英美概况一 A Brief Introduction to Britain and America I

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Unit 5 The UK Economy

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1. Events in History2. The current UK economy3. Case study: the aerospace

industry

Main Contents

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1. Events in History

1. Dominant in the 1880s2. Overtaken in 19003. Decline since 19454. Privatization in the 1980s

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Producing 1/3 of the world’s manufactured goods.

Producing ½ of the world’s coal, iron and cotton.

Greater shipping amount than the sum of the rest of the world.

Dominant in the 1880s

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By 1900, the UK was overtaken by both the United States and Germany, losing its dominant place in the world economy.

Overtaken in 1900

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(1) It’s a relative decline 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 2nd largest economy to being the 6th.

Decline since 1945

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(2) ReasonsDiscuss and find out the 4 reasons of

this relative decline.

Decline since 1945

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(2) Reasons① Britain has gone into heavy debt to

finance the war, which meant that the UK entered the post-war era with a major economic problem.

Decline since 1945

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(2) Reasons② As the era of empire was over,

Britain lost its colonies which used to be raw material bases and big markets for British goods.

“The Jewel in the Crown” of the British Empire, India, gained its independence in 1947.

The rest of the empire quickly followed India into independence.

Decline since 1945

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(2) Reasons③ Britain was heavily burdened with the

huge military spending both during the process of decolonization and in the post-war era.

Decline since 1945

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(2) Reasons④ As Britain’s industry survived

comparatively unaffected in the German bombing during the war, Britain lacked the investment in modern equipment and new products.

In fact, a low rate of domestic industrial investment coupled with a high rate of overseas investment is still a characteristic in the UK economy.

Decline since 1945

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(1) BackgroundThe British economy went through a

particularly bad period in the 1970s, with high rates of inflation and devaluation of the Pound.

Privatization in the 1980s

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(2) Events ① In 1979, the Conservative party under

Margaret Thatcher was in power.② An extensive program of privatization

was carried out. Many state-owned businesses (such as steel, telecom, gas, aerospace) were turned into private companies.

Privatization in the 1980s

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(3) Influence Privatization was successful in

controlling inflation but at the same time unemployment rate increased rapidly.

Privatization in the 1980s

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The current UK economy

1. Primary industries2. Secondary industries3. Tertiary [‘tɜ:ʃəri ] industries

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2. The current 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;

Tertiary industries, often described as service, such as banking, insurance, tourism, selling of goods.

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Primary industry

(1)Agriculture ① ¾ of the land is for agriculture. ¼ of that for crops the rest for grazing animals② The best agricultural land is in the

southeast of England.

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Primary industry

(1)Agriculture ③ Wheat and barley are the two

commonest crops.④ Sheep are the most numerous

livestock. Cattle (both beef and dairy) are common, too.

⑤ The beef industry has been hit badly by BSE disease in cattle leading a 1996 ban of beef export.

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Primary industry

(2) Fishing ① Fishing industry provides 55% of the

UK demand for fish.② Scottish ports land the majority of

the fish caught.

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Primary industry

(3) Mining ① Energy production is an important

part of UK economy. ② In the 1970s, oil and gas were

discovered under the North Sea, making UK an overall exporter of energy since then.

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Primary industry

(3) Mining ③ Three of the biggest ten companies

in Britain are to be found in the energy sector: Shell(half Dutch), British Petroleum [pə’trəʊliəm] (BP), and British Gas.

④ The world’s largest mining company, RTZ, is a UK company operating mines worldwide.

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Second industries

Manufacturing industry Manufacturing industry has always

been important, and it is particular strong in pharmaceuticals [‘fɑ:mə’su:tɪkl] 制药 , chemicals, aerospace and food and drink.

① Pharmaceuticals: The British company Glaxo-wellcome is

the biggest drug company in the world.

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Second industries

Manufacturing industry ② Chemicals: ICI is the second largest paint

manufacture in the world.

③ Aerospace: Part 3 ④ Food and drink: Scotch whisky is a major export. ⑤High-technology engineering industry

has developed around the motor-racing business.

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Tertiary industries

(1)Britain has seen a relative shrinking of the importance of secondary industry and a spectacular growth in tertiary or service industries.

(2) The financial sector is an important part of this service industry.

① London is one of the top three financial centers in the world.

② London has the greatest concentration of foreign banks in the world and is the world’s largest foreign exchange market.

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Tertiary industries

③ Besides banking, dealing in commodities and insurance are important processes in “The City”.

“The City” 伦敦城 It 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.

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Tertiary industries

“The City” At the heart of the City is the

London Stock Exchange, one of the busiest share-dealing centers in the world.

(3) Advertising is another major business service in which UK companies are highly successful.

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3. Case study: the aerospace industry

1. Status2. Major achievements3. Recent changes

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Status

(1) After those of the US and Russia, the UK’s aerospace industry is the next largest. It is the 3rd largest in the world.

(2) It is capable of producing the full range of aerospace products from civil and military aircrafts to missiles, satellites and jet engines.

(3) It produces 2% of UK national output, accounting for 8% of manufactured export goods.

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Major achievements

(1)The first powered flight Such flight was made in UK in 1908

for the first time, while in the world the American Wright Brothers had invented it in 1903.

(2) Development of radar One of the most significant

development of the inter-war period was the development of radar by the UK’s Marconi company in 1922.

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Major achievements

(3) First practical jet engine ① The Englishman Frank Whittle

developed the world’s first practical jet engine in 1937.

② At this time, the foundations had been laid for the three major branches of the aviation 航空 industry: aircraft, engines and aviation electronics 电子学 , with the British companies prominent in each field.

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Major achievements

(4) Civil aviation ① The World War II government

planned a range of civil aviation types to take over from wartime production.

② These include the world’s first jet-powered civil airliner: The Comet 彗星 .

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Major achievements

(5) Merger 合并 After WWII, the British industry

merged into two main aircraft groups: the British Aircraft Corporation and Hawer-Siddeley Aviation, with Rolls-Royce as the main engine builder and Westland in helicopters.

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Major achievements

(6) Concorde ① The world’s first supersonic 超音速 civil

airline produced collaboratively by British and French aircraft manufacturers.

② The aircraft was a technical success but a commercial failure.

③ But this first successful collaboration led to more such programmes between Britain and France.

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Recent changes

(1)Rolls-Royce once went bankrupt and was nationalized by the government in 1971.

(2) BAC and Hawker Siddeley were also nationalized as one company, British Aerospace, in 1977 by the Labour government.

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Recent changes

(3) Both Rolls-Royce and British Aerospace were privatized in the 1980s by the Conservative party. They are the two big arms of the current industry.

(4) The 3rd main arm of the current industry is GEC Avionics 航空电子设备 .

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HomeworkBritish Literature1. Early writing2. Elizabethan Drama3. The 17th Century 4. The 18th Century 5. The Romantic Period6. The 19th Century Novel7. Literature in the 20th Century and Onwards每组一个小标题。

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