《英语国家社会与文化入门》(简称英美概况)英国答案

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英美概况模拟试题

英美概况模拟试题

《英语国家社会与文化入门》模拟试题及参考答案Part oneFill in the blanks ( 10 points )1.The full name of the United Kingdom is .2.The Good Friday Agreement, known also as , emerged on 10 April 1998.3., the ancestor of the present queen, Elizabeth II, united England under his rulein 829.4.written by Geoffrey Chaucer is often studied by middle school and collegestudents today.5.The Bonfire Night, which is celebrated in November, sometimes is also called .6.Columbus discovered the New World in the year of .7.The Three Faiths in the US refer to Protestant, and Jewish.8.In 1852, a New England woman named Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote a noveltitled , which intensified the political debate on slavery.9.1968 was known in US history as a violent and tragic year in which the great leader of TheCivil Rights Movement: was assassinated.10.The Grand Canyon is carved away for nearly 6 million years by the River. Part twoRead the following unfinished statements or questions carefully. For each unfinished statement or question four suggested answers A, B, C and D are given. Choose the one you think best completes the statement or answers the question: ( 20 points )1.Franklin Roosevelt’s program for the depression was called .a. Progressivismb. laissez fairec. New Freedomd. New Deal2. The United States did not join the Second World War directly until in December,1941.a. Great Depressionb. Pearl Harbor incidentc. the Japanese attack on Chinad. the German attack on Poland3. From 1649 to 1658 England was called a Commonwealth. It was ruled first by OliverCromwell as .a. Lord Protectorb. Lieutenant Generalc. Commander of the New Model Armyd. President4. Ireland is in the of Great Britain.a. eastb. southc. westd. north5. WASPs referred to .a. the mainstream Americansb. Hispanicsc. Asian-Americansd. Blacks6. Lincoln's Emancipation proclamation and the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitutionformally ended .a. the immigration movementb. the Civil Warc. the slave systemd. the industrialization7. About a hundred years ago, as a result of imperialist expansion, Britain ruled of theworld people and of the world’s land area.a. one thirdb. one fifthc. one fourthd. two fifths8. The Celt’s religion was.a. Teutonic religionb. Christianityc. Druidismd. Buddhism9. The spirit of the Great Charter was the limitation of the powers of , keeping themwithin the bounds of the feudal law of the land.a. the Archbishop of Canterburyb. the baronsc. the churchd. the king10. The ultimate authority for law-making resides in the .a. the House of Lordsb. the House of Commonsc. the Privy Councild. the Shadow Cabinet11. The English Renaissance was largely .a. religiousb. ideologicalc. philosophicald. literary12. In the Industrial Revolution, changes occurred earliest and quickest in .a. hardwareb. textilec. potteryd. chemicals13. The Romans led by Julius Caesar launched their first invasion on Britain in .a. 200 B. C.b. 55 B. C.c. 55 A. D.d. 410 A. D14. The Hundred Years’ War started in.a. 1733b. 1453c. 1337d. 135715. Civil Rights Movement happened in .a. the 1960sb. the 1950sc. the 1940sd. the 1930s16. The open declaration of the containment policy was made by on March 12, 1949 ina speech to the joint session of Congress.a. President Rooseveltb. President Kennedyc. General Marshalld. President Truman17. The House of Commons consists of Members of Parliament.a. 651b. 1,200c. 1,198d. 76318. About half of the Britain’s trade is with.a. the United Statesb. South-east Asiac. the ECd. the Latin America19. The British recorded history begins with .a. the arrival and settlement of Celtsb. the Norman Conquestc. Roman invasiond. Viking and Danish invasions20. At the beginning of the First World War, the United States pursued a policy of .a. containmentb. neutralityc. pro-Germany partialityd. pro-Ally partialityPart threeRead the following statements carefully and decide if each of them is True or False: ( 20 points )( ) 1. The Bill of Rights is the term for the first twelve amendments to the Constitution.( ) 2. The stock market crash in 1929 was the beginning of a long economic depression in the U. S. ( ) 3. George Washington was the first president of the United States.( ) 4. The system of the parliamentary government of the U.K. is based on a written constitution. ( ) 5. Benjamin Franklin alone drafted the Declaration of Independence, and on July 4, 1776, the Congress adopted the declaration.( ) 6. Britain was the first country to start the Industrial Revolution which contributed to the establishment of the British Empire.( ) 7. The word English means “the language that belongs to the Angles.”( ) 8. The Pennines are known as the “Backbone of England”.( ) 9. The largest lake in Britain is the Lough Neagh Lake in Wales which covers an area of 397 square kilometers.( ) 10. Both the First Continental Congress and the Second Continental Congress were held in Boston.( ) 11. The American Constitution founded feudalism and introduced checks and balances.( ) 12. The national church in Scotland is also the Church of England.( ) 13.Of all the English university Oxford and Cambridge are the most prestigious( ) 14. The House of Lords is now made up of two kinds of Lords: the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal.( ) 15. William, Duke of Normandy, founded a strong fleet which first beat the Danes at sea and he became known as “Father of the British Navy.”( ) 16. Anglo-Saxons in Britain are believed to be ancestors of the Highland Scots, the Irish and the Welsh people.( ) 17. After Margaret Thatcher was elected Britain’s first ever woman prime minister in 1979, she adopted a new program to cure the “British disease”.( ) 18. America Vespucci proved that the land discovered by Columbus was not Indian, but a new continent. As a result, the new continent was named after him and became known as America. ( ) 19. Declaration of Independence was formally adopted by the Continental Congress on July 14, 1776, a day which has been celebrated each year as Independence Day of the United States. ( ) 20. When the news of American victory at Yorktown reached London, the Parliament voted to end the War and peace negotiation began in 1782.Part fourExplain the following terms in English: (10 points)1. The New Deal2. The commonwealth3. checks and balances4. Constitutional monarchy5. PuritanismPart fiveTell what you know about the following in your own words. ( 20 points )1. The Easter Rising2. Class system in British society3. The Bronte sisters4. Counterculture5. The containment policyPart sixWrite between 100-150 words on the following topic: ( 20 points )Cold WarKeys:Part one:1.the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland2.the Belfast Agreement3.King Egbert4.The Canterbury Tales5.Guy Fawkes Night6.14927.Catholic8.Uncle Tom’s Cabin9.Martin Luther King10.ColoradoPart two:1~5dbaca 6~10cccdb 11~15dbbca 16~20daccbPart three:1~5 FTTFF 6~10 TTTFF 11~15 FFTTT 16~20 FTTFTPart four:1.It refers to a series of measures taken by Franklin Roosevelt in 1932 to prevent the possiblecollapse of the American economic and political system.2.The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of states which is made up mostly of formerBritish 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.3.Each of the three branches of the government——the legislative, the executive and thejudicial——has part of the powers but not all the power. Each branch can check, or block, the actions of the other branches. The three branches are thus in balance. This is called “checks and balances”.4. A constitutional monarchy is a county in which head of the state is a king or a queen. Inpractice, the Sovereign reigns, but does not rule. In English history, constitutional monarchy was established after Glorious Revolution in 1688.5.Puritans were those who followed the doctrine of John Calvin and wanted to purify theChurch of England. They believe that human beings were predestined by God before they were born. Some were God’s chosen people while others were damned to hell. No church nor good works could save people. The sign of being God’s elect was the success in his work or the prosperity in his calling. They also argued that everyone must read the Bible in order to find God’s will and establish direct contact with God. These beliefs had great impact on American culture.Part five:1.In order to gain independence, different Irish groups had been fighting against the Britishinstitutions 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.2.The class system does exist in British society. Most of the British population would claimthemselves 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 now simply economic, they are cultural as well. People of different classes may differ in the kind of newspapers 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 aristocratic titles can still be inherited.3.Perhaps the most famous literary family I British history are the Bronte sisters, who wereinfluenced by the Romantic Movement. Charlotte, Emily and Ann were daughters of the vicar of a village church in Yorkshire. Although they were poor, they were educated and respectable. In their short lives, they didn’t produce much, but their works are among the best-loved novels in English: Charlotte Bronte’ s Jane Eyre and Emily’s Wuthering Heights 4.In the wake of the Free Speech Movement and the New Left, there appeared a phenomenonthat historians called “counterculture”. The counterculture rejected capitalism and other American principles. They had morals different from those taught by their parents. Some groups of youth tried to construct different ways of life. Among the most famous were the hippies. They sought new experience through dropping out, and drug taking. But it was music, rock music in particular, that became the chief vehicles for the counter culture assault on the traditional American society. The counterculture exerted a great influence upon people’s attitudes toward social morals, marriage, career and success.5.The US put into effect the containment policy in the late 1940s. by containment, the Us meantthat it would use whatever means, including military force, to prevent the Soviet Union form breaking out of its sphere of influence. In order to contain communism, the US fought two wars in Asia: the Korean War and the Vietnam War.Part six:Some historians say that the world entered Cold War immediately after the Second World War ended. The conflicts arose basically from the separate concepts of postwar world order. The United States, relying on its large economic and military strength, tried to play the role of world police under the pretext of fighting against the Soviet expansion. The Soviet Union put forward the theory that there could be no long-term peaceful coexistence between socialism and capitalism and the Soviet Union should rapidly build up its strength for the final struggle against capitalism, represented by the United States and Britain. Cold War was characterized by international tension and conflicts without bloody “hot war” between the Soviet Union and the United States. Cold War did not end until after the collapse of Berlin Wall in 1989.。

英语国家概况社会文化入门简答题上册答案精编版

英语国家概况社会文化入门简答题上册答案精编版

英语国家概况社会文化入门简答题上册答案精编版MQS system office room 【MQS16H-TTMS2A-MQSS8Q8-MQSH16898】u n i t71 (1)What are the purposes of the British education system? (2)Please comment on these purposes. (3)What are the main purposes of the Chinese education system? (4)Are there any differences or similarities in the education of the two nations?答:(1)The purpose of the British education system is to teach children practical skills and socialize them. (2)Children learn practical skills, and the rules and values they need to become good citizens, toparticipate in the community, and to contribute to the economic prosperity of an advanced industrial economy. (3)The purpose of the Chinese education is to provide children with literacy and the other basic skills they will need to become active members of society. (4) In china, people think school is just about teaching children what areoften called” the three R’s---“reading, writing and‘arithmetic”(reading, writing and arithmetic).2. How does the British education reflect social class?British education reflect the deeper divisions in British society in which social class is still very important: class inequality can be erased or continued according to education policy. What’s more, the enduring feature of British education is the continuing debate over how “equal” educational opportunity should be. In British, th e accent you speak with, the clothes you wear, and the schools you attend are all markers that identify your social class. The school (or college)tie is a clear marker of social class. Even on informal occasions you will sometimes see men wearing their school ties as belts to hold up their trousers –proudly displaying their attendance at a certain school. In Britain, where you are educated is very important to you future.3 what are the major changes that have taken place since World war 2? Is British education moving towards more progress or more equality? Pick up some examples from the text to illustrate your points.Other major changes to the British education system were caused byworld war Ⅱ。

英美概况习题答案

英美概况习题答案

英美概况习题答案英美概况习题答案英美概况是学习英美文化和历史的基础,对于英语学习者来说,了解英美概况不仅可以帮助他们更好地理解英语语言和文化,还可以拓宽他们的国际视野。

下面是一些关于英美概况的习题及其答案,希望对大家的学习有所帮助。

1. 英国的首都是哪里?答案:伦敦。

2. 美国的首都是哪里?答案:华盛顿特区。

3. 英国的国旗是什么颜色?答案:红色、白色和蓝色。

4. 美国的国旗有多少颗星星?答案:50颗。

5. 英国的国歌是什么?答案:《上帝保佑女王》。

6. 美国的国歌是什么?答案:《星条旗永不落》。

7. 英国的国家动物是什么?答案:狮子。

8. 美国的国家动物是什么?答案:白头海雕。

9. 英国的货币单位是什么?答案:英镑。

10. 美国的货币单位是什么?答案:美元。

11. 英国的国教是什么?答案:英国国教(圣公会)。

12. 美国的国教是什么?答案:美国没有国教,宪法保障宗教自由。

13. 英国的国会叫什么?答案:英国议会。

14. 美国的国会叫什么?答案:美国国会。

15. 英国的最高法院是什么?答案:英国最高法院。

16. 美国的最高法院是什么?答案:美国最高法院。

17. 英国有几个地区?答案:四个地区,分别是英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士和北爱尔兰。

18. 美国有几个州?答案:50个州。

19. 英国的最长河流是什么?答案:塔普河(Thames River)。

20. 美国的最长河流是什么?答案:密西西比河(Mississippi River)。

这些习题涵盖了英美概况的一些基本知识点,希望能够帮助大家更好地了解英美文化和历史。

当然,英美概况远不止这些,还有很多有趣的知识等待我们去探索和学习。

希望大家能够保持对英美概况的兴趣,并不断深入学习,提高自己的英语水平和跨文化交流能力。

英语国家社会与文化入门课后题答案-V1

英语国家社会与文化入门课后题答案-V1

英语国家社会与文化入门课后题答案-V1本文主要是基于《英语国家社会与文化入门》这本书的课后题答案,重新整理成一篇相关的文章。

文章主要包含以下几点内容:1. 概述英语国家的社会和文化英语国家包括英国、美国、加拿大、澳大利亚、新西兰等国家。

这些国家的社会和文化具有一些共同的特点,如英语是主要的交流语言、基督教是主要的信仰、民主制度是主要的政治制度、市场经济是主要的经济体制等等。

同时,这些国家也有各自独特的社会和文化,如英国的皇室文化、美国的多元文化、加拿大的双语文化等等。

2. 了解英语国家的历史和政治英语国家的历史和政治对于我们理解这些国家的社会和文化有着重要的影响。

比如,英国的历史可以追溯到罗马帝国时期,而英国的政治制度也是源于中世纪的君主立宪制度;美国的历史则是以独立战争为标志,建立了自己的独立国家,而美国的政治制度则是通过维护宪法实现的;加拿大则是从法国和英国殖民时期开始的,而加拿大的政治制度是基于联邦制度和议会制度构建的。

