Answers to the Explanations: London London is the largest city located in the south of the country. It’s dominant in Britain in all sorts of ways. It’s the cultural and business center and the headquarters of the vast majority of Britain’s big companies. It’s not only the financial center of the nation, but also one of the three major international financial centers in the world. The British Isles The British Isles lie northwest of Europe in the Atlantic Ocean. They are made up of two main islands―Britain and Ireland---and several small islands. Robin Hood Robin Hood was Saxon noble man. As he could no longer put up with the oppressions from the Normans, he became an outlaw and hid himself with his band of “merry men” in the forest. From this secret place, he went out to rob from the rich to give the poor. the Anglo-Saxons They were two groups of Germanic peoples who settled down in England from the 5th century. They were regarded as the ancestors of the English and the founders of England. the Vikings They were groups of seamen from Scandinavia who attacked coastal villages in most parts of north-western Europe from the 8th to the 11th centuries. King Arthur He was the King of England in the fifth century and united the British and drove the Saxons back with his magical sword, Excalibur. His real existence is in doubt. He is the central figure of many legends. King Harold He was the Saxon King who was defeated and killed in the battle of Hasting in 1066, when William the Conqueror invaded England from France. The Easter Rising Different Irish groups had been fighting against the British institutions and the British military forces. One such activity was the Easter Rising which took place in 1916. the rebels occupied Dublin’s Post Office and forced the British to take it back by military force. The leaders of the rebellion were executed by the British authorities. Loyalists or Unionists Nearly 60 percent of the population in Northern Ireland are either Loyalists or Unionists. These people are Protestants and dominate the local parliament. They show their loyalty to the British Crown and prefer union with Great Britain. The Provisional IRA In 1919, a group calling itself the IRA (Irish Republican Army) expanded fighting for Irish freedom and independence. The Provisional IRA is the radical faction of the IRA. They prefer the use of force and believe that armed force is the only way to get the British out and to have an unified Ireland. The Official IRA The Official IRA is the political wing of the IRA. They offer their own social and economic policy. They hold that they have already made enough progress so that they can concentrate themselves on a political process and run candidates for election. Sinn Fein Sinn Fein is a legal political Party in Northern Ireland which supports the IRA to fight for the union of Ireland. The leaders of Sinn Fein prefer union with Ireland by a twin campaign, both political and military which they call the policy of “the Bullet and the Ballot Box”. It believes that without the participation of Sinn Fein the political problem of Northern Ireland can not be thoroughly solved. Home Rule Ireland had long been dominated by Britain, but Irish desires for an independent Irish state were never lost. “Home Rule” refers to a campaign for Irish control of Irish affairs. The Home Rule Bill was finally passed in 1914, but the process was overtaken by the First World War and was suspended fro the duration of the war. A Civil Rights Movement A Civil Rights Movement in Northern Ireland started in the 1960s by Catholics who often marched in the streets and fought for equality. As the Protestants were the majority, they controlled the local parliament and used that power to support their own economic and social dominance in Northern Ireland. Catholics found it difficult to get jobs or to benefit from social programmes such as public housing. Therefore, they began the Civil Rights Movement so as to get their right. the divine right of kings This ancient doctrine held that the sovereign derived his authority from God, not from his subjects. This was used by the kings as an excuse for abusing power. And the dispute over the power of the king and the parliament led to the civil war. the civil war Caused by a dispute over the power of the king against Parliament, the civil war broke out in the 17th century. The Republican “roundheads”, led by Oliver Cromwell, wanted to abolish the monarchy and to reassert the rights of Parliament. In 1642, the royalists were defeated and King Charles I was executed in 1649. the “roundheads” These refer to the group of people representing the interests of Parliament during the civil war. They were so called because they defied popular fashion and cut their hair very short. Led by Oliver Cromwell, they defeated the royalists in 1642, and executed the king in 1649. Magna Carta This is a medieval Latin name meaning “Great Charter”. In 1215, King John was forced by a group of feudal barons and the Church to grant then a charter of liberty and political rights. Magna Carta placed some limits on the king’s ability to abuse his royal power. This is regarded as Britain’s key expression of the rights of citizens against the Crown. the Great Council In medieval times, this referred to a group of leading, wealthy barons who were summoned by the king several times a year to give the king some extra money. By the 13th century, representatives of counties, towns and cities were also included in order to raise more money. This was the beginning of what we know as Parliament today. Charles I He was the King ruled from 1625 to 1649. He insisted on the divine right of kings and therefore roused the protest from the Parliament. In the civil war which broke out later in 1642, he and his