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INTRO D U C I N G
ENG L A N D
DR PHILIP SEATON,
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
In this four-part video series you will This booklet accompanying the four more about England, English, and English
have a chance to learn a little about videos also provides handy hints about culture.
some aspects of English history and listening to mini-lectures in English and
culture: 1) London, 2) Pubs, 3) understanding the cultural as well as
Cathedrals, Churches and Chapels, and linguistic issues in the videos. Philip Seaton
4) Trains. I hope that you enjoy the videos and Hokkaido University
find them useful for learning a little bit
Video 3: Cathedrals,
Video 1: London Churches and
Chapels
c) 2001
Question 2: d) 2002
The person who said “When a man is THE VIEW FROM
TRAFALGAR SQUARE
tired of London, he is tired of life” was: Question 4:
a) an actor Which bridge appears in the video?
b) a politician a) Tower Bridge
c) a writer b) Westminster Bridge
d) a TV personality c) Stamford Bridge
d) London Bridge
HOME
Video 1: Script
What is the thing that most as true today. the Houses of Parliament?
reminds you of home? For me it
is the gentle sound of birds London means different things to Here we are again on terra firma.
singing in the garden. I grew up in different people. To some it is a [4] Thebuilding next to the Eye
the suburbs of London. It is a tourist destination full of used to be the Greater London
huge, vibrant city of over 8 international icons such as Big Council building, but now it is a
million people. Nevertheless, it is Ben. To others it is a place of movie museum and aquarium.
nature that most reminds me of work or play. To others it is a Another popular way to see
home: birdsong, flowers in the place to live: home. And amid all London is to take a ride on an
garden, and yes[1], those are the hustle and bustle of life in open-topped tourist bus.You can
cherry blossom trees lining the the big city, it is still possible to see a couple of these crossing
road where I spent my find an oasis of peace and quiet Westminster Bridge just now.
childhood. in a garden or park. And there is Big Ben, silhouetted
against the late afternoon sun.
Hello, my name is Philip Seaton. I There are endless things to say
am an associate professor in the about London. But I will give you If you ever visit London, why
Research Faculty of Media and a brief overview[3], quite literally, don’t you try a flight on the
Communication at Hokkaido from the London Eye. London Eye?
University. This video series is
about England, my home First let’s look at some basic data In the next video in this series I
country. I will be introducing to about the London Eye. The Eye will introduce an aspect of
you various aspects of its history was opened in March 2000 as British culture that is very
and culture. part of the Millennium popular in London and the rest
celebrations. It is now London’s of the country: the pub.
Notice how I said my home most popular paying tourist
country is “England”. I am from attraction with 3.5 million Notes:
London. It is the capital of the visitors per year. It is 135 metres [1] This “and yes” shows that I
anticipate people have already guessed
United Kingdom of Great Britain tall, which makes it London’s or wondered if the trees are cherry
and Northern Ireland. The UK is fourth highest structure.You get blossoms.
made up of four countries: a spectacular panoramic view [2] In lists we usually have “and”
England, Scotland, Wales and over the city and visibility is 40 between the penultimate and last items
in the list. But here, the “and” is
Northern Ireland. While these kilometres on a clear day. The omitted for dramatic effect.
four nations are all part of the wheel moves continuously and [3] This is a play on words. Overview
United Kingdom, they have very slowly. One rotation takes usually means “summary”, but in this
distinctive histories and cultures. thirty minutes. case it refers to “a view over London”.
The phrase “quite literally” alerts the
In this series I will talk only listener to this.
about England. And let’s start Here we are at the top of the [4] Terra firma, on solid ground. This is
with my hometown: London. London Eye. Below is the River one of many phrases from Latin that
survive in modern English.
