the 14th century and extending to the 17th century, marking the transition from the medieval to the modern world. Sonnet: A fourteen-line lyric poem, usually written in rhymed iambic pentameter and most often in one of the two rhyme schemes: the Italian(or Petrarchan) or Shakes pearean ( or English ). A sonnet is a 14-line poem with a specific rhyme scheme and meter .It has two main forms :the shakespearean sonnet and the Italian sonnet. Shakespeare Sonnet: a lyric with three quatrains and one couplet, rhyming ababcdcdefefgg, consisting of 14 lines, usually in iambic pentameter restricted to a definition rhyme scheme. A Shakespearean sonnet consists of fourteen lines written in iambic pentameter, in which a pattern of an unstressed syllable followed by a stressed syllable is repeated five times. The rhyme scheme in a Shakespearean sonnet is a-b-a-b, c-d-c-d, e-f-e-f, g-g; the last two lines are a rhyming couplet. Enlightenment: the movement was a furtherance of the Renaissance of the 15th and 16th centries, a progressive intellectual movement, reason (rationality), equality & science (the 18th century) The Age of Enlightenment (also called the Age of Reason) refers to the 18th_ century England.The Enlightenment was a progressive intellectual movement.It celebrated reason (rationality), equality, science and human beings’ ability to perfect themselves and their society and it aimed to enlighten the whole world with the light of modern ,philosophical and artistic ideas. Romanticism: it flourished in literature, philosophy, music, and art in Western culture during most if the nineteenth century, beginning as a revolt against classicism. In it, emotion over reason, spontaneous emotion, a change from the outer world of social civilization to the inner world of the human spirit, poetry should be free from all rules, imagination, nature, commonplace. Dramatic monologue: A kind of narrative poem in which one character speaks to one or more listeners whose replies are not given in poem. The occasion is a crucial one in the speaker’s life, and the dramatic monologue reveals the speaker’s personality as

英美概况名词解释

名词解释： 1.Great Britain: shortened as Britain ,it can be a geographical term ,referring to the island on which England ,Wales and Scotland are situated ,together with numerous smaller islands . 2.The Union Flag :also known as the Union Jack ,it is the national flag of the United Kingdom . 3.God Save the King /Queen : the national anthem of the United Kingdom. https://www.wendangku.net/doc/678893395.html,ke Poets: English poets at the turn of the 19th century who lived in the Lake District of England and were inspired by it to create romantic works . 5.Domesday Book(土地财产清册)：The written record of a census and survey of English landowners and their property made by order of William the Conqueror in 1085-1086 . 6.Black Death (黑死病)：also known as the Black Plague ,it was a devastating pandemic(流行 的) that first struck European in the mid-14th century . 7.Gunpowder Plot(火药阴谋)：conspiracy of a group of English Catholics to blow up the House of Parliament where King James I was present on 5 November ,1605.The plan was discovered and Guy Frank was caught and burnt alive .In England ,5 November is celebrated with bonfire ,fireworks and the burning of the effigies.(肖像)。 8.The Petition of Right （权利请愿书）：a document produced by the English Parliament in the run-up to the English Civil War .It was addressed to Charles I of England in 1628. 9.T he Hundred Years' War: The Hundred Years’ War refers to the war between Englan d and Franc e that lasted intermittently from 1337 to 1453. The causes o f the war wer e partly territorial and partly economic. ①The territorial causes were related with the possession by the English kings of the large duchy of Aquitaine in France, as the F rench kings grew stronger, the y increasingly coveted this large slice. ②The economic causes were connected with cloth manufacturing towns in Flanders, which were the importer of English wool, but they were loyal to the French king politically. Besides, England's desire to ③s top France from giving aid to Scots and ④a growing sense of nationalism were the other causes.一。 The English's being driven out of France is ①regarded as a blessing for both countrie s. If the English had remained in France, the superior size and wealth of France would h ave ②hindered the development of a separate English national identity, ③while France was hindered so long as a foreign power occupied so much French territory. 10.Constitutional monarchy (君主立宪制):The United Kingdom ,as the name implies, rem ains a monarchy, but one with limited power 11.Social Security (社会保障):The Social Security system is designed to secure a basic st andard of living for people in financial need “from the cradle to the grave”. 12.The church of England :The Church of England ,also called the Anglican Church(英 国国教),is the established or national church in England . 13.Westminster Abbey :a famous church located in London ,where English monarchs are crowded and distinguished English subjects are buried .The Poets’Corner contains th e graves o f great English writer ,includin g Geoffrey Chaucer and Robert Browning.

