英语国家社会与文化入门名词解释下册3到11单元

第一篇：英语国家社会与文化入门名词解释下册3到11单元

Unit 3

1.The first english settlement: was founded in1607in virginia, and it was organized by the London Company with a charter from the English king James I.2.Puritanism: in the 16th and 17th cent., a movement for reform in the Church of England that had a profound influence on the social, political, ethical, and theological ideas of England and America.3.The declaration of independence: written by Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, proclaimed the independence of 13 North American colonies.4.George Washington: is the first president of the United states, from 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, he managed his lands around Mount Vernon.5..Benjamin Franklin: was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.he is credited as being foundational to the roots of American values and character.Unit 4

The Articles of Confederation: After the War was won, the new nation of the United States was organized under the agreement of the Articles of Confederation with a weak national government called the congress.Each state had its own government, made its own laws and handled its internal affairs.The states did not cooperate with the congress and with each other.The congress had no power to force any state to contribute money to the national government and the congress could not tax any citizen either.As a result, the Articles of Confederation failed.A federal system: It is one in which power is shared between a central authority and its constituent parts, with some rights reserved to each.The making of the U.S Constitution: The Articles of Confederation failed.The Congress decided to hold a constitutional convention to revise the Articles of Confederation.The delegates from 12 states(Rhode Island refused to participated)gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 and end up in writing a new constitution and set a federal system with a strong central government.The Constitution provided that an election of the president would be called for, federal laws would be made only by a Congress made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate and a Supreme Court would be set up.This new Constitution was finally approved by the majority of the citizens in over 9 of the 13 states and was officially put into effect in 1787.The executive: The chief executive is the president, who is elected to a four year term.A president can be elected to only two terms according to an amendment passed in 1951.The president can propose legislation to Congress.He can veto any bill passed by Congress.The veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both houses.The president can appoint federal judges as vacancies occur.He is the commander in chief of the armed forces.The president has other broad authorities in running the government departments and handling foreign relations.The bill of rights: It consists of the first 10 amendments which were added to the Constitution in 1791.It was passed to guarantee freedom and individual rights such as freedom of speech, the right to assemble in public places, the right to own weapons and so on.Homeland security is short for the United States Department of Homeland Security(abbreviated as DHS).It is found on March 1,2003, and is a Cabinet department of the United States federal government with the primary responsibilities of protecting the territory of the US from terrorist attacks and responding to natural disasters.With more than 200, 000 employees, DHS is the third largest Cabinet department, after the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs.Other agencies with significant homeland security responsibilities include the Department of Health and Human

Services, and Energy.Unit 5

1.Eli Whitney: made cotton production more efficient by inventing the cotton gin, which rapidly removed the seeds from the bolls of cotton.2.Samuel Slater: built a cotton cloth factory, which started a process of chang that turned the northeastern region of the United States into an important manufacturing center.3.Industrial revolution In England, especially machinery run by water power and later by steam power was used to manufacture cloth, this changed the ways that people worked.4.Corporation:In the early years of the United States , banks were one of the few businesses organized in the form of corporations, the creation survived the death of its founder of founders.5.Service industries: industries that sell a service rather than make a product , and now dominate the economy.6.Agribusiness: has been coined to reflect the large-scale nature of agricultural enterprise in the modern US economy.7.Stock:very early, people in the United States saw that they could make money by lending it tothose who wanted to start or to extend a business.That led to a creation of an important part of the current economic scene.8.Migrant workers: on large farms ,many of the workers are hired only for a specific chore, many of these seasonal workers travel form farm to farm, staying only until the crops are picked.Unit 6

1.Religious liberty in the US: the great awakening of the 1740s, a “revival” movement which sought to breathe new feeling and strength into religion, cut across the lines of protestant religious group.2.The baptists in the US: are the largest protestant group.They believe in adult baptism by immersion, symbolizing a mature and responsible conversion experience.3.Catholic in the US :the largest single religious group , about one-quarter of all Americans are of the Roman Catholic faith, and the majority of them are descendants of immigrants from Ireland.4.Three faiths: by the 1950s, it had developed, Americans were considered to come in three basic varieties: Protestant, Catholic and Jewish,the order reflecting the strength in numbers of each group.5.Religious diversity:since the US has always been a fertile ground for the growth of new religious movements, many religious communities and secular utopias in new forms of social living were founded in 18th and 18th century American.unit 7Transcendentalists In his book Nature, Ralph Waldo Emerson(1803-1882)claimed that by studying and responding to nature individuals could reach a higher spiritual state without formal religion..A circle of intellectuals who were discontented with the New England establishment gathered around Emerson.They accepted Emerson’s theories about spiritual transcendence.They are known as Transcendentalists.The Scarlet Letter 红字 was published in 1850.Set in the Puritan past, this masterpiece is the stark drama of a woman harshly cast out from her community for committing the sin of adultery.In this novel, Hawthorne explored certain moral themes such as guilt, pride and emotional