3. 探讨英语国家的教育和文化教育和文化也是英语国家的重要组成部分。

英语国家的教育体制包括基础教育、高等教育等多个阶段,其中美国的高等教育是全球最著名的之一。

而文化方面,英语国家拥有丰富多彩的文化产业和艺术形式,如电影、音乐、文学等等。

其中,美国好莱坞电影产业是全球最大的电影产业之一,英国文学也是全球最优秀的之一。

4. 理解英语国家的生活方式和价值观英语国家的生活方式和价值观也是我们需要了解的方面。

在生活方式方面,英语国家注重个人权利和自由,追求高品质的生活和工作环境。

英语国家的价值观则包括自由、平等、民主等。

这些价值观也反映在英语国家的社会制度和法律体系中。

综上所述,了解英语国家的社会和文化,需要从多个方面进行探讨和了解。

我们可以通过阅读相关的书籍和文章、观看电影和纪录片、参加留学和交流项目等方式来深入了解英语国家的生活和文化。

英语国家社会与文化入门 课后题答案之欧阳化创编

英语国家社会与文化入门 课后题答案之欧阳化创编

Book1 Unit 1时间:2021.02.12 创作人:欧阳化1.What was the British Empire? What do you know about it? in what way is the “empire” still felt in Britain and in the international field?The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.In the international field, Britain has great voice in politics, economy and culture and so on. 2.Why impossible to sum up British people with a few simple phrases: The UK is made up of different elements. It includes 4 parts within the one nation-state. It is now a multiracial society with different religion believes. It isdivided economically and it is a society with a class-structure. And within each of the four countries there are different regions. Since this country was so complicated both in history or humanity, it is impossible to sum up their people. 3.A history of invasions: (1) Before the 1st century AD Britain was made up of tribal kindoms of Celtic people. They brought the central Europen culture to Britain. Then in 43AD, Roman Empire invaded Britain and controlled it for slave society but also disseminated their Catholicism. (2)However, in the 5th century, the Roman Empire rapidly waned in power and Britain was conquered by the Angles and the Saxons. In order to defend the Saxons, a great leader—King Arthur appeared. He created the "round table" to satisfy all the knights' requirement of having equal precedence. Thus it gradually formed the monarchy in Britain as a more democratic system. Whether Arthur's a real person in thehistory or not, Anglo-Saxons did succeed in invading Britain and they were the forefathers of the English. (3)In the 8th century, the Vikings from Denmark controlled the nothern and eastern England. A Anglo-Saxon herio, king Alfred the Great fought against the vikings with the truly English. And that's why there's a certain cultural difference between northerners and southerners in England (4)Later, the Nomans from northern France, under the leading of William of Normandy, killed the king and William became the Frist of England. They imported a rulling class that French-speaking Norman aristocracy rulled Saxon and English-speaking population. In this condition, there weren't a lot of rebellions among the English people. That directly formed an English unique character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. Even today, we can still find this personality from the British people through their lifestyles.How did they influence culture:[接着上边一起看] (2) a lot of stories of King Arthur, which brought a lot of singers, poets, novelists and filmmakers. Places associated with his legend. Round table was ween as an indicator of the way in which the English have wished to see their monarch as something other than a remote dictator. (3)anglo-saxon invaders were the forefathers of the English. By Vikings' settlements the Enlish heroes were truly English. There remains to this day a certain cultural divide between northerners and southerners in england. (4)Norman aristocracy ruling a largely Saxon and English-speaking population. the legend of Robin Hood.4.General characteristic of Scotland: Scotland is the second largest of the four nations, both in population and in geographical area. It is also the most confident of its own identity because alone amongst the non-English components of the UK it has previously spent a substantialperiod of history as a unified state independent of the UK. (1) rugged. (2) not conquered by the Romans (3) maintain its separate political identity for more than a hundred years.(4) eager for independence.How Scotland became part of the union of Great Britain: in 1707 by agreement of the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the Union. In 1745 there was a brutal military response from the British army. The rebel army was destroyed at the battle of Culloden in northern Scotland.5.Describe Wales and the unification with Britain: (1) wales was an important element in Britain's industrial revolution, as it had rich coal deposits. It is successful in attracting investment from abroad. Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference fromEngland. (2)Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. In 1536, wales was brought legally, administratively, and politically into the UK by an act of the British parliament. This close long-standing relationship means that modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses --- its legal system and its education system are exactly the same as in England.6.Differences between England, Scotland and Wales in terms of cultural tradition: [书上说的比较散,建议参考festival那章的答案,这里只有一些零散的不系统的比较] (1) English character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. But young people are not all stereotypes. But it is certainly true that the lifeless fronts of many english housesconceal beautiful back gardens. (2)The dream of an independent Scotland has not vanished. They are always eager for freedom. Scotland has a great tradition of innovation in the arts, philosophy and science. "Superficially fully integrated into the UK, but concealed beneath this is a still-strong Scottish identity." Some people speak Gaelic.(3)Wales is different, and one of the key markers of that diffenece is the Welsh language -- the old British Celtic tongue which is still in daily use. Modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses. (its legal system and education system are exactly the same as in England)Unit 21.Why is Northern Ireland so significant in the UK: Though Northern Ireland is small it is significant because of the political troubles there.Its political problem: The problem is in NorthernIreland in 1921 in southern Ireland independence from Britain, Ireland North and South following the separation of issues left over by history, mixed it with historical, political, ethnic and religious conflicts, extremely complex. ireland’s independence, to remain under british rule within the framework of the 6 in the northern island of Ireland residents of the pro-British Protestant majority (about 51%), the Catholic nationalist minority (about 38%), as a result of the two major forces in Northern Ireland On the contrary position of ownership and lead to confrontation, conflict. [因为发现实在太难sum up了,所以就搜了一下,以下是wikipedia版本]Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitter ethno-political conflict —the Troubles —which was caused by divisions between nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and unionists, who are predominantly Protestant. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain as a part of the United Kingdom,[6] while nationalists wish for itto be politically reunited with the rest of Ireland, independent of British rule. [网络其它版本]Until 1921 the full name of the UK was "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland", not only "Northern Ireland", because the whole island of Ireland was politically integrated with Great Britain, and had been since 1801, while Britain's domination of the Irish dated back centuries even before that date. But Irish desires for an independent Irish state were never lost, and one of the key issues in late nineteenth century British politics was a campaign in parliament for what was called "home-rule"—Irish political 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 for the duration of the war.2.Factors in Irish and English history that affect the situation in Northern Ireland today: Along with the political campaign for home-rule therewere groups who followed a more direct method of pursuing Irish independence, engaging in guerilla or terrorist activities against British institutions and the British military forces. During the First World War and immediately after, this activity increased, sometimes brutally suppressed by British forces.3.Sum up solutions to NI's political problems of different parties and groups in the UK: Margaret Thatcher's government did not give in to this demand for political status and 11 prisoners starved to death. This event revitalised the political campaign of Sinn Fein, the legal political party which supports the IRA's right to fight. Its leaders spoke of a twin campaign for union with Ireland, both political and military, which they called the policy of "The Bullet and the Ballot Box".4.What do you think should be the right solution to the political problem in Northern Ireland: Ithink they can ask the UN for help. / Keep the present status. Turn to other countries for help. [自由发挥啦]Unit 31.Characteristics of the British constitutional monarchy: The monarch of the country has limited rights because of Bill of Right. For example, while the official head of state is the queen, her powers are largely traditional and symbolic. The government at national and local levels is elected by the people and governs according to British constitutional principles. How the English monarchy evolved to present constitutional monarchy: Originally the power of the monarch was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the "divine right of kings". For a thousand years Britain has had a hereditary king or queen as the head of the state. While the King in theory had God on his side, in practice even in medieval times it was thought that he should not exercise absolutepower. King John was unwilling to receive advice from prominent men, which led battles between the king and other powerful groups. Finally the king granted them a charter, named Magna Carta, of liverty and political rights. The civil war2.The civil war was rooted in a dispute over the power of the king vis-a-vis Parliament. James I and his successor Charles I both insisted on their divine right as kings. They felt Parliament had no real political right to exist, but only existed because the king allowed it to do so. It was the effort to reassert the rights of parliament that led to the civil war.English Revolution: "English Revolution" has been used to describe two different events in English history. The first was the Glorious Revolution of 1688, whereby James II was replaced by William III and Mary II as monarch and a constitutional monarchy established, was described by Whig historians as the EnglishRevolution.[1]In the twentieth-century, however, Marxist historians used the term "English Revolution" to describe the period of the English Civil Wars and Commonwealth period (1640-1660), in which Parliament challenged King Charles I's authority, engaged in civil conflict against his forces, and executed him in 1649. This was followed by a ten-year period of bourgeoisrepublican government, the "Commonwealth", before monarchy was restored in the shape of Charles' son, Charles II, in 1660. 3.History of English parliament: Traditionally, when medieval kings wanted to raise money he would try to persuade the Great Council, a gathering of leading, wealthy barons which the kings summoned several times a year. Later kings found this group was so small that they could not make ends meet. So they widened the Great Council to include representatives of counties, cities and towns and get them tocontribute. It was in this way that the Great Council came to include the House of Lords(who were summoned) and the House of Commons(representatives of communities).What role did the parliament play in the Civil War: Since James I and Charles I both thought that Parliament didn't need to exist, the Parliament was enraged. Leading politicians and church authorities asked William of Orange to replace them two. In 1689 Parliament passed the bill of Rights which ensured that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament.4.Characteristics of British constitution: Unlike many nations, Britain has no core constitutional documents.Contents: Statute laws(laws passed by Parliament); the common laws(laws which have been established through common practice in the courts); and conventions(rules and practices which do not exist legally but are nevertheless regarded as vital to the workingsof government).5.Why parliament is supreme: because it alone has the power to change the terms of the Constitution. There are no legal restraints upon Parliament.Parliament's function: First, it passes laws. Second, it provides the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation. Third, it scrutinises government policy, administration and expenditure. Fourth, it debates the major issues of the day.Queen/King's role: To symbolise the tradition and unity of the British state. To represent Britain at home and broad. To set standards of good citizenship and family life. She is 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.PM's role: The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party which wins the most seats in ageneral election. He/She chose usually around 20 MPs to become government ministers in the Cabinet. Together they carry our the functions of policy-making, the coordination of government departments and the supreme control of government.6.The House of Lords: It was below the Queen, consisting 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 of they have been appointed). The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests of the public. It is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom's national legislature. It remains the relationship with government, debates legislation and has some power to amend or reject bills (has some legislative functions).Unit 41.Anyone who is eligible to vote can stand as an MP. It is necessary only to make a deposit of 500 pounds.Why small parties and independent candidates powerless: Voters will see it as a wasted vote because even if they were to win the seat they would be powerless in parliament against the big parties' representatives. Voting them will prevent the voters from contributing to the competition between the big parties as to which of them will form a government.2.Three big parties in the UK: the Labour party, the Conservative party, the Liberal Democrats. Similarities: Since Conservative began to have a "fartherly" sense of obligation to the less fortunate in society, they didn't dismantle principles the Labour set up. That indicates that thus the difference between the Labour and Conservative is one of degree, not an absolute.Dissimilarities: (1) Labour is a socialist party. They believe a society should be relatively equal in economic terms and that part of the role of government is to act as a "redistributive" agent. They think government should provide a range of public services, therefore high taxes. (2) Conservative is the party that spent most time in power. They are seen as the party of the individual, protecting individual's right to acquire wealth and to spend it how they choose, therefore low taxes.(3) Liberal Democrats is a party of the "middle", occupying the ideological ground between the two main parties. They are comparatively flexible and pragmatic in their balance of the individual and the social.3.Recent political trends [注意下一小问]: (1) Conservatives won the election under their leader Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s. During that time the economy did badly, with high inflation and low growth. (2) she dismissed being"fartherly", encourages entrepreneurship. One of the major policies was the privatisazion of nationalised industry. (3)part of the mechanism of change was a less redistributive taxation system. Tax rate were cut to allow people to keep more of what they earned.Author's opinion: The 1980s have seen British politics move to the "right", away from the "pulic" and toward the "private"; away from the "social", and toward the "individual", and all parties have had to adjust to those changes.4.How people are divided into different classes: (1) employment: manual(or blue-collar) workers usually call themselves working-class, and office(or white-collar) workers would usually call themselves middle-class. (2) cultural differences: like what newspaper they read. Working-class often read THE SUN, a newspaper with little hard news and more about soap operas, royal family and sports. Middle-class often read THE GUARDIAN, a larger newspaperwith longer stories, covering national and international events. (3) education: private school or public school. (4) the UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. (5) the way they speak.Compare with the US and China: not similar at all. The UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. Among the students at the private schools attended by the upper-middle-class above would be a thin scattering of aristocratic children, who will inherit titles like baronets. This is due to Britain's different history and convention.Unit 51.Absolute decline means recession, developing in a minus speed.Relative decline means that although the UK improved, other countries developed more rapidly than the UK, which made it slid from being the second largest economy to being the sixth.Reasons: (1) The UK had gone into debt after WWII.(2) Britain spent a higher proportion of its national wealth on the military than most of its competitors. (Joining NATO and UN Security Council) (3)The era of empire was over. Former colonial countries announced independence, leaving Britain as a medium-size Euporean country. (4)Britain's industry survived comparatively unaffected, but its competitors did not. So the competitors invested in modern equipment and new products while British industry still continue with older ones. (5) Low rates of investment. The UK lacks a close relationship between industry and banks due to its history. A low rate of domestic industrial investment coupled with a very high rate of overseas investment.2.What did the conservative party under Mrs. Thatcher promise to do to the UK national economy in 1979: A radical programme of reform. What was her radical reform programme:Bureaucracy was reduced, (foreign exchange controls were lifted, rules governing banks loosened, for example). Throughout the 1980s an extensive programme of privatisation was carried out.Was is successful: It seemed in some ways to be successful in that inflation came under control, and business made profits. The negative aspect was a rapid increase in unemployment. The national economy as a whole continued to grow at lower rates than its competitors.3.Main areas in national economies: Primary industries such as agriculture, fishing and mining; secondary industries which manufacture complex goods from those primary products; tertiary/service industries such as banking, insurance, tourism and the retailing. Development of each: (1) agricultural sector is small but efficient. Energy production is an important part of the UK economy. (2)in the secondary sector, manufacturing industryremains important, producing 22% of national wealth. (3)tertiary or service industries produce 65% of national wealth.4.Why relatively shrinking of the important secondary industry and a spectacular growth in tertiary or service industries: A lot of the tertiary or service industries is domestic activity, accounting for about 10% of the world's exports of such services. 70% of the UK's workforce are employed in the service sector. Compare tertiary industries in China in the past 20 years or so: Chinese tertiary industries didn't grow as fast as the UK, though the portion was increasing.How is this growth related to the reform and opening up to the outside world: China was famous for the name of "world factory", which means Chinese workforces can produce products at low paid. China is a developing country, experiencing the transfer of manufacturing is reasonable. However, as China is developing,wages of workforces are also increasing. Comparing to India, we may lose our "advantage" gradually.Unit 61.Why Geoffrey Chaucer's work written in Middle English can still read and studied today: It is notable for its diversity, both in the range of social types amongst the 31pilgrims, and the range in style of the stories they tell.2.Do you think Elizabethan Drama occupies a significant position in British literature: Yes. Elizabethan drama, and Shakespeare in particular, is considered to be among the earliest work to display a "modern" perception of the world: full of moral doubts and political insecurities, where the right of those who wield power to do so is put in question.The most important figure in Elizabethan Drama: William ShakespeareSome of his well-known plays: (tragedies)Romeoand Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth; (comedies)The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, the Tempest; (history plays)Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V jJulius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra. 3.Some of the features of Romantic Literature: writers of romantic literature are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason.4.Modernism: it refers to a form of literature mainly written before WWII. It is characterized by a high degree of experimentation. It can be seen as a reaction against the 19th century forms of Realism. Modernist writers express the difficulty they see in understanding and communicating how the world works. Often they seem disorganized, hard to understand. It often portrays the action from the viewpoint of a single confused individual, rather than from the viewpoint of an all-knowing impersonalnarrator outside the action.Postmodernism: After WWII. Postmodernist can be thought of as abandoning the search of buried meaning below confusing surfaces.Examples to illustrate: (modernist) Virginia Woolf "Mrs.Dalloway""to the Lighthouse""Orlando"; wrence "Sons and Lovers" and E.M.Forster "a Passage to India";(postmodernist)George Orwell "1984", John Fowles "the French Lieutenant's woman"Book I Unit 7, British Education System1.What are the purposes of the British educationsystem? Please comment on these purposes. What are the main purposes of the Chinese education system? Are there any differences or similarities in the education of the two nations?Schools in Britain do not just teach the students3 Rs, (reading, writing and arithmetic), but toprovide children with literacy and the other basic skills they will need to become active members of society.2.How does the British education system reflectsocial class?Firstly, in Britain, the school you attend can refer to your social status.And the school tie is a clear market of social class,3.What are the major changes that have takenplace since World War II? Is British education moving towards more progress or more equality?Pick up some examples from the text to illustrate your points.1)The old education system has disrupted due tothe war. So with the help of the church and newly powerful trade unions began to reconstruct a new education system.2)The new system emphasizes equality. 1944education act made entry to secondary schools and universities meritocratic. Children would be able admitted to schools not because they were of a certain social class or because their parents possessed a certain amount of money, but because of the abilities they displayed. All children were given right to a free secondaryeducation and the main concern was to make sure more children had access to a good education.3)1989, a national curriculum was introduced bythe government.4.Why does the author say that universities inBritain have rather elitist?Most students in British universities are from the middle classes, attend good schools, perform well in their A-levels and receive a fully-funded place in a university. And when they graduate, they can become very influential in banking, the media, the arts, education or even the government.5.What is the Open University in Britain? What doyou think of this system?The opening university offers a non-traditional route for people to take university level courses and receive a university degree. People can register without having any formal educational qualifications. They follow university courses through textbooks, TV andradio broadcasts, correspondence, videos, residential schools and a network of study centre.I think the system has been quite successful.Thanks to the system, tens of thousands of Britons, from various statuses attend the Open University each year. And this has improve the equality in britain’s high education.Unit 8 British Foreign Relations1.What and how did the British Empire end? How didthe Britain react to this reality? How did the end of British imperialism influence the psychology of the British and the making of britain’s foreign policy?1)After the World War II the British could nolonger afford to maintain its empire; while Britain had won the war, it had paid a terrible price in terms of lives and in terms of economic destruction. And the British realized that countries should be granted the independence and left to run their own affairs. People and territory should not just be treated as asource of economic resources for the ruling centers of commerce in Europe.2)Many people are still alive who can rememberwhen Britain was one of the most powerful and rich nations on earth. It is sometimes hard to think about Britain as it really is today.3)Because Britain lost its empire so recently,british policy makers frequently forget that Britain is not as influential as it used to be in world affairs. Historians argue that the British foreign policy makers retain very conservative and traditional views of Britai n’s role as a world power and point to many major foreign policy decisions as examples.2.what are the foundations of britain’s foreignpolicy?It is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits.britain’s imperial history made the policy maker very conservative and traditional.And its geopolitical traits created a sense of psychological isolation in its inhabitants. Andas Britain is an island state, it naturally developed as a nation of seafarers who roamed the globe looking for territory and economic opportunities.3.how is britain’s foreign policy made? does thegovernment’s foreign policy represent the desires of British citizen?1)The prime minister and cabinet decide on thegeneral direction of britain’s foreign policy.The main government department involved is of course the foreign and commonwealth office but many other government ministries also play a part in formulating and executing the government’s decisions.2)Since Britain is a parliamentary democracy, thegovernmen t’s foreign policy in theory represented the desires of its electorate , but in fact british citizens are more concerned about issues closer to home. On the whole, they are not very inclined to try to influence the direction of britain’s foreign policy. th ere are a number of different interest groups however,。

英美概况面试题及答案高中

英美概况面试题及答案高中

英美概况面试题及答案高中问题一:英国的首都是什么?英国的官方语言是什么?答案:英国的首都是伦敦。

英国的官方语言是英语。

问题二:请简述美国的独立日是哪一天,并解释其意义。

答案:美国的独立日是7月4日,这一天是为了纪念1776年《独立宣言》的签署,标志着美国从大不列颠的统治下独立出来。

问题三:英国和美国在政治体制上有何不同?答案:英国是一个君主立宪制国家,拥有女王作为国家元首,而实际政治权力由首相和议会掌握。

美国则是一个联邦制国家,实行总统制,总统既是国家元首也是政府首脑。

问题四:请列举至少三个英国和美国在文化上的不同点。

答案:英国和美国在文化上的不同点包括:1) 饮食习惯,例如英国人喜欢下午茶,而美国人更倾向于快餐文化;2) 教育体系,英国的教育体系较为传统,注重学术研究,而美国的教育体系更注重实践和创新;3) 社会礼仪,英国人通常比较保守和讲究礼仪,而美国人则更加随意和直接。

问题五:英国的“脱欧”对英国和欧盟有什么影响?答案:“脱欧”指的是英国退出欧盟。

这一事件对英国意味着需要重新建立与欧盟的贸易关系,同时也可能影响英国的国际地位和经济。

对欧盟而言,英国的退出可能会削弱其整体经济实力和政治影响力。

问题六:美国历史上有哪些重要的移民潮?这些移民潮对美国的发展有何影响?答案:美国历史上重要的移民潮包括19世纪的爱尔兰和德国移民潮,以及20世纪的拉丁美洲和亚洲移民潮。

这些移民潮极大地丰富了美国的多元文化,促进了社会和经济的发展,同时也带来了一些社会问题,如文化融合和就业竞争。

问题七:请简述英国的工业革命对世界历史的影响。

答案:英国的工业革命是18世纪末到19世纪初的一场重大社会经济变革,它标志着从手工劳动向机械化生产的转变。

工业革命极大地提高了生产效率,促进了城市化,改变了人们的生活方式,并对全球经济和社会发展产生了深远影响。

问题八:美国的文化多元性是如何形成的?答案:美国的文化多元性主要是由其历史上的大规模移民潮形成的。

英语国家社会与文化入门考试答案

英语国家社会与文化入门考试答案

LondonLondon is the largest city located in the south of the country. It is dominant in Britain in all sorts of ways. It is the cultural and business centre and the headquarters of the vast majority of Britain’s big companies. It is not only the financial centre of the nation, but also one of the three major international financial centres in the world.Robin Hood (罗宾汉)RH was a Saxon nobleman. As he could no longer put up with oppressions from the Normans, he became an outlaw and hid himself with his band “merry men” in the forest. From this secret place, he went out to rob from the rich to give the poor.The Anglo-SaxonsThey 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.King Arthur(亚瑟王)It is said that he was the king of England in the 5th 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 HaroldHe was the Saxon King whose army was defeated in the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when William the Conqueror invaded England from France.Elizabethan drama(伊丽莎白时期戏剧)During the Renaissance, one of the most successful and long-lasting expressions of British culture is drama. That was the period of the reign of Queen Elizabeth. Theatres perform the plays of many notable playwrights, including Ben Jonson and William Shakespeare.The Canterbury tales(坎特伯雷故事集)The Canterbury tales written by Geoffrey Chaucer is the most important work in Middle English literature. It is 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 southeast England.The King James Bible(圣经)King James I ordered the translation of the Holy Scriptures, which came to be known as the King James Bible. It appeared in 1611. Although it was not the first English translation and there have been many translations since, King James Version will probably never be matched for majesty of language. For many generations it has had a greater influence on style and standards of taste than any other single work in English literature.RomanticismRoughly the first third of the 19th century makes up English literature’s romantic period. Writers of romantic literature are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason. A volume of poems called Lyrical Ballads written by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge is regarded as the romantic poetry’s “Declaration of Independence.” The spirit of romanticism also occurred in the novel.The Bronte sisters(勃朗特姐妹)Perhaps the most famous literary family in British history are the Bronte sisters, who were influenced by the Romantic Movement. Charlotte, Emily and Ann were daughters of the vicar of a village church. Although they were poor, they were educated. In their short lives, they didn’t produce much, but their works are among the best-loved novels in English.ModernismModernism refers to a form of literature mainly written before WWII. It can be seen as a reaction against the 19th century forms of Realism. Often, Modernist writing seems disorganized, hard to understand. It often portrays the action from the viewpoint of a single confused individual, rather than from the viewpoint of an all-knowing impersonal narrator outside the action.The foundations of British foreign policyThe contemporary foreign policy of the UK is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits. As Britain lost its empire so recently, British policy-makers frequently forget that Britain is not as influential as it used to be in world affairs. Another decisive influence upon the way Britain handles its external affairs is geopolitical attitude to Europe.The makin g of Britain’s foreign policyThe general direction of Britain’s foreign policy is mainly decided by the Prime Minister and Cabinet. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the main government department, plays a significant role in the making of Britain/s foreign policy. Many other government ministries such as the Minister of Defence also play a part in formulating and carrying out the government’s decisions.Britain and the EUBritain joined the EU in 1973. Britain’s participation in the EU remains controv ersial. 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 like to regard the EU as a place where economic cooperation is possible and where a flow of trained personnel and goods are possible.Britain and the USThe British foreign policy is also affected by its relationship with the US. During WW II, the two countries were closely allied and continued to work together closely in the post war years. However, the British are beginning to realize that their own foreign policy actions can be limited by the US. But both sides have worked hard to maintain the “special relationship.”The Commonwealth (共和国)The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of states which is made up of Britain and mostly of former British colonies. Many of these are developing countries; others are developed nations. The Commonwealth was set up as a forum for continued cooperation and as a sort of support network.。

