U4- What's in a name?

WHAT’SIN A NAME?

名为何物？

The United Kingdom, Great Britain, Britain,England—many people are confused by what these different names mean. So what isthe difference between them, if any? Getting to know a little bit about Britishhistory will help you solve this puzzle.

联合王国、大不列颠、英国、英格兰——很多人对这些不同名称的含义感到困惑。如果这些名称有区别的话，那么它们的区别何在？稍微了解一下英国历史，就可以帮助你解开这个谜题。

In the 16th century, the nearby country ofWales was joined to the Kingdom of England. Later, in the 18th century, thecountry Scotland was joined to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. In the 19thcentury, the Kingdom of Ireland was added to create the United Kingdom of GreatBritain and Ireland. Finally, in the 20th century, the southern part of Irelandbroke away from the UK, which resulted in the full name we have today: theUnited Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Most people just use theshortened name: “the United Kingdom” or “the UK”. People from the UK are called“British”, which means the UK is also often referred to as Britain or GreatBritain.

十六世纪时，邻国威尔士并入英格兰王国。随后，在十八世纪，苏格兰加入了进来，从而诞生了大不列颠王国。十九世纪时，爱尔兰王国加入，一起组成了大不列颠及爱尔兰联合王国。最后，在二十世纪时，爱尔兰南部脱离了联合王国，形成了我们如今所看到的全称：大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国。大多数人只是使用简称：“联合王国”。联合王国的人被称为“英国人”，这意味着联合王国也经常被称为英国或大不列颠。

The four countries that belong to theUnited Kingdom work together in some areas. They use the same flag, known asthe Union Jack, as well as share the same currency and military defence.However, they also have some differences. For example, England, Wales,Scotland, and Northern Ireland all have different education systems and legalsystems. They also have their own traditions, like their own national days andnational dishes. And they even have their own football teams for competitionslike the World Cup!

同属于联合王国的这四个国家在某些领域紧密合作。像拥有相同的货币和国防一样，他们也使用同一面国旗（称为“英国国旗”）。然而，它们之间仍有诸多区别。例如，英格兰、威尔士、苏格兰和北爱尔兰在教育和法律制度上都存在着差异。它们也有各自的传统，比如有自己的国庆节和本国菜肴。它们甚至拥有各自的足球队，参加像“世界杯”之类的赛事！

The United Kingdom has a long andinteresting history to explore, which can help you understand much more aboutthe country and its traditions. Almost everywhere you go in the UK, you will besurrounded by evidence of four different groups of people who took over atdifferent times throughout history. The first group, the Romans, came in thefirst century. Some of their great achievements included building towns androads. Next, the Anglo-Saxons arrived in the fifth century. They introduced thebeginnings of the English language, and changed the way people built houses.The Vikings came in the eighth century, left behind lots of new vocabulary, andalso the names of many locations across the UK. The last group were theNormans. They conquered England after the well-known Battle of Hastings in the11th century. They had castles built all around England, and made changes tothe legal system. The Normans were French, so many French words slowly enteredinto the English language.

英国历史源远流长、别有趣味，等待你去探索，帮助你进一步了解这个国家及其传统。英国历史上有四个不同民族在不同历史时期执掌这个国家。第一批是罗马人，于公元一世纪进入英国。罗马人的伟大成就在于他们建立城镇和修建道路。之后是盎格鲁—撒克逊人，于公元五世纪到达英国。他们引入了英语的雏形，并改变了人们建造房屋的方式。维京人于公元八世纪到来，留下了许多新的词汇，并给英国境地内的许多地方命名。最后一批是诺曼人。十一世纪著名的黑斯廷斯战役之后，诺曼人征服了英格兰。他们在四处修建城堡，并改革了法律制度。诺曼人是法国人，因此英语中慢慢加入了许多法语单词。

There is so much more to learn about theinteresting history and culture of the United Kingdom. Studying the history ofthe country will make your visit much more enjoyable. The capital city Londonis a great place to start, as it is an ancient port city that has a historydating all the way back to Roman times. There are countless historic sites toexplore, and lots of museums with ancient relics from all over the UK. The UKis a fascinating mix of history and modern culture, with both new and oldtraditions. If you keep your eyes open, you will be surprised to find that youcan see both its past and its present.

英国的历史文化引人入胜，可学之处比比皆是。研究这个国家的历史将让你的英国之旅更加愉快。以首都伦敦为第一站是一个不错的选择，因为伦敦是一个古老的港口城市，其历史可以追溯到罗马时代。这里有数不胜数的历史遗迹可供游览，还有许多博物馆陈列着来自英国各地的文物。在英国，历史与现代文化交融，新旧传统并存。如果留心去观察，英国的过去和现在都将展示在你的面前，令你叹为观止。