Peoplemaywonderwhydifferentwordsareusedtodescribethesefourcountries:England,Wales,ScotlandandNorthernIreland.YoucanclarifythisquestionifyoustudyBritishhistory.

　　FirsttherewasEngland.Waleswaslinkedtoitinthethirteenthcentury.NowwhenpeoplerefertoEnglandyoufindWalesincludedaswell.NextEnglandandWaleswerejoinedtoScotlandintheseventeenthcenturyandthenamewaschangedto"GreatBritain".HappilythiswasaccomplishedwithoutconflictwhenKingJamesofScotlandbecameKingofEnglandandWalesaswell.FinallytheEnglishgovernmenttriedintheearlytwentiethcenturytoformtheUnitedKingdombygettingIrelandconnectedinthesamepeacefulway.However,thesouthernpartofIrelandwasunwillingandbrokeawaytoformitsowngovernment.SoonlyNorthernIrelandjoinedwithEngland,WalesandScotlandtobecometheUnitedKingdomandthiswasshowntotheworldinanewflagcalledtheUnionJack.

　　Totheircreditthefourcountriesdoworktogetherinsomeareas(eg,thecurrencyandinternationalrelations),buttheystillhaveverydifferentinstitutions.Forexample,NorthernIreland,EnglandandScotlandhavedifferenteducationalandlegalsystemsaswellasdifferentfootballteamsforcompetitionsliketheWorldCup!

　　Englandisthelargestofthefourcountries,andforconvenienceitisdividedroughlyintothreezones.ThezonenearestFranceiscalledtheSouthofEngland,themiddlezoneiscalledtheMidlandsandtheonenearesttoScotlandisknownastheNorth.Youfindmostofthepopulationsettledinthesouth,butmostoftheindustrialcitiesintheMidlandsandtheNorthofEngland.Although,nationwide,thesecitiesarenotaslargeasthoseinChina,theyhaveworld-famousfootballteamsandsomeofthemevenhavetwo!Itisapitythattheindustrialcitiesbuiltinthenineteenthcenturydonotattractvisitors.ForhistoricalarchitectureyouhavetogotoolderbutsmallertownsbuiltbytheRomans.ThereyouwillfindoutmoreaboutBritishhistoryandculture.

　　ThegreatesthistoricaltreasureofallisLondonwithitsmuseums,artcollections,theatres,parksandbuildings.Itisthecentreofnationalgovernmentanditsadministration.IthastheoldestportbuiltbytheRomansinthefirstcenturyAD,theoldestbuildingbegunbytheAnglo-Saxonsinthe1060sandtheoldestcastleconstructedbylaterNormanrulersin1066.TherehasbeenfoursetsofinvadersofEngland.Thefirstinvaders,theRomans,lefttheirtownsandroads.Thesecond,theAnglo-Saxons,lefttheirlanguageandtheirgovernment.Thethird,theVikings,influencedthevocabularyandplace-namesoftheNorthofEngland,andthefourth,theNormans,leftcastlesandintroducednewwordsforfood.

　　IfyoulookaroundtheBritishcountrysideyouwillfindevidenceofalltheseinvaders.YoumustkeepyoureyesopenifyouaregoingtomakeyourtriptotheUnitedKingdomenjoyableandworthwhile.

　　翻译：人们可能会奇怪为什么用不同的词语来描述英格兰、威尔士、苏格兰和北爱尔兰这四个国家.如果你研究英国的历史,你就能够弄明白这个问题.

　　首先是英格兰.威尔士于公元13世纪就同英格兰联合起来了.如今只要有人提起英格兰,你就会发现威尔士总是包括在内的.然后,于17世纪英格兰、威尔士同苏格兰联合起来,名字改为大不列颠.令人庆幸的是,当苏格兰的詹姆士国王成为英格兰和威尔士的国王时,这三个国家在无（军事）冲突的情况下实现了联合.最后在20世纪初通过同样的和平方式,英国政府尽力把爱尔兰也纳入进来,组成了联合王国.然而,爱尔兰的南部却不情愿这样并分离出去建立了自己的政府.因此只有北爱尔兰同英格兰、威尔士、苏格兰联合起来组成了联合王国,这一点从新的联合王国国旗（“联合杰克”）上就可以看得出来.

　　值得称赞的是：这四个国家在一些方面（比方说在货币和国际关系上）,它们的确是共同合作的,但是有些制度仍然区别很大.例如,北爱尔兰、英格兰和苏格