英语国家社会与文化入门 课后题答案之欧阳化创编

英语国家社会与文化入门 课后题答案之欧阳化创编

Book1 Unit 1时间:2021.02.06 创作:欧阳化1.What was the British Empire? What do you know about it? In what way is the “Empire” still felt in Britain and in the international field? The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In the international field, Britain has great voice in politics, economy and culture and so on.2.Why impossible to sum up British people with a few simple phrases: The UK is made up of different elements. It includes 4 parts within the one nation-state. It is now a multiracial society with different religion believes. It is divided economically and it is a society with a class-structure. And within each of the four countries there are different regions. Since this country was so complicated both in history or humanity, it is impossible to sum up their people.3.A history of invasions: (1) Before the 1st century AD Britain was made up of tribal kindoms of Celtic people. They brought the central Europenculture to Britain. Then in 43AD, Roman Empire invaded Britain and controlled it for slave society but also disseminated their Catholicism.(2)However, in the 5th century, the Roman Empire rapidly waned in power and Britain was conquered by the Angles and the Saxons. In order to defend the Saxons, a great leader—King Arthur appeared. He created the "round table" to satisfy all the knights' requirement of having equal precedence. Thus it gradually formed the monarchy in Britain as a more democratic system. Whether Arthur's a real person in the history or not, Anglo-Saxons did succeed in invading Britain and they were the forefathers of the English. (3)In the 8th century, the Vikings from Denmark controlled the nothern and eastern England. A Anglo-Saxon herio, king Alfred the Great fought against the vikings with the truly English. And that's why there's a certain cultural difference between northerners and southerners in England (4)Later, the Nomans from northern France, under the leading of William of Normandy, killed the king and William became the Frist of England. They imported a rulling class that French-speaking Norman aristocracy rulled Saxon and English-speaking population. In this condition, there weren't a lot of rebellions among the English people. That directly formed an English unique character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. Even today, we can still find this personality from the British people through their lifestyles.How did they influence culture:[接着上边一起看] (2) a lot of stories ofKing Arthur, which brought a lot of singers, poets, novelists and filmmakers. Places associated with his legend. Round table was ween as an indicator of the way in which the English have wished to see their monarch as something other than a remote dictator. (3)anglo-saxon invaders were the forefathers of the English. By Vikings' settlements the Enlish heroes were truly English. There remains to this day a certain cultural divide between northerners and southerners in england.(4)Norman aristocracy ruling a largely Saxon and English-speaking population. the legend of Robin Hood.4.General characteristic of Scotland: Scotland is the second largest of the four nations, both in population and in geographical area. It is also the most confident of its own identity because alone amongst the non-English components of the UK it has previously spent a substantial period of history as a unified state independent of the UK. (1) rugged.(2) not conquered by the Romans (3) maintain its separate political identity for more than a hundred years.(4) eager for independence. How Scotland became part of the union of Great Britain: in 1707 by agreement of the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the Union. In 1745 there was a brutal military response from the British army. The rebel army was destroyed at the battle of Culloden in northern Scotland.5.Describe Wales and the unification with Britain: (1) wales was an important element in Britain's industrial revolution, as it had rich coal deposits. It is successful in attracting investment from abroad. Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. (2)Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. In 1536, wales was brought legally, administratively, and politically into the UK by an act of the British parliament. This close long-standing relationship means that modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses --- its legal system and its education system are exactly the same as in England.6.Differences between England, Scotland and Wales in terms of cultural tradition: [书上说的比较散,建议参考festival那章的答案,这里只有一些零散的不系统的比较] (1) English character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. But young people are not all stereotypes. But it is certainly true that the lifeless fronts of many english houses conceal beautiful back gardens. (2)The dream of an independent Scotland has not vanished. They are always eager for freedom. Scotland has a great tradition of innovation in the arts,philosophy and science. "Superficially fully integrated into the UK, but concealed beneath this is a still-strong Scottish identity." Some people speak Gaelic.(3)Wales is different, and one of the key markers of that diffenece is the Welsh language -- the old British Celtic tongue which is still in daily use. Modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses. (its legal system and education system are exactly the same as in England)Unit 21.Why is Northern Ireland so significant in the UK: Though Northern Ireland is small it is significant because of the political troubles there. Its political problem: The problem is in Northern Ireland in 1921 in southern Ireland independence from Britain, Ireland North and South following the separation of issues left over by history, mixed it with historical, political, ethnic and religious conflicts, extremely complex. Ireland’s independence, to remain under British rule within the framework of the 6 in the northern island of Ireland residents of the pro-British Protestant majority (about 51%), the Catholic nationalist minority (about 38%), as a result of the two major forces in Northern Ireland On the contrary position of ownership and lead to confrontation, conflict. [因为发现实在太难sum up了,所以就搜了一下,以下是wikipedia版本]Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitter ethno-political conflict — the Troubles — whichwas caused by divisions between nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and unionists, who are predominantly Protestant. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain as a part of the United Kingdom,[6] while nationalists wish for it to be politically reunited with the rest of Ireland, independent of British rule. [网络其它版本]Until 1921 the full name of the UK was "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland", not only "Northern Ireland", because the whole island of Ireland was politically integrated with Great Britain, and had been since 1801, while Britain's domination of the Irish dated back centuries even before that date. But Irish desires for an independent Irish state were never lost, and one of the key issues in late nineteenth century British politics was a campaign in parliament for what was called "home-rule"—Irish political 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 for the duration of the war.2.Factors in Irish and English history that affect the situation in Northern Ireland today: Along with the political campaign for home-rule there were groups who followed a more direct method of pursuing Irish independence, engaging in guerilla or terrorist activities against British institutions and the British military forces. During the First World War and immediately after, this activity increased, sometimes brutally suppressed by British forces.3.Sum up solutions to NI's political problems of different parties and groups in the UK: Margaret Thatcher's government did not give in to this demand for political status and 11 prisoners starved to death. This event revitalised the political campaign of Sinn Fein, the legal political party which supports the IRA's right to fight. Its leaders spoke of a twin campaign for union with Ireland, both political and military, which they called the policy of "The Bullet and the Ballot Box".4.What do you think should be the right solution to the political problem in Northern Ireland: I think they can ask the UN for help. / Keep the present status. Turn to other countries for help. [自由发挥啦]Unit 31.Characteristics of the British constitutional monarchy: The monarch of the country has limited rights because of Bill of Right. For example, while the official head of state is the queen, her powers are largely traditional and symbolic. The government at national and local levels is elected by the people and governs according to British constitutional principles.How the English monarchy evolved to present constitutional monarchy: Originally the power of the monarch was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the "divine right of kings". For a thousand yearsBritain has had a hereditary king or queen as the head of the state. While the King in theory had God on his side, in practice even in medieval times it was thought that he should not exercise absolute power. King John was unwilling to receive advice from prominent men, which led battles between the king and other powerful groups. Finally the king granted them a charter, named Magna Carta, of liverty and political rights. The civil war2.The civil war was rooted in a dispute over the power of the king vis-a-vis Parliament. James I and his successor Charles I both insisted on their divine right as kings. They felt Parliament had no real political right to exist, but only existed because the king allowed it to do so. It was the effort to reassert the rights of parliament that led to the civil war.English Revolution: "English Revolution" has been used to describe two different events in English history. The first was the Glorious Revolution of 1688, whereby James II was replaced by William III and Mary II as monarch and a constitutional monarchy established, was described by Whig historians as the English Revolution.[1]In the twentieth-century, however, Marxist historians used the term "English Revolution" to describe the period of the English Civil Wars and Commonwealth period (1640-1660), in which Parliamentchallenged King Charles I's authority, engaged in civil conflict against his forces, and executed him in 1649. This was followed by a ten-year period of bourgeoisrepublican government, the "Commonwealth", before monarchy was restored in the shape of Charles' son, Charles II, in 1660.3.History of English parliament: Traditionally, when medieval kings wanted to raise money he would try to persuade the Great Council, a gathering of leading, wealthy barons which the kings summoned several times a year. Later kings found this group was so small that they could not make ends meet. So they widened the Great Council to include representatives of counties, cities and towns and get them to contribute. It was in this way that the Great Council came to include the House of Lords(who were summoned) and the House of Commons(representatives of communities).What role did the parliament play in the Civil War: Since James I and Charles I both thought that Parliament didn't need to exist, the Parliament was enraged. Leading politicians and church authorities asked William of Orange to replace them two. In 1689 Parliament passed the bill of Rights which ensured that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament.4.Characteristics of British constitution: Unlike many nations, Britain has no core constitutional documents.Contents: Statute laws(laws passed by Parliament); the common laws(laws which have been established through common practice in the courts); and conventions(rules and practices which do not exist legally but are nevertheless regarded as vital to the workings of government).5.Why parliament is supreme: because it alone has the power to change the terms of the Constitution. There are no legal restraints upon Parliament.Parliament's function: First, it passes laws. Second, it provides the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation. Third, it scrutinises government policy, administration and expenditure. Fourth, it debates the major issues of the day.Queen/King's role: To symbolise the tradition and unity of the British state. To represent Britain at home and broad. To set standards of good citizenship and family life. She is 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.PM's role: The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party which wins the most seats in a general election. He/She chose usually around20 MPs to become government ministers in the Cabinet. Together they carry our the functions of policy-making, the coordination of government departments and the supreme control of government. 6.The House of Lords: It was below the Queen, consisting 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 of they have been appointed). The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests of the public. It is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom's national legislature. It remains the relationship with government, debates legislation and has some power to amend or reject bills (has some legislative functions).Unit 41.Anyone who is eligible to vote can stand as an MP. It is necessary only to make a deposit of 500 pounds.Why small parties and independent candidates powerless: Voters will see it as a wasted vote because even if they were to win the seat they would be powerless in parliament against the big parties' representatives. Voting them will prevent the voters from contributing to the competition between the big parties as to which of them will form a government.2.Three big parties in the UK: the Labour party, the Conservative party, the Liberal Democrats.Similarities: Since Conservative began to have a "fartherly" sense of obligation to the less fortunate in society, they didn't dismantle principles the Labour set up. That indicates that thus the difference between the Labour and Conservative is one of degree, not an absolute.Dissimilarities: (1) Labour is a socialist party. They believe a society should be relatively equal in economic terms and that part of the role of government is to act as a "redistributive" agent. They think government should provide a range of public services, therefore high taxes. (2) Conservative is the party that spent most time in power. They are seen as the party of the individual, protecting individual's right to acquire wealth and to spend it how they choose, therefore low taxes. (3) Liberal Democrats is a party of the "middle", occupying the ideological ground between the two main parties. They are comparatively flexible and pragmatic in their balance of the individual and the social.3.Recent political trends [注意下一小问]: (1) Conservatives won the election under their leader Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s. During that time the economy did badly, with high inflation and low growth. (2) she dismissed being "fartherly", encourages entrepreneurship. One of themajor policies was the privatisazion of nationalised industry. (3)part of the mechanism of change was a less redistributive taxation system. Tax rate were cut to allow people to keep more of what they earned. Author's opinion: The 1980s have seen British politics move to the "right", away from the "pulic" and toward the "private"; away from the "social", and toward the "individual", and all parties have had to adjust to those changes.4.How people are divided into different classes: (1) employment: manual(or blue-collar) workers usually call themselves working-class, and office(or white-collar) workers would usually call themselves middle-class. (2) cultural differences: like what newspaper they read. Working-class often read THE SUN, a newspaper with little hard news and more about soap operas, royal family and sports. Middle-class often read THE GUARDIAN, a larger newspaper with longer stories, covering national and international events. (3) education: private school or public school. (4) the UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. (5) the way they speak.Compare with the US and China: not similar at all. The UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. Among the students at the private schools attended by the upper-middle-class above would be a thin scattering of aristocratic children, who will inherit titles like baronets. This is due to Britain's different history and convention.Unit 51.Absolute decline means recession, developing in a minus speed. Relative decline means that although the UK improved, other countries developed more rapidly than the UK, which made it slid from being the second largest economy to being the sixth.Reasons: (1) The UK had gone into debt after WWII. (2) Britain spent a higher proportion of its national wealth on the military than most of its competitors. (Joining NATO and UN Security Council) (3)The era of empire was over. Former colonial countries announced independence, leaving Britain as a medium-size Euporean country. (4)Britain's industry survived comparatively unaffected, but its competitors did not. So the competitors invested in modern equipment and new products while British industry still continue with older ones. (5) Low rates of investment. The UK lacks a close relationship between industry and banks due to its history. A low rate of domestic industrial investment coupled with a very high rate of overseas investment.2.What did the conservative party under Mrs. Thatcher promise to do to the UK national economy in 1979: A radical programme of reform. What was her radical reform programme: Bureaucracy was reduced, (foreign exchange controls were lifted, rules governing banks loosened, for example). Throughout the 1980s an extensive programme ofprivatisation was carried out.Was is successful: It seemed in some ways to be successful in that inflation came under control, and business made profits. The negative aspect was a rapid increase in unemployment. The national economy as a whole continued to grow at lower rates than its competitors.3.Main areas in national economies: Primary industries such as agriculture, fishing and mining; secondary industries which manufacture complex goods from those primary products; tertiary/service industries such as banking, insurance, tourism and the retailing.Development of each: (1) agricultural sector is small but efficient. Energy production is an important part of the UK economy. (2)in the secondary sector, manufacturing industry remains important, producing 22% of national wealth. (3)tertiary or service industries produce 65% of national wealth.4.Why relatively shrinking of the important secondary industry and a spectacular growth in tertiary or service industries: A lot of the tertiary or service industries is domestic activity, accounting for about 10% of the world's exports of such services. 70% of the UK's workforce are employed in the service sector.Compare tertiary industries in China in the past 20 years or so: Chinesetertiary industries didn't grow as fast as the UK, though the portion was increasing.How is this growth related to the reform and opening up to the outside world: China was famous for the name of "world factory", which means Chinese workforces can produce products at low paid. China is a developing country, experiencing the transfer of manufacturing is reasonable. However, as China is developing, wages of workforces are also increasing. Comparing to India, we may lose our "advantage" gradually.Unit 61.Why Geoffrey Chaucer's work written in Middle English can still read and studied today: It is notable for its diversity, both in the range of social types amongst the 31pilgrims, and the range in style of the stories they tell.2.Do you think Elizabethan Drama occupies a significant position in British literature: Yes. Elizabethan drama, and Shakespeare in particular, is considered to be among the earliest work to display a "modern" perception of the world: full of moral doubts and political insecurities, where the right of those who wield power to do so is put in question. The most important figure in Elizabethan Drama: William Shakespeare Some of his well-known plays: (tragedies)Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet,Othello, King Lear, Macbeth; (comedies)The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, the Tempest; (history plays)Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V jJulius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra.3.Some of the features of Romantic Literature: writers of romantic literature are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason.4.Modernism: it refers to a form of literature mainly written before WWII. It is characterized by a high degree of experimentation. It can be seen as a reaction against the 19th century forms of Realism. Modernist writers express the difficulty they see in understanding and communicating how the world works. Often they seem disorganized, hard to understand. It often portrays the action from the viewpoint of a single confused individual, rather than from the viewpoint of an all-knowing impersonal narrator outside the action. Postmodernism: After WWII. Postmodernist can be thought of as abandoning the search of buried meaning below confusing surfaces. Examples to illustrate: (modernist) Virginia Woolf "Mrs.Dalloway""to the Lighthouse""Orlando"; wrence "Sons and Lovers" and E.M.Forster "a Passage to India"; (postmodernist)George Orwell "1984", John Fowles "the French Lieutenant's woman"Book I Unit 7, British Education System1.What are the purposes of the British education system? Pleasecomment on these purposes. What are the main purposes of the Chinese education system? Are there any differences or similarities in the education of the two nations?Schools in Britain do not just teach the students 3 Rs, (reading, writing and arithmetic), but to provide children with literacy and the other basic skills they will need to become active members of society.2.How does the British education system reflect social class?Firstly, in Britain, the school you attend can refer to your social status.And the school tie is a clear market of social class,3.What are the major changes that have taken place since World War II?Is British education moving towards more progress or more equality?Pick up some examples from the text to illustrate your points.1)The old education system has disrupted due to the war. So with thehelp of the church and newly powerful trade unions began to reconstruct a new education system.2)The new system emphasizes equality. 1944 education act made entry tosecondary schools and universities meritocratic. Children would be able admitted to schools not because they were of a certain social class or because their parents possessed a certain amount of money, but because of the abilities they displayed. All children were given right toa free secondary education and the main concern was to make suremore children had access to a good education.3)1989, a national curriculum was introduced by the government.4.Why does the author say that universities in Britain have rather elitist?Most students in British universities are from the middle classes, attend good schools, perform well in their A-levels and receive a fully-funded place in a university. And when they graduate, they can become very influential in banking, the media, the arts, education or even the government.5.What is the Open University in Britain? What do you think of thissystem?The opening university offers a non-traditional route for people to take university level courses and receive a university degree. People can register without having any formal educational qualifications. They follow university courses through textbooks, TV and radio broadcasts, correspondence, videos, residential schools and a network of study centre.I think the system has been quite successful. Thanks to the system, tensof thousands of Britons, from various statuses attend the Open University each year. And this has improve the equality in Britain’s high education.Unit 8 British Foreign Relations1.What and how did the British Empire end? How did the Britain react tothis reality? How did the end of British imperialism influence thepsychology of the British and the making of Britain’s foreign policy? 1)After the World War II the British could no longer afford to maintain itsempire; while Britain had won the war, it had paid a terrible price in terms of lives and in terms of economic destruction. And the British realized that countries should be granted the independence and left to run their own affairs. People and territory should not just be treated asa source of economic resources for the ruling centers of commerce inEurope.2)Many people are still alive who can remember when Britain was one ofthe most powerful and rich nations on earth. It is sometimes hard to think about Britain as it really is today.3)Because Britain lost its empire so recently, british policy makersfrequently forget that Britain is not as influential as it used to be in world affairs. Historians argue that the British foreign policy makers retain very conservative and traditional views of Britain’s role as a world power and point to many major foreign policy decisions as examples.2.What are the foundations of Britain’s foreign policy?It is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits.Britain’s imperial history m ade the policy maker very conservative and traditional.And its geopolitical traits created a sense of psychological isolation in its inhabitants. And as Britain is an island state, it naturally developed asa nation of seafarers who roamed the globe looking for territory andeconomic opportunities.3.How is Britain’s foreign policy made? Does the government’s foreignpolicy represent the desires of British citizen?1)The prime minister and cabinet decide on the general direction ofBritain’s foreign policy. Th e main government department involved is of course the foreign and commonwealth office but many other government ministries also play a part in formulating and executing the government’s decisions.2)Since Britain is a parliamentary democracy, the government’s foreignpolicy in theory represented the desires of its electorate , but in fact british citizens are more concerned about issues closer to home. On the whole, they are not very inclined to try to influence the direction of Britain’s foreign policy. The re are a number of different interest groups however, and it is interesting that rare occurrences of civil disobedience in the UK often involve foreign policy issues.4.Why does the author say that the decision to join the EC was andremains controversial in Britain?1)It is an important psychological decision for the nation becausetraditionally Britain had looked beyond its European neighbors felling that really it had more common with the United States on the one hand and the commonwealth on the other. To many Britons, membership in the European community meant turning its back on these “old friends”.。

英语国家社会与文化入门 课后题答案之欧阳数创编

英语国家社会与文化入门 课后题答案之欧阳数创编

Book1 Unit 1时间:2021.03.02 创作:欧阳数1.What was the British Empire? What do you know about it? In what way is the “Empire” still felt in Britain and in the international field?The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.In the international field, Britain has great voice in politics, economy and culture and so on.2.Why impossible to sum up British people with a few simple phrases: The UK is made up of different elements. It includes 4 parts within the one nation-state. It is now a multiracial society with different religion believes. It is divided economically and it is a society with aclass-structure. And within each of the four countries there are different regions. Since this country was so complicated both in history or humanity, it is impossible to sum up their people.3.A history of invasions: (1) Before the 1st century AD Britain was made up of tribal kindoms of Celtic people. They brought the central Europen culture to Britain. Then in 43AD, Roman Empire invaded Britain and controlled it for slave society but also disseminated their Catholicism. (2)However, in the 5th century, the Roman Empire rapidly waned in power and Britain was conquered by the Angles and the Saxons. In order to defend the Saxons, a great leader—King Arthur appeared. He created the "round table" to satisfy all the knights' requirement of having equal precedence. Thus it gradually formed the monarchy in Britain as a more democratic system. Whether Arthur's a real person in the history or not, Anglo-Saxons did succeed in invading Britain and they were the forefathers of the English. (3)In the 8th century, the Vikings from Denmark controlled the nothern and eastern England. AAnglo-Saxon herio, king Alfred the Great fought against the vikings with the truly English. And that's why there's a certain cultural difference between northerners and southerners in England (4)Later, the Nomans from northern France, under the leading of William of Normandy, killed the king and William became the Frist of England. They imported a rulling class that French-speaking Norman aristocracy rulled Saxon and English-speaking population. In this condition, there weren't a lot of rebellions among the English people. That directly formed an English unique character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. Even today, we can still find this personality from the British people through their lifestyles.How did they influence culture:[接着上边一起看] (2) a lot of stories of King Arthur, which brought a lot of singers, poets, novelists and filmmakers. Places associated with his legend. Round table was ween as an indicator of the way in which the English have wished to see their monarch as something other than a remote dictator. (3)anglo-saxon invaders were theforefathers of the English. By Vikings' settlements the Enlish heroes were truly English. There remains to this day a certain cultural divide between northerners and southerners in england. (4)Norman aristocracy ruling a largely Saxon and English-speaking population. the legend of Robin Hood.4.General characteristic of Scotland: Scotland is the second largest of the four nations, both in population and in geographical area. It is also the most confident of its own identity because alone amongst the non-English components of the UK it has previously spent a substantial period of history as a unified state independent of the UK. (1) rugged. (2) not conquered by the Romans (3) maintain its separate political identity for more than a hundred years.(4) eager for independence.How Scotland became part of the union of Great Britain: in 1707 by agreement of the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the Union. In 1745 there was a brutal military response from the British army. The rebel army was destroyed at the battle of Cullodenin northern Scotland.5.Describe Wales and the unification with Britain: (1) wales was an important element in Britain's industrial revolution, as it had rich coal deposits. It is successful in attracting investment from abroad. Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England.(2)Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. In 1536, wales was brought legally, administratively, and politically into the UK by an act of the British parliament. This close long-standing relationship means that modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses --- its legal system and its education system are exactly the same as in England.6.Differences between England, Scotland and Wales in terms of cultural tradition: [书上说的比较散,建议参考festival那章的答案,这里只有一些零散的不系统的比较] (1) English character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. But young people are not all stereotypes. But it is certainly true that the lifeless fronts of many english houses conceal beautiful back gardens. (2)The dream of an independent Scotland has not vanished. They are always eager for freedom. Scotland has a great tradition of innovation in the arts, philosophy and science. "Superficially fully integrated into the UK, but concealed beneath this is a still-strong Scottish identity." Some people speak Gaelic.(3)Wales is different, and one of the key markers of that diffenece is the Welsh language -- the old British Celtic tongue which is still in daily use. Modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses. (its legal system and education system are exactly the same as in England)Unit 21.Why is Northern Ireland so significant in the UK: Though Northern Ireland is small it is significant because of the political troubles there.Its political problem: The problem is in Northern Ireland in 1921 in southern Ireland independence from Britain, Ireland North and South following the separation of issues left over by history, mixed it with historical, political, ethnic and religious conflicts, extremely complex. Ireland’s independence, to remain under British rule within the framework of the 6 in the northern island of Ireland residents of the pro-British Protestant majority (about 51%), the Catholic nationalist minority (about 38%), as a result of the two major forces in Northern Ireland On the contrary position of ownership and lead to confrontation, conflict. [因为发现实在太难sum up 了,所以就搜了一下,以下是wikipedia版本]Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitter ethno-political conflict —the Troubles —which was caused by divisions between nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and unionists, who are predominantly Protestant. Unionists wantNorthern Ireland to remain as a part of the United Kingdom,[6] while nationalists wish for it to be politically reunited with the rest of Ireland, independent of British rule. [网络其它版本]Until 1921 the full name of the UK was "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland", not only "Northern Ireland", because the whole island of Ireland was politically integrated with Great Britain, and had been since 1801, while Britain's domination of the Irish dated back centuries even before that date. But Irish desires for an independent Irish state were never lost, and one of the key issues in late nineteenth century British politics was a campaign in parliament for what was called "home-rule"—Irish political 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 for the duration of the war.2.Factors in Irish and English history that affect the situation in Northern Ireland today: Along with the political campaign for home-rule there were groups who followed a more direct method of pursuing Irishindependence, engaging in guerilla or terrorist activities against British institutions and the British military forces. During the First World War and immediately after, this activity increased, sometimes brutally suppressed by British forces.3.Sum up solutions to NI's political problems of different parties and groups in the UK: Margaret Thatcher's government did not give in to this demand for political status and 11 prisoners starved to death. This event revitalised the political campaign of Sinn Fein, the legal political party which supports the IRA's right to fight. Its leaders spoke of a twin campaign for union with Ireland, both political and military, which they called the policy of "The Bullet and the Ballot Box".4.What do you think should be the right solution to the political problem in Northern Ireland: I think they can ask the UN for help. / Keep the present status. Turn to other countries for help. [自由发挥啦]Unit 31.Characteristics of the British constitutional monarchy: The monarch of the country has limited rights because of Bill of Right. For example, while the official head of state is the queen, her powers are largely traditional and symbolic. The government at national and local levels is elected by the people and governs according to British constitutional principles.How the English monarchy evolved to present constitutional monarchy: Originally the power of the monarch was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the "divine right of kings". For a thousand years Britain has had a hereditary king or queen as the head of the state. While the King in theory had God on his side, in practice even in medieval times it was thought that he should not exercise absolute power. King John was unwilling to receive advice from prominent men, which led battles between the king and other powerful groups. Finally the king granted them a charter, named Magna Carta, of liverty and political rights. The civil war2.The civil war was rooted in a dispute over the power of the king vis-a-vis Parliament. James I and his successor Charles I both insisted on their divine right as kings. They felt Parliament had no real political right to exist, but only existed because the king allowed it to do so. It was the effort to reassert the rights of parliament that led to the civil war. English Revolution: "English Revolution" has been used to describe two different events in English history. The first was the Glorious Revolution of 1688, whereby James II was replaced by William III and Mary II as monarch and a constitutional monarchy established, was described by Whig historians as the English Revolution.[1]In the twentieth-century, however, Marxist historians used the term "English Revolution" to describe the period of the English Civil Wars and Commonwealth period (1640-1660), in which Parliament challenged King Charles I's authority, engaged in civil conflict against his forces, and executed him in 1649. This wasfollowed by a ten-year period of bourgeoisrepublican government, the "Commonwealth", before monarchy was restored in the shape of Charles' son, Charles II, in 1660.3.History of English parliament: Traditionally, when medieval kings wanted to raise money he would try to persuade the Great Council, a gathering of leading, wealthy barons which the kings summoned several times a year. Later kings found this group was so small that they could not make ends meet. So they widened the Great Council to include representatives of counties, cities and towns and get them to contribute. It was in this way that the Great Council came to include the House of Lords(who were summoned) and the House of Commons(representatives of communities).What role did the parliament play in the Civil War: Since James I and Charles I both thought that Parliament didn't need to exist, the Parliament was enraged. Leading politicians and church authorities asked William of Orange to replace them two. In 1689 Parliament passed the bill of Rights which ensured thatthe King would never be able to ignore Parliament. 4.Characteristics of British constitution: Unlike many nations, Britain has no core constitutional documents. Contents: Statute laws(laws passed by Parliament); the common laws(laws which have been established through common practice in the courts); and conventions(rules and practices which do not exist legally but are nevertheless regarded as vital to the workings of government).5.Why parliament is supreme: because it alone has the power to change the terms of the Constitution. There are no legal restraints upon Parliament.Parliament's function: First, it passes laws. Second, it provides the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation. Third, it scrutinises government policy, administration and expenditure. Fourth, it debates the major issues of the day.Queen/King's role: To symbolise the tradition and unity of the British state. To represent Britain athome and broad. To set standards of good citizenship and family life. She is 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.PM's role: The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party which wins the most seats in a general election. He/She chose usually around 20 MPs to become government ministers in the Cabinet. Together they carry our the functions of policy-making, the coordination of government departments and the supreme control of government.6.The House of Lords: It was below the Queen, consisting 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 of they have been appointed). The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests of the public. It is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom's national legislature. Itremains the relationship with government, debates legislation and has some power to amend or reject bills (has some legislative functions).Unit 41.Anyone who is eligible to vote can stand as an MP. It is necessary only to make a deposit of 500 pounds. Why small parties and independent candidates powerless: Voters will see it as a wasted vote because even if they were to win the seat they would be powerless in parliament against the big parties' representatives. Voting them will prevent the voters from contributing to the competition between the big parties as to which of them will form a government.2.Three big parties in the UK: the Labour party, the Conservative party, the Liberal Democrats. Similarities: Since Conservative began to have a "fartherly" sense of obligation to the less fortunate in society, they didn't dismantle principles the Labour set up. That indicates that thus the difference between the Labour and Conservative is one of degree,not an absolute.Dissimilarities: (1) Labour is a socialist party. They believe a society should be relatively equal in economic terms and that part of the role of government is to act as a "redistributive" agent. They think government should provide a range of public services, therefore high taxes. (2) Conservative is the party that spent most time in power. They are seen as the party of the individual, protecting individual's right to acquire wealth and to spend it how they choose, therefore low taxes. (3) Liberal Democrats is a party of the "middle", occupying the ideological ground between the two main parties. They are comparatively flexible and pragmatic in their balance of the individual and the social.3.Recent political trends [注意下一小问]: (1) Conservatives won the election under their leader Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s. During that time the economy did badly, with high inflation and low growth.(2) she dismissed being "fartherly", encourages entrepreneurship. One of the major policies was theprivatisazion of nationalised industry. (3)part of the mechanism of change was a less redistributive taxation system. Tax rate were cut to allow people to keep more of what they earned.Author's opinion: The 1980s have seen British politics move to the "right", away from the "pulic" and toward the "private"; away from the "social", and toward the "individual", and all parties have had to adjust to those changes.4.How people are divided into different classes: (1) employment: manual(or blue-collar) workers usually call themselves working-class, and office(or white-collar) workers would usually call themselves middle-class. (2) cultural differences: like what newspaper they read. Working-class often read THE SUN, a newspaper with little hard news and more about soap operas, royal family and sports. Middle-class often read THE GUARDIAN, a larger newspaper with longer stories, covering national and international events.(3) education: private school or public school. (4) the UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. (5) theway they speak.Compare with the US and China: not similar at all. The UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. Among the students at the private schools attended by the upper-middle-class above would be a thin scattering of aristocratic children, who will inherit titles like baronets. This is due to Britain's different history and convention.Unit 51.Absolute decline means recession, developing in a minus speed.Relative decline means that although the UK improved, other countries developed more rapidly than the UK, which made it slid from being the second largest economy to being the sixth.Reasons: (1) The UK had gone into debt after WWII. (2) Britain spent a higher proportion of its national wealth on the military than most of its competitors. (Joining NATO and UN Security Council) (3)The era of empire was over. Former colonial countries announced independence, leaving Britain as a medium-sizeEuporean country. (4)Britain's industry survived comparatively unaffected, but its competitors did not. So the competitors invested in modern equipment and new products while British industry still continue with older ones. (5) Low rates of investment. The UK lacks a close relationship between industry and banks due to its history. A low rate of domestic industrial investment coupled with a very high rate of overseas investment.2.What did the conservative party under Mrs. Thatcher promise to do to the UK national economy in 1979: A radical programme of reform.What was her radical reform programme: Bureaucracy was reduced, (foreign exchange controls were lifted, rules governing banks loosened, for example). Throughout the 1980s an extensive programme of privatisation was carried out.Was is successful: It seemed in some ways to be successful in that inflation came under control, and business made profits. The negative aspect was a rapid increase in unemployment. The national economy as awhole continued to grow at lower rates than its competitors.3.Main areas in national economies: Primary industries such as agriculture, fishing and mining; secondary industries which manufacture complex goods from those primary products; tertiary/service industries such as banking, insurance, tourism and the retailing. Development of each: (1) agricultural sector is small but efficient. Energy production is an important part of the UK economy. (2)in the secondary sector, manufacturing industry remains important, producing 22% of national wealth. (3)tertiary or service industries produce 65% of national wealth.4.Why relatively shrinking of the important secondary industry and a spectacular growth in tertiary or service industries: A lot of the tertiary or service industries is domestic activity, accounting for about 10% of the world's exports of such services. 70% of the UK's workforce are employed in the service sector. Compare tertiary industries in China in the past 20years or so: Chinese tertiary industries didn't grow as fast as the UK, though the portion was increasing. How is this growth related to the reform and opening up to the outside world: China was famous for the name of "world factory", which means Chinese workforces can produce products at low paid. China is a developing country, experiencing the transfer of manufacturing is reasonable. However, as China is developing, wages of workforces are also increasing. Comparing to India, we may lose our "advantage" gradually.Unit 61.Why Geoffrey Chaucer's work written in Middle English can still read and studied today: It is notable for its diversity, both in the range of social types amongst the 31pilgrims, and the range in style of the stories they tell.2.Do you think Elizabethan Drama occupies a significant position in British literature: Yes. Elizabethan drama, and Shakespeare in particular, is considered to be among the earliest work to display a "modern"perception of the world: full of moral doubts and political insecurities, where the right of those who wield power to do so is put in question.The most important figure in Elizabethan Drama: William ShakespeareSome of his well-known plays: (tragedies)Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth; (comedies)The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, the Tempest; (history plays)Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V jJulius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra.3.Some of the features of Romantic Literature: writers of romantic literature are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason. 4.Modernism: it refers to a form of literature mainly written before WWII. It is characterized by a high degree of experimentation. It can be seen as a reaction against the 19th century forms of Realism. Modernist writers express the difficulty they see in understanding and communicating how the world works.Often they seem disorganized, hard to understand. It often portrays the action from the viewpoint of a single confused individual, rather than from the viewpoint of an all-knowing impersonal narrator outside the action.Postmodernism: After WWII. Postmodernist can be thought of as abandoning the search of buried meaning below confusing surfaces.Examples to illustrate: (modernist) Virginia Woolf "Mrs.Dalloway""to the Lighthouse""Orlando";wrence "Sons and Lovers" andE.M.Forster "aPassage to India"; (postmodernist)George Orwell "1984", John Fowles "the French Lieutenant's woman"Book I Unit 7, British Education System1.What are the purposes of the British education system?Please comment on these purposes. What are the main purposes of the Chinese education system? Are there any differences or similarities in the education of the two nations?Schools in Britain do not just teach the students 3 Rs, (reading, writing and arithmetic), but to provide children with literacy and the other basic skills theywill need to become active members of society.2.How does the British education system reflect socialclass?Firstly, in Britain, the school you attend can refer to your social status.And the school tie is a clear market of social class, 3.What are the major changes that have taken place sinceWorld War II? Is British education moving towards more progress or more equality? Pick up some examples from the text to illustrate your points.1)The old education system has disrupted due to the war.So with the help of the church and newly powerful trade unions began to reconstruct a new education system.2)The new system emphasizes equality. 1944 education actmade entry to secondary schools and universities meritocratic. Children would be able admitted to schools not because they were of a certain social class or because their parents possessed a certain amount of money, but because of the abilities they displayed. All children were given right to a free secondary education and the main concern was to make sure more children had access to a good education.3)1989, a national curriculum was introduced by thegovernment.4.Why does the author say that universities in Britainhave rather elitist?Most students in British universities are from the middle classes, attend good schools, perform well in their A-levels and receive a fully-funded place in a university. And when they graduate, they can become very influential in banking, the media, the arts, education or even the government.5.What is the Open University in Britain? What do youthink of this system?The opening university offers a non-traditional route for people to take university level courses and receivea university degree. People can register withouthaving any formal educational qualifications. They follow university courses through textbooks, TV and radio broadcasts, correspondence, videos, residential schools and a network of study centre.I think the system has been quite successful. Thanksto the system, tens of thousands of Britons, from various statuses attend the Open University each year.And this has improve the equality in Britain’s high education.Unit 8 British Foreign Relations1.What and how did the British Empire end? How did theBritain react to this reality? How did the end of British imperialism influence the psychology of the British and the making of Britain’s foreign policy?1)After the World War II the British could no longerafford to maintain its empire; while Britain had won the war, it had paid a terrible price in terms of lives and in terms of economic destruction. And the British realized that countries should be granted the independence and left to run their own affairs. People and territory should not just be treated as a source of economic resources for the ruling centers of commerce in Europe.2)Many people are still alive who can remember whenBritain was one of the most powerful and rich nations on earth. It is sometimes hard to think about Britain as it really is today.3)Because Britain lost its empire so recently, britishpolicy makers frequently forget that Britain is not asinfluential as it used to be in world affairs.Historians argue that the British foreign policy makers retain very conservative and traditional views of Britain’s role as a world power and point to many major foreign policy decisions as examples.2.What are the foundations of Britain’s foreign policy?It is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits.Britain’s imperial history m ade the policy maker very conservative and traditional.And its geopolitical traits created a sense of psychological isolation in its inhabitants. And as Britain is an island state, it naturally developed asa nation of seafarers who roamed the globe looking forterritory and economic opportunities.3.How is Britain’s foreign policy made? Does thegovernment’s foreign policy represent the desires of British citizen?1)The prime minister and cabinet decide on the generaldirection of Britain’s foreign policy. Th e main government department involved is of course the foreign and commonwealth office but many other。

