浙江省诸暨市草塔中学高中英语 Unit 2 The United Kingdom What is the difference between UK, England, Great Britain and British Isles 素材 新人教版必修 5When people say England, they sometimes mean Great Britain, sometimes the United Kingdom, sometimes the British Isles — but never England. Why is England or the UK sometimes ca lled Britain? “England” is sometimes, wrongly, used in reference to the whole United Kingdom, the entire island of Great Britain (or simply Britain), or indeed the British Isles. This is not only incorrect but can cause offence (冒犯) to people from other parts of the UK . England, Scotland, Wales, Great Britain refer to different parts of the UK. The British Isles includes many islands not even part of the UK. The diverse (多种多样的) history of England, Scotland and Wales has led to very different cultural traditions. The Scots and Welsh have right to feel aggrieved (受侵害的) whenever the term “English” is used wrongly, to mean all three.The name United Kingdom refers to the union of what were once four separate countries: England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland (though most of Ireland is now independent).The UK’s full and official name is the “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”.
