英语国家概况-名词解释汇总C
★★★ ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES -- A SURVEY: EXPLANATIONS. ★★★
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*** Canada ****
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●the Seven Year's War
The English and French became rivals in the gradual conquest to those parts of North America not claimed by
the Spanish. The Seven Year's War was fought between the two countries from 1756 to 1763. The French was
defeated and forced to give up every inch of land in North America and the whole of Canada came under the
British rule.
●the Quebec Act of 1774
By the adoption of this act, the British Parliament granted the people of Quebec rights as French Canadians.
The Act introduced English criminal law but kept French civil law and recognized the right of Catholic Church.
●the Canadian Shield
The Canadian Shield , which once was thought to be a wasteland, has proved to be a source of treasure. Major
deposits of Canada, aside from coal, oil and natural gas, are found in this area.
●DREE
DREE refers to the Department of Regional Economic Expansion of the Federal Government.
●the Official Opposition
The party which has the second highest number of members elected to the House of Commons. This opposition
party has an important place in the national politics.
●the parliament of Canada
The parliament is the legislature branch of the Canadian government which consists of Crown, the Senate and
the House of Commons. All laws must be passed by both Houses of Parliament and signed by the Governor-General
in the Queen's name.
●One-Party rule in a two-party System
The Canadian Federal Government has always been formed by one or the other of the two main federal parties:
the Liberal party and the Progressive Conserative party. But Canada's system of political parties is also
characterized by one-party rule, that is, one main party may dominate the Canadian politics for so long that
is becomes the main ruling party.
●Quiet Revolution
For decades a "Quiet Revolution" has been going on in Quebec. It has been trying to seek either a special
status within Canada or outright independence. Sometimes the demand was so strong that a referendum had to
be held to decide its future status.
●Bilingualism
According to the Official Language Act passed in 1969, English and French are the two official languages in
Canada. They have equal status and rights in all institutions of parliament and the Federal Government.
●Multiculturalism
From assimilation to multiculturalism: Canada has a variety of minority groups who keep distinctive cultural
characteristics. For a long time the Canadian Government pursued a policy of assimilation, that is, to
assimilate different minority groups into the mainstream Canadian Culture. But immigrants from different
countries still keep their own cultures, religions, languages, and ways of life. So in 1971, the Canadian
Government adopte
d a policy of multiculturalism. According to it, immigrants may be instructed in at least
one official language to help them become full participants in Canadian soicety and, at the same time, they
are encouraged to maintain their particular cultural heritage.
●three successive levels of education
Canadian education is divided into three-levels: elementary, secondary(high school), and post-secondary
(university).
●Eskimo
Eskimo in an Ianian word meaning " eaters of raw lfesh".
●JMC
Les Jeunesses Musicales du Canada (JMC) was founded in 1949 to spread musical culture and promote the musical
development of young Canadians.
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*** Australia ****
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●Multiculturalism
It is Australian government's policy that encourages people with different ethnic backgrounds to keep their
own cultures.
●School of the air
It means that children in the Outback learn their lessons through a radio educational system.
●Flying Doctors
The name is given to the doctors who go to see the patients in the Outback by plane when they are called by
the people with radio.
●urban sprawl
The term "urban sprawl" is used to describe a city that has grown over a large area of land. Urban sprawl
occurs because most Amstralians prefer to live as small family units in their own homes on their own blocks
of land, rather than share buildings or land in the form of flats, home units, town-houses or villas.
●The land Down Under
Australia is in the southern hemisphere. To the Europeans it is at the other end of the world. That is why
Australia is popularly known in the West as "the land Down Under".
●Aborigines
The term is here used to describe the original people of Australia.
●Jame Cook
He was an English navigator and explorer, who sighted and claimed the possession of the eastern part of the
Australia continent for Britain in 1770. So he has often been called the discoverer of Australia.
●Eureka Stockade
It was an armed comflict between diggers and government at Ballarat, Victoria on December 3, 1854. The Eureka
Stockade resulted in some political reforms on the gold fields, though it was failed.
●the Macassans
From at least 1650 onwards, fishermen from the island of Indonesia made annual vists to the north coast of
Australia. Most of them were Macassans from the southern part of the island of Sulawesi. They were fine
seafarers.