【精品】英美概况习题及答案.docx

【精品】英美概况习题及答案.docx

英国概况III. Explain the following terms.1. the Hardian's Wall:It was one of the two great walls built by the Romans to keep the Picts out of the area they had conquered.2. Alfred the GreatAlfred was a strong king of the wisemen. It was created by the Anglo-Saxons to advise the king. It's the basis of the Privy Council which still exists today.3. William the ConquerorWilliam was Duke of Normandy. He landed his army in Oct, 1066 and defeated King Harold. Then he was crowned king of England on Christmas Day the same year. He established a strong Norman government and the feudal system in England.4. the battle of HastinasIn 1066, King Edward died with no heir, the Witan chose Harold as king. William, Duke of Normandy, invaded England. On October 14, the two armies met near Hasting. After a day's battle, Harold was killed and his army completely defeated. So this battle was very important on the way of the Roman conquest.5. Domesdav BookUnder William, the feudal system was established. William sent officials to compile a property record known as Domesday Book, which completed in 1086. It was the result of a general survey of England made in 1085. It stated the extent, value, the population, state of cultivation, and ownership of the land. It seemed to the English like the Book of doom on Judgment Day.6. the Great CharterKing John's reign caused much discontent among the barons. In 1215, he was forced to sign a document, known as Mangna Cara, or the Great Charter. It has 63 clauses. Though it has long been regarded as the foundation of English liberties, its spirit was the limitation of the king's powers, keeping them within the bounds of the feudal law of the land.7. the Hundred Years' WarIt referred to the intermittent war between France and England that last from 1337 to 1453. The causes were partly territorial and partly economic. When Edward III claimed the French Crown but the French refused to recognize, the war broke out. At first the English were successful, but in the end, they were defeated and lostalmost all their possessions in France. The expelling of the English was a blessing for both countries.8. Joan of ArcShe was a national heroine of France during the Hundred 'Yfears' War. She successfully led the French to drive the English out of France.9. the Black DeathIt was the deadly bubonic plague who spread through Europe in the 14th century. It swept through England without warning and any cure, and sparing no victims. It killed between half and one-third of the population of England. Thus, much land was left untended and labour was short. It caused far-reaching economic consequences.10. the Wars of RosesThey referred to the battles between the House of Lancaster and the House of York between 1455 and 1485. The former was symbolized by the red rose, and the latter by the white one. After the wars, feudalism received its death blow and the king's power became supreme. Tudor monarchs ruled England and Wales for over two hundred years.11. Bloodv MarvHenry VIH's daughter and a devout Catholic. When she became Queen, she persecuted and burnt many Protestants. So she was given the nickname "Bloody Mary". Mary is also remembered as the monarch who lost the French port of Calais.12. Elizabeth IOne of the greatest monarchs in British history. She reigned England, Wales and Ireland for 45 years and remained single. Her reign was a time of confident English nationalism and of great achievements in literature and other arts, in exploration and in battle.13. Oliver CromwellThe leader during the Civil War who led the New Model Army to defeat the king and condemned him to death. Then he declared England a Commonwealth and made himself Lord of Protector. He ruled England till the restoration of Charles II in 1660.14. the Bill of RiahtsIn 1689, William and Mary accepted the Bill of Rights to be crowned jointly. The bill excluded any Roman Catholic from the succession, confirmed the principle of parliamentary supremacy and guaranteed free speech within both the two Houses. Thus the age of constitutional monarchy began.15. Whias and ToriesIt referred to the two party names which originated with the Glorious Revolution of 1688. The Whigs were those who opposed absolute monarchy and supported the right to religious freedom for Nonconformists. The Tbries were those who supported hereditary monarchy and were reluctant to remove kings. The Whigs formed a coalition with dissident Tbries and became the Liberal Party. The Tbries were the forerunners of the Conservative Party.16. James WattThe Scottish inventor who produced an efficient steam engine with rotary motion that could be applied to textile and other machinery.17. Winston ChurchillPrime Minister of Britain during the Second World War. He took over Chamberlain in 1940 and received massive popular support. He led his country to final victory in 1945. He was defeated in the general election of 1945, but returned to power in 1951.18. AaribusinessIt refers to the new farming in Britain, because it's equipped and managed like an industrial business with a set of inputs into the farm of processes which occur on the farm, and outputs or products which leave the farm. The emphasis is upon intensive farming, designs to give the maximum output of crops and animals.19. the British ConstitutionThere is no written constitution in the United Kingdom. The British Constitution is not set out in any single document, but made up of statute law, common law and conventions. The Judiciary determines common law and interprets statues.20. Queen Elizabeth IIThe present Sovereign, born in 1926, came to the throne in 1952 and was crowned in 1953. The Queen is the symbol of the whole nation, the center of many national ceremonies and the leader of society.21. the ODDOsitionIn the General Election, the party which wins the second largest number of seats becomes the official Opposition, with its own leader and "shadow cabinet". The aims of the Opposition are to contribute to the formulation of policy and legislation, to oppose government proposals, to seek amendments to government bills, and to put forward its own policies in order to win the next general election.22. the Privy CouncilFormerly the chief source of executive power. It gave the Sovereign private ("privy”) advice on the governmentof the country. Today its role is mainly formal, advising the Sovereign to approve certain government decrees and issuing royal proclamation. Its membership is about 400.23. Common lawA written law gathered from numerous decisions of the courts and other sources.24. the iuryA legal system established in England since king Henry II. The jury consists of ordinary, independent citizens summoned by the court: 12 persons in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and 15 persons in Scotland. In criminal trials by jury, the judge passes sentence but the jury decide the issue of guilt or innocence.25. the NHSThe National Health Service was established in the UK in 1948 and based first on Acts of Parliament. This Service provides for every resident a full range of medical services. It is based upon the principle that there should be full range of publicly provided services designed to help the individual stay healthy. It is now a largely free service.26. comprehensive schoolsState secondary schools which take uuuils without reference to abilitv and provide a wide-ranaina secondary education for all or most of the children in a district. About 90 per cent of the state secondary school uouulation in GB attend comprehensive school.27. public schoolsFee-paying secondary schools which are long-established and have gained a reputation for their high academic standards, as well as their exclusiveness and snobbery. The boys' public schools include such well-known schools as Eton and Harrow, and girls' famous schools include Roedean. Most of the members of the British Establishment were educated at a public school.1. What do you know about the Roman invasion of Britain? ------- I n 55 BC and 54 BC, Julius Caesar, a Roman general, invaded Britain twice. In AD 43, the Emperor Claudius invaded Britain successfully. For nearly 400 years Britain was under the Roman occupation, though it was never a total occupation. British recorded history begins with the Roman invasion.2. Why did the William the Conqueror invade England after Edward's death? ------- It was said that king Edward had promised the English throne to William but the Witan chose Harold as king. So William led his army to invade England. In October 1066, during the important battle of Hastings, William defeated Harold and killed him. On Christmas Day, William was crowned king of England, thus beginning the Norman Conquest of England.3. What were the consequences of the Norman Conquest? ------- The Norman Conquest of 1066 is one of the best known events in English history. It brought about many consequences. William confiscated almost all the land and gave it to his Norman followers. He replaced the weak Saxon rule with a strong Norman government. So the feudal system was completely established in England. Relations with the Continent were opened, and civilization and commerce were extended. Norman-French culture, language, manners, and architecture were been introduced. The church was brought into closer connection with Rome, and the church courts were separated from the civil courts.4. What were the contents and the significance of the Great Charter? ---------- T he Great Charter, or the Magna Carta, was document signed in 1215 between the barons and king John. It had altogether 63 clauses, of which the most important contents were these: (1) no tax should be made without the approval of the Grand Council; (2) no freeman should be arrested, imprisoned, or deprived of his property except by the law of the land;(3) the church should possess all its rights and privileges; (4) London and other towns should retain their ancient rights and privileges; (5) there should be the same weights and measures throughout the country. The Great Charter was a statement of the feudal and legal relationship between the Crown and the barons, a guarantee of the freedom of the Church and a limitation of the powers of the king. The spirit of the Great Charter was the limitation of the powers of the king, but it has long been regarded as the foundation of English liberties.5. What do you know about the English Renaissance? ---------- Renaissance was the revival of classical literature and artistic styles in European history. It began in Italy in the early 14th century and spread to England in the late 15th century. The English Renaissance had 5 characteristics: (1) English culture was revitalized not so much directly by the classics as by contemporary Europeans under the influence of the classics; (2) England as an insular country followed a course of social and political history which was to a great extent independent of the course of history else where in Europe; (3) Owning to the great genius of the 14th century poet chaucer, the native literature was vigorous enough and experienced in assimilating foreign influences without being subjected by them; (4) English Renaissance literature is chiefly artistic, rather than philosophical and scholarly; (5) the Renaissance coincided with the Reformation in England. The English Renaissance was largely literary, and achieved its finest expression in the so-called Elizabethan drama. Its finest exponents were Christopher Marlowe, Ben Jonson, and William Shakespeare.6. Why did the Restoration take place?------- When Oliver Cormwell died in 1658 and was succeeded byhis son, Richard, the regime began to collapse. One of Cromwell's generals occupied London and arranged for new parliamentary elections. The Parliament thus was elected in 1660, and to resolve the crisis, it asked the late king's son to return from his exile in France as king Charles II. It was called the Restoration.7. How did the "Glorious Revolution" break out? What was the significance of it? ------ In 1685 CharlesII died and was succeeded by his brother James II. James, who was brought up in exile in Europe, was a Catholic, He hoped to rule without giving up his personal religious views. But England was no more tolerant of a Catholic king in 1688 than 40 years. So the English politicians rejected James II, and appealed to a Protestant king, William of Orange, to invade and take the English throne. William landed in England in 1688. The takeover was relatively smooth, with no bloodshed, no any execution of the king. This was known as the Glorious Revolution. William and his wife Mary were both Protestants and became co-monarchs. They accepted the Bill of Rights. It's the beginning of the age of constitutional monarchy.8. What is your comment on land enclosures in England? ----- Agricultural enclosure became frequent in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. It has good as well as bad results: (1) Farms became bigger and bigger units as the great bought up the small; (2) more vegetables, more milk and more dairy produce were consumed, and diet became more varied; (3) enclosure was a disaster for the tenants evicted from their lands by the enclosures. They were forced to look for work in towns, which rapidly became hopelessly over crowded. It also lead to mass emigration, particularly to the New World; (4) a new class hostility was introduced into rural relationships. Concentration of land in fewer hands increased the price of land and dashed the labourers' hopes of even owning his own land. Many became wage labourers, earning low rates in spite of agriculture's new prosperity.9. How did the English Industrial Revolution proceed? ----------- The Industrial Revolution began with the textile industry. It's characterized by a series of inventions and improvements of machines, such as John Ray's flying shuttle, James Hargreaves' spinning Jenny, Richard Arkwright's water frame and Samuel Cropton's mule. The Scottish inventor James Watt produced a very efficient steam engine in 1765, which could be applied to textile and other machinery. The most important element in speeding industrialization was the breakthrough in smelting iron with coke instead of charcoal in 1709. Similar developments occurred in the forging side of the iron industry which enabled iron to replace wool and stone in many sectors of the economy. Improved transportation ran parallel with production. As a result of the industrial revolution, Britain was by 1830 the "workshop of the world"; no other country could compete with her in industrial production.10. What do you know about the Chartist Movement and the People's Charter? What's your comment on them? ------ The Chartist Movement was an industrial working class movement that happened in Englandfrom 1836 to 1848. In 1836 a group of skilled workers and small shopkeepers formed the London Working Men's Association. They drew up a charter of political demands (known as the People's Charter) in 1838, which had six points: (1) the vote for all adult males, (2) voting by secret ballot, (3) equal electoral districts, (4) abolition of property qualifications for members of Parliament, (5) payment of members of Parliament, and (6) annual Parliament, with a General Election every June. Support for these six demands was loudly voiced all over the country. Other working men formed Chartist groups throughout the country to press Parliament to accept the 6 points. But Parliament rejected them for three times. In the end, the Chartist Movement failed. It failed because of its weak and divided leadership, and its lack of coordination with trade-unionism. The working class was still immature. The Chartist Movement, however, the first nation wide working class movement and drew attention to serious problems. The 6 points were achieved very gradually over the period of 1858-1918, although the sixth has never been practical.11. How did the Labour Party come into being? ------ As the new working class became established in the industrial towns in the late 18th century, they became aware of the power which they could possess if they acted together instead of separately. So various working class organizations were formed which brought about the formation of the Labour Party. The Labour Party had its origins in the Independent Labour Party, which was formed in January, 1893 and Led by Keir Hardie, a Scottish miner. The foundation of an effective party for labour depended on the trade unions. In 1900, representatives of trade unions, the ILP, and a number of small societies set up the Labour Representation Committee (LRC). The LRC changed its name to be Labour Party in time for the general election which was called for 1906. The Labour Party remains one of the two major parties in Britain until today.12. What is a constitutional monarchy? When did it begin in Britain? ------ A constitutional monarchy is a governmental system in which the head of State is a king or a queen who reigns but does not rule. The country is namely reigned by the Sovereign, but virtually by His or Her Majesty's Government ------------------- a body of Ministers who are the leading members of whichever political party the electorate has voted into office, and who are responsible to Parliament. The Constitutional Monarchy in Britain began in 1689, when king William and Queen Mary jointly accepted the Bill of Rights, which guaranteed free speech within both the House of Lords and the House of Commons and constitutional monarchy, of a monarchy with power limited by Parliament began.13. What is the role of the Monarchy in the British government? ------ T he sovereign is the symbol of thewhole nation. In law, he/she is head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the crown and the "supreme governor" of the established church of England.14. What are the main functions of Parliament? ---------The main functions of Parliament are: (1) to pass laws; (2) to provide the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation; (3) to examine government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure; (4) to debate the major issues of the day.15. Why do the criminal convicts like to be tried first before the magistrates' courts?----- A Magistrates' court tries summary offences and "either way" offences. It is open to the public and the media and usually consists of three unpaid "lay” magistrates. A magistrates' court sits without a jury. The criminal law presumes the innocence of the accused until he has been proved guilty beyond reasonable doubt; every possible step is taken to deny to the prosecution any advantage over the defense. No accused person has to answer the questions of the police before trials; he is not compelled to give evidence or to submit to cross-examination in court.16. What does the civil courts system do? ------- The civil courts system does the following jurisdiction: (1) actions founded upon contract and tort; (2) trust and mortgages cases; (3) actions for the recovery of land; (4) cases involving disputes between landlords and tenants; (5) admiralty cases and patent cases; and (7) divorce cases and other family matters.17. What is meant by the term 1'welfare state" in Britain? -------------- The welfare state is a system of government by which the state provides the economic and social security of its citizens through its organization of health services, pensions and other facilities. The system is funded out of national insurance contributions and taxation. In Britain the term applies mainly to National Health Service (NHS), national insurance and social security.18. What is the most important established Church in Britain? How is it related to the Crown andlinked with the State? ------ The most important established Church in Britain is the Church of England. It is uniquely related to the Crown in that the Sovereign must be a member of that church and, as "Defender of the Faith", must promise on his or her accession to uphold it. Church of England archbishops, bishops and deans of cathedrals are appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Church is also linked with the State through the House of Lords, in which the two archbishops (of Canterbury and \fc)rk), the bishops of London,Durham and Winchester, and 21 other senior bishops of London, Durham and Winchester, and 21 other senior bishops have seats19. What distinguishes the Open University from all other British Universities? --------------- The Open University is non-residential university which is "open" to all to become students. It offers degree and other courses for adult students of all ages in Britain and other member countries of the EU. It was founded in 1969 and began its first courses in 1970. It was a combination of specially produced printed texts, correspondence tuition, television and radio broadcasts and audio/video cassettes. For some courses, there are residential schools. There is a network of study centers for contact with part-time tutors and counselors, and with fellow students.30. What are some of the characteristics of American education? ------- (1) Formal education in the United States consists of elementary, secondary and higher education. (2) Public educations is free and compulsory.(3) Diversity is considered to be an outstanding characteristic of American education. (4)Education is a function of the states, not the federal government.What are geographic features of Britain?Britain is an island country surrounded by the sea. It lies in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north coast of Europe. It's separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel in the south and North Sea in the east. The north and west of Britain are mainly highlands, and the east and south east are mostly lowlands.What are the features of British climate?Britain has a maritime climate. Winters are not too cold and summers are not too hot. It has a steady reliable rainfall throughout the whole year. The temperature varies within a small range.The climate in Britain is mainly influenced by three features.1. The surrounding waters tend to balance the seasonal differences by heating up the land in winter and coolingoff relatively and slowly they bring warm air in winter and cool air in summer.2. The prevailing winds blow over the country all the year round, bringing warm and wet air in winter and keepingthe temperature moderate.3. The North Atlantic Ocean Drift, which is a warm drift, passes the western coast of the British Isles and warmsthem.What measures did Henry II take to centralize power?1. He forced foreign mercenaries to leave England.2. He abolished the annual land tax.3. He took steps to reform the law courts and divided the country into six circuits to increase the power of the King's Court.4. He also planned to reform the church courts, which had the exclusive right of justice over the whole body of the educated men throughout the country.What contributions did Elizabeth I do to Britain?1. Religion compromise. She carried out the religious reform and broke religious ties.2. She successfully played off against each other the two great Catholic powers.3. She granted charters to English merchants.4. In her reign, the Spanish Armada was destroyed.5. She carried out a foreign policy to prevent England from involving in major European conflicts. It was to this period of time that the English Empire owed its foundation.The Gunpowder Plot of 1605The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 was the most famous of the Catholic conspiracies. On November 5, 1605, a few fanatical Catholics attempted to blow King James and his ministers up in the Houses of Parliament where Guy Fawkes had planted barrels of gunpowder in the cellars.The results of the Gunpowder Plot of 1605:The immediate result was the execution of Fawkes and his fellow-conspirators and the imposition of severe anti-Catholic laws. The long-term result has been an annual celebration on November 5, when a bonfire is lit to burn a guy and a firework display is arranged.How did the Civil War break out?It was very reluctantly that the Parliament concluded that the only way it could impress its views on such a king would be to defeat him in a battle, and then impose legal conditions upon him before allowing him to reign again. This idea was important until 1645. On August 22,1642 in a field near Nottingham King Charles raised his standard beneath a glowering sky, and bade all his supporters to join him. Thus the First Civil War began. TheCivil War (also called Revolutionary War or the English Bourgeois Revolution, or the Puritan Revolution) broke out in 1642. The Left Wing of Parliament was composed of free farmers, tradesmen, and artisans of the country towns. They made up the most revolutionary section and were generally known as Roundheads because their hair was cut close to the skin. The English Bourgeois Revolution in its upsurge was also called the Puritan Revolution. The king's support mainly came from the West and the North of England. The king's supporters were generally known as the Cavaliers or Royalists.Cromwell was a country gentleman and Member of the Parliament. He organized a compact army of well disciplined soldiers which became known as the New Model Army. These soldiers were mostly devout Protestants.★King Charles ----Cromwell★The King's men were called Cavaliers, and the supporters of Parliament were called Roundheads because of their short haircuts.The English Civil War is also called the Puritan Revolution, because the King's opponents were mainly Puritan, and his supporters chiefly Episcopalian and Catholic.Consequences of The Civil WarsBecause of the absolute rule of Charles, the confrontation between Charles I and the parliament developed into the civil war. The war began in 1642 and ended in 1651. Charles I was condemned to death.The English Civil War is also called the Puritan Revolution. It has been seen as a conflict between the parliament and the King, and a conflict between economic interests of the Crown. The economic interests of the urban middle classed coincided with their religious (Puritan) ideology while the Crown's traditional economic interests correspondingly allied with Anglican religious belief. The English Civil War not only overthrew feudal system in England but also shook the foundation of the feudal rule in Europe. It is generally regarded as the beginning of modern world history.The RestorationWhen Oliver Cromwell died in 1658 and was succeeded by his son, Richard, the regime began to collapse. One of Cromwell's generals occupied London and arranged for new parliamentary elections. The Parliament thus was elected in 1660 resolved the crisis by asking the late King's son to return from his exile in France as King Charles II. It was called the Restoration.The Glorious Revolution of 1688In 1685 Charles II died and was succeeded by his brother James II. James was brought up in exile in Europe, was a Catholic. He hoped to rule without giving up his personal religious vies. But England was no more tolerant of a Catholic king in 1688 than 40 years ago. So the English politicians rejected James II, and appealed to a Protestant king, William of Orange, to invade and take the English throne. William landed in England in 1688. The takeover was relatively smooth, with no bloodshed, nor any execution of the king. This was known as the Glorious Revolution.How did the "Glorious Revolution" break out? What was the significance of it?——When Charles II died in 1685, he was succeeded by his brother, James II. James II was a Catholic and hoped to be able to rule without giving up his personal religious views. But English in 1688 could not tolerate a Catholic as King. The English politicians appealed to a Protestant king, William of Orange, James' Dutch nephew and the husband of Mary, James' daughter, to invade and take the English throne. William landed in November 1688. On their acceptance of the Bill of Rights (1689), William and Mary were crowned jointly in Westminster Abbey. Thus the age of constitutional monarchy, of a monarchy with powers limited by Parliament, began.Whigs and ToriesThese two party names originated with the Glorious Revolution (1688).The Whigs were those who opposed absolute monarchy and supported the right to religious freedom for Nonconformists. The Whigs were to form a coalition with dissident Tbries in the mid-19th century and become the Liberal Party.The Tbries were those who supported hereditary monarchy and were reluctant to remove kings. The Tbries were the forerunners of the Conservative Party.The Industrial Revolution (1780-1830)Britain was the first country to industrialize because of the following factors:(1) Favorable geographical location. Britain was well placed geographically to participate in European and world trade;(2) Political stability. Britain had a peaceful society, which, after the 17th century, was increasingly interested in overseas trade and colonies. International trade brought wealth to merchants and city bankers. They and those。

