英国民族在漫长的历史发展过程中形成了自己的历史传统和价值观念，它们表现在政治、经济、社会、文化和道德生活的方方面面。这些价值观不仅集中体现了英国人的国民性，而且指导和规范社会成员的行为，确定他们的生活方式。此外，作为社会公认的准则，这些信仰和价值还鼓励和激励社会成员去追求代表民族精神的理想，成为大家的精神指南和奋斗目标。

世界工业革命于18世纪中后期始于英国，为英帝国的“诞生”奠定了基础。时至维多利亚时期，英国已有“日不落帝国”的称号，几乎在全世界各个角落拥有殖民地。英国不仅向世界各国输出英语，而且也借助英语这一工具输出英国价值观和宗教信仰。从这个意义上讲，要理解英国的国民性，有必要先了解英国人的价值体系和宗教信仰。

英国是一个政治上既激进又保守的国家。早在十七世纪初，代表激进资产阶级利益的议会就与英国国王多次发生冲突，直至于1688年爆发“光荣革命”，使英国成为世界上最早建立的君主立宪制国家。这是资产阶级战胜封建专制政体的一场革命。然而，英国在世界上绝大多数国家都废除了君主立宪制后，仍保留其君主制的，不仅英国王室仍由国民税收供养，而且世袭制产生的国王或女王担任名义国家元首。政府行政机构做出的诸多决定，必须向国王/女王通报。

英国人既激进又保守的信仰还在他们的经济和社会政策方面。举例来说，英国人的社会福利和社会服务（如医疗保健等）颇具有创新精神，为西方国家树立了典范。此外，在劳资关系和女性解放问题上，英国也有不少可圈可点之处。但在经济发展模式上，尽管英国二战后尝试了一些国有化经济，但不久便回归到其传统自由市场经济。同样，英国社会政策日显开明，但英国人在待人接物和称谓上仍保留着不少传统性的“遗老遗少”作风。与美国人相比，英国人的阶级和阶层意识无疑更强。与美国人一样，英国人也赞赏自由，但他们对政府等权威机构的尊敬要远远高于美国人。总之，英国人赞同渐进式改良，反对激进式变革。

英国人大多矜持内敛，不愿与陌生人搭讪聊天，也较少与认识多年的熟人谈及个人及家庭情况。英国人不喜欢情感外露，很少在大众面前表现出激动兴奋，更不会在公共场所大声喧哗。乘公公交通时，他们喜欢找旁边没人的座位坐下，安静地看书或读报。正因为英国人不大主动与人攀谈，他们常常给人留下严肃冷漠的印象。事实上，虽然英国人貌似不够热情好客，其实他们真诚待人，珍惜友谊，“脸冷心热”。

英国人的幽默举世闻名，尤其是不露感情的幽默（dry humor），凡读过英国人作品尤其是小品文的人都有这种感受。他们以幽默为乐，朋友间互相讽刺挖苦，大多数人也乐于自嘲。一个没有幽默感的人在英国人眼中会让人觉得无趣，而不懂得欣赏幽默的人英国人会觉得难以相处。此外，英国人大多谦虚礼貌，注意保持绅士风度。他们为自己的优秀文化感到骄傲，但他们讨厌自卖自夸；他们很少求人帮忙，不愿给别人增添麻烦，力所能及地解决自己的问题。在公共场合，他们互相尊重、互相谦让，厌恶争吵和加塞之类的恶习。如同他们在竞技体育上崇尚公平竞争一样，英国人在生活上也强调平等公正，鄙视特权，唯王室人员例外。

 

学银课程（British Life Values） 

学习要点（Learning Objectives）

（1）Be informed of the basic Britishbeliefs and values

（2）Understand British reformist andconservative inclinations

（3）Have a general idea about Britishcharacter

 

中心问题（Project）

Of all the values in British political, religious, educational andsocial life, what are the core values that the British hold?

 

生词与词组（New Words and Expressions）

approximately   大约，大概

pin down       确定，锁定

uniform        统一的

diversified      多样化的

conservative    守旧的，保守的

reserve         缄默

allegation       断言，主张

the peerage      贵族

the gentry       绅士

monarchy       君主制

talkative        话多的，健谈的

anything but     除了

not to mention   更别说

make a point of doing something 打定主意做某事

inconvenience    麻烦，不便

punctuality       守时，准时

jump the queue   加塞，插队

prevailing       盛行的，流行的

bowler hat      男用硬圆顶黑色礼帽

wig            假发

compartment     列车车厢

withdrawn       内向的，孤僻的

self-deprecation  自嘲

muddle         搞糟，搞得一塌糊涂

appreciative     有欣赏力的

comic strip     （报刊上的）连环漫画

reversely       相反地

Golden Rule    金科玉律

below the belt   不公正地

scorn          蔑视

注释/解释 (Notesand Explanations)

The Conservative Party---A major political party of theUnited Kingdom, which developedfrom the Tories in the 1830s. It advocates a mixed economy, and encouragesproperty owning and free enterprise.