●White Australia Policy
It was a restrictive immigration policy existing in Australia for many years. A dictation test was used to
deny to non-white immigrants. The policy was officially abandoned in 1973.
●Anzacs
The term came from the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps, which fought in the First World War.
●Gallipoli Campaign
It was unsuccessful Allied attempt to force Turkey out of war and open a safe sea route to Russia during
the First World War. The first landing made
by the Anzacs on 25 April, 1915 is celebrated as Anzac Day.
●Anzac Day
It commemorates the Anzac landing on the Gallipoli penisula on 25 April, 1915 during the First World War.
It has been extended to honour all who have died in mililary conflicts in which Australia has been involved.
●BHP
Australia industries are in ownership terms highly concentrated. The entire steel industry is in the hands
of one company, the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited (BHP).
●referendum
A referendum is a vote in which all the people in a country or an area are asked to give their opinion about
or decide an important political question.
●a double dissolution
The dissolution of both Houses of Parliament by the Governor-General at the request of the Prime Minister.
This occurs when a bill has been passed by the House of Representatives, and rejected by the Senate, and,
after three months have elapsed, again passed by the Representatives, but rejected by the the Senate. A
general election may then be called in an attempt to solve the deadlock.
●ACTU
The Australian Council of Trade Unions, the peak national body of trade unions. All unions with more than
10000 members, and many smaller ones, belong to the ACTU. It has played, and continues to play a significant
role in Australian industrial and political affairs.
●federalism
The belief in the system of government in which a group of states are united with one government which
decides foreign affairs, defence, etc, while each state can have its own government to decide its own affairs.
●the land rights movement
A movement to gain recognition of Aboriginal land rights which was launched by the Aboriginal Australians at
the beginning fo the 1970s.
●the Makaratta Treaty
During the 1983 election campaign Bob Hawke promised to sign a treaty recognizing that the Aboriginal people
were the original owners of the Australian continent. The treaty has become known as the Makaratta Treaty.
Makaratta is an Aboriginal word meaning "the end of a dispute and the start of normal relations." But nothing
happened during Hawke's terms in office.
●Mabo Judgement
A decision passed by the High Court of Australia in June 1992 which rejected the concept of "terra nullius"
and recognized that the people of Murray Island in Torres Strait held and continued to hold Native Title to
their land.
●terra nullius
A Latin term meaning land belonging to no-orie, or unoccupied land. At the time of white discovery and settle-
ment of New South Wales, the British considered that the area was "terra nullius", then the first Europeans to
discover it, and to occupy it, were entitled to it.
●multiculturalism
A policy that recognizes and accepts the existence of ethnic and cultural diversity in Australian society and
adopts special approaches and services to those migrant groups.
●"suburban dream"
That is, what people wanted was to have a house and car in the suburbs
where the wife stayed at home and cared
for the children and the husband went out to work to earn enough money to support his family.
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*** New Zealand ****
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●The Treaty of Waitangi
The Treaty was an agreement between chiefs of the Maori people and the British Crown on behalf of the whalers,
sealers, traders and missonaries who had been settling in New Zealand since the early 1800s. There are three
articles. First, Britain gained the right to make laws for the country; Second, Maoris were granted "tino
rangatiratanga" (full exclusive undisturbed possession). Lastly, Maoris were accepted as British subjects.
It was an endeavour to keep France from interference.
●Maoritanga
Maoritanga is Maoriculture, the Maori way of life and view of the world. Maoritanga is a growing and changing
part of life in New Zealand. Maoris have adopted many aspects of western culture as their own, and more and
more New Zealanders now share in the rich heritaga of Maori culture.
●The marae
The marae, the meeting house and the land around it -- is the focus of Maori community life. The land and
buildings are used for major social, political and ceremonial occasions, including weddings and funerals.
The meeting house brings together many aspects of Maori design and craft. Then open ground in front of the
meeting house is symbolic of the tribal land. Nowadays, most Maoris afterwards live away from their marae.
●the red pohutukawa
The red pohutukawa is called New Zealand Christmas tree because it flowers in December.
●the kiwi
The kiwi, a nocturnal bird that cannot fly, is a national symbol and New Zealanders refer to themselves as
Kiwis.
●the "jet boat"
The "jet boat" was developed in Christchurch and is used for work and pleasure throughout the world.
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