repression.3 Leaves of Grass was American poet Walt Witman’s masterpiece.Through

the poems, Witman praised the ideas of equality and democracy and

celebrated the dignity, self-reliant spirit and the joy of the common

man.Unit 8

1.Elementary school: it usually means grades kindergarten(K)through 8, but in some places, the elementary school includes only grades K to 6

2.Higher education: the system of higher education in the US is complex, it comprises four categories of institutions:1 the university 2 the four-year undergraduate institution 3 the technical training institution 4 the two-year or community college.3.ACT: in 1944, congress passed the servicemen' s readjustment ACT, it promised financial aid, including aid for higher education , to member of the armed forces after the end of World War 2.4.affirmative action programs: by the end of 1960s, some colleges introduced special plans and programs to equalize educational opportunities, some of these plans were called“..”.Their goal was to make up for past inequality by giving special reference to members of minorities seeking jobs or admission to college.Unit 9The Greensboro sit-in was an instrumental action, leading to increased national sentiment at a crucial period in US history.It was a series of nonviolent protests in 1960 which led to the Woolworth's department store chain reversing its policy of racial segregation in the Southern United States.The civil rights movement was a worldwide political movement for equality before the law occurring between approximately 1950 and 1980.it took the form of campaigns of civil resistance aimed at achieving change by nonviolent forms of resistance.3.The Montgomery Bus Boycott, a campaign lasted from December 1, 1955, when Rosa Parks, an African American woman, was arrested for refusing to surrender her seat to a white person, to December 20, 1956, when a federal ruling, Browder v.Gayle, took effect, and led to a United States Supreme Court decision that declared the Alabama and Montgomery laws requiring segregated buses to be unconstitutional..Martin Luther King, Jr.(January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968)was an American clergyman, activist, and prominent leader in the African-American Civil Rights Movement.[1] He is best known for his role in the advancement of civil rights in the United States and around the world, using nonviolent methods following the teachings of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi.[2] King has become a national icon in the history of modern American liberalism.[3]Counterculture: Counterculture was a movement of revolt against the moral values, the aesthetic standards, the personal behavior and the social relations of conventional society.Unit 10

1.the black “underclass”:some blacks have been left behind, and urban ghettos now contain a permanently impoverished “underclass” of habitually unemployed or underemployed black people.2.Poverty as a social problem: it means greater susceptibility to disease , to alcoholism, to victimization by criminals, and to mental disorders.Poverty can mean low self-esteem, despair,and stunting of human potential.poverty raises some serious moral problems and inevitably creates fierce conflicts of interest and many political controversies.3.Socially stratified American society: it is divided into social classes that have varying degrees of access to the rewards the society offers.4.Drug abuse as a social problem: it is in the US has come to be regarder as one of the most challenging social problems facing the nation.the “drug problem” is perceived by most Americans as a major threat to our society, particularly to its younger members.5.White-collar crimes: they are affected by police reporting practices and have to be viewed against the fact that many crimes are unreported.since higher-income classes are far more involved in white-collar crime, the higher classes may actually have a higher rate of crime than the lower classes.6.The abuse of power by government: it has been apparent that the major organizations in American society sometimes work in concert to advance their own interests rather than those of the people.The lack of public answerability of these organizations has become a major social problem.,7.The power by corporations:they argue for legislation to serve their own ends, influence the appointment of officials, block reforms they consider undesirable.8.Richard Nixon: he was marked by a well-founded public belief that his administrations were deliberately and systematically lying to the people.He was pardoned by his successor and escaped accountability for his acts in office.