The Peerage---The peerage is a legalsystem of largely hereditary titles in the UnitedKingdom, which is constituted by the ranks of Britishnobility and is part of the British honours system. The term is usedboth collectively to refer to the entire body of noble titles, and individuallyto refer to a specific title. The holder of a peerage is termed a peer.

The Royal Family-----It is the group of closerelatives of the monarch theU.K.The term is also commonly applied to the same group of people who are therelations of the monarch in her or his role as sovereign of any of the otherCommonwealth realms.

GeneralCharacteristics

It is estimated that in March 2011 there were approximately63.206 million people living in theU.K.Like in any other country, people living in different areasof theU.K.may hold distinctive local cultural values anddifferent religious beliefs, due to some historical and political reasons.Moreover, much of the population in theU.K.were immigrants who arrived inthe country over the past 10 years. Evidently, in view of an increasingly diversifiedpopulation, it is hard to pin down a so-called uniform “British culture”.Nonetheless, this does not mean that there are no shared values and beliefs tobe found among the British people.

The most widely known characteristic of the English people is their conservatism. Although the English people are unhappy with and tend to refusethis allegation, they are rather conservative indeed, at least moreconservative than most other peoples. However, one should not mistaken thisconservatism with the political Party named “Conservative” inGreat Britain, for they meandifferent things. Many conservative English people may oppose the politicalstand of the Conservative Party. Here, conservatism refers to the conservativeattitude, ready to accept only those things that are familiar, and suspiciousof anything that is foreign or unfamiliar.

The British are long known for being slow to make changes,whether political or social. The most typical example may be their upholding ofthe British monarchy and their never-ceasing respectfor and interest in the Royal Family. Occasionally, some mild complaints may beheard about the high expenditure of the Royal Family, but the English neverreally want to abolish the monarchy and become republican. Rather, they showmuch satisfaction with the monarchy in its modern form.

The English people’s conservatism can also be noticed inadhering to old ways and reluctance to adapt themselvesto new ones, even when some social practices have proven vastly different fromthe prevailing practice around the world. For instance, in most othercountries, drivers drive on the right side of the road; by contrast, theEnglish drive on the left side. Similarly, men inBritainwore bowler hat for a longwhile when men in other western countries did not, and it made a comeback in2010. Indeed, it was not until 2008 when judges inall civil and family cases began to wear a newly designed robe with no wig,.

English peopletend to be indifferent, or even hostile to suggestion that they should modifytheir habits, or that they should bring something new and unfamiliar to theirlives, even though they understand the suggestion is to the advantage of theirown. Another sign of conservatism is the keeping of a fireplace by many houseowners in modern buildings, only because they are so used to having a fireplacein the living room and come to regard it as a necessary item which supplies asense of warmth and coziness, although they may never really use the fireplaceand some even choose electric fires so designed as to imitate coal fires whenthe electricity is turned on.

Another best known characteristic of the English people is reserve.They are far from talkative. Most likely, they keep quiet in public places. They are unlikelyto start a conversation with a stranger. Whenthey travel by bus, they tend to go to the rear of the busand find an empty chair if possible, avoiding sitting closely next to someoneelse. When they travel by train, they prefer to sit in an emptycompartment; if there is none and they have to share with others, it’s possiblethat they won’t talk with each other for hours. If they have to, they may talkabout anything but personal things. It is impossible for them to ask about astranger’s name and address, not to mention his marital status or income. Evenfor acquaintances or colleagues who know each other for years, it’s likely thatthey do not know where others live, how many children they have, or how theyspend their leisure time.

The British arenever known for their generosity or hospitality. To outsiders, they may look abit cold and remote. They rarely talk loudly and warmly to each other in publicplaces. When they meet an acquaintance, they do not stop to make a complicatedgreeting; there is just a simple “good morning” or a wave of hand. Body touchis rare, as they make a point of keeping adequate personal space. Hugging iseven rarer. Even handshakes are exchanged only when people are first introducedto each other formally, or on special occasions, or as a token of agreement orcongratulations.

 

Politeness and the Class System

   Although British people may seem mildly coldor remote in interpersonal relationship due to their national character “reserve”,they are thought of as polite people, for they always put emphasis on showingconsideration for others and properly acknowledging the consideration othersshow to them. Polite words such as “please”, “excuse me”, “sorry”, “thank you”are frequently used. They never make a request without using polite expressionslike “would/could/will you please…?” Generally they do not make requests thatmight cause some real inconvenience to others and sometimes they make offers ofservice simply out of politeness. Offers of such are usually declined with duepoliteness.

Another symbol of British people’s politeness is an acutesense of punctuality. When they make an appointmentwith others, they seldom show up late. If they cannot make it there on time,they will make a phone call to apologize and explain the reason that has keptthem from arriving on time. When invited to someone’s homefor dinner, they usually do not arrive earlier than the appointed time, in casethey may embarrass the hostess, for she tends to get changed and make up inthe last minute, after she has finished cleaning the house and preparingdinner. Generally, guests bring some small gift for the host or hostess, forexample, a bottle of wine or a bundle of fresh flowers.