英语国家社会与文化入门 课后题答案之欧阳歌谷创编

英语国家社会与文化入门 课后题答案之欧阳歌谷创编

Book1 Unit 1欧阳歌谷(2021.02.01)1.What was the British Empire? What do you know about it? In what way is the “Empire” still felt in Britain and in the international field? The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In the international field, Britain has great voice in politics, economy and culture and so on.2.Why impossible to sum up British people with a few simple phrases: The UK is made up of different elements. It includes 4 parts within the one nation-state. It is now a multiracial society with different religion believes. It is divided economically and it is a society with a class-structure. And within each of the four countries there are different regions. Since this country was so complicated both in history or humanity, it is impossible to sum up their people.3.A history of invasions: (1) Before the 1st century AD Britain was made up of tribal kindoms of Celtic people. They brought the central Europenculture to Britain. Then in 43AD, Roman Empire invaded Britain and controlled it for slave society but also disseminated their Catholicism.(2)However, in the 5th century, the Roman Empire rapidly waned in power and Britain was conquered by the Angles and the Saxons. In order to defend the Saxons, a great leader—King Arthur appeared. He created the "round table" to satisfy all the knights' requirement of having equal precedence. Thus it gradually formed the monarchy in Britain as a more democratic system. Whether Arthur's a real person in the history or not, Anglo-Saxons did succeed in invading Britain and they were the forefathers of the English. (3)In the 8th century, the Vikings from Denmark controlled the nothern and eastern England. A Anglo-Saxon herio, king Alfred the Great fought against the vikings with the truly English. And that's why there's a certain cultural difference between northerners and southerners in England (4)Later, the Nomans from northern France, under the leading of William of Normandy, killed the king and William became the Frist of England. They imported a rulling class that French-speaking Norman aristocracy rulled Saxon and English-speaking population. In this condition, there weren't a lot of rebellions among the English people. That directly formed an English unique character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. Even today, we can still find this personality from the British people through their lifestyles.How did they influence culture:[接着上边一起看] (2) a lot of stories of King Arthur, which brought a lot of singers, poets, novelists and filmmakers. Places associated with his legend. Round table was ween as an indicator of the way in which the English have wished to see their monarch as something other than a remote dictator. (3)anglo-saxon invaders were the forefathers of the English. By Vikings' settlements the Enlish heroes were truly English. There remains to this day a certain cultural divide between northerners and southerners in england.(4)Norman aristocracy ruling a largely Saxon and English-speaking population. the legend of Robin Hood.4.General characteristic of Scotland: Scotland is the second largest of the four nations, both in population and in geographical area. It is also the most confident of its own identity because alone amongst the non-English components of the UK it has previously spent a substantial period of history as a unified state independent of the UK. (1) rugged.(2) not conquered by the Romans (3) maintain its separate political identity for more than a hundred years.(4) eager for independence. How Scotland became part of the union of Great Britain: in 1707 by agreement of the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the Union. In 1745 there was a brutal military response from the British army. The rebel army was destroyed at the battle of Culloden in northernScotland.5.Describe Wales and the unification with Britain: (1) wales was an important element in Britain's industrial revolution, as it had rich coal deposits. It is successful in attracting investment from abroad. Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. (2)Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. In 1536, wales was brought legally, administratively, and politically into the UK by an act of the British parliament. This close long-standing relationship means that modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses --- its legal system and its education system are exactly the same as in England.6.Differences between England, Scotland and Wales in terms of cultural tradition: [书上说的比较散,建议参考festival那章的答案,这里只有一些零散的不系统的比较] (1) English character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. But young people are not all stereotypes. But it is certainly true that thelifeless fronts of many english houses conceal beautiful back gardens.(2)The dream of an independent Scotland has not vanished. They are always eager for freedom. Scotland has a great tradition of innovation in the arts, philosophy and science. "Superficially fully integrated into the UK, but concealed beneath this is a still-strong Scottish identity." Some people speak Gaelic.(3)Wales is different, and one of the key markers of that diffenece is the Welsh language -- the old British Celtic tongue which is still in daily use. Modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses. (its legal system and education system are exactly the same as in England)Unit 21.Why is Northern Ireland so significant in the UK: Though Northern Ireland is small it is significant because of the political troubles there. Its political problem: The problem is in Northern Ireland in 1921 in southern Ireland independence from Britain, Ireland North and South following the separation of issues left over by history, mixed it with historical, political, ethnic and religious conflicts, extremely complex. Ireland’s independence, to remain under British rule within the framework of the 6 in the northern island of Ireland residents of the pro-British Protestant majority (about 51%), the Catholic nationalist minority (about 38%), as a result of the two major forces in NorthernIreland On the contrary position of ownership and lead to confrontation, conflict. [因为发现实在太难sum up了,所以就搜了一下,以下是wikipedia版本]Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitter ethno-political conflict — the Troubles — which was caused by divisions between nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and unionists, who are predominantly Protestant. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain as a part of the United Kingdom,[6] while nationalists wish for it to be politically reunited with the rest of Ireland, independent of British rule. [网络其它版本]Until 1921 the full name of the UK was "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland", not only "Northern Ireland", because the whole island of Ireland was politically integrated with Great Britain, and had been since 1801, while Britain's domination of the Irish dated back centuries even before that date. But Irish desires for an independent Irish state were never lost, and one of the key issues in late nineteenth century British politics was a campaign in parliament for what was called "home-rule"—Irish political 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 for the duration of the war.2.Factors in Irish and English history that affect the situation in Northern Ireland today: Along with the political campaign for home-rule therewere groups who followed a more direct method of pursuing Irish independence, engaging in guerilla or terrorist activities against British institutions and the British military forces. During the First World War and immediately after, this activity increased, sometimes brutally suppressed by British forces.3.Sum up solutions to NI's political problems of different parties and groups in the UK: Margaret Thatcher's government did not give in to this demand for political status and 11 prisoners starved to death. This event revitalised the political campaign of Sinn Fein, the legal political party which supports the IRA's right to fight. Its leaders spoke of a twin campaign for union with Ireland, both political and military, which they called the policy of "The Bullet and the Ballot Box".4.What do you think should be the right solution to the political problem in Northern Ireland: I think they can ask the UN for help. / Keep the present status. Turn to other countries for help. [自由发挥啦]Unit 31.Characteristics of the British constitutional monarchy: The monarch of the country has limited rights because of Bill of Right. For example, while the official head of state is the queen, her powers are largelytraditional and symbolic. The government at national and local levels is elected by the people and governs according to British constitutional principles.How the English monarchy evolved to present constitutional monarchy: Originally the power of the monarch was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the "divine right of kings". For a thousand years Britain has had a hereditary king or queen as the head of the state. While the King in theory had God on his side, in practice even in medieval times it was thought that he should not exercise absolute power. King John was unwilling to receive advice from prominent men, which led battles between the king and other powerful groups. Finally the king granted them a charter, named Magna Carta, of liverty and political rights. The civil war2.The civil war was rooted in a dispute over the power of the king vis-a-vis Parliament. James I and his successor Charles I both insisted on their divine right as kings. They felt Parliament had no real political right to exist, but only existed because the king allowed it to do so. It was the effort to reassert the rights of parliament that led to the civil war. English Revolution: "English Revolution" has been used to describe two different events in English history. The first was the Glorious Revolution of 1688, whereby James II was replaced by William III andMary II as monarch and a constitutional monarchy established, was described by Whig historians as the English Revolution.[1]In the twentieth-century, however, Marxist historians used the term "English Revolution" to describe the period of the English Civil Wars and Commonwealth period (1640-1660), in which Parliament challenged King Charles I's authority, engaged in civil conflict against his forces, and executed him in 1649. This was followed by a ten-year period of bourgeoisrepublican government, the "Commonwealth", before monarchy was restored in the shape of Charles' son, Charles II, in 1660.3.History of English parliament: Traditionally, when medieval kings wanted to raise money he would try to persuade the Great Council, a gathering of leading, wealthy barons which the kings summoned several times a year. Later kings found this group was so small that they could not make ends meet. So they widened the Great Council to include representatives of counties, cities and towns and get them to contribute. It was in this way that the Great Council came to include the House of Lords(who were summoned) and the House of Commons(representatives of communities).What role did the parliament play in the Civil War: Since James I andCharles I both thought that Parliament didn't need to exist, the Parliament was enraged. Leading politicians and church authorities asked William of Orange to replace them two. In 1689 Parliament passed the bill of Rights which ensured that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament.4.Characteristics of British constitution: Unlike many nations, Britain has no core constitutional documents.Contents: Statute laws(laws passed by Parliament); the common laws(laws which have been established through common practice in the courts); and conventions(rules and practices which do not exist legally but are nevertheless regarded as vital to the workings of government). 5.Why parliament is supreme: because it alone has the power to change the terms of the Constitution. There are no legal restraints upon Parliament.Parliament's function: First, it passes laws. Second, it provides the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation. Third, it scrutinises government policy, administration and expenditure. Fourth, it debates the major issues of the day.Queen/King's role: To symbolise the tradition and unity of the British state. To represent Britain at home and broad. To set standards of goodcitizenship and family life. She is 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. PM's role: The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party which wins the most seats in a general election. He/She chose usually around 20 MPs to become government ministers in the Cabinet. Together they carry our the functions of policy-making, the coordination of government departments and the supreme control of government.6.The House of Lords: It was below the Queen, consisting 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 of they have been appointed). The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests of the public. It is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom's national legislature. It remains the relationship with government, debates legislation and has some power to amend or reject bills (has some legislative functions).Unit 41.Anyone who is eligible to vote can stand as an MP. It is necessary only to make a deposit of 500 pounds.Why small parties and independent candidates powerless: V oters will see it as a wasted vote because even if they were to win the seat they would be powerless in parliament against the big parties' representatives. V oting them will prevent the voters from contributing to the competition between the big parties as to which of them will form a government. 2.Three big parties in the UK: the Labour party, the Conservative party, the Liberal Democrats.Similarities: Since Conservative began to have a "fartherly" sense of obligation to the less fortunate in society, they didn't dismantle principles the Labour set up. That indicates that thus the difference between the Labour and Conservative is one of degree, not an absolute. Dissimilarities: (1) Labour is a socialist party. They believe a society should be relatively equal in economic terms and that part of the role of government is to act as a "redistributive" agent. They think government should provide a range of public services, therefore high taxes. (2) Conservative is the party that spent most time in power. They are seen as the party of the individual, protecting individual's right to acquire wealth and to spend it how they choose, therefore low taxes. (3) Liberal Democrats is a party of the "middle", occupying the ideological ground between the two main parties. They are comparatively flexible and pragmatic in their balance of the individual and the social.3.Recent political trends [注意下一小问]: (1) Conservatives won the election under their leader Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s. During that time the economy did badly, with high inflation and low growth. (2) she dismissed being "fartherly", encourages entrepreneurship. One of the major policies was the privatisazion of nationalised industry. (3)part of the mechanism of change was a less redistributive taxation system. Tax rate were cut to allow people to keep more of what they earned.Author's opinion: The 1980s have seen British politics move to the "right", away from the "pulic" and toward the "private"; away from the "social", and toward the "individual", and all parties have had to adjust to those changes.4.How people are divided into different classes: (1) employment: manual(or blue-collar) workers usually call themselves working-class, and office(or white-collar) workers would usually call themselves middle-class. (2) cultural differences: like what newspaper they read. Working-class often read THE SUN, a newspaper with little hard news and more about soap operas, royal family and sports. Middle-class often read THE GUARDIAN, a larger newspaper with longer stories, covering national and international events. (3) education: private school or public school. (4) the UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. (5)the way they speak.Compare with the US and China: not similar at all. The UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. Among the students at the private schools attended by the upper-middle-class above would be a thin scattering of aristocratic children, who will inherit titles like baronets. This is due to Britain's different history and convention.Unit 51.Absolute decline means recession, developing in a minus speed. Relative decline means that although the UK improved, other countries developed more rapidly than the UK, which made it slid from being the second largest economy to being the sixth.Reasons: (1) The UK had gone into debt after WWII. (2) Britain spent a higher proportion of its national wealth on the military than most of its competitors. (Joining NATO and UN Security Council) (3)The era of empire was over. Former colonial countries announced independence, leaving Britain as a medium-size Euporean country. (4)Britain's industry survived comparatively unaffected, but its competitors did not. So the competitors invested in modern equipment and new products while British industry still continue with older ones. (5) Low rates of investment. The UK lacks a close relationship between industry and banks due to its history. A low rate of domestic industrial investmentcoupled with a very high rate of overseas investment.2.What did the conservative party under Mrs. Thatcher promise to do to the UK national economy in 1979: A radical programme of reform. What was her radical reform programme: Bureaucracy was reduced, (foreign exchange controls were lifted, rules governing banks loosened, for example). Throughout the 1980s an extensive programme of privatisation was carried out.Was is successful: It seemed in some ways to be successful in that inflation came under control, and business made profits. The negative aspect was a rapid increase in unemployment. The national economy as a whole continued to grow at lower rates than its competitors.3.Main areas in national economies: Primary industries such as agriculture, fishing and mining; secondary industries which manufacture complex goods from those primary products; tertiary/service industries such as banking, insurance, tourism and the retailing.Development of each: (1) agricultural sector is small but efficient. Energy production is an important part of the UK economy. (2)in the secondary sector, manufacturing industry remains important, producing 22% of national wealth. (3)tertiary or service industries produce 65% ofnational wealth.4.Why relatively shrinking of the important secondary industry and a spectacular growth in tertiary or service industries: A lot of the tertiary or service industries is domestic activity, accounting for about 10% of the world's exports of such services. 70% of the UK's workforce are employed in the service sector.Compare tertiary industries in China in the past 20 years or so: Chinese tertiary industries didn't grow as fast as the UK, though the portion was increasing.How is this growth related to the reform and opening up to the outside world: China was famous for the name of "world factory", which means Chinese workforces can produce products at low paid. China is a developing country, experiencing the transfer of manufacturing is reasonable. However, as China is developing, wages of workforces are also increasing. Comparing to India, we may lose our "advantage" gradually.Unit 61.Why Geoffrey Chaucer's work written in Middle English can still read and studied today: It is notable for its diversity, both in the range of social types amongst the 31pilgrims, and the range in style of the storiesthey tell.2.Do you think Elizabethan Drama occupies a significant position in British literature: Yes. Elizabethan drama, and Shakespeare in particular, is considered to be among the earliest work to display a "modern" perception of the world: full of moral doubts and political insecurities, where the right of those who wield power to do so is put in question. The most important figure in Elizabethan Drama: William Shakespeare Some of his well-known plays: (tragedies)Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth; (comedies)The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, the Tempest; (history plays)Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V jJulius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra.3.Some of the features of Romantic Literature: writers of romantic literature are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason.4.Modernism: it refers to a form of literature mainly written before WWII. It is characterized by a high degree of experimentation. It can be seen as a reaction against the 19th century forms of Realism. Modernist writers express the difficulty they see in understanding and communicatinghow the world works. Often they seem disorganized, hard to understand.It often portrays the action from the viewpoint of a single confused individual, rather than from the viewpoint of an all-knowing impersonal narrator outside the action.Postmodernism: After WWII. Postmodernist can be thought of as abandoning the search of buried meaning below confusing surfaces.Examples to illustrate: (modernist) Virginia Woolf "Mrs.Dalloway""to the Lighthouse""Orlando"; wrence "Sons and Lovers" andE.M.Forster "a Passage to India"; (postmodernist)George Orwell"1984", John Fowles "the French Lieutenant's woman"Book I Unit 7, British Education System1.What are the purposes of the British education system? Please commenton these purposes. What are the main purposes of the Chinese education system? Are there any differences or similarities in the education of the two nations?Schools in Britain do not just teach the students 3 Rs, (reading, writing and arithmetic), but to provide children with literacy and the other basic skills they will need to become active members of society.2.How does the British education system reflect social class?Firstly, in Britain, the school you attend can refer to your social status.And the school tie is a clear market of social class,3.What are the major changes that have taken place since World War II? IsBritish education moving towards more progress or more equality? Pick up some examples from the text to illustrate your points.1)The old education system has disrupted due to the war. So with the helpof the church and newly powerful trade unions began to reconstruct a new education system.2)The new system emphasizes equality. 1944 education act made entry tosecondary schools and universities meritocratic. Children would be able admitted to schools not because they were of a certain social class or because their parents possessed a certain amount of money, but because of the abilities they displayed. All children were given right to a free secondary education and the main concern was to make sure more children had access to a good education.3)1989, a national curriculum was introduced by the government.4.Why does the author say that universities in Britain have rather elitist?Most students in British universities are from the middle classes, attend good schools, perform well in their A-levels and receive a fully-funded place in a university. And when they graduate, they can become very influential in banking, the media, the arts, education or even the government.5.What is the Open University in Britain? What do you think of thissystem?The opening university offers a non-traditional route for people to takeuniversity level courses and receive a university degree. People can register without having any formal educational qualifications. They follow university courses through textbooks, TV and radio broadcasts, correspondence, videos, residential schools and a network of study centre.I think the system has been quite successful. Thanks to the system, tensof thousands of Britons, from various statuses attend the Open University each year. And this has improve the equality in Britain’s high education.Unit 8 British Foreign Relations1.What and how did the British Empire end? How did the Britain react tothis reality? How did the end of British imperialism influence the psychology of the British and the making of Britain’s foreign policy? 1)After the World War II the British could no longer afford to maintain itsempire; while Britain had won the war, it had paid a terrible price in terms of lives and in terms of economic destruction. And the British realized that countries should be granted the independence and left to run their own affairs. People and territory should not just be treated as a source of economic resources for the ruling centers of commerce in Europe.2)Many people are still alive who can remember when Britain was one ofthe most powerful and rich nations on earth. It is sometimes hard tothink about Britain as it really is today.3)Because Britain lost its empire so recently, british policy makersfrequently forget that Britain is not as influential as it used to be in world affairs. Historians argue that the British foreign policy makers retain very conservative and traditional views of Britain’s rol e as a world power and point to many major foreign policy decisions as examples.2.What are the foundations of Britain’s foreign policy?It is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits.Britain’s imperial history made th e policy maker very conservative and traditional.And its geopolitical traits created a sense of psychological isolation in its inhabitants. And as Britain is an island state, it naturally developed asa nation of seafarers who roamed the globe looking for territory andeconomic opportunities.3.How is Britain’s foreign policy made? Does the government’s foreignpolicy represent the desires of British citizen?1)The prime minister and cabinet decide on the general direction ofBritain’s foreign policy. The main government department involved is of course the foreign and commonwealth office but many other government ministries also play a part in formulating and executing the government’s decisions.。