第二篇：英语国家社会与文化入门2名词解释

1.American Indians

American Indians , who were mistakenly called by Columbus, moved to the

Americas from Asia about 25 000 years ago.They developed their own aboriginal cultures and some of them such as the Aztecs, the Incas and the mayas were very advanced when Europeans arrived in the New World.But, as a result of European conquest, the Indian population was quickly reduced and their cultures were ruthlessly destroyed.2.the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was mainly drafted by Thomas Jefferson and was adopted by the Congresson July 4,1776, when the people of 13 English colonies in North America were fighting for

their freedom and independence from the British colonial rule.The document

declared that all men were equal and that they were entitled to have some unalienable rights such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.It also explained the philosophy of governments:the powers of governments came from the consent of the governed and the purpose of governmemts was to secure the rights mentioned above.The theory of politics and the guiding principles of the American Revolution mainly came from John Locke.3.Ggeorge Washington

George Washington was one of the founding fathers of the American Republic.He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in the War of Independence against the British colonial rule and the first President of the United States.4.Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers of the American Republic He was the chief author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States.5.Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was one of the founding fathers of the American Republic.He participated in writing the Declaration of Independence and making the U.S.Constitution.6.the Articles of Confederation

After the War of Independence was won, the new nation of the United States was organized under the agreement of the Articles of Confederation with a weak national

government called the Congress.Each state had its own government, made its own laws and handle its internal affairs.The states did not cooperate with the Congress and with each other.The Congress had no power to force anystate to contribute money to the national government and the Congress could not tax any citizen either.As a ressult,the Articles of Confederation failed.7.the Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights consssists of the first 10 amendments which were added to the Constitution in 1791.The Bill of Rights was passed to guarantee freedom and individual rights such as freedom of speech, the right to assemble in public places, the right to own weapons and so on.8.Eli Whitney

Eli Whitney is an American inventor who invented the cotton gin, which made

removing the seeds from the bolls of cotton much easier.He also began manufacuring rifles with machinery, using interchanageable part.This contributed to the American system of mass

production.9.service industries

Service industries are industries that sell a service rather than make a product.Service industries range from banking to telecommunications to the provision of meals in restaurants.Aas more and more people are employed iin service industries in the US, it is sometimed said that the US has moved into a “post-industrial era “.10.stock

When starting or expanding business, corporations need to borrow money.They may issue stocks for people to buy.When people buy stock, they become part owner of the company.If the company makes a profit, they receive a share of it.Likewise, if the company loses money, the stockholders will not make a profit or the value of their shares will drop---they lose money.Therefore buying s tock is a risk.11.Mattin Luther Ling,Jr

Martin Luther King,Jr.,an Atlanta-born Baptist minister, was the leader of the

Southern Christian Leadership Conference during the civil rights movement of the 1960s.To promote his philosophy of nonviolent protest against segregationand other kindds of social injustice, King organized a series of “marches”.King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.Due to his strong belief in nonviolent peaceful protest, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.He was assassinated in the city of Memphis in April 1968.12.Counter Culture

In the wake of the Free Speech Movement and the New Left appeared a

phenomenon that historians called the “counter culture.” The Counter Culture rejected capitalism andd other American principles.They had morals different from those taught by their parents.Some groups of youth tried to construct different ways of life.The counter culture exerted a great influence upon people’s attitudes toward social

mores,marriage,career,and success.13.Now:

With the publication of The Feminine Mystique in 1963,Betty Friedan became the chief spokesperson of the Women’s Liberation Movement.In her book,she compared the American family,or the American society as a whole,to a “comfortable concentration camp”,where women were discriminated against and oppressed.In 1996,she helped to found the national Organization for Women(NOW).A reform organization,NOW battle for “equal rights in parnership with men.14.white-collar crimes

White-collar crimes are those committed by higher income groups such as the

crimes of fraud,false advertising,corporate price fixing,bribery,embezzlement,industrial pollution,tax evasion and so on.Yet the statistics provided by the FBI tend to overrlook white-collar crimes.In fact,white-collarcrimes are often ignored by law enforcement agencies.Some sociologists aargue that the higher classes may actually have a higher rate of crime than the lower classes.15.the abuse of power by government