royalists were defeated by the “roundheads” led by Oliver Cromwell. He was tried as a traitor to his country and executed. the Bill of Rights of 1689 In 1688, King James II’s daughter Mary and her husband William were invited by the politicians and church authorities to take the throne, on condition that they would respect the rights of Parliament. After this Glorious Revolution, the Bill of Rights was passed in 1689 to ensure that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament. the Constitution Britain has no written Constitution. The foundations of the British state are laid out in statute law, which are laws passed by Parliament; the common laws, which are laws established through common practice in the courts; and conventions. the functions of Parliament The functions of Parliament are: to pass laws, to vote for taxation, to scrutinize government policy, administration and expenditure and to debate the major issues of the day. the roles of monarchy The primary role of the monarch today is to symbolize the tradition and unity of the British state. Other roles are: being legally head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, commander in chief of the armed forces and “supreme governor” of the Church of England. The Queen also acts as a confidante to the Prime Minister, offering valuable observations on the running of government. the House of Lords The House of Lords consists of the Lords Spiritual, who are the Archbishops and most prominent bishops of the Church of England; and the Lords Temporal, which refers to those lords who either have inherited the seat from their forefathers or they have been appointed. The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests of the public. the House of Commons The House of Commons is the real center of British political life because it is the place where about 650 elected representatives (Members of Parliament) make and debate policy. These MPs are elected in the General Elections and should represent the interests of the people who vote for them. the importance of general elections General elections are very important in the western democracy. According to the author, they provide opportunities for people to influence future government policies and to replace those incompetent political leaders. the formation of the government 651 members of parliament are elected in the general election representing 651 constituencies in the UK. The party which holds a majority of those “seats” in parliament forms the government, with its party leader as the Prime Minister. vote of no confidence This refers to a statement put forward by an MP--- usually a member of an opposition party--- for the House of Commons to vote on saying that “This house no longer has confidence in the Government”. If the government loses a “vote of no confidence” in the House of Commons, that is, if a majority of MPs agree, then it has effectively lost its ability to govern and is forced to resign and call a general election. An example of this happened in 1979 with the Labour government. the electoral campaigns Before a general election, the political parties would start their electoral campaigns in order to make their ideologies and policies known to the public. The campaign involves advertisements in newspapers, door-to-door campaigning, postal deliveries of leaflets and “party electoral broadcasts” on the television. The parties also try to attack and criticize the opponents’ policies. Therefore, these campaigns sometimes can be quite aggressive and critical. the Conservative party The Conservative party is one of the two biggest parties in the UK. It is basically the party of the individual, protecting the individual’s right to acquire wealth and to spend it as he/she wants. It advocates economic policies which are favourable to businessmen, such as low taxes. From 1979 to 1997, the Conservative party won 4 consecutive elections and was in power for quite a long period of time. the Labour party The Labor Party is one of the two biggest parties in the UK. It is also the newest party, created by the trade union movement at the end of the 19th century. It is a socialist party, believing that a society should be relatively equal in economic terms, and that the government should redistribute the wealth between the rich and the poor. It also thinks that the government should provide a range of public services for all the people. the Liberal Democrats The Liberal Democrats are the third biggest party and often seen as a party of the “middle”, occupying the ideological ground between the two major parties. They are comparatively flexible and pragmatic in their balance of the individual and the social. They emphasize the need to change the Britain’s constitutional arrangements to make the government more democratic and accountable. Margaret Thatcher She came into power as Britain’s first woman Prime Minister in 1979 when her Conservative party won the general election. She advocated the idea of small government and free-market economics. During her term as the Prime Minister, she carried out policies to privatize the nationalized industry and to cut tax rates. As a result, many businesses boomed but unemployment rate increased. She was later replaced by John Major in 1990. John Major He is the leader of the Conservative party and is the ex-Prime Minister of the UK. In 1990, he was elected the leader of the Conservative party, replacing Mrs Thatcher. After he came into power, he has continued to carry out Thatcher’s policies but in a milder way. relative decline of the UK economy The UK has experienced an economic decline since 1945. but this is a relative decline rather than an absolute one. Britain is wealthier and more productive than it was in 1945, but since other countries developed