英语国家社会与文化入门课后题答案之欧阳化创编

英语国家社会与文化入门课后题答案之欧阳化创编

Book1 Unit 11.What was the British Empire? What do you know about it? In what way is the “Empire” still felt in Britain and in the international field? The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.In the international field, Britain has great voice in politics, economy and culture and so on.2.Why impossible to sum up British people with a few simple phrases: The UK is made up of different elements. It includes 4 parts within the one nation-state. It is now a multiracial society with different religion believes. It is divided economically and it is a society with a class-structure. And within each of the four countries there are different regions. Since this country was so complicated both in history or humanity, it is impossible to sum up their people.3.A history of invasions: (1) Before the 1st century AD Britain was madeup of tribal kindoms of Celtic people. They brought the central Europen culture to Britain. Then in 43AD, Roman Empire invaded Britain and controlled it for slave society but also disseminated their Catholicism. (2)However, in the 5th century, the Roman Empire rapidly waned in power and Britain was conquered by the Angles and the Saxons. In order to defend the Saxons, a great leader—King Arthur appeared. He created the "round table" to satisfy all the knights' requirement of having equal precedence. Thus it gradually formed the monarchy in Britain as a more democratic system. Whether Arthur's a real person in the history or not, Anglo-Saxons did succeed in invading Britain and they were the forefathers of the English. (3)In the 8th century, the Vikings from Denmark controlled the nothern and eastern England. A Anglo-Saxon herio, king Alfred the Great fought against the vikings with the truly English. And that's why there's a certain cultural difference between northerners and southerners in England (4)Later, the Nomans from northern France, under the leading of William of Normandy, killed the king and William became the Frist of England. They imported a rulling class that French-speaking Norman aristocracy rulled Saxon and English-speaking population. In this condition, there weren't a lot of rebellions among the English people. That directly formed an English unique character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. Even today, we can still find this personality fromthe British people through their lifestyles.How did they influence culture:[接着上边一起看] (2) a lot of stories of King Arthur, which brought a lot of singers, poets, novelists and filmmakers. Places associated with his legend. Round table was ween as an indicator of the way in which the English have wished to see their monarch as something other than a remote dictator. (3)anglo-saxon invaders were the forefathers of the English. By Vikings' settlements the Enlish heroes were truly English. There remains to this day a certain cultural divide between northerners and southerners in england. (4)Norman aristocracy ruling a largely Saxon and English-speaking population. the legend of Robin Hood.4.General characteristic of Scotland: Scotland is the second largest of the four nations, both in population and in geographical area. It is also the most confident of its own identity because alone amongst the non-English components of the UK it has previously spent a substantial period of history as a unified state independent of the UK. (1) rugged. (2) not conquered by the Romans (3) maintain its separate political identity for more than a hundred years.(4) eager for independence.How Scotland became part of the union of Great Britain: in 1707 by agreement of the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the Union. In 1745 there was a brutal military response from theBritish army. The rebel army was destroyed at the battle of Culloden in northern Scotland.5.Describe Wales and the unification with Britain: (1) wales was an important element in Britain's industrial revolution, as it had rich coal deposits. It is successful in attracting investment from abroad. Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. (2)Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. In 1536, wales was brought legally, administratively, and politically into the UK by an act of the British parliament. This close long-standing relationship means that modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses --- its legal system and its education system are exactly the same as in England.6.Differences between England, Scotland and Wales in terms of cultural tradition: [书上说的比较散,建议参考festival那章的答案,这里只有一些零散的不系统的比较] (1) English character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. But young people arenot all stereotypes. But it is certainly true that the lifeless fronts of many english houses conceal beautiful back gardens. (2)The dream of an independent Scotland has not vanished. They are always eager for freedom. Scotland has a great tradition of innovation in the arts, philosophy and science. "Superficially fully integrated into the UK, but concealed beneath this is a still-strong Scottish identity." Some people speak Gaelic.(3)Wales is different, and one of the key markers of that diffenece is the Welsh language -- the old British Celtic tongue which is still in daily use. Modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses. (its legal system and education system are exactly the same as in England) Unit 21.Why is Northern Ireland so significant in the UK: Though Northern Ireland is small it is significant because of the political troubles there. Its political problem: The problem is in Northern Ireland in 1921 in southern Ireland independence from Britain, Ireland North and South following the separation of issues left over by history, mixed it with historical, political, ethnic and religious conflicts, extremely complex. Ireland’s independence, to remain under British rule within the framework of the 6 in the northern island of Ireland residents of the pro-British Protestant majority (about 51%), the Catholic nationalist minority (about 38%), as a result of the two major forces in NorthernIreland On the contrary position of ownership and lead to confrontation, conflict. [因为发现实在太难sum up了,所以就搜了一下,以下是wikipedia版本]Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitter ethno-political conflict — the Troubles —which was caused by divisions between nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and unionists, who are predominantly Protestant. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain as a part of the United Kingdom,[6] while nationalists wish for it to be politically reunited with the rest of Ireland, independent of British rule. [网络其它版本]Until 1921 the full name of the UK was "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland", not only "Northern Ireland", because the whole island of Ireland was politically integrated with Great Britain, and had been since 1801, while Britain's domination of the Irish dated back centuries even before that date. But Irish desires for an independent Irish state were never lost, and one of the key issues in late nineteenth century British politics was a campaign in parliament for what was called "home-rule"—Irish political 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 for the duration of the war.2.Factors in Irish and English history that affect the situation in Northern Ireland today: Along with the political campaign for home-rule there were groups who followed a more direct method of pursuing Irish independence, engaging in guerilla or terrorist activities against British institutions and the British military forces. During the First World War and immediately after, this activity increased, sometimes brutally suppressed by British forces.3.Sum up solutions to NI's political problems of different parties and groups in the UK: Margaret Thatcher's government did not give in to this demand for political status and 11 prisoners starved to death. This event revitalised the political campaign of Sinn Fein, the legal political party which supports the IRA's right to fight. Its leaders spoke of a twin campaign for union with Ireland, both political and military, which they called the policy of "The Bullet and the Ballot Box".4.What do you think should be the right solution to the political problem in Northern Ireland: I think they can ask the UN for help. / Keep the present status. Turn to other countries for help. [自由发挥啦] Unit 31.Characteristics of the British constitutional monarchy: The monarch of the country has limited rights because of Bill of Right. For example, while the official head of state is the queen, her powers are largelytraditional and symbolic. The government at national and local levels is elected by the people and governs according to British constitutional principles.How the English monarchy evolved to present constitutional monarchy: Originally the power of the monarch was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the "divine right of kings". For a thousand years Britain has had a hereditary king or queen as the head of the state. While the King in theory had God on his side, in practice even in medieval times it was thought that he should not exercise absolute power. King John was unwilling to receive advice from prominent men, which led battles between the king and other powerful groups. Finally the king granted them a charter, named Magna Carta, of liverty and political rights. The civil war2.The civil war was rooted in a dispute over the power of the king vis-a-vis Parliament. James I and his successor Charles I both insisted on their divine right as kings. They felt Parliament had no real political right to exist, but only existed because the king allowed it to do so. It was the effort to reassert the rights of parliament that led to the civil war.English Revolution: "English Revolution" has been used to describe two different events in English history. The first was the GloriousRevolution of 1688, whereby James II was replaced by William III and Mary II as monarch and a constitutional monarchy established, was described by Whig historians as the English Revolution.[1]In the twentieth-century, however, Marxist historians used the term "English Revolution" to describe the period of the English Civil Wars and Commonwealth period (1640-1660), in which Parliament challenged King Charles I's authority, engaged in civil conflict against his forces, and executed him in 1649. This was followed by a ten-year period of bourgeoisrepublican government, the "Commonwealth", before monarchy was restored in the shape of Charles' son, Charles II, in 1660.3.History of English parliament: Traditionally, when medieval kings wanted to raise money he would try to persuade the Great Council, a gathering of leading, wealthy barons which the kings summoned several times a year. Later kings found this group was so small that they could not make ends meet. So they widened the Great Council to include representatives of counties, cities and towns and get them to contribute. It was in this way that the Great Council came to include the House of Lords(who were summoned) and the House of Commons(representatives of communities).What role did the parliament play in the Civil War: Since James I andCharles I both thought that Parliament didn't need to exist, the Parliament was enraged. Leading politicians and church authorities asked William of Orange to replace them two. In 1689 Parliament passed the bill of Rights which ensured that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament.4.Characteristics of British constitution: Unlike many nations, Britain has no core constitutional documents.Contents: Statute laws(laws passed by Parliament); the common laws(laws which have been established through common practice in the courts); and conventions(rules and practices which do not exist legally but are nevertheless regarded as vital to the workings of government).5.Why parliament is supreme: because it alone has the power to change the terms of the Constitution. There are no legal restraints upon Parliament.Parliament's function: First, it passes laws. Second, it provides the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation. Third, it scrutinises government policy, administration and expenditure. Fourth, it debates the major issues of the day.Queen/King's role: To symbolise the tradition and unity of the British state. To represent Britain at home and broad. To set standards ofgood citizenship and family life. She is 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.PM's role: The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party which wins the most seats in a general election. He/She chose usually around 20 MPs to become government ministers in the Cabinet. Together they carry our the functions of policy-making, the coordination of government departments and the supreme control of government.6.The House of Lords: It was below the Queen, consisting 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 of they have been appointed). The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests of the public. It is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom's national legislature. It remains the relationship with government, debates legislation and has some power to amend or reject bills (has some legislative functions).Unit 41.Anyone who is eligible to vote can stand as an MP. It is necessary only to make a deposit of 500 pounds.Why small parties and independent candidates powerless: Voters will see it as a wasted vote because even if they were to win the seat they would be powerless in parliament against the big parties' representatives. Voting them will prevent the voters from contributing to the competition between the big parties as to which of them will form a government.2.Three big parties in the UK: the Labour party, the Conservative party, the Liberal Democrats.Similarities: Since Conservative began to have a "fartherly" sense of obligation to the less fortunate in society, they didn't dismantle principles the Labour set up. That indicates that thus the difference between the Labour and Conservative is one of degree, not an absolute.Dissimilarities: (1) Labour is a socialist party. They believe a society should be relatively equal in economic terms and that part of the role of government is to act as a "redistributive" agent. They think government should provide a range of public services, therefore high taxes. (2) Conservative is the party that spent most time in power. They are seen as the party of the individual, protecting individual's right to acquire wealth and to spend it how they choose, thereforelow taxes. (3) Liberal Democrats is a party of the "middle", occupying the ideological ground between the two main parties. They are comparatively flexible and pragmatic in their balance of the individual and the social.3.Recent political trends [注意下一小问]: (1) Conservatives won the election under their leader Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s. During that time the economy did badly, with high inflation and low growth.(2) she dismissed being "fartherly", encourages entrepreneurship. One of the major policies was the privatisazion of nationalised industry. (3)part of the mechanism of change was a less redistributive taxation system. Tax rate were cut to allow people to keep more of what they earned.Author's opinion: The 1980s have seen British politics move to the "right", away from the "pulic" and toward the "private"; away from the "social", and toward the "individual", and all parties have had to adjust to those changes.4.How people are divided into different classes: (1) employment: manual(or blue-collar) workers usually call themselves working-class, and office(or white-collar) workers would usually call themselves middle-class. (2) cultural differences: like what newspaper they read. Working-class often read THE SUN, a newspaper with little hard newsand more about soap operas, royal family and sports. Middle-class often read THE GUARDIAN, a larger newspaper with longer stories, covering national and international events. (3) education: private school or public school. (4) the UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. (5) the way they speak.Compare with the US and China: not similar at all. The UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. Among the students at the private schools attended by the upper-middle-class above would be a thin scattering of aristocratic children, who will inherit titles like baronets. This is due to Britain's different history and convention.Unit 51.Absolute decline means recession, developing in a minus speed. Relative decline means that although the UK improved, other countries developed more rapidly than the UK, which made it slid from being the second largest economy to being the sixth. Reasons: (1) The UK had gone into debt after WWII. (2) Britain spent a higher proportion of its national wealth on the military than most of its competitors. (Joining NATO and UN Security Council) (3)The era of empire was over. Former colonial countries announced independence, leaving Britain as a medium-size Euporean country.(4)Britain's industry survived comparatively unaffected, but its competitors did not. So the competitors invested in modernequipment and new products while British industry still continue with older ones. (5) Low rates of investment. The UK lacks a close relationship between industry and banks due to its history. A low rate of domestic industrial investment coupled with a very high rate of overseas investment.2.What did the conservative party under Mrs. Thatcher promise to do to the UK national economy in 1979: A radical programme of reform. What was her radical reform programme: Bureaucracy was reduced, (foreign exchange controls were lifted, rules governing banks loosened, for example). Throughout the 1980s an extensive programme of privatisation was carried out.Was is successful: It seemed in some ways to be successful in that inflation came under control, and business made profits. The negative aspect was a rapid increase in unemployment. The national economy as a whole continued to grow at lower rates than its competitors.3.Main areas in national economies: Primary industries such as agriculture, fishing and mining; secondary industries which manufacture complex goods from those primary products; tertiary/service industries such as banking, insurance, tourism and the retailing.Development of each: (1) agricultural sector is small but efficient. Energy production is an important part of the UK economy. (2)in the secondary sector, manufacturing industry remains important, producing 22% of national wealth. (3)tertiary or service industries produce 65% of national wealth.4.Why relatively shrinking of the important secondary industry and a spectacular growth in tertiary or service industries: A lot of the tertiary or service industries is domestic activity, accounting for about 10% of the world's exports of such services. 70% of the UK's workforce are employed in the service sector.Compare tertiary industries in China in the past 20 years or so: Chinese tertiary industries didn't grow as fast as the UK, though the portion was increasing.How is this growth related to the reform and opening up to the outside world: China was famous for the name of "world factory", which means Chinese workforces can produce products at low paid. China is a developing country, experiencing the transfer of manufacturing is reasonable. However, as China is developing, wages of workforces are also increasing. Comparing to India, we may lose our "advantage" gradually.Unit 61.Why Geoffrey Chaucer's work written in Middle English can still read and studied today: It is notable for its diversity, both in the range of social types amongst the 31pilgrims, and the range in style of the stories they tell.2.Do you think Elizabethan Drama occupies a significant position in British literature: Yes. Elizabethan drama, and Shakespeare in particular, is considered to be among the earliest work to display a "modern" perception of the world: full of moral doubts and political insecurities, where the right of those who wield power to do so is put in question.The most important figure in Elizabethan Drama: William ShakespeareSome of his well-known plays: (tragedies)Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth; (comedies)The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, the Tempest; (history plays)Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V jJulius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra.3.Some of the features of Romantic Literature: writers of romantic literature are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason.4.Modernism: it refers to a form of literature mainly written before WWII. It is characterized by a high degree of experimentation. It can be seen as a reaction against the 19th century forms of Realism.Modernist writers express the difficulty they see in understanding and communicating how the world works. Often they seem disorganized, hard to understand. It often portrays the action from the viewpoint of a single confused individual, rather than from the viewpoint of an all-knowing impersonal narrator outside the action.Postmodernism: After WWII. Postmodernist can be thought of as abandoning the search of buried meaning below confusing surfaces.Examples to illustrate: (modernist) Virginia Woolf "Mrs.Dalloway""to the Lighthouse""Orlando"; wrence "Sons and Lovers" andE.M.Forster "a Passage to India"; (postmodernist)George Orwell"1984", John Fowles "the French Lieutenant's woman"Book I Unit 7, British Education System1.What are the purposes of the British education system? Pleasecomment on these purposes. What are the main purposes of the Chinese education system? Are there any differences or similarities in the education of the two nations?Schools in Britain do not just teach the students 3 Rs, (reading, writing and arithmetic), but to provide children with literacy and the other basic skills they will need to become active members of society.2.How does the British education system reflect social class?Firstly, in Britain, the school you attend can refer to your social status.And the school tie is a clear market of social class,3.What are the major changes that have taken place since World WarII? Is British education moving towards more progress or more equality? Pick up some examples from the text to illustrate your points.1)The old education system has disrupted due to the war. So with thehelp of the church and newly powerful trade unions began to reconstruct a new education system.2)The new system emphasizes equality. 1944 education act made entryto secondary schools and universities meritocratic. Children would be able admitted to schools not because they were of a certain social class or because their parents possessed a certain amount of money, but because of the abilities they displayed. All children were given right to a free secondary education and the main concern was to make sure more children had access to a good education.3)1989, a national curriculum was introduced by the government.4.Why does the author say that universities in Britain have rather elitist?Most students in British universities are from the middle classes, attend good schools, perform well in their A-levels and receive a fully-funded place in a university. And when they graduate, they can become very influential in banking, the media, the arts, education or even the government.5.What is the Open University in Britain? What do you think of thissystem?The opening university offers a non-traditional route for people to take university level courses and receive a university degree. People can register without having any formal educational qualifications.They follow university courses through textbooks, TV and radio broadcasts, correspondence, videos, residential schools and a network of study centre.I think the system has been quite successful. Thanks to the system,tens of thousands of Britons, from various statuses attend the Open University each year. And this has improve the equality in Britai n’s high education.Unit 8 British Foreign Relations1.What and how did the British Empire end? How did the Britain reactto this reality? How did the end of British imperialism influence the psychology of the British and the making of Britain’s foreign poli cy?1)After the World War II the British could no longer afford to maintainits empire; while Britain had won the war, it had paid a terrible price in terms of lives and in terms of economic destruction. And the British realized that countries should be granted the independence and left to run their own affairs. People and territory should not just be treated as a source of economic resources for the ruling centers of commerce in Europe.2)Many people are still alive who can remember when Britain was oneof the most powerful and rich nations on earth. It is sometimes hard to think about Britain as it really is today.3)Because Britain lost its empire so recently, british policy makersfrequently forget that Britain is not as influential as it used to be in world affairs. Historians argue that the British foreign policy makers retain very conservative and traditional views of Britain’s role as a world power and point to many major foreign policy decisions as examples.2.What are the foundations of Britain’s foreign policy?It is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits.Britain’s imperial history made the policy maker very conservative and traditional.And its geopolitical traits created a sense of psychological isolation in its inhabitants. And as Britain is an island state, it naturally developed as a nation of seafarers who roamed the globe looking for territory and economic opportunities.3.How is Britain’s foreign policy made? Does the government’s foreignpolicy represent the desires of British citizen?1)The prime minister and cabinet decide on the general direction ofBritain’s foreign policy. The main government department involved is of course the foreign and commonwealth office but many other。

