History of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom was part of the mainland of Europe until about 6000 B.C. But the movement of peoples across the English Channel to the islands continued long after that time. In 43 A.D. England was part of the Roman Empire. The Roman withdrew in 410 A.D. At this time the Angles and the Saxons arrived from Germanic lands.
The people of England spoke Anglo-Saxon from this time until the eleventh century. But languages never stay exactly the same. In 1066 A.D. the Normans conquered England. They spoke French. So the Norman French greatly influenced the Anglo-Saxon language. French became popular in the upper class. But the masses still spoke Anglo-Saxon. Even today common things in daily life have names from Anglo-Saxon words. Many elegant words, however, have a French origin. For example the live animal is a cow, sheep, or pig. But the meat for a meal is beef, mutton, or pork. These words are from Norman French. Modern English grew out of these combinations.
In 1485 A.D. the king and queen became a strong and united government structure. During this time the English society grew. These were long periods of peace. The economy developed quickly. On the other hand, the rest of Europe was not peaceful. Its economy developed slowly.
In 1492, Christopher Columbus found the New World North America. The United Kingdom became the centre of trade between the East and the West. By the end of the sixteenth century, under Queen Elizabeth the First, English became a major naval power. Then came a major change in governmental structure in the middle of the seventeenth century. A class struggle in late 1640s between the bourgeoisie and feudalism led to a Civil War. By 1649, under Oliver Cromwell, the bourgeoisie defeated King Charles the First. The first parliamentary system began. The Commonwealth was established.
England continued developing. By the end of the eighteenth century, scientists developed many new inventions. With the aid of new machines, clothes and other goods were manufactured on a large and inexpensive scale. This was the “ Industrial Revolution”.
In 1776 A.D. the United States of America became an independent country. This hurt the English economy. But Canada, Australia, and India were still colonies. From them English made profits. By 1815, with the defeat of Napolean, Britain became the main world power. However, many English people died during World War I. The country also suffered great damage in World War II from the German bombers. This war destroyed large sections of the capital city, London.
After the two World Wars, Britain lost its position of leadership. But it remains one of the modernized countries in the world.
请教高手翻译~如果谁有空帮忙翻译一下:http://zhidao.baidu.com/question/16483362.html 这篇文章~也是100分!谢谢!