　　本书以英国这一英语国家的历史和文化为背景，对该国的人文地理、旅游、经济、文化、教育及日常生活做了详细介绍，通过这本书你将对英国有全新的认识。针对ESL学习者的特点和英语水平, 本书以全英文方式出版, 是国内英语学习者很好的阅读素材，每一章节后都有对本章节重难点单词的注释与习题，在阅读的同时提升阅读水平。对准备出国留学的学生备考英语水平考试也大有帮助。

　　This series of books allows readers to strengthen their vocabulary while learning important information about the history and culture of different English speaking countries. In This Is Great Britain, you will learn all about the people and history of the United Kingdom. This book will help you get to know the real Britain and it contains many travel tips for visitors. Following the flights of birds across Great Britain, the book keeps the reader entertained while sharing information about the literature, geography and history of the country.

　　This is the perfect book for students who are interested in completing a work or study term in Great Britain. It is also ideal for travellers who are considering Great Britain as a destination. The book comes complete with practice questions to test your new knowledge and vocabulary lists for review, so you can sharpen your English language skills while reading. Enjoy this book and the others in this essential series!

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精彩书摘

Sherlock Holmes Investigates…

　　The History of the United Kingdom

　　Thought you’d learned enough history from the Bird’s Eye Tour? Think again! This is the United Kingdom; you can never have too much history…

　　To help us see back into the past, the famous (but fictional…) detective Sherlock Holmes will be bringing his special magnifying glass. Sherlock Holmes is known for his use of evidence at a crime scene, and this quality may help us make some sense of Great Britain’s long and complex past.

　　So, what can you remember from the Bird’s Eye Tour? Write down some places, names or events that we have already looked at. You might be surprised at how much you know already.

　　Stone Age Britain

　　The first people came to Great Britain around 700,000 B.C. They came from Europe by land—at this time the UK was joined by land to Europe. Our magnifying glass shows that the first people left behind burial chambers and tools made of stone and that mammoths and giant beavers lived in Britain. The Stone Age is also called the Neolithic period and you will already have read about the many Neolithic monuments around the country. Can you remember the name of any of them?

　　Remains of mammoths have also been found in Great Britain and many museums have tusks and bones on display. They are huge!

　　Britain became an island around 6000 B.C. as the ice age ended and the sea level rose. The end of the ice created a warmer climate with the growth of forests. Humans could now grow crops and keep animals for food. Around 3000 B.C., the first stone circles were built. I bet you know the most famous one of those!

　　What do you think the stone circles were for? Our magnifying glass tells us that there are lots of secrets still buried under the earth in Great Britain.

　　Bronze Age Britain

　　The Bronze Age began around 2100 B.C. and was called the Bronze Age because… well, what do you think is the answer?

　　Here’s a clue straight from Sherlock Holmes himself. If the Stone Age is called the Stone Age because people used stone tools, then why is the Bronze Age called the Bronze Age? Because man had discovered how to make tools from the metal BRONZE!

　　Trade routes began to form and groups of people lived together in small villages but Great Britain was still a backwater on the world stage, for example in Egypt the Pharaohs (Kings) were building pyramids and burying their fabulous treasures and the Zhou Dynasty in China produced decorated bronze objects.

　　Iron Age Britain

　　The Iron Age in Britain began around 750 B.C. The population was around 150,000—the present day population of Oxford. Around 500 B.C., the Celtic people arrived. They were farmers who lived in tribes and most of what we know about them comes from their art and what the Romans—who invaded Celtic Britain—wrote about them.

　　The Celts had no central government and were warriors, living for the glory of battle. One of the most famous Celts in British history is Queen Boudica. She led her tribe, the Iceni, in battle against the Romans. The fact that a woman could also be a warrior tells us something else about Celtic Britain—that women were equal to men; they could own property and land, lead tribes and choose their own husbands. No wonder she is a heroine to many British women!