People believe that public organizations in the United States sometimes work in concert to advance their own interests rather than those of the people.Government in America is widely distrusted for the lack of answerability.Americans were convinced that the Johnson and Nixon administrations were deliberately and systematically lying to the people in the war against Vietnam and in the Watergate scandal.The FBI and the CIA are responsible for thousands of illegal acts.All these acts show the abuse of power by government.16.Richard Nixon

Richard Buxib was the former President of the United states… Iin the early 1970s, he was involved in the Watergate scandal, for which he was forced to resign from the presidency.17.the Prairies

The prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba lie east of the Rockies.The prairies are flat and featureless and have a harsh continental climate.They are called the breadbasket of Canada becaussse the land is well-suited to farming, and wheat is one of the biggest agricultural crops in this area.The praairies are also rich in energy resources.18.central Canada

Central Canada, Ontario and Quebec, are the parts of the country that were first settled.They are the industrial heartland of the country and are also the most densely populated provincees.They have the largest cities like Toronto and Montreal.19.The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

The canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which was introduced in 1982, expressed the idea thaat any ethnic, racial and religious groups which wanted to retain their cultural identity would be supported by the federal government.This promise was further strengthened and explained in the 1988 Multiculturalism Act.20.Structures of governmeent

Canada’s systerm of government is based on the British system of parliamentary democracy.Like Britain,Canada is a monarchy.The official head of state is the Queen, but she is represented by an official called a Governor General as she doesn’t live in Canada.Canada is a federation with ten provinces and two territories.The government of the country is referred to as “the federal government”,to distinguish it from the lower level government of each province.21.Immigration Act 1976

The Immigration Act 1976 encouraged Asian immigration, offering passports to those with capital and entrepreneurial skills.Would-be immigrants with more than $250 000(Cdn)to invest in businesses that will create jobs and wealth wer welcomed to settle in Canada.This created a new category of ”entrepreneurial immigrants”.22.The Canadian Mosaic

Canada is a nation of immigrants.When Canada is described as a mosaic, it

meaans that each if the immigrant groups do not have to throw off their oldd customs, languages and traditions, because there is no particular concept of an overarching

Canadian identity..This resembles a mosaic of different cultures which overlap but do not overwhelm each other.23.“the First Nnations”

The First Nations are the native tribes of aboriginal people who lived in Canada before the European explorers settled.They were officially referred to as “the First

Nations”because they are the original inhabitants of the country, and because there is not one single group or culture----there are many”nations”,or tribes, which have different languages,customs and beliefs.24.migrant workers

Many big farms hire temporary workers only for a specific chore---such as picking crops.Many of these seasonal workers travel from farm to farm,staying only until the cropss are picked…They are known as migrant workers.25.Samuel Slater

In 1793,Samuel Slater built the first factory in the United States---a cotton cloth factory in Pawtuckket,Rhode Island.He built the factory from memory, because it was a crime to carry factory plant out of England.The success of his factory started a process of

change that turned the northeastern region of the United States into an important manufacturing center and helped the nation become a major cotton producer.

第三篇：英语国家社会与文化入门

英语国家社会与文化入门

节日

 蒙特利尔爵士音乐节

世界上最有名的国际爵士音乐节之一。1978年加拿大一名狂热的音乐爱好者Alain Simard基于“把全美国最好的爵士音乐家齐聚蒙特利尔”的梦想，向政府提交了申请书，但直到1980年，第一届蒙特利尔爵士音乐节才在各方的资助下正式拉开了帷幕。开办20 多年来，蒙特利尔爵士音乐节已经逐步超脱了音乐演出的单纯意义，成为一个音乐交流的巨大舞台和加拿大最具影响力的国家盛事之一。进入21世纪以后，每年的蒙特利尔爵士音乐节都会邀请两千位著名乐手为乐迷们献上异彩纷呈的音乐大餐，更会吸引超过150万的参观者慕名而来。2011年，蒙特利尔爵士音乐节被评为加拿大魁北克最重要的十五件大事之一，更被《Jazztime Magazine》的读者选为“最好的爵士音乐节”。

每年的蒙特利尔爵士音乐节是一场音乐盛会，音乐爱好者们可以尽情享受艺术家们带来的听觉震撼。

 堪培拉气球节

每年4月历时2周的热气球节（Canberra Balloon Fiesta）吸引了世界各地的热气球爱好者。全世界的热气球掌舵手和队员们都来到堪培拉参加这一盛事。

热气球从旧国会大厦的前院出发后集中在以堪培拉标志性景点作为背景的指定区域。这些姿态优雅的大家伙慢慢膨胀为形状各异，大小不同冰代表各个国家的巨型气球漂浮在黎明的天空中，你的眼前将是一个五彩缤纷，热闹非凡，充满激情的美丽世界。