more rapidly, it has slid from being the second largest economy to being the sixth. causes for the relative decline There are four reasons for the relative economic decline since 1945: Britain had gone heavily into debt in order to finance the war; British colonies which used to provide raw materials and big markets gained independence. And the author also believes that Britain was heavily burdened with the huge military expenditure during the process of de-colonization and that Britain also lacked the investment in modern equipment and new products. privatization in the 1980s The British economy went through a particularly bad period in the 1970s, with high rates of inflation and devaluation of the currency. Therefore, in the 1980s, when the Conservative party under Margaret Thatcher was in power, an extensive programme of privatization was carried out. Many state-owned businesses (such as steel, telecom, gas, aerospace) were turned into private companies. The author thinks that privatization was successful in controlling inflation but at the same time unemployment rate increased rapidly. main sectors of the UK economy The UK national economy can be divided into three main areas: primary industries, such as agriculture, fishing and mining; secondary industries which manufacture complex goods from those primary products; and tertiary (or service) industries such as banking, insurance, tourism and the retailing. the UK’s agriculture Britain’s agricultural sector is small, producing 1.4% of the national wealth, but efficient, producing 58% of the food needs with only 2% of the workforce. Three quarters of Britain’s land is used for agriculture---one quarter for crops and the rest for grazing animals of which sheep are the most numerous livestock. the UK’s manufacturing industry The manufacturing industry produces 22% of the UK’s national wealth. British companies are particularly strong in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, aerospace and food and drink. The City “The City” refers to the historic area at the center of London. It is one of the biggest financial centers with the greatest concentration of banks, insurance companies and businesses dealing in commodities. At the heart of the City is the London Stock Exchange. the aerospace industry The UK’s aerospace industry is the third largest in the world, producing the full range of aerospace products from civil and military aircrafts to missiles, satellites and jet engines. It produces 2% of UK national output, accounting for 8% of manufactured export goods. Concorde It is the world’s first supersonic civil airliner produced collaboratively by British and French aircraft manufacturers. The aircraft was a technical success but a commercial failure. But this first successful collaboration led to more such programmes between Britain and France. William Shakespeare He was an English dramatist and poet in the Elizabethan age. He is generally regarded as the greatest playwright in English literature. His plays fall into three categories: tragedies such as Hamlet, comedies such as Merchant of Venice and historical plays like Charles II. Elizabethan drama It refers roughly to the drama produced during the 15th and 16th centuries which is known as the Renaissance. The first professional theatre was founded in London in 1576 and many famous playwrights appeared. Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare were among the best. the Bronte sisters They were daughters of the vicar of a village church in Yorkshire. Though they were poor, they were educated and respectable. They all died young, but were remembered long after their death for their contribution to English literature. Charlotte was well-known for Jane Eyre and Emily was noted for her Wuthering Heights. They had to use male pseudonyms in order to get their books published. Charles Dickens He is now regarded as one of the greatest English writers. His works were characterized by vivid comic characterization and social criticism. He wrote many well-known novels, including Oliver Twist, a Tale of Two Cities, David Copperfield, just name the best known. Wlater Scott He was the most famous Scottish novelist and wrote many novels in the early decade of the nineteenth century. Some of the novels were concerned with Scottish history. Some remain popular today and several have been made into films. Joseph Conrad He is one of the most famous English Modernist writers. Polish-born, Conrad was brought up in Poland and was in his twenties before he knew any English. After becoming a British subject, he wrote brilliant novels in his adopted tongue. His most well-known novel is The Heart of Darkness. The Canterbury Tales The Canterbury Tales is the most important work in Middle English Literature. It’s made up of a series of stories told by 31 pilgrims to entertain each other on their way to the Christian Church at Canterbury in south-east England. It’s quite noticeable for its diversity, not only in the range of social status among the pilgrims, but also in style of the stories they tell. King Arthur He was the King of England in the 5th century and was the central figure of many legends. History of the Kings of Britain published in 1138 well established King Arthur in literary form. The book invented material to fill the broad gaps in the historical record. The stories of King Arthur’s court, his knights and their famous round table and the search for the Holy Grail were mainly based on a very few vague “facts”. The ruined castle at Tintagel in Cornwall mentioned in the legends of King Arthur is now a popular tourist destination. Virginia Woolf Virginia Woolf is regarded as a modernist writer and one of the most famous writers of the century. Her works are concerned with the individual