islands自考本科英美报刊

我只知道英文：Introduction United Kingdom Top of Page Background: Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999, but the latter is suspended due to wrangling over the peace process. Geography United Kingdom Top of Page Location: Western Europe, islands including the northern one-sixth of the island of Ireland between the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Sea, northwest of France Geographic coordinates: 54 00 N, 2 00 W Map references: Europe Area: total: 244,820 sq km land: 241,590 sq km water: 3,230 sq km note: includes Rockall and Shetland Islands Area - comparative: slightly smaller than Oregon Land boundaries: total: 360 km border countries: Ireland 360 km Coastline: 12,429 km Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm continental shelf: as defined in continental shelf orders or in accordance with agreed upon boundaries Climate: temperate; moderated by prevailing southwest winds over the North Atlantic Current; more than one-half of the days are overcast Terrain: mostly rugged hills and low mountains; level to rolling plains in east and southeast Elevation extremes: lowest point: The Fens -4 m highest point: Ben Nevis 1,343 m Natural resources: coal, petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, lead, zinc, gold, tin, limestone, salt, clay, chalk, gypsum, potash, silica sand, slate, arable land Land use: arable land: 23.23% permanent crops: 0.2% other: 76.57% (2005) Irrigated land: 1,700 sq km (2003) Natural hazards: winter windstorms; floods Environment - current issues: continues to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (has met Kyoto Protocol target of a 12.5% reduction from 1990 levels and intends to meet the legally binding target and move toward a domestic goal of a 20% cut in emissions by 2010); by 2005 the government aims to reduce the amount of industrial and commercial waste disposed of in landfill sites to 85% of 1998 levels and to recycle or compost at least 25% of household waste, increasing to 33% by 2015; between 1998-99 and 1999-2000, household recycling increased from 8.8% to 10.3% Environment - international agreements: party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants Geography - note: lies near vital North Atlantic sea lanes; only 35 km from France and linked by tunnel under the English Channel; because of heavily indented coastline, no location is more than 125 km from tidal waters People United Kingdom Top of Page Population: 60,609,153 (July 2006 est.) Age structure: 0-14 years: 17.5% (male 5,417,663/female 5,161,714) 15-64 years: 66.8% (male 20,476,571/female 19,988,959) 65 years and over: 15.8% (male 4,087,020/female 5,477,226) (2006 est.) Median age: total: 39.3 years male: 38.2 years female: 40.4 years (2006 est.) Population growth rate: 0.28% (2006 est.) Birth rate: 10.71 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) Death rate: 10.13 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) Net migration rate: 2.18 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) Infant mortality rate: total: 5.08 deaths/1,000 live births male: 5.67 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.47 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) Life expectancy at birth: total population: 78.54 years male: 76.09 years female: 81.13 years (2006 est.) Total fertility rate: 1.66 children born/woman (2006 est.) HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2001 est.) HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 51,000 (2001 est.) HIV/AIDS - deaths: less than 500 (2003 est.) Nationality: noun: Briton(s), British (collective plural) adjective: British Ethnic groups: white (of which English 83.6%, Scottish 8.6%, Welsh 4.9%, Northern Irish 2.9%) 92.1%, black 2%, Indian 1.8%, Pakistani 1.3%, mixed 1.2%, other 1.6% (2001 census) Religions: Christian (Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist) 71.6%, Muslim 2.7%, Hindu 1%, other 1.6%, unspecified or none 23.1% (2001 census) Languages: English, Welsh (about 26% of the population of Wales), Scottish form of Gaelic (about 60,000 in Scotland) Literacy: definition: age 15 and over has completed five or more years of schooling total population: 99% male: 99% female: 99% (2003 est.) Government United Kingdom Top of Page Country name: conventional long form: United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland; note - Great Britain includes England, Scotland, and Wales conventional short form: United Kingdom abbreviation: UK Government type: constitutional monarchy Capital: London Administrative divisions: England: 47 boroughs, 36 counties, 29 London boroughs, 12 cities and boroughs, 10 districts, 12 cities, 3 royal boroughs boroughs: Barnsley, Blackburn with Darwen, Blackpool, Bolton, Bournemouth, Bracknell Forest, Brighton and Hove, Bury, Calderdale, Darlington, Doncaster, Dudley, Gateshead, Halton, Hartlepool, Kirklees, Knowsley, Luton, Medway, Middlesbrough, Milton Keynes, North Tyneside, Oldham, Poole, Reading, Redcar and Cleveland, Rochdale, Rotherham, Sandwell, Sefton, Slough, Solihull, Southend-on-Sea, South Tyneside, St. Helens, Stockport, Stockton-on-Tees, Swindon, Tameside, Thurrock, Torbay, Trafford, Walsall, Warrington, Wigan, Wirral, Wolverhampton counties (or unitary authorities): Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridgeshire, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Devon, Dorset, Durham, East Sussex, Essex, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, Herefordshire, He