 感恩节

每年11月的第四个星期四是感恩节（Thanksgiving Day）.感恩节是美国人民独创的一个古老节日，也是美国合家欢聚的节日，因此美国人提起感恩节总是倍感亲切。感恩节的由来要一直追溯到美国历史的发端。美洲大陆上的移民在当地心

地善良的印第安人的热心帮助下，度过了极寒交迫的冬天，印第安人传授农作技术与经验，送去生活必需品，移民们欢庆丰收的日子，按照宗教传统习俗，移民规定了感谢上帝的日子，并决定为感谢印第安人的真诚帮助，邀请他们一同庆祝节日。1983年，美国总统林肯宣布每年十一月的第四个星期日为感恩节。

如今感恩节文化传播全球，中国人民也喜欢在感恩节前后对亲朋好友送去真诚衷心的感谢，因为中国文化中也有滴水之恩涌泉相报的传统。

文字

中国汉字历史悠久，博大精深，作为世界上最著名的象形文字，汉字随着华夏文明的繁衍发展而源远流长。汉字不同于世界上任何一种文字，汉字的发展历经了几千年的演变，表现形式多种多样，表达意义精彩纷呈。中国作为世界四大文明古国之一，是世界上唯一没有中断过的古老文明，因而汉字也是延续不断的发展演变，汉字文化也是中华文化中不可或缺的一部分。

汉字较世界上其他字母文字有着独特神秘的魅力，汉字是世界上唯一一种可以以艺术形式表现的文字，书法在汉字表达中有着无与伦比的艺术感，并且汉字书法种类繁多，样式精彩，派别众多。从秦始皇的小篆到汉赋的隶书，再到唐诗宋词的楷书，元曲中的行书，草书，狂草等等，更涌现出王羲之，柳公权，颜真卿等名流千古的书法家。历史上的每一个封建王朝都有着主流的汉字书法，也有着主流的汉字文学表达形式，春秋战国的散文，楚辞汉赋，唐诗宋词元曲，明清小说等，再到现代民主社会的百花齐放，百鸟争鸣，汉字文学艺术一直在传承与发展，从未间断。

中华民族历经无数艰难险阻，无数天灾磨难，依旧顽强不屈地伫立世界的东方，其中汉字功不可没。方方正正的汉字，中华儿女正直勇敢，正因为汉字给予了无穷的归属感和凝聚力，中华儿女在面对困难时可以团结一致万众一心克服磨难战胜困难，展现出中华民族强大的凝聚力。

汉字有着独特的魅力，汉语又是世界上最难学习的语言。汉字表达细腻，情感丰富，是世界上其他文字无法比拟的。用其他任何语言翻译汉语，都无法表现出汉语的无穷魅力，这也是中国人还没有获得过诺贝尔文学奖的重要原因。汉字，像中国那么美，无与伦比！

第四篇：英语国家社会与文化入门(II)

英语国家社会与文化入门（II）

名词解释题

1.American Indians

American Indians , who were mistakenly called by Columbus, moved to the Americas from Asia about 25 000 years ago.They developed their own aboriginal cultures and some of them such as the Aztecs, the Incas and the mayas were very advanced when Europeans arrived in the New World.But, as a result of European conquest, the Indian population was quickly reduced and their cultures were ruthlessly destroyed.2.the Declaration of Independence

The Declaration of Independence was mainly drafted by Thomas Jefferson and was adopted by the Congress on July 4,1776, when the people of 13 English colonies in North America were fighting for

their freedom and independence from the British colonial rule.The document declared that all men were equal and that they were entitled to have some unalienable rights such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.It also explained the philosophy of governments:the powers of governments came from the consent of the governed and the purpose of governmemts was to secure the rights mentioned above.The theory of politics and the guiding principles of the American Revolution mainly came from John Locke.3.Ggeorge Washington

George Washington was one of the founding fathers of the American Republic.He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in the War of Independence against the British colonial rule and the first President of the United States.4.Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers of the American Republic He was the chief author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States.5.Benjamin Franklin