Thames that runs through the
London is vibrant, energetic, a bit city. As you can see, London is
crazy[2] – everything you would not a city of skyscrapers, but
expect from a modern capital there are a few in the distance in
city. But it is also full of the financial district.
fascinating history and diverse
cultures. Dr Samuel Johnson, the And this is the view looking
famous writer and down on parliament. Everyone
lexicographer, once said, “When knows Big Ben. But do you know
a man is tired of London, he is that Big Ben is actually the name
tired of life”. His words are just of the bell in the clock tower of
Handy Hints: Listening to Mini Lectures
First let’s look at some basic data about the London Eye.
The Eye was opened in March 2000 as part of the Millennium celebrations.
It is now London’s most popular paying tourist attraction with 3.5 million visitors per year.
It is 135 metres tall, which makes it London’s fourth highest structure.
You get a spectacular panoramic view over the city and visibility is 40 kilometres on a clear day.
The wheel moves continuously and very slowly. One rotation takes thirty minutes.
Handy Hint: When you are writing an essay or making a presentation, use full sentences. When
making handouts, use bullet point style.
Video 2: Pubs
BEER!
When listening to a lecture in English, there are two reasons why you might not understand:
1) linguistic – you do not understand the grammar construction or a piece of vocabulary;
2) cultural – the speaker assumes you have cultural knowledge, but you do not.
In the video A Drink at an English Pub there was quite a lot of assumed cultural knowledge, which
probably made the video difficult to understand in places. This sheet provides that cultural knowledge.
“Tudor style”:
The Tudor period of English history was
1485-1603 (from the reign of King Henry VII to
Queen Elizabeth I). During this period, many
houses were built using a characteristic design of
black planks of wood on a white background. This
style is still popular today.
ST ALB ANS
YORK
Video 3: Script
Christianity has played a vital One of the key features of Let’s now look at some of the
role throughout British history. Gothic architecture is the features of the three periods of
In every town and village across pointed arch. Here we can see Gothic style. We are at York
England there is a church. examples in a stained glass Cathedral, which is the largest
window, the ceiling, and on the Gothic cathedral in northern
In this video we will look at walls. Europe. Let’s concentrate on
some architectural styles in stained glass windows.
English churches. We will look at At this point you might be asking
two cathedrals and two chapels: yourself a question: “Why are These windows are from the
York Cathedral, St Albans there different styles in the same Early English period. Notice the
Cathedral, King’s College Chapel cathedral?” Well, cathedrals took pointed arches but simple
in Cambridge, and the Chapel of a very long time to build, often a design. And here’s a view from
The Old Royal Navy College in number of centuries. Sometimes outside.
Greenwich, London. they needed to be repaired or
rebuilt. And over time, fashion The next windows are from the
Do you know the difference and technology changed. There decorated Gothic style. This is a
between a cathedral, church and are actually very few English typical decorated Gothic
chapel? Perhaps the simplest way cathedrals that are completely, window in St Albans cathedral.
to think of it is to say that a or even almost completely, in a Notice the elaborate
cathedral serves a large single style. St. Albans Cathedral decorations towards the top.
geographical area called a is a good example of a cathedral And this is a window at York
diocese, a church serves a parish with many styles. It has Norman Cathedral. Its nickname is “Heart
(which basically means a town or arches, Gothic arches and of Yorkshire”.
village), and a chapel serves an decorations, choir seats and
organization, such as a school or floor tiles from the 19th century, We are up on the roof of York
hospital. and an entrance hall and Cathedral. We have a spectacular
education centre opened in the view of the city. But up here we
But, we will concentrate on 1980s. have a chance to see another
architecture. We will look at feature of Gothic architecture.
three main periods: Norman, And, St Albans Cathedral has one These are called buttresses. They
Gothic (subdivided into Early more piece of interesting support the weight of the roof
English, Decorated Gothic and history. St Albans used to be an and allowed the roofs of Gothic
Perpendicular Gothic), and important Roman town. There cathedrals to become higher and
English Renaissance. are many Roman ruins, including more decorated.