英语国家社会与文化入门课后题答案

英语国家社会与文化入门课后题答案

Book1 Unit 11.What was the British Empire? What do you know about it? In what way is the “Empire” still felt in Britain and in the international field?The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.In the international field, Britain has great voice in politics, economy and culture and so on.2.Why impossible to sum up British people with a few simple phrases: The UK is made up of different elements. It includes 4 parts within the one nation-state. It is now a multiracial society with different religion believes. It is divided economically and it is a society with a class-structure. And within each of the four countries there are different regions. Since this country was so complicated both in history or humanity, it is impossible to sum up their people.3.A history of invasions: (1) Before the 1st century AD Britain was made up of tribal kindoms of Celtic people. They brought the central Europen culture to Britain. Then in 43AD, Roman Empire invaded Britain and controlled it forslave society but also disseminated their Catholicism. (2)However, in the 5th century, the Roman Empire rapidly waned in power and Britain was conquered by the Angles and the Saxons. In order to defend the Saxons, a great leader—King Arthur appeared. He created the "round table" to satisfy all the knights' requirement of having equal precedence. Thus it gradually formed the monarchy in Britain as a more democratic system. Whether Arthur's a real person in the history or not, Anglo-Saxons did succeed in invading Britain and they were the forefathers of the English. (3)In the 8th century, the Vikings from Denmark controlled the nothern and eastern England. A Anglo-Saxon herio, king Alfred the Great fought against the vikings with the truly English. And that's why there's a certain cultural difference between northerners and southerners in England (4)Later, the Nomans from northern France, under the leading of William of Normandy, killed the king and William became the Frist of England. They imported a rulling class that French-speaking Norman aristocracy rulled Saxon and English-speaking population. In this condition, there weren't a lot of rebellions among the English people. That directly formed an English unique character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. Even today, we can still find this personality from the British people through their lifestyles.How did they influence culture:[接着上边一起看] (2) a lot of stories of King Arthur, which brought a lot of singers, poets, novelists and filmmakers. Places associated with his legend. Round table was ween as an indicator of the way inwhich the English have wished to see their monarch as something other than a remote dictator. (3)anglo-saxon invaders were the forefathers of the English. By Vikings' settlements the Enlish heroes were truly English. There remains to this day a certain cultural divide between northerners and southerners in england. (4)Norman aristocracy ruling a largely Saxon and English-speaking population. the legend of Robin Hood.4.General characteristic of Scotland: Scotland is the second largest of the four nations, both in population and in geographical area. It is also the most confident of its own identity because alone amongst the non-English components of the UK it has previously spent a substantial period of history as a unified state independent of the UK. (1) rugged. (2) not conquered by the Romans (3) maintain its separate political identity for more than a hundred years.(4) eager for independence.How Scotland became part of the union of Great Britain: in 1707 by agreement of the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the Union. In 1745 there was a brutal military response from the British army. The rebel army was destroyed at the battle of Culloden in northern Scotland.5.Describe Wales and the unification with Britain: (1) wales was an importantelement in Britain's industrial revolution, as it had rich coal deposits. It is successful in attracting investment from abroad. Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. (2)Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. In 1536, wales was brought legally, administratively, and politically into the UK by an act of the British parliament. This close long-standing relationship means that modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses --- its legal system and its education system are exactly the same as in England.6.Differences between England, Scotland and Wales in terms of cultural tradition: [书上说的比较散,建议参考festival那章的答案,这里只有一些零散的不系统的比较] (1) English character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. But young people are not all stereotypes. But it is certainly true that the lifeless fronts of many english houses conceal beautiful back gardens. (2)The dream of an independent Scotland has not vanished. They are always eager for freedom. Scotland has a great tradition of innovation in the arts, philosophy and science. "Superficially fully integrated into the UK, but concealed beneath this is a still-strong Scottish identity."Some people speak Gaelic.(3)Wales is different, and one of the key markers of that diffenece is the Welsh language -- the old British Celtic tongue which is still in daily use. Modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses. (its legal system and education system are exactly the same as in England)Unit 21.Why is Northern Ireland so significant in the UK: Though Northern Ireland is small it is significant because of the political troubles there.Its political problem: The problem is in Northern Ireland in 1921 in southern Ireland independence from Britain, Ireland North and South following the separation of issues left over by history, mixed it with historical, political, ethnic and religious conflicts, extremely complex. Ireland’s independence, to remain under British rule within the framework of the 6 in the northern island of Ireland residents of the pro-British Protestant majority (about 51%), the Catholic nationalist minority (about 38%), as a result of the two major forces in Northern Ireland On the contrary position of ownership and lead to confrontation, conflict. [因为发现实在太难sum up了,所以就搜了一下,以下是wikipedia版本]Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitter ethno-political conflict — the Troubles — which was caused by divisions between nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, andunionists, who are predominantly Protestant. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain as a part of the United Kingdom,[6] while nationalists wish for it to be politically reunited with the rest of Ireland, independent of British rule. [网络其它版本]Until 1921 the full name of the UK was "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland", not only "Northern Ireland", because the whole island of Ireland was politically integrated with Great Britain, and had been since 1801, while Britain's domination of the Irish dated back centuries even before that date. But Irish desires for an independent Irish state were never lost, and one of the key issues in late nineteenth century British politics was a campaign in parliament for what was called "home-rule"—Irish political 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 for the duration of the war.2.Factors in Irish and English history that affect the situation in Northern Ireland today: Along with the political campaign for home-rule there were groups who followed a more direct method of pursuing Irish independence, engaging in guerilla or terrorist activities against British institutions and the British military forces. During the First World War and immediately after, this activity increased, sometimes brutally suppressed by British forces.3.Sum up solutions to NI's political problems of different parties and groups in the UK: Margaret Thatcher's government did not give in to this demand for political status and 11 prisoners starved to death. This event revitalised the political campaign of Sinn Fein, the legal political party which supports the IRA's right to fight. Its leaders spoke of a twin campaign for union with Ireland, both political and military, which they called the policy of "The Bullet and the Ballot Box".4.What do you think should be the right solution to the political problem in Northern Ireland: I think they can ask the UN for help. / Keep the present status. Turn to other countries for help. [自由发挥啦]Unit 31.Characteristics of the British constitutional monarchy: The monarch of the country has limited rights because of Bill of Right. For example, while the official head of state is the queen, her powers are largely traditional and symbolic. The government at national and local levels is elected by the people and governs according to British constitutional principles.How the English monarchy evolved to present constitutional monarchy: Originally the power of the monarch was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the "divine right of kings". For a thousand years Britain has had a hereditary king or queen as the head of the state. While the King in theory had God on his side, in practice even in medieval times it was thought that he should not exercise absolute power. King John was unwilling to receive advice from prominent men, which led battles between the king and other powerful groups. Finally the king granted them a charter, named Magna Carta, of liverty and political rights. The civil war2.The civil war was rooted in a dispute over the power of the king vis-a-vis Parliament. James I and his successor Charles I both insisted on their divine right as kings. They felt Parliament had no real political right to exist, but only existed because the king allowed it to do so. It was the effort to reassert the rights of parliament that led to the civil war.English Revolution: "English Revolution" has been used to describe two different events in English history. The first was the Glorious Revolution of 1688, whereby James II was replaced by William III and Mary II as monarch and a constitutional monarchy established, was described by Whig historians as the English Revolution.[1]In the twentieth-century, however, Marxist historians used the term "English Revolution" to describe the period of the English Civil Wars and Commonwealth period (1640-1660), in which Parliament challenged King Charles I's authority, engaged in civil conflict against his forces, and executed him in 1649. This was followed by a ten-year period of bourgeois republican government, the "Commonwealth", before monarchy was restored in the shape of Charles' son, Charles II, in 1660.3.History of English parliament: Traditionally, when medieval kings wanted to raise money he would try to persuade the Great Council, a gathering of leading, wealthy barons which the kings summoned several times a year. Later kings found this group was so small that they could not make ends meet. So they widened the Great Council to include representatives of counties, cities and towns and get them to contribute. It was in this way that the Great Council came to include the House of Lords(who were summoned) and the House of Commons(representatives of communities).What role did the parliament play in the Civil War: Since James I and Charles I both thought that Parliament didn't need to exist, the Parliament was enraged. Leading politicians and church authorities asked William of Orange to replace them two. In 1689 Parliament passed the bill of Rights which ensured that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament.4.Characteristics of British constitution: Unlike many nations, Britain has no core constitutional documents.Contents: Statute laws(laws passed by Parliament); the common laws(laws which have been established through common practice in the courts); and conventions(rules and practices which do not exist legally but are nevertheless regarded as vital to the workings of government).5.Why parliament is supreme: because it alone has the power to change the terms of the Constitution. There are no legal restraints upon Parliament.Parliament's function: First, it passes laws. Second, it provides the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation. Third, it scrutinises government policy, administration and expenditure. Fourth, it debates the major issues of the day.Queen/King's role: To symbolise the tradition and unity of the British state. To represent Britain at home and broad. To set standards of good citizenship and family life. She is 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.PM's role: The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party which wins the most seats in a general election. He/She chose usually around 20 MPs to become government ministers in the Cabinet. Together they carry our the functions of policy-making, the coordination of government departments and the supreme control of government.6.The House of Lords: It was below the Queen, consisting 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 of they have been appointed). The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests of the public. It is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom's national legislature. It remains the relationship with government, debates legislation and has some power to amend or reject bills (has some legislative functions).Unit 41.Anyone who is eligible to vote can stand as an MP. It is necessary only to make a deposit of 500 pounds.Why small parties and independent candidates powerless: V oters will see it as a wasted vote because even if they were to win the seat they would be powerless in parliament against the big parties' representatives. V oting them will prevent the voters from contributing to the competition between the big parties as to which of them will form a government.2.Three big parties in the UK: the Labour party, the Conservative party, the Liberal Democrats.Similarities: Since Conservative began to have a "fartherly" sense of obligation to the less fortunate in society, they didn't dismantle principles the Labour set up. That indicates that thus the difference between the Labour and Conservative is one of degree, not an absolute.Dissimilarities: (1) Labour is a socialist party. They believe a society should be relatively equal in economic terms and that part of the role of government is to act as a "redistributive" agent. They think government should provide a range of public services, therefore high taxes. (2) Conservative is the party that spent most time in power. They are seen as the party of the individual, protecting individual's right to acquire wealth and to spend it how they choose, therefore low taxes. (3) Liberal Democrats is a party of the "middle", occupying theideological ground between the two main parties. They are comparatively flexible and pragmatic in their balance of the individual and the social.3.Recent political trends [注意下一小问]: (1) Conservatives won the election under their leader Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s. During that time the economy did badly, with high inflation and low growth. (2) she dismissed being "fartherly", encourages entrepreneurship. One of the major policies was the privatisazion of nationalised industry. (3)part of the mechanism of change was a less redistributive taxation system. Tax rate were cut to allow people to keep more of what they earned.Author's opinion: The 1980s have seen British politics move to the "right", away from the "pulic" and toward the "private"; away from the "social", and toward the "individual", and all parties have had to adjust to those changes.4.How people are divided into different classes: (1) employment: manual(or blue-collar) workers usually call themselves working-class, and office(or white-collar) workers would usually call themselves middle-class. (2) cultural differences: like what newspaper they read. Working-class often read THE SUN, a newspaper with little hard news and more about soap operas, royal family and sports. Middle-class often read THE GUARDIAN, a largernewspaper with longer stories, covering national and international events. (3) education: private school or public school. (4) the UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. (5) the way they speak.Compare with the US and China: not similar at all. The UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. Among the students at the private schools attended by the upper-middle-class above would be a thin scattering of aristocratic children, who will inherit titles like baronets. This is due to Britain's different history and convention.Unit 51.Absolute decline means recession, developing in a minus speed.Relative decline means that although the UK improved, other countries developed more rapidly than the UK, which made it slid from being the second largest economy to being the sixth.Reasons: (1) The UK had gone into debt after WWII. (2) Britain spent a higher proportion of its national wealth on the military than most of its competitors. (Joining NATO and UN Security Council) (3)The era of empire was over. Former colonial countries announced independence, leaving Britain as a medium-size Euporean country. (4)Britain's industry survived comparatively unaffected, but its competitors did not. So the competitors invested in modernequipment and new products while British industry still continue with older ones. (5) Low rates of investment. The UK lacks a close relationship between industry and banks due to its history. A low rate of domestic industrial investment coupled with a very high rate of overseas investment.2.What did the conservative party under Mrs. Thatcher promise to do to the UK national economy in 1979: A radical programme of reform.What was her radical reform programme: Bureaucracy was reduced, (foreign exchange controls were lifted, rules governing banks loosened, for example). Throughout the 1980s an extensive programme of privatisation was carried out.Was is successful: It seemed in some ways to be successful in that inflation came under control, and business made profits. The negative aspect was a rapid increase in unemployment. The national economy as a whole continued to grow at lower rates than its competitors.3.Main areas in national economies: Primary industries such as agriculture, fishing and mining; secondary industries which manufacture complex goods from those primary products; tertiary/service industries such as banking, insurance, tourism and the retailing.Development of each: (1) agricultural sector is small but efficient. Energy production is an important part of the UK economy. (2)in the secondary sector, manufacturing industry remains important, producing 22% of national wealth.(3)tertiary or service industries produce 65% of national wealth.4.Why relatively shrinking of the important secondary industry and a spectacular growth in tertiary or service industries: A lot of the tertiary or service industries is domestic activity, accounting for about 10% of the world's exports of such services. 70% of the UK's workforce are employed in the service sector.Compare tertiary industries in China in the past 20 years or so: Chinese tertiary industries didn't grow as fast as the UK, though the portion was increasing.How is this growth related to the reform and opening up to the outside world: China was famous for the name of "world factory", which means Chinese workforces can produce products at low paid. China is a developing country, experiencing the transfer of manufacturing is reasonable. However, as China is developing, wages of workforces are also increasing. Comparing to India, we may lose our "advantage" gradually.Unit 6Why Geoffrey Chaucer's work written in Middle English can still read and studied today: It is notable for its diversity, both in the range of social types amongst the 31pilgrims, and the range in style of the stories they tell.2.Do you think Elizabethan Drama occupies a significant position in British literature: Yes. Elizabethan drama, and Shakespeare in particular, is considered to be among the earliest work to display a "modern" perception of the world: full of moral doubts and political insecurities, where the right of those who wield power to do so is put in question.The most important figure in Elizabethan Drama: William ShakespeareSome of his well-known plays: (tragedies)Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth; (comedies)The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, the Tempest; (history plays)Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V jJulius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra.3.Some of the features of Romantic Literature: writers of romantic literature are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason.Modernism: it refers to a form of literature mainly written before WWII. It is characterized by a high degree of experimentation. It can be seen as a reaction against the 19th century forms of Realism. Modernist writers express the difficulty they see in understanding and communicating how the world works.Often they seem disorganized, hard to understand. It often portrays the action from the viewpoint of a single confused individual, rather than from the viewpoint of an all-knowing impersonal narrator outside the action.Postmodernism: After WWII. Postmodernist can be thought of as abandoning the search of buried meaning below confusing surfaces.Examples to illustrate: (modernist) Virginia Woolf "Mrs.Dalloway""to the Lighthouse""Orlando"; wrence "Sons and Lovers" and E.M.Forster "a Passage to India"; (postmodernist)George Orwell "1984", John Fowles "the French Lieutenant's woman"Book I Unit 7, British Education System1.What are the purposes of the British education system? Please comment onthese purposes. What are the main purposes of the Chinese education system?Are there any differences or similarities in the education of the two nations?Schools in Britain do not just teach the students 3 Rs, (reading, writing andarithmetic), but to provide children with literacy and the other basic skills they will need to become active members of society.2.How does the British education system reflect social class?Firstly, in Britain, the school you attend can refer to your social status.And the school tie is a clear market of social class,3.What are the major changes that have taken place since World War II? IsBritish education moving towards more progress or more equality? Pick up some examples from the text to illustrate your points.1)The old education system has disrupted due to the war. So with the help of thechurch and newly powerful trade unions began to reconstruct a new education system.2)The new system emphasizes equality. 1944 education act made entry tosecondary schools and universities meritocratic. Children would be able admitted to schools not because they were of a certain social class or because their parents possessed a certain amount of money, but because of the abilities they displayed. All children were given right to a free secondary education and the main concern was to make sure more children had access to a good education.3)1989, a national curriculum was introduced by the government.4.Why does the author say that universities in Britain have rather elitist?Most students in British universities are from the middle classes, attend good schools, perform well in their A-levels and receive a fully-funded place in a university. And when they graduate, they can become very influential in banking, the media, the arts, education or even the government.5.What is the Open University in Britain? What do you think of this system?The opening university offers a non-traditional route for people to take university level courses and receive a university degree. People can register without having any formal educational qualifications. They follow university courses through textbooks, TV and radio broadcasts, correspondence, videos, residential schools and a network of study centre.I think the system has been quite successful. Thanks to the system, tens ofthousands of Britons, from various statuses attend the Open University each year. And this has improve the equality in Britain’s high education.Unit 8 British Foreign Relations1.What and how did the British Empire end? How did the Britain react to thisreality? How did the end of British imperialism influence the psychology of the British and the making of Britain’s fo reign policy?1)After the World War II the British could no longer afford to maintain its empire;while Britain had won the war, it had paid a terrible price in terms of lives and in terms of economic destruction. And the British realized that countries should be granted the independence and left to run their own affairs. People and territory should not just be treated as a source of economic resources for theruling centers of commerce in Europe.2)Many people are still alive who can remember when Britain was one of themost powerful and rich nations on earth. It is sometimes hard to think about Britain as it really is today.3)Because Britain lost its empire so recently, british policy makers frequentlyforget that Britain is not as influential as it used to be in world affairs.Historians argue that the British foreign policy makers retain very conservative and traditional views of Britain’s role as a world power and point to many major foreign policy decisions as examples.2.What are the foundations of Britain’s foreign policy?It is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits.Britain’s imperial history made the policy maker very conservative and traditional.And its geopolitical traits created a sense of psychological isolation in its inhabitants. And as Britain is an island state, it naturally developed as a nation of seafarers who roamed the globe looking for territory and economic opportunities.3.How is Britain’s foreign policy made? Does the government’s foreign policyrepresent the desires of British citizen?1)The prime minister and cabinet decide on the general direction of Britain’sforeign policy. The main government department involved is of course the。