Benjamin Franklin was one of the founding fathers of the American Republic.He participated in writing the Declaration of Independence and making the U.S.Constitution.6.the Articles of Confederation

After the War of Independence was won, the new nation of the United States was organized under the agreement of the Articles of Confederation with a weak national government called the Congress.Each state had its own government, made its own laws and handle its internal affairs.The states did not cooperate with the Congress and with each other.The Congress had no power to force anystate to contribute money to the national government and the Congress could not tax any citizen either.As a ressult,the Articles of Confederation failed.7.the Bill of Rights

The Bill of Rights consssists of the first 10 amendments which were added to the Constitution in 1791.The Bill of Rights was passed to guarantee freedom and individual rights such as freedom of speech, the right to assemble in public places, the right to own weapons and so on.8.Eli Whitney

Eli Whitney is an American inventor who invented the cotton gin, which made removing the seeds from the bolls of cotton much easier.He also began manufacuring rifles with machinery, using interchanageable part.This contributed to the American system of mass

production.9.service industries

Service industries are industries that sell a service rather than make a product.Service industries range from

banking to telecommunications to the provision of meals in restaurants.Aas more and more people are employed iin service industries in the US, it is sometimed said that the US has moved into a “post-industrial era “.10.stock

When starting or expanding business, corporations need to borrow money.They may issue stocks for people to buy.When people buy stock, they become part owner of the company.If the company makes a profit, they receive a share of it.Likewise, if the company loses money, the stockholders will not make a profit or the value of their shares will drop---they lose money.Therefore buying s tock is a risk.11.Mattin Luther Ling,Jr

Martin Luther King,Jr.,an Atlanta-born Baptist minister, was the leader of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference during the civil rights movement of the 1960s.To promote his philosophy of nonviolent protest against segregationand other kindds of social injustice, King organized a series of “marches”.King delivered his famous “I Have a Dream” speech.Due to his strong belief in nonviolent peaceful protest, King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964.He was assassinated in the city of Memphis in April 1968.12.Counter Culture

In the wake of the Free Speech Movement and the New Left appeared a phenomenon that historians called the “counter culture.” The Counter Culture rejected capitalism andd other American principles.They had morals different from those taught by their parents.Some groups of youth tried to construct different ways of life.The counter culture exerted a great influence upon people’s attitudes toward social mores,marriage,career,and success.13.Now:

With the publication of The Feminine Mystique in 1963,Betty Friedan became the chief spokesperson of the Women’s Liberation Movement.In her book,she compared the American family,or the American society as a whole,to a “comfortable concentration camp”,where women were discriminated against and oppressed.In 1996,she helped to found the national Organization for Women(NOW).A reform organization,NOW battle for “equal rights in parnership with men.14.white-collar crimes

White-collar crimes are those committed by higher income groups such as the crimes of fraud,false advertising,corporate price fixing,bribery,embezzlement,industrial pollution,tax evasion and so on.Yet the statistics provided by the FBI tend to overrlook white-collar crimes.In fact,white-collarcrimes are often ignored by law enforcement agencies.Some sociologists aargue that the higher classes may actually have a higher rate of crime than the lower classes.15.the abuse of power by government

People believe that public organizations in the United States sometimes work in concert to advance their own interests rather than those of the people.Government in America is widely distrusted for the lack of answerability.Americans were convinced that the Johnson and Nixon administrations were deliberately and systematically lying to the people in the war against Vietnam and in the Watergate scandal.The FBI and the CIA are responsible for thousands of illegal acts.All these acts show the abuse of power by government.16.Richard Nixon

Richard Buxib was the former President of the United states„ Iin the early 1970s, he was involved in the Watergate scandal, for which he was forced to resign from the presidency.17.the Prairies

The prairie provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba lie east of the Rockies.The prairies are flat and featureless and have a harsh continental climate.They are called the breadbasket of Canada becaussse the land is well-suited to farming, and wheat is one of the biggest agricultural crops in this area.The praairies are also rich in energy resources.18.central Canada

Central Canada, Ontario and Quebec, are the parts of the country that were first settled.They are the industrial heartland of the country and are also the most densely populated provincees.They have the largest cities like Toronto and Montreal.19.The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

The canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, which was introduced in 1982, expressed the idea thaat any ethnic, racial and religious groups which wanted to retain their cultural identity would be supported by the federal government.This promise was further strengthened and explained in the 1988 Multiculturalism Act.20.Structures of governmeent

Canada’s systerm of government is based on the British system of parliamentary democracy.Like Britain,Canada is a monarchy.The official head of state is the Queen, but she is represented by an official called a Governor General as she doesn’t live in Canada.Canada is a federation with ten provinces and two territories.The government of the country is referred to as “the federal government”,to distinguish it from the lower level government of each province.21.Immigration Act 1976

The Immigration Act 1976 encouraged Asian immigration, offering passports to those with capital and entrepreneurial skills.Would-be immigrants with more than $250 000(Cdn)to invest in businesses that will create jobs and wealth wer welcomed to settle in Canada.This created a new category of ”entrepreneurial immigrants”.22.The Canadian Mosaic

Canada is a nation of immigrants.When Canada is described as a mosaic, it meaans that each if the immigrant groups do not have to throw off their oldd customs, languages and traditions, because there is no particular concept of an overarching Canadian identity..This resembles a mosaic of different cultures which overlap but do not overwhelm each other.23.“the First Nnations”

The First Nations are the native tribes of aboriginal people who lived in Canada before the European explorers settled.They were officially referred to as “the First Nations”because they are the original inhabitants of the country, and because there is not one single group or culture----there are many”nations”,or tribes, which have different languages,customs and beliefs.24.migrant workers

Many big farms hire temporary workers only for a specific chore---such as picking crops.Many of these seasonal workers travel from farm to farm,staying only until the cropss are picked„They are known as migrant workers.25.Samuel Slater

In 1793,Samuel Slater built the first factory in the United States---a cotton cloth factory in Pawtuckket,Rhode Island.He built the factory from memory, because it was a crime to carry factory plant out of England.The success of his factory started a process of change that turned the northeastern region of the United States into an important manufacturing center and helped the nation become a major cotton producer.

第五篇：英语国家社会与文化选择题

Chapter One

Land and People Exercises Ⅰ.Choose the correct answer from each of the following 1.The north and west of Britain are mainly ____.(D)

A.level land

B.farmland

C.lowlands

D.highlands 2.The North Atlantic Drift passes the ____ coast of the British Isles and warms them.(A)

A.western

B.eastern

C.northern

D.southern 3.The most important river in Britain is ____ which is 336 kilometers long.(B)

A.the Severn River

B.the Thames River

C.River Clyde

D.the Tweed 4.____ is the capital of Scotland(B)

A.London

B.Edinburgh

C.Cardiff

D.Belfast 5.The skill of iron-working was introduced into Britain by _____.(A)

A.the Celts

B.the Normans

C.the Romans

D.the Viking Danes

6.What is not an influencing factor that helps give Britain a maritime type of climate?(D)

A.the surrounding water

B.the prevailing southeast winds

C.the North Atlantic Drift

D.the heavy rainfalls 7.The earliest written records of Britain’s inhabitants came from ____.(C)

A.the Celts

B.the Normans

C.The Romans

D.the Germans

8.The people who consider themselves as the true Scots are ____.(B)

A.the Scottish lowlanders

B.the Scottish highlanders

C.the Gaelic-speakers

D.the descendents of Jutes 9.The ancestors of the Welsh are ____.(A)

A.the Celts

B.the Angles

C.the Romans

D.the Normans 10.In the sixteenth century, the event that worsened the situation in Ireland was_____(B)

A.the Orange Day celebrations

B.the Protestant Reformation

C.the “dirty protest”

D.the Women’s Peace Movement

11.England became a Protestant country in __.(B)

A.the 14th century

B.the 16th century

C.the 15th century

D.the 17th century 12.The person who crushed various rebellions in Ireland and settled English and Scottish Protestants there by giving them land was_____.(A)

A.Oliver Cromwell

B.King Charles Ⅰ

C.William Ⅲ

D.William the Conqueror 13.Which of the following is not considered a characteristic of the Englishman?(D)

A.reserved

B.shy of strangers

C.suspicious

D.tough

Chapter Two

English History

Exercises Ⅰ.Choose the Correct Answer From Each of the Following.1.In the year 1066, William the Conqueror invaded England from France, defeating the Saxon king Harold at___.(C)

