Did anyone find the names of “Great Britain”, “the United Kingdom”, “England” and “the British commonwealth” which have the same meaning? Strictly speaking, these names all refer to something different. None of them are exactly the same as any of the others.
The British isles refer to the main islands and several thousand small ones as well, which you can see on the map. Great Britain, or Britain, refers to the larger of the two main islands. But the word “Britain” is often used as a short form for the United Kingdom or you call it the UK.
Now as for England, it refers simply to the largest of the three countries on the island of Great Britain. The United Kingdom is the name of the state and the official name of the country, which many people popularly refer to England.
Finally, the Britain commonwealth is the usual name for what is left of the British Empire (帝国). This change shows the weakening of British Empire and the rising of the national liberation movements throughout the world today.
小题1:According to the passage, we know that _____________.
A．Great Britain has the same meaning as Britain
B．all the names refer to England
C．the United Kingdom has the same meaning as Britain or England
D．all the names in the first paragraph have the same meaning小题2: It is clear that the British isles refer to _____________.
A．Britain, England and the UK
B．the two main islands and thousands of small ones
C．three countries and several islands
D．Great Britain or the United Kingdom小题3:We can infer that .
A．The country hasn’t an exact name.
B．Few people know its real name.
C．All the names have exact meaning.
D．Generally speaking,the names can all be used to stand for the country.小题4:Which of the following shows the right relationship (关系) between the British isles (BI), Britain (B) and England (E)?
A. B>BI>E. B. BI>E>B. C. E>B>BI. D. BI>B>E.
小题5:If you want to write to someone in Edinburgh that lies in Scotland, you should write the address as _____________.
A．Edinburgh, England
B．Edinburgh, Scotland ,Great Britain
C．Scotland, Edinburgh, England
D．Great Britain, Scotland, Edinburgh