英语国家社会与文化入门 课后题答案

英语国家社会与文化入门 课后题答案

Book1 Unit 11、What was the British Empire? What do you know about it? In what way is the “Empire” still felt in Britain and in the international field?The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries、In the international field, Britain has great voice in politics, economy and culture and so on、2、Why impossible to sum up British people with a few simple phrases: The UK is made up of different elements、It includes 4 parts within the one nation-state、It is now a multiracial society with different religion believes、It is divided economically and it is a society with a class-structure、And within each of the four countries there are different regions、Since this country was so complicated both in history or humanity, it is impossible to sum up their people、3、A history of invasions: (1) Before the 1st century AD Britain was made up of tribal kindoms of Celtic people、They brought the central Europen culture to Britain、Then in 43AD, Roman Empire invaded Britain and controlled it for slave society but also disseminated their Catholicism、(2)However, in the 5th century, the Roman Empire rapidly waned in power and Britain was conqueredby the Angles and the Saxons、In order to defend the Saxons, a great leader—King Arthur appeared、He created the "round table" to satisfy all the knights' requirement of having equal precedence、Thus it gradually formed the monarchy in Britain as a more democratic system、Whether Arthur's a real person in the history or not, Anglo-Saxons did succeed in invading Britain and they were the forefathers of the English、(3)In the 8th century, the Vikings from Denmark controlled the nothern and eastern England、A Anglo-Saxon herio, king Alfred the Great fought against the vikings with the truly English、And that's why there's a certain cultural difference between northerners and southerners in England (4)Later, the Nomans from northern France, under the leading of William of Normandy, killed the king and William became the Frist of England、They imported a rulling class that French-speaking Norman aristocracy rulled Saxon and English-speaking population、In this condition, there weren't a lot of rebellions among the English people、That directly formed an English unique character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity、Even today, we can still find this personality from the British people through their lifestyles、How did they influence culture:[接着上边一起瞧] (2) a lot of stories of King Arthur, which brought a lot of singers, poets, novelists and filmmakers、Places associated with his legend、Round table was ween as an indicator of the way in which the English have wished to see their monarch as something other than a remote dictator、(3)anglo-saxon invaders were the forefathers of the English、By Vikings' settlements the Enlish heroes were truly English、Thereremains to this day a certain cultural divide between northerners and southerners in england、(4)Norman aristocracy ruling a largely Saxon and English-speaking population、the legend of Robin Hood、4、General characteristic of Scotland: Scotland is the second largest of the four nations, both in population and in geographical area、It is also the most confident of its own identity because alone amongst the non-English components of the UK it has previously spent a substantial period of history as a unified state independent of the UK、(1) rugged、(2) not conquered by the Romans (3) maintain its separate political identity for more than a hundred years、(4) eager for independence、How Scotland became part of the union of Great Britain: in 1707 by agreement of the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the Union、In 1745 there was a brutal military response from the British army、The rebel army was destroyed at the battle of Culloden in northern Scotland、5、Describe Wales and the unification with Britain: (1) wales was an important element in Britain's industrial revolution, as it had rich coal deposits、It is successful in attracting investment from abroad、Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union、Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England、(2)Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union、Despite this nearness and long-standingpolitical integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England、In 1536, wales was brought legally, administratively, and politically into the UK by an act of the British parliament、This close long-standing relationship means that modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses --- its legal system and its education system are exactly the same as in England、6、Differences between England, Scotland and Wales in terms of cultural tradition: [书上说的比较散,建议参考festival那章的答案,这里只有一些零散的不系统的比较] (1) English character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity、But young people are not all stereotypes、But it is certainly true that the lifeless fronts of many english houses conceal beautiful back gardens、(2)The dream of an independent Scotland has not vanished、They are always eager for freedom、Scotland has a great tradition of innovation in the arts, philosophy and science、"Superficially fully integrated into the UK, but concealed beneath this is a still-strong Scottish identity、" Some people speak Gaelic、(3)Wales is different, and one of the key markers of that diffenece is the Welsh language -- the old British Celtic tongue which is still in daily use、Modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses、(its legal system and education system are exactly the same as in England)Unit 21、Why is Northern Ireland so significant in the UK: Though Northern Ireland is small it is significant because of the political troubles there、Its political problem: The problem is in Northern Ireland in 1921 in southern Ireland independence from Britain, Ireland North and South following the separation of issues left over by history, mixed it with historical, political, ethnic and religious conflicts, extremely complex、Ireland’s independence, to remain under British rule within the framework of the 6 in the northern island of Ireland residents of the pro-British Protestant majority (about 51%), the Catholic nationalist minority (about 38%), as a result of the two major forces in Northern Ireland On the contrary position of ownership and lead to confrontation, conflict、[因为发现实在太难sum up了,所以就搜了一下,以下就是wikipedia版本]Northern Ireland was for many years the site of a violent and bitter ethno-political conflict — the Troubles — which was caused by divisions between nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and unionists, who are predominantly Protestant、Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain as a part of the United Kingdom,[6] while nationalists wish for it to be politically reunited with the rest of Ireland, independent of British rule、[网络其它版本]Until 1921 the full name of the UK was "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland", not only "Northern Ireland", because the whole island of Ireland was politically integrated with Great Britain, and had been since 1801, while Britain's domination of the Irish dated back centuries even before that date、But Irish desires for an independent Irish state were never lost, and one of the key issues in late nineteenth century British politics was acampaign in parliament for what was called "home-rule"—Irish political 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 for the duration of the war、2、Factors in Irish and English history that affect the situation in Northern Ireland today: Along with the political campaign for home-rule there were groups who followed a more direct method of pursuing Irish independence, engaging in guerilla or terrorist activities against British institutions and the British military forces、During the First World War and immediately after, this activity increased, sometimes brutally suppressed by British forces、3、Sum up solutions to NI's political problems of different parties and groups in the UK: Margaret Thatcher's government did not give in to this demand for political status and 11 prisoners starved to death、This event revitalised the political campaign of Sinn Fein, the legal political party which supports the IRA's right to fight、Its leaders spoke of a twin campaign for union with Ireland, both political and military, which they called the policy of "The Bullet and the Ballot Box"、4、What do you think should be the right solution to the political problem in Northern Ireland: I think they can ask the UN for help、/ Keep the present status、Turn to other countries for help、[自由发挥啦]Unit 31、Characteristics of the British constitutional monarchy: The monarch of the country has limited rights because of Bill of Right、For example, while the official head of state is the queen, her powers are largely traditional and symbolic、The government at national and local levels is elected by the people and governs according to British constitutional principles、How the English monarchy evolved to present constitutional monarchy: Originally the power of the monarch was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the "divine right of kings"、For a thousand years Britain has had a hereditary king or queen as the head of the state、While the King in theory had God on his side, in practice even in medieval times it was thought that he should not exercise absolute power、King John was unwilling to receive advice from prominent men, which led battles between the king and other powerful groups、Finally the king granted them a charter, named Magna Carta, of liverty and political rights、The civil war2、The civil war was rooted in a dispute over the power of the king vis-a-vis Parliament、James I and his successor Charles I both insisted on their divine right as kings、They felt Parliament had no real political right to exist, but only existed because the king allowed it to do so、It was the effort to reassert the rights of parliament that led to the civil war、English Revolution: "English Revolution" has been used to describe twodifferent events in English history、The first was the Glorious Revolution of 1688, whereby James II was replaced by William III and Mary II as monarch and a constitutional monarchy established, was described by Whig historians as the English Revolution、[1]In the twentieth-century, however, Marxist historians used the term "English Revolution" to describe the period of the English Civil Wars and Commonwealth period (1640-1660), in which Parliament challenged King Charles I's authority, engaged in civil conflict against his forces, and executed him in 1649、This was followed by a ten-year period of bourgeois republican government, the "Commonwealth", before monarchy was restored in the shape of Charles' son, Charles II, in 1660、3、History of English parliament: Traditionally, when medieval kings wanted to raise money he would try to persuade the Great Council, a gathering of leading, wealthy barons which the kings summoned several times a year、Later kings found this group was so small that they could not make ends meet、So they widened the Great Council to include representatives of counties, cities and towns and get them to contribute、It was in this way that the Great Council came to include the House of Lords(who were summoned) and the House of Commons(representatives of communities)、What role did the parliament play in the Civil War: Since James I and Charles I both thought that Parliament didn't need to exist, the Parliament was enraged、Leading politicians and church authorities asked William of Orange to replacethem two、In 1689 Parliament passed the bill of Rights which ensured that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament、4、Characteristics of British constitution: Unlike many nations, Britain has no core constitutional documents、Contents: Statute laws(laws passed by Parliament); the common laws(laws which have been established through common practice in the courts); and conventions(rules and practices which do not exist legally but are nevertheless regarded as vital to the workings of government)、5、Why parliament is supreme: because it alone has the power to change the terms of the Constitution、There are no legal restraints upon Parliament、Parliament's function: First, it passes laws、Second, it provides the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation、Third, it scrutinises government policy, administration and expenditure、Fourth, it debates the major issues of the day、Queen/King's role: To symbolise the tradition and unity of the British state、To represent Britain at home and broad、To set standards of good citizenship and family life、She is 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、PM's role: The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party which wins the most seats in a general election、He/She chose usually around 20 MPs tobecome government ministers in the Cabinet、Together they carry our the functions of policy-making, the coordination of government departments and the supreme control of government、6、The House of Lords: It was below the Queen, consisting 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 of they have been appointed)、The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests of the public、It is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom's national legislature、It remains the relationship with government, debates legislation and has some power to amend or reject bills (has some legislative functions)、Unit 41、Anyone who is eligible to vote can stand as an MP、It is necessary only to make a deposit of 500 pounds、Why small parties and independent candidates powerless: V oters will see it as a wasted vote because even if they were to win the seat they would be powerless in parliament against the big parties' representatives、V oting them will prevent the voters from contributing to the competition between the big parties as to which of them will form a government、2、Three big parties in the UK: the Labour party, the Conservative party, the Liberal Democrats、Similarities: Since Conservative began to have a "fartherly" sense of obligation to the less fortunate in society, they didn't dismantle principles the Labour set up、That indicates that thus the difference between the Labour and Conservative is one of degree, not an absolute、Dissimilarities: (1) Labour is a socialist party、They believe a society should be relatively equal in economic terms and that part of the role of government is to act as a "redistributive" agent、They think government should provide a range of public services, therefore high taxes、(2) Conservative is the party that spent most time in power、They are seen as the party of the individual, protecting individual's right to acquire wealth and to spend it how they choose, therefore low taxes、(3) Liberal Democrats is a party of the "middle", occupying the ideological ground between the two main parties、They are comparatively flexible and pragmatic in their balance of the individual and the social、3、Recent political trends [注意下一小问]: (1) Conservatives won the election under their leader Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s、During that time the economy did badly, with high inflation and low growth、(2) she dismissed being "fartherly", encourages entrepreneurship、One of the major policies was the privatisazion of nationalised industry、(3)part of the mechanism of change was a less redistributive taxation system、Tax rate were cut to allow people tokeep more of what they earned、Author's opinion: The 1980s have seen British politics move to the "right", away from the "pulic" and toward the "private"; away from the "social", and toward the "individual", and all parties have had to adjust to those changes、4、How people are divided into different classes: (1) employment: manual(or blue-collar) workers usually call themselves working-class, and office(or white-collar) workers would usually call themselves middle-class、(2) cultural differences: like what newspaper they read、Working-class often read THE SUN, a newspaper with little hard news and more about soap operas, royal family and sports、Middle-class often read THE GUARDIAN, a larger newspaper with longer stories, covering national and international events、(3) education: private school or public school、(4) the UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy、(5) the way they speak、Compare with the US and China: not similar at all、The UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy、Among the students at the private schools attended by the upper-middle-class above would be a thin scattering of aristocratic children, who will inherit titles like baronets、This is due to Britain's different history and convention、Unit 51、Absolute decline means recession, developing in a minus speed、Relative decline means that although the UK improved, other countriesdeveloped more rapidly than the UK, which made it slid from being the second largest economy to being the sixth、Reasons: (1) The UK had gone into debt after WWII、(2) Britain spent a higher proportion of its national wealth on the military than most of its competitors、(Joining NATO and UN Security Council) (3)The era of empire was over、Former colonial countries announced independence, leaving Britain as a medium-size Euporean country、(4)Britain's industry survived comparatively unaffected, but its competitors did not、So the competitors invested in modern equipment and new products while British industry still continue with older ones、(5) Low rates of investment、The UK lacks a close relationship between industry and banks due to its history、A low rate of domestic industrial investment coupled with a very high rate of overseas investment、2、What did the conservative party under Mrs、Thatcher promise to do to the UK national economy in 1979: A radical programme of reform、What was her radical reform programme: Bureaucracy was reduced, (foreign exchange controls were lifted, rules governing banks loosened, for example)、Throughout the 1980s an extensive programme of privatisation was carried out、Was is successful: It seemed in some ways to be successful in that inflation came under control, and business made profits、The negative aspect was a rapid increase in unemployment、The national economy as a whole continuedto grow at lower rates than its competitors、3、Main areas in national economies: Primary industries such as agriculture, fishing and mining; secondary industries which manufacture complex goods from those primary products; tertiary/service industries such as banking, insurance, tourism and the retailing、Development of each: (1) agricultural sector is small but efficient、Energy production is an important part of the UK economy、(2)in the secondary sector, manufacturing industry remains important, producing 22% of national wealth、(3)tertiary or service industries produce 65% of national wealth、4、Why relatively shrinking of the important secondary industry and a spectacular growth in tertiary or service industries: A lot of the tertiary or service industries is domestic activity, accounting for about 10% of the world's exports of such services、70% of the UK's workforce are employed in the service sector、Compare tertiary industries in China in the past 20 years or so: Chinese tertiary industries didn't grow as fast as the UK, though the portion was increasing、How is this growth related to the reform and opening up to the outside world: China was famous for the name of "world factory", which means Chinese workforces can produce products at low paid、China is a developing country, experiencing the transfer of manufacturing is reasonable、However, as China is developing, wages of workforces are also increasing、Comparing to India, we may lose our "advantage" gradually、Unit 61、Why Geoffrey Chaucer's work written in Middle English can still read and studied today: It is notable for its diversity, both in the range of social types amongst the 31pilgrims, and the range in style of the stories they tell、2、Do you think Elizabethan Drama occupies a significant position in British literature: Yes、Elizabethan drama, and Shakespeare in particular, is considered to be among the earliest work to display a "modern" perception of the world: full of moral doubts and political insecurities, where the right of those who wield power to do so is put in question、The most important figure in Elizabethan Drama: William ShakespeareSome of his well-known plays: (tragedies)Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth; (comedies)The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, the Tempest; (history plays)Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V jJulius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra、3、Some of the features of Romantic Literature: writers of romantic literature are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason、4、Modernism: it refers to a form of literature mainly written before WWII、It is characterized by a high degree of experimentation、It can be seen as a reaction against the 19th century forms of Realism、Modernist writers express thedifficulty they see in understanding and communicating how the world works、Often they seem disorganized, hard to understand、It often portrays the action from the viewpoint of a single confused individual, rather than from the viewpoint of an all-knowing impersonal narrator outside the action、Postmodernism: After WWII、Postmodernist can be thought of as abandoning the search of buried meaning below confusing surfaces、Examples to illustrate: (modernist) Virginia Woolf "Mrs、Dalloway""to the Lighthouse""Orlando"; D、H、Lawrence "Sons and Lovers" and E、M、Forster "a Passage to India"; (postmodernist)George Orwell "1984", John Fowles "the French Lieutenant's woman"Book I Unit 7, British Education System1.What are the purposes of the British education system? Please comment onthese purposes、What are the main purposes of the Chinese education system?Are there any differences or similarities in the education of the two nations?Schools in Britain do not just teach the students 3 Rs, (reading, writing and arithmetic), but to provide children with literacy and the other basic skills they will need to become active members of society、2.How does the British education system reflect social class?Firstly, in Britain, the school you attend can refer to your social status、And the school tie is a clear market of social class,3.What are the major changes that have taken place since World War II? IsBritish education moving towards more progress or more equality? Pick up some examples from the text to illustrate your points、1)The old education system has disrupted due to the war、So with the help of thechurch and newly powerful trade unions began to reconstruct a new education system、2)The new system emphasizes equality、1944 education act made entry tosecondary schools and universities meritocratic、Children would be able admitted to schools not because they were of a certain social class or because their parents possessed a certain amount of money, but because of the abilities they displayed、All children were given right to a free secondary education and the main concern was to make sure more children had access to a good education、3)1989, a national curriculum was introduced by the government、4.Why does the author say that universities in Britain have rather elitist?Most students in British universities are from the middle classes, attend good schools, perform well in their A-levels and receive a fully-funded place in a university、And when they graduate, they can become very influential in banking, the media, the arts, education or even the government、5.What is the Open University in Britain? What do you think of this system?The opening university offers a non-traditional route for people to take university level courses and receive a university degree、People can register without having any formal educational qualifications、They follow university courses through textbooks, TV and radio broadcasts, correspondence, videos, residential schools and a network of study centre、I think the system has been quite successful、Thanks to the system, tens ofthousands of Britons, from various statuses attend the Open University each year、And this has improve the equality in Britain’s high education、Unit 8 British Foreign Relations1.What and how did the British Empire end? How did the Britain react to thisreality? How did the end of British imperialism influence the psychology of the British and the making of Britain’s foreign policy?1)After the World War II the British could no longer afford to maintain its empire;while Britain had won the war, it had paid a terrible price in terms of lives and in terms of economic destruction、And the British realized that countries should be granted the independence and left to run their own affairs、People and territory should not just be treated as a source of economic resources for the ruling centers of commerce in Europe、2)Many people are still alive who can remember when Britain was one of themost powerful and rich nations on earth、It is sometimes hard to think about Britain as it really is today、3)Because Britain lost its empire so recently, british policy makers frequentlyforget that Britain is not as influential as it used to be in world affairs、Historians argue that the British foreign policy makers retain very conservative and traditional views of Britain’s role as a world power and point to many major foreign policy decisions as examples、2.What are the foundations of Britain’s foreign policy?It is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits、Britain’s imperial history made the policy maker very conservative andtraditional、And its geopolitical traits created a sense of psychological isolation in its inhabitants、And as Britain is an island state, it naturally developed as a nation of seafarers who roamed the globe looking for territory and economic opportunities、3.How is Britain’s foreign policy made? Does the government’s foreign policyrepresent the desires of British citizen?1)The prime minister and cabinet decide on the gene ral direction of Britain’sforeign policy、The main government department involved is of course the foreign and commonwealth office but many other government ministries also play a part in formulating and executing the government’s decisions、2)Since Britain is a parliamentary democracy, the government’s foreign policy intheory represented the desires of its electorate , but in fact british citizens are more concerned about issues closer to home、On the whole, they are not very inclined to try to influence t he direction of Britain’s foreign policy、There area number of different interest groups however, and it is interesting that rareoccurrences of civil disobedience in the UK often involve foreign policy issues、4.Why does the author say that the decision to join the EC was and remainscontroversial in Britain?1)It is an important psychological decision for the nation because traditionallyBritain had looked beyond its European neighbors felling that really it had more common with the United States on the one hand and the commonwealth。

英语国家社会与文化入门上册答案

英语国家社会与文化入门上册答案

英语国家社会与文化入门上册答案英语国家社会与文化入门上册答案【篇一:英语国家社会与文化入门上册第三版】p> 1、britain is no longer an imperial(帝国) country(t)2、the commonwealth(英联邦)of nations includes all european countries(f)3、1 in 10 of the british population are of non-european ethnicity(种族)(f)4、the stereotype(刻板印象)of the english gentleman never applied to the majority of the british people(t)5、when people outside the uk talk about england, they mistake it as britain sometimes(t)6、the scots and welsh(苏格兰和威尔士)have a strong sense of being british(f)7、scotland(苏格兰) was never conquered by the romans (罗马人)(t)8、most people in scotland speak the celtic(凯尔特)language, called “gaelic”(f)9、scotland was unified with england through peacefulmeans(t)10、wales(威尔士) is rich in coal(煤炭) deposits(存款)(t)11、cardiff(卡迪夫), the capital of wales, is a large city(f)12、the title of prince(王子) of wales is held by a held by a welsh according to tradition(f) 第二单元1、ireland is part of great britain(f)2、“ulster(阿尔斯特)”, referring to northern ireland, was once an ancient irish kingdom(王国)(t)3、the capital of belfast(贝尔法斯特) is a large city with halfa million people(f)4、northern ireland is significant(重要的)because of its manufacturing(制造业) industry(f)5、the majority of irish people were descendants(后代) of the original celtic(凯尔特)people who inhabited british isles (群岛) before the romans arrived 2000 years ago(t)6、most british people are protestants(新教徒) while most irish people are catholics(天主教徒)(t)7、the british government does not have direct rule from london over northern ireland(t)8、sinn fein(新芬党)is a legal political party in northern ireland(t)9、the anglo-irish(岗格鲁-爱尔兰)agreement of 1985 guaranteed the loyalist(政府军) protestant community(社区)their to decide their future in northern ireland(t)10、the good friday agreement(协议) was approved on 10 april 1998(t)11、northern ireland today is governed by separate jurisdictions(司法管辖区): thatf republic(共和国)of ireland that of great britain(f)第三单元1、it is no doubt that britain is the oldest representative democracy(民主) in the world(f)2、in britain, the process of state-building(国家建设) has been one of evolution rather than revolution, contrast to france and the us(与法国和美国相比)(t)3、the oldest institution(机构) of government in britain isthe monarchy(君主政体)(t)4、the divine(神圣的)right of the king means the sovereign (主权) derived(派生的) his authority(权威) fromhis subjects(主题)(f)5、as the king in theory had god on his side, it was thoughtthat he should exercise absolute(绝对) power(f)6、the term “parliament(议会)” was first officially used in 1066 to describe the gathering of feudal barons(封建贵族)and representatives from counties and towns(f)7、britain is both a parliamentary democracy(议会民主制)and a constitutional monarchy(君主立宪制)(t)8、britain, like israel, has a written constitution of the sort which most countries have(f)9、common laws are laws which have been established(建立)through common practice(实践) in the courts(法院)(t) 第四单元1、in the uk, a government cannot stand for longer than five years except in exceptional circumstances(情况下)(t)2、anyone who is eligible(符合条件的)to vote with 500 pounds as deposit(存款) can stand as an mp(国会议员)(f)3、each main party is given some time on national tv to “sell” their policies. the time is not given free and has to be paid by the party(t)4、the amount spent in national campaign(运动)is not limited other than that on tv(f)5、secrecy(保密)is not an important part of the voting process(t)6、there are two major national parties in the u.k. according to the text(f)7、liberal democratic(自由民主) party is the newest of the major national parties(f)8、children from the upper-middle-class(中上层阶级)usually have a better education than those from the working or middle-class(t)9、the majority of middle-class people today have working class parents or grandparents(t)10、one of the distinctive features(独特的特征) about the british class-system is that it has also retained(保留) a hereditary aristocracy(世袭的贵族)(t)11、the majority of britain’s recent immigrants have mainly come from north asia(北亚)and caribbean(加勒比)countries(f)12、most immigrants earn a living by opening restaurants or becoming musicians(f)13、the majority have problems of unemployment publishedits household energy management strategy(家庭能源管理策略)(t)14、on march 2, 2010, the british government publish its household energy management strategy(t)15、on december 27, 2009 the tn climate(气候)change conference was held in copenhagen(t)16、according to the kyoto protocol(京都议定书), the government has agreed that the uk will meet tough targets(艰难的目标) to reduce carbon emissions incrementally(增量)between now and 2020(f)第五单元1、by the 1880’s the british economy was dominant(主导)in the world(t)2、both the us and canada overtook britain in economy by 1900(f)3、by the end of world war ii, britain had gone heavily into debt(债务) in order to develop its manufacturing industry andborrowed large amounts from the us and france(f)4、another reason for british decline is the loss of its colonies (殖民地), especially india, which gained its independence in 1947(t)5、in the 1970s, with the soaring(飙升的) price of oil and high rates of inflation(通货膨胀), britain went through a bad period. in 1979, the labour party had to step down(下台)from the government (t)6、the leader of the conservatives(保守派), margaret thatcher(玛格丽特-撒切尔)started a series of reforms. an extensive(广泛的)programme of privatization(私有的)was carriedout, and she was successful in an all-round(全面的) way (f) 7、tertiary(三级)industries include banking, insurance(保险), tourism(旅游), agriculture and the selling of goods (f)8、britain has a large sector(部门) of agriculture producing 11.6% of its national wealth (f)9、according to the text, the tertiary(三级)industry produces approximately(大约)two-thirds of the national wealth (t)10、the service industry in the uk employs 70% of the total work force (t)11、as a member of the world trade organization, the uk is playing a very important role in the world trade (t)12、the uk is the third biggest international investor(投资者)in the world (f)第六单元1、much early british literature was concerned with christianity(基督教), and anglo-saxons(盎格鲁-撒克逊人)produced many versions(版本) of the bible(圣经) (t)2、beowulf(贝奥武夫) was a sea monster(海怪) killed bya swedish warrior(瑞典战士) (f)3、“the wife of bath(浴的妻子)” is one of the tales(故事)contained in the canterbury tales(坎特伯雷故事集) (t)4、there was a general flowering of culture and intellectual (知识) life in europe during the 17th and 18th century which is known as “the renaissance(文艺复兴时期)” (f)6、keats, shelley and byron(济慈、雪莱和拜伦) brought the romantic movement(浪漫主义运动) to its height (t)7、robinson crusoe(鲁宾逊漂流记)tells the story of a shipwreck and solitary survival(海难和孤独的生存) (t)8、writers of romantic literature(浪漫主义文化)are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason (t)第七单元1、the purpose of british education is not only to provide children with literacy(读写能力) and the other basic skills but also to socialize(社交) children (t)2、the state seldom interferes(干扰) with the decision of when, where, how and what children are taught (f)3、the enduring feature(持久特征) of british education is the continuing debate over what should be taught in schools (f)4、the 1944 education act made entry to secondary schools (中学)and universities “meritocratic(精英)” (t)5、public schools are part of the national education system and funded by the government (f)6、british universities are public bodies which receive funds from central government (t)7、all secondary schools in britain are run and supervised (监督) by the government (t)8、in oxford and cambridge the ba converts to an ma several years later, upon payment of a fee (t)9、independent schools get money mainly through the private sector(部门) and tuition(学费)rates, with some government support (t)10、grammar schools select children at the age of 11 and provide them with a general education (f)第八单元1、when the second world war ended, britain no longer wasthe largest military(军事) power in western europe (f)2、the uk was awarded(授予) a seat on the un(联合国)security council(安理会)in recognition(识别)of its contribution in setting up the united nations (f)3、according to the text, the most important single factorwhich influences british policy-maker is its history (t)4、the prime minister and cabinet(内阁)decide on the general direc tion of britain’s foreign policy (t)5、the main government department involved is the foreignand commonwealth office(外交和联邦事务部)(fco) (t)6、britain is a parliamentary monarch(议会君主) (f)7、there are about 60 members of the commonwealth(英联邦)(f)8、the british host a large american military(军事)presence and there are 63 american military bases in the uk (t)9、britain is not a member of the nato(北约)due to its disagreement with some european countries on defence policy (f)第九单元1、on an average day, an overwhelming(压倒性的)majorityof britons over the age of 15 red a nation or local paper(报纸)(t)2、the british media play an important role in shaping(塑造)a national culture (t)3、in the late seventeenth and early 18th century, as thebritish economy began to industrialise, and as literacy levels rose through the introduction of mass education, more and newspapers began to appear (f)4、free press has the function of keeping an eye on the government, and therefore it is called the watchdog(监管机构)of parliamentary democracy(议会民主制) (t)5、the advertising code(广告代码)ensures that advertisements are legal, decent(体面地), honest and truthful; have a sense of responsibility for consumer and society; and respect the principles of fair competition(竞争)(t)6、it is incorrect to say that class and educational differences are reflected in the newspapers people read (f)7、the telegraph readers, for example, will be soft on crime(犯罪), be quite feminist(女权主义)and interested in green politics (f)8、the tabloids(小报) are smaller format(格式)newspapers with colour photos and catchy headlines(吸引人的标题). they are often called “the gutter press(黄色小报)” (t) 9、the british broadcasting corporation is funded by licence (许可证) fees and viewers must buy a licence each year for their tv set (t)10、the bbc(英国广播公司) world service, the internationalbranch of the bbc, broadcasts in english and 42 other languages throughout the world (t)第十单元1、the tradition of having sunday off derived from(来自)the christian church(基督教堂)(t)2、the origin of bowling(打保龄球)lies in the victory celebration ceremony(仪式) by the ancient warriors (t)3、tennis(网球) is usually regarded as a winter and spring sport (f)4、the game of golf was invented by the scottish(苏格兰)(t)5、the animal-lovers’ groups would like to have horse racing banned(禁止) (t)6、easter(复活节)is the biggest and best loved british holiday (f)7、christmas pantomