warm-up 热身

Notes: Queen Elizabeth II turned 87 in April, 2013. However, the celebration was not in April. The Queen's Official Birthday is the selected day on which the birthday of the monarch of the Commonwealth realms (currently Queen Elizabeth II) is officially celebrated in those countries. The date varies as adopted by each Commonwealth country, but is generally around the end of May to the start of June, to coincide with a high probability of fine weather in the Northern Hemisphere for outdoor ceremonies. In 2013, it fell on June 15 in the UK, and it will be on June 14, 2014.

Learning Objectives 学习目标

1. To know that the UK is a constitutional monarchy;

2. To know the origin of the monarchy and the evolution of representative democracy;

3. To know the origin of parliament;

4. To know the fundamental reason of the Civil War

5. To know the power struggles between the kings and the parliament;

6. To have an understanding of the significance of reforms in parliamentary elections and the formation of political parties;

7. To know that the UK is both a representative democracy and a constitutional monarchy;

8. To know the characteristics of UK constitution and major components;

9. To know the functions of the monarchy and the importance of the monarchy to British politics;

10. To know about the House of Lords and the House of Commons, particularly their functions;

11. To know that the House of Commons is the center of British politics.

Focal Points 知识点

Suggested Study Time（建议学时）: 3 periods（3学时）