this theatre, where there used to
Let’s start with Norman style. be plays and occasionally Finally, let’s look at perpendicular
The main characteristic of gladiator fights. When the style. In perpendicular style,
Norman architecture is a semi- Normans started building St there are many vertical lines. In
circular arch. Albans Cathedral in the 11th this style, the pictures in the
century, they used many pieces glass are more important than
Here we can see a typical of stone from Roman ruins. the stone decorations. One of
Norman arch in St Albans Stone from this theatre was the best examples of
Cathedral. But notice how there probably used, too. So, some perpendicular style architecture
are two different styles in this parts of the cathedral are only is King’s College Chapel in
picture. On the right is Norman thirty years old. The Norman Cambridge. This magnificent
architecture. On the left is arches are nearly 1000 years chapel seems to reach up to the
Gothic architecture. In 1323, part old. And some of the building sky.
of the cathedral collapsed and it materials date back over 1600
was rebuilt in Gothic style. years to Roman times.
Video 3: Script (cont.)
Next, let’s look at Renaissance aspects of design and The answer is that the cathedral
style architecture. decoration, but to end with let’s is built in the shape of a cross.
think about the shape of the Many other cathedrals are, too.
We are at the Old Royal Naval building as a whole. One theory is that cathedrals
College in Greenwich, London. It were built in the shape of a cross
was built as a hospital for sailors First, in the roofs of the buildings to represent the cross on which
before being converted to a we have looked at, one can also Jesus died. But the more
Naval College. It is a UNESCO see the progression of common theory is that the cross
World Heritage Site. construction technology, from shape provided extra space, and
tower, to spire, to dome. stability to the tower.
This is the chapel. It is in a
neoclassical style. Notice how Second, have you noticed In the next video in the
the key point of the design has something about the shape of Introducing England series, we
changed from stonework to York Cathedral and St Albans will look at an English invention
painting and carving. Cathedral? Look at these that now exists in every
pictures of St Albans. country: the train.
We have looked mainly at
References
Every talk will contain some key vocabulary “families”, i.e. groups of words about a particular topic
or having particular properties. In this video there was a lot of discussion of shapes.
Sometimes shapes were used as nouns, and sometimes as adjectives. Look at the list of vocabulary
and notice the differences between the noun and adjective forms. This vocabulary is particularly
important for people studying sciences. Make sure that you learn it. Why not try learning useful
vocabulary in your subject by making similar lists of words with similar meanings or usages?
(semi-)circle 円形 (semi-)circular
sphere 球体 spherical
horizontal 地平線(上)の
vertical 直立した
parallel 平行の
dome
Video 4: Trains
STEAM
References:
In the video Trains there were some references to the imperial weights and measures system. In
England, this measuring system is being replaced by the metric system because of European Union
law. But in America, the imperial system is still widely used.
You will often hear these weights and measures in English, including in idiomatic expressions. You do
not need to remember their exact values, but be aware of the system, and that it is a little different in
the US and UK!
Example sentences:
She drove at 50 miles per hour (= 80 kilometres per hour).
Gareth is six feet two inches (= 188 cm) tall.
Annie was seven pounds one ounce (= 3206 grams) when she was born.
Idiomatic sentences:
This weighs a ton. (= This is extremely heavy.)
He was miles ahead of the other runners. (= He was a long way ahead of the other runners.)
I need a pint. (= I want to drink a beer.)
The ball was only inches away. (= The ball was very close.)
TRAINS
1) The Intercity Express
2) The stations were always full of smoke.
3) DLR trains are driven by computer &
Warehouses in Docklands have been
converted into apartments.
4) Seikan Tunnel
AND CHAPELS
C ATHEDRALS, CHURCHES
1) Cambridge and Greenwich
2) St Albans
3) York and St Albans
4) Greenwich
PUBS
1) 568 ml
2) Pubs are completely non-smoking.
3) There is no queue. A good bartender
knows the correct order to serve
people.
4) Buying one drink for every person in
your group.
5) Ireland.
LONDON
1) False
2) a writer
3) 2000
4) Westminster Bridge
VID E O