consciousness, especially female consciousness. Her novels have become important to feminists for the way they show women’s personalities to be limited by society. In her writing, she uses the technique called the stream of consciousness. One of her best novels is Mrs. Dalloway. D.H. Lawrence D.H.Lawrence was one of the most famous modernist writers in English literature. His novels were critical of the modern world, especially of the modern industrial society. In his writing, he gave up the conventions and forms that had been typical of the 18th century. One of the features of his writing was that his language was easy and sentences were short. The Romantic Movement The Romantic Movement started at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th century. The spirit of Romanticism places emphasis on nature, originality, the emotional and personal. The great poets of this movement are Keats, Shelley and Wordsworth. Jane Austen and the Bronte sisters are among the famous Romantic novelists. Their writings are characterized by rich imaginations and strong feelings. Modernism Modernism in literature began before the Second World War (1939-1945). Modernism in literature can be seen as a reaction against the 19th century form, which can be considered as assuming understanding between writer and reader. This approach to writing is called “realism”. However, modernist writers express the difficulty they see in understanding and communicating how the world works. Modernist writing seems disorganized and hard to understand. One of the most famous English Modernist writers is Virginia Woolf. Postmodernism Postmodernism generally refers to literature after the Second World War. It’s characterized by a high degree of experimentation. George Orwell’s 1984 begins “Postmodernism” in English literature. The horrors of the Second World War weakened ideas of human progress, and of meaning in life. One of the characteristics of Postmodernism is to give up the search for meaning in life. In the Postmodernist novel The French Lieutenant’s Woman, the reader is offered a choice of endings. football in Britain Football was invented in Britain. Legends hold that it derived from the “sport” of ancient warriors celebrating victory by kicking around the decapitated head of an enemy. Today, it is one of the most popular sports in Britain. Millions of people watch the FA Cup games. But in recent years, people are much concerned about football violence. the FA Cup The Football Association Cup is the trophy title for a series of games played by major member teams of the Football Association. Over 20 million tickets are sold to FA games each season. And sometimes, supporters of rival teams clash violently before, during and after the matches. tennis Tennis is a more gentle sport played by people in early summer. It owes its origins to the church. As early as the mid-fifteenth century, people were playing a game called “tenys” around their local churches or cathedrals. The most famous tennis event in the world, the annual international tennis championships, takes place in Wimbledon every year. There are also a lot of social activities during the “Wimbledon fortnight”. Wimbledon Wimbledon is a suburb in London. It is the place where the world’s best players gather to complete in the annual international tennis championship. It is one of the major events of the British sporting calendar and probably the most famous tennis event in the world. There are a lot of other social activities associated with the “Wimbledon fortnight”. cricket Cricket is a most popular sport in summer. It was also one of the very first team sports in Britain to have organized rules and to be played according to the same rules nationally. As early as 1787, the rules were fixed. It is a quite distinctive sport in many ways and has much influence on British people’s life. Cricket is often believed to be associated with a set of English moral values such as “fair play”. golf It is a game invented by the Scottish. And there is a world famous golf course in St Andrews, near Edinburgh. By the sixteenth century, golf was already very popular in Scotland and royal members like Mary Queen of Scots took great interest in it. horse racing The true royal sport in Britain is horse racing. Organized national horse races have been held throughout Britain for hundreds of years. There are two kinds of horse racing: flat racing and steeplechasing. The Grand National is the world’s most famous steeple chase. And there is also the biggest social event associated with horse racing: the Royal Ascot. the Royal Ascot It is the biggest social event associated with horse racing. People dress up and go to show off their fashionable clothes as well to watch the races and place their bets. Women especially wear very elaborate and exotic hats. This event gets much attention from the media and the public. “hunt saboteurs” Hunting is a sport enjoyed by many wealthy and aristocratic families. But many animal rights groups find this an unacceptable and cruel recreation. So “hunt saboteurs”, people of extremist animal rights groups, make efforts to prevent the hunt from proceeding by laying false trails to distract the dogs which track the quarry and by making noise to scare the horses. (Chapter 8) Christmas Christmas is the biggest and the most popular British holiday celebrated on December 25th each year to commemorate the birth of Jesus Christ. People usually decorate homes with evergreen plants, Christmas trees and ornaments. They also exchange gifts and Christmas cards. Three typical British traditions on Christmas are: the Christmas Pantomime, the Queen’s speech over the television and radio, and the Boxing Day. the Christmas Pantomime The Christmas Pantomime is a typical British Christmas tradition. It is a comical musical play usually based on a popular traditional children’s story. There are two main characters in the play: “the principal boy”, played by a young woman, and “the Dame”, played by a man. It is a play with songs and jokes which can be enjoyed by both adults and children. Boxing Day It is a typical British tradition celebrated on the day after Christmas. People used to give Christmas gifts or money to their staff or servants on this day. And now they mostly do shopping, pay visits, enjoy eating or just relax. Easter This festival occurs in the spring, which commemorates the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the most important Christian festival for many church-goers. The Easter egg, originally a Christian symbol of new life, is the main symbol of Easter for most people. Rabbits and chicks are also animals traditionally associated with Easter. Ramadan It is a traditional Islamic festival, a fast which lasts 29 days during which nothing can be eaten or drunk between dawn and nightfall, and ends with a festival. Trooping the Color It is an official celebration for the Queen’s Birthday on the second Saturday in June around Buckingham Palace in London. This ceremony of the Queen inspecting her troops derives from old military traditions in which regimental flags were paraded before the monarch. Early in Victoria’s reign, it was decided that this ceremony should be held on the Sovereign’s birthday. Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes Night) It is a truly English holiday celebrated in November. It originates from the 1605 Gunpowder Plot--- a plan to blow up the British Parliament, kill the Protestant King and replace him with a Catholic king. People celebrate it by having public bonfires and fireworks. A straw effigy called the “Guy” (one of the conspirators Guy Fawkes) is thrown on the bonfire. The biggest Bonfire Night celebration is held in Lewes. William of Orange In 1688, he was invited to take the throne and the Catholic king James II was driven into exile. In 1690, he defeated James’ forces in the Battle of the Boyne. This victory symbolizes the Protestant “right” to be in Ireland and the defeat of Catholicism as the national religion. the Orange March It is the Protestant celebration of their victory (William of Orange) over the exile Catholic king James at the Battle of the Boyne on 12 July, 1690. This victory symbolizes the Protestant “right” to be in Ireland and the defeat of Catholicism as the national religion. On this day, the Protestant “Orangemen” march through the streets, wearing their traditional uniforms. They sometimes will clash with the Catholic bystanders. St Patrick’s Day It is on March 17 each year, when northern Irish Catholics celebrate the birthday of the patron saint of Ireland, St Patrick. The shamrock is a popular symbol to wear on St Patrick’s Day, and it is also considered very lucky to wear something green. St Patrick He is the patron saint of Ireland whose birthday is celebrated each year by Irish Catholics on March 17. He was a Catholic bishop who lived in the 5the century and is thought to have brought Christianity to Ireland. He drove snakes out of Ireland, and used shamrock to explain the Christian trinity. first-footing It is a custom practiced on Hogmanay (New Year’s Eve) in Scotland. There is a superstitious belief that the first person to cross the threshold of a household in the New Year can bring luck and prosperity. First-footers often bring a bottle of spirits, alcohol, a lump of coal or a peat as a gift and are given a “dram of whisky” as their reward. the Burns Night It is a celebration by Scottish people on the evening of the birthday(25 January) of Scottish national poet Robert Burns. People celebrate it with suppers of haggis and whisky and Burn’s poems are recited throughout the evening. Halloween It is a Scottish festival celebrated on 31 October each year. Communion with the dead, mischief, fortune-telling and masquerades are common practices. Some of the other customs are “turnip lanterns” for children and girls using magic spells to see into the future. the Eisteddfod It is a popular festival of music-making and poetry-writing in August each year to celebrate the Welsh culture and language. During the festival, competitions are held to find the best choirs, translators, essayists and poets. The highlight is the crowning of the two bards who have written the best poems of the festival. comprehensive schools Comprehensive schools are the most popular secondary schools in Britain today. Such schools admit children without reference to their academic abilities and provide a general education. Pupils can study everything from academic subjects like literature to more practical subjects like cooking. grammar schools It is a type of secondary schools in Britain. Grammar schools select children at the age 11, through an examination called “the 11-plus”. Those children with the highest marks go to grammar schools. These schools lay emphasis on advanced academic subjects rather than the more general curriculum of the comprehensive schools and expect many of their pupils to go on to universities. independent schools Independent schools are commonly called public schools which receive their funding through the private sector and tuition rates, with some government assistance. Independent schools are not part of national education system, but the quality of instruction and standards are maintained through visits from Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Schools. These schools are restricted to the students whose parents are comparatively rich. Open University Open University was founded in Britain in the 1960s for people who may not get the opportunity for higher education for economic and social reasons. It’s