British politeness can also be reflected in the way theyare dressed on certain occasions in their lives. Even though the English,unlike the Scottish and the Welsh, have no national costume, they arenevertheless formally dressed for important occasions like business parties,wedding ceremonies, and mourning, etc. Women on such occasions not only weartheir best clothes, but also make up to show respect for the occasion.Additionally, politeness is displayed in public places where people showrespect to each other in “orderly conducts”, which is shown in the way theyqueue up in a line for public transport, in front of theaters and for otherpublic services. The British understand this very well and no one tries to jumpthe queue.

However, while politeness is widely observed, it does not mean thatthere is an absence of class or inequality inGreat Britain. The existence of theRoyal Family is a case in point regarding the class order. Beneath the RoyalFamily, there is the Upper Class inBritainwhich mainly consists ofthe peerage, the gentry, and the landowners. These were traditionallythe rich people in thecountry, with inherited status and money. People in this class generallyprefer the old to the new in their daily life and dislike change in the statusof other people around them. In terms of their view on wealth for example, “old”money is preferable to “new” money, and inherited money to money earned, whichis quite different from the situation across the Atlantic in theUnited States.The Middle Class mainly includes professionals who have received tertiaryeducation at well-known public schools. They hold prestigious jobs and makequite descent money. The Lower or Working Class is made up of people who haveto work with their hands and usually have received limited education. Needlessto say, they lead a life with some difficulty.

Even if they are not very conscious of it, most British people growup with a deep knowledge and understanding of the class system. They know whichclass a person belongs to by the way he speaks, his clothes he wears, or eventhe type of food he eats. Social class is not merely about wealth and behavior;it also involves family background, education, tastes, accent, occupation andcircle of friends. Wealth does not ensure a person an upper class position, nordo the poor people necessarily think of themselves as belonging to the workingclass if their family used to enjoy some kind of glory. Many Britons do notlike the class system, but it is impossible to pretend that these differencesdo not exist or that British people do not sometimes form opinions in this way.

 

Irony, Humor and Sportsmanship

   While the British are known for theirreserve and withdrawn, they are also known for their irony and humor,particularly their dry humor. One typical example is that  the British do not always mean what they say,and one needs to “read between the lines” in order to understand precisely whatthey actually mean. For instance, a Briton may say to someone “What a charmingbehavior”, when he actually tries to say “How rude you were”. In fact, irony isused in everyday communication, and the native listeners can get it immediatelywithout any effort. Yet for someone from a foreign culture, this may easilycause some misunderstanding. “He has no sense of humor” can be one of the worstunfavorable judgments of a person.

Additionally, the British often amuse others withself-deprecation. They can laugh at their own faults and even failures, forexample “How stupid I was!” or “What a mess I made at the yesterday party!” or “Imanaged to muddle it again!” In this way, they manage to make it easier forboth themselves and others. When stuck in an embarrassing situation, theBritish have the ability to make fun of the situation. For instance, whensomebody makes a fool of himself on an occasion, instead of saying that how awfulhe was, he might say “Did I do something interesting to make you have a goodtime with me?” British writers understand this very well and many writers makegood use of irony or humor in their works. Careful readers and appreciativeaudience can easily find such irony and humor in their novels and comic strips.

However, while they enjoy irony and humor in daily life,the British are also quite active in outdoors sports, in which they put a greatdeal of stress on sportsmanship, fair play and justice. It should be pointedout that most sports which are nowadays played in all parts of the world firstappeared and then grew up to their present-day form inBritain. Boxing, football, rugby,hockey, tennis and cricket were all originally organized and given rules inGreat Britain.

When playing all these games, the British emphasize thefollowing principle: “If you want to play a game, you have to follow the rules.”They believe that observing the rules is the guarantee of playing a gamesuccessfully, which is what Britons call sportsmanship. Specifically speaking,by sportsmanship, it refers to the ability to practice a sport in accordancewith its rules and to show generosity to one’s opponent and not to lose one’stemper when defeated. This “Golden Rule” is highly valued inBritain. Any sportsman who displayssportsmanship earns applause and respect from both the audience and hisopponent. Reversely, any athlete who does not show sportsmanship is oftenlooked down upon and even condemned.

As an ideal, sportsmanship is not limited to sports only;it is also applied to other spheres of life in general. A well-known rule ineveryday life is “never hit a man when he is down”, meaning that even if onewins a game or any other thing against his opponent, he should win it honestlyand/or gentlemanly. It demonstrates that the British are unwilling to takeadvantage of other’s misfortune, and instead do everything fairly and squarely.Anything done “below the belt” is scorned and laughed at. This is called “fairplay”.

Because the British have a sense of sportsmanship and fairplay, British culture is often considered High Trust Culture. The degree oftrust inBritainis still rather high despite a rising tide of materialism and selfishness inrecent years. By and large, British people manage their affairs within bothlocal and central government in reliance on law and order. The tradition of the“gentlemen’s agreement” continues to be cherished and well maintained,especially among the older generations committed to traditional values. Partlyfor this reason, and partly for something else, the British are said to behighly trustworthy in doing business and many other things.