A.the Battle of Crecy

B.the Battle of Agincourt

C.the Battle of Hastings

D.the Battle of waterloo

2.One of the following did not take place during the Middle Ages.It was ___.(D)

A.the Norman Conquest

B.the Crusades

C.the Hundred Years War

D.the “Gunpowder Plot ”

3.For much of the Middle Ages, Britain was ruled by a(n)___ aristocracy.(C)

A.English-speaking

B.German-speaking

C.French-speaking

D.Gaelic-speaking

4.Shakespeare lived in the period of ____.(D)

A.the Middle Ages

B.the Victorian Age

C.the Elizabethan age

D.The Industrial Revolution 5.The defeat of the Spanish Armada by the English navy took place during ___.(C)

A.the Middle Ages

B.the “grab for Africa”

C.the Elizabethan age

D.The Victorian age

6.The “Gunpowder Plot” took place in the reign of ___.(A)

A.JamesⅠ

B.ElizabethⅠ

C.HenryⅧ

D.CharlesⅠ

7.The king who believed the “Divine Right” to govern, and who was condemned to death during the English Civil War was___.(C)

A.HenryⅧ

B.JamesⅠ

C.CharlesⅠ

D.JamesⅡ

8.One of the following did not take place during the eighteenth century in British history.It was___.(D)

A.great victories over France

B.the Industrial Revolution

C.the loss of her American colonies

D.the founding of the modern police force

9.During the whole of the eighteenth century, England’s great enemy was___.(B)

A.Spain

B.France

C.America

D.Germany 10.One of the following did not take place between the two world wars in British history.It was ___.(A)

A.the “suffragette” movement

B.the independence of the southern part of Ireland

C.the great “slump”

D.the General Strike

British Government System

Exercises

Ⅰ.Choose the correct answer from each of the following:

1.Which of the following is the Act that restricted the powers of the Lords in dealing with money?(B)

A.The Parliament Act of 1901

B.The Parliament Act of 1911

C.The Bills of Rights in 1689

D.The Act of Settlement in 1701 2.Which of the following is not a part of the Conventions of the constitution?(C)

A.The powers of the Crown are exercised mainly by Ministers

B.The Queen must act on the advice of Ministers

C.MPs enjoy freedom of speech in debate

D.Ministers are responsible to Parliament for their actions.3.Which of the following sentences is true?(D)

A.The two big parties have been successful in expanding their powers over recent years.B.The strength of the big parties remains unchanged

C.Members of the two big parties no longer dominate parliament.D.The two big parties have declined over the recent years.4.According to the text, which of the following is the most important privilege enjoyed by MPs?(A)

A.Freedom of speech in Parliament.B.High social status.C.High living standards

D.Involvement in law-making

ChapterⅤ

Religion and Belief

Exercises Ⅰ.Choose the Correct Answer From Each of the Following 1.The Church of England is “established” in _______.(D)

A.the whole of Britain

B.England and Scotland

C.England and Wales

D.England only 2.The Church of Scotland is organization is ______.(A)

A.Presbyterian

B.Methodist

C.Congregational

D.Baptist 3.Which of the following is not a characteristic of the Puritans?(D)

A.They are strict teetotallers.B.They believe in plain food and plain clothing

C.They are honest

D.They approve of working on the Sabbath 4.The supreme holy authority of the Roman Catholic Church is ________.(B)

A.the Bible

B.the Pope in Rome

C.the king

D.Jesus Christ 5.The Puritans form “temperance societies” to ______.(C)

A.protect the Sabbath against sacrilege

B.purify the English society

C.combat the evils of strong drink

D.celebrate the Lord’s Day

6.The Puritans were originally an extreme _____ sect.(A)

A.Protestant

B.Jewish

C.Catholic

D.Christian Scientist

7.The only non-Christian religion that is widespread in Britain is that of _____.(A)

A.the Jews

B.the Buddhists

C.the Muslims

D.the Spiritualists 8.Which of the following statements is not true about the religion in Britain?(B)

A.Today only a minority of people go to any kind of Church regularly

B.Today the church-goers are immoral in one way or another

C.Most of the large majority who do not go to Church still believe in God and Heaven in a confused way.D.It is most uncommon for a Britain to be converted to Muslim or Buddhist faith.