open to everybody and does not demand the same formal educational qualifications as the other universities. University courses are followed through TV, radio, correspondence, videos and a network of study centers. At the end of their studies at the Open University, successful students are awarded a university degree. owner-occupation It means that people own the homes they live in. The UK has a very high proportion of owner-occupation ---about 65% of the homes are owner-occupied. This is a higher proportion than in most of Europe. flats Flats are usually in modern multi-storey purpose-built buildings. They are often publicly owned and not usually regarded as the most desirable kind of home. But certain large flats in fashionable areas may be high status and very expensive. class system in British society Class system does exist in British society. Most of the British population would claim themselves to be either of middle-class or working-class, though some people would actually belong to the upper middle-class or lower middle-class. Class divisions are not simply economic, they are cultural as well. People of different classes may differ in the kind of newspaper they read, in the way they speak and in the kind of education they receive. One of the distinctive features about the British class system is that it retains a hereditary aristocracy. Oxbridge Oxbridge refers to the two top universities in Britain: Oxford and Cambridge. These two universities not only offer good education, but also offer a network of connections. Graduates from these universities occupy a high proportion of the top level of many aspects of British society. Britain and the European Union Britain joined the European Economic Community in 1973 which is now called the European Union (EU). Britain’s participation in the EU remains controversial. At the center of the controversy is the fact that it is not clear about what the EU is and what it will become. The UK has always been interested in encouraging free trade between countries and is therefore very supportive of the EU as a free trade area. Britain likes to regard the EU as a place where economic cooperation is possible and where a flow of trained personnel and goods are possible. But Britain has always been less enthusiastic about giving up its national sovereignty to a European government. Britain and the United States The British foreign policy is also affected by its relationship with the United States. During World War II, the two countries were closely allied and continued to work together closely in the postwar years, because they had many things in common about the past and the world situation. Even today, British and American policy-makers share the general ideas in many respects. However, Britain’s “special relation-ship” with the United States has gone through many ups and downs. The British are beginning to realize that their own foreign policy actions can be limited by the United States. But both sides have worked hard to maintain the “special relationship”. the Commonwealth In the author’s opinion, the Commonwealth is a voluntary association of states which is made up mostly of former British colonies. There are 50 members of the Commonwealth: many of these are developing countries like India and Cyprus; others are developed nations like Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The Commonwealth was set up as a forum for continued cooperation and as a sort of support network. NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization was set up in 1949. the author believes that the purpose of NATO is to protect member states against aggression, to provide a foundation for security in Europe, and to provide a forum for transatlantic defense cooperation. The British Broadcasting Corporation The BBC was founded in 1926 as a public service radio station and later moved into television. It’s now Britain’s main public service broadcaster. It currently has two TV channels. BBC 1 specializes in shows with a broad appeal. BBC 2 supplies people with documentaries and shows aimed at particular social groups. The BBC also provides the World Service which broadcasts in English and 43 other languages throughout the world. The Guardian The Guardian is a national daily newspaper which is radical in politics and interested in society and social problems. It’s soft on crime and quite feminist and shows great concern for green politics. quality paper It’s one of the two groups of the national dailies. The quality papers carry more serious and in-depth articles of particular political and social importance. They also carry reviews and feature articles about high culture and will generally be read by a well-educated, middle class audience. The News of the World It’s one of the tabloids which began publishing as a paper in 1843. It gives great coverage on crime, sport and sex stories. By the 1930s it was Britain’s most popular Sunday paper, selling 3.4 million copies each week. It now sells about 4.7 million papers each week, and is Britain’s biggest seller. The Broadcasting Act It’s designed to keep ownership of broadcast media widely spread so there are no concentrations of media power in the hands of a few, and foreign ownership is not allowed. It’s also to retain certain standards of decency, taste, accuracy and balance. The Official Secret Act It’s a legal act which stipulates that all government information is kept secret unless the government says it can be released. Those who break this legal act would be fined or even sent to prison. Tabloid It’s a smaller format newspaper with colour photos and catchy headlines. It carries scandals and gossip usually about famous people so as to attract readers. Stories are short, easy to read and often rely more on opinion than fact.