英语国家概况

英语国家概况-Land and people I. Different Names for Britain and its Parts 英国的不同名称及其各组成部分 1.Geographical names: the British Isles, Great Britain and England. 地理名称：不列颠群岛，大不列颠和英格兰。 2. Official name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 官方正式名称：大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国。 3. The British Isles are made up of two large islands-Great Britain (the larger one) and Ireland, and hundreds of small ones. 不列颠群岛由两个大岛—大不列颠岛（较大的一个）和爱尔兰岛，及成千上万个小岛组成。 4.Three political divisions on the island：England, Scotland and Wales. 大不列颠岛上有三个政治区：英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士。 (1) England is in the southern part of Great Britain. It is the largest, most populous section. 英格兰位于大不列颠岛南部，是最大，人口最稠密的地区。 (2) Scotland is in the north of Great Britain. It has three natural zones (the Highlands in the north; the Central lowlands; the south Uplands) Capital: Edinburgh 苏格兰位于大不列颠的北部。它有三大自然区：北部高地，中部低地及南部山陵。首府：爱丁堡。 (3) Wales is in the west of Great Britain. Capital: Cardiff 威尔士位于大不列颠的西部。首府：加的夫 (4) Northern Ireland is the fourth region of the UK. Capital: Belfast. 北爱尔兰是英国第四个区域。首府：贝尔法斯特。 5.The Commonwealth (of nations)is a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. It was founded in 1931, and has 50 member countries until 1991. 英联邦是独立的前英国殖民地组成的自由联合体。它成立于1931年，至1990年止已有50个成员国。 II. Geographical Features 英国的地理特征 1.Geographical position of Britain: 英国的地理位置： Britain is an island country surrounded by the sea. It lies in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north coast of Europe. It is separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel in the south and the North Sea in the east. 英国是一个岛国。它位于大西洋北部，与欧洲大陆的北海岸隔海相望。南面的英吉利海峡和东面的北海将它与欧洲其它部分隔开。 2.The north and west of Britain are mainly highlands; and the east and southeast are mostly lowlands. 英国的西部和北部主要是高地，东部和东南部主要是低地。 III. Rivers and Lakes 河流与湖泊 Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Britain (1,343m).

(完整版)英国文学名词解释

①Beowulf: The national heroic epic of the English people. It has over 3,000 lines. It describes the battles between the two monsters and Beowulf, who won the battle finally and dead for the fatal wound. The poem ends with the funeral of the hero. The most striking feature in its poetical form is the use if alliteration. Other features of it are the use of metaphors(暗喻) and of understatements(含蓄). ②Alliteration: In alliterative verse, certain accented(重音) words in a line begin with the same consonant sound(辅音). There are generally 4accents in a line, 3 of which show alliteration, as can be seen from the above quotation. ③Romance:The most prevailing(流行的) kind of literature in feudal England was the Romance. It was a long composition, sometimes in verse(诗篇), sometimes in prose(散文), describing the life and adventures of a noble hero, usually a knight, as riding forth to seek adventures, taking part in tournament(竞赛), or fighting for his lord in battle and the swearing of oaths. ④Epic:An epic is a lengthy narrative poem, ordinarily concerning a serious subject containing details of heroic deeds and events significantly to a culture or nation. The first epics are known as primacy, or original epics. ⑤Ballad: The most important department of English folk literature is the ballad which is a story told in song, usually in 4-line stanzas(诗节), with the second and fourth lines rhymed. The subjects of ballads are various in kind, as the struggle of young lovers against their feudal-minded families, the conflict between love and wealth, the cruelty of jealousy, the criticism of the civil war, and the matters and class struggle. The paramount(卓越的) important ballad is Robin Hood(《绿林好汉》). ⑥Geoffrey Chaucer杰弗里?乔叟: He was an English author, poet, philosopher and diplomat. He is the founder of English poetry. He obtained a good knowledge of Latin, French and Italian. His best remembered narrative is the Canterbury Tales(《坎特伯雷故事集》), which the Prologue(序言) supplies a miniature(缩影) of the English society of Chaucer’s time. That is why Chaucer has been called “the founder of English realism”. Chaucer affirms men and women’s right to pursue their happiness on earth and opposes(反对) the dogma of asceticism(禁欲主义) preached(鼓吹) by the church. As a forerunner of humanism, he praises man’s energy, intellect, quick wit and love of life. Chaucer’s contribution to English poetry lies chiefly in the fact that he introduced from France the rhymed stanza of various types, especially the rhymed couplet of 5 accents in iambic(抑扬格) meter(the “heroic couplet”) to English poetry, instead of the old Anglo-Saxon alliterative verse. ⑦【William Langland威廉?朗兰: Piers the Plowman《农夫皮尔斯》】