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《英语国家社会与文化入门》上册第五单元

时间：2024-04-17 20:12:15 下载该word文档

TheUKEconomyTextTheUnitedKingdomofGreatBritainisamajordevelopedcapitalistcountry.Itisnowtheworld’ssixthlargesteconomyandhasagrossdomesticproduct（GDP）ofUS$2645billion(2010andisforecasttohavethestrongestbusinessenvironmentofallmajorEuropeaneconomies,butalsoamemberoftheWorldTradeOrganization.Itisaleadingglobalnation,asthesecondlargestexporterandthirdlargestimporterofcommercialservices,andthetenthlargestexporterandsixthlargestimporterofmerchandise(2007.AbsoluteDeclineandRelativeDeclineBythe1880stheBritisheconomywasdominantintheworld,producingonethirdoftheworld’smanufacturedgoods,halfitscoalandiron,halfitscotton.TheamountofBritishshippingwasgreaterthanthatintherestofthewordputtogether.Butevenby1990thiswasnolongerthecase,theUKhavingbeenovertakenbyboththeUnitedStatesandGermany;andcertainlyfrom1945untilthepresent,thestoryoftheUKeconomyisusuallythoughtofasoneofdecline.Thisisunderstandablebutrathermisleading,asithasinfactbeenaperiodofsteadyeconomicgrowthandrapidlyincreasinglivingstandards.BritainremainsoneoftheGroupofSevenlargeindustrialeconomies.Buttherearereasonsfordescribingthisperiodasoneofdecline.Britainenteredthepost-warworldasoneofthesuccessfulalliesoftheSecondWorldWar,withsomeofitschiefcompetitor
nationssuchasGermanyandJapan,economicallydestroyed.AlsoBritainwasthecentreofastillvastempire.Accordingtothefigures,TheUKwassecondonlytotheUnitedStatesintheinternationaleconomy.ThusBritainwastheninanapparentlystrongeconomicposition,apositionitclearlynolongeroccupies,whichindicatessomesortofdecline.Butthebasicpositive-seemingfactsdescribingthesizeoftheeconomy,thehighproportionoftheworldtradethatwasBritish,andsoon,in1945,didnotrevealimportantnegativefactsabouttheUK’spositioneventhen.Firstlythecountryhadgoneheavilyintodebtinordertofinancethewar,sellingmanyofitsaccumulatedoverseasassets,andborrowinglargeamountsfromtheUnitedStatesandCanada.ThesedebtsmeantthattheUKenteredthepost-warerawithamajoreconomicproblem.Secondly,theeraofempirewasover.India,popularlyknownas“TheJewelintheCrown”oftheBritishEmpire,gaineditsindependencein1947,only2yearsaftertheendofthewar.Thiswasthelargestelementintheempire,providingrawmaterialsandabigmarketforBritishgoods.ThisrelationshipwithIndiawasnolongeravailable,andtherestoftheempirequicklyfollowedIndiatoindependence,leavingBritainasjustamedium-sizeEuropeancountry,withapopulationonlyonefifththesizeoftheU.S.Thirdly,despitetherelativelyrapidandtrouble-freeprocessofdecolonization,Britainwasstillforcedtomaintainasubstantialandexpensivemilitarypresenceinmanyoverseaslocationsuntiltheprocesswascompleted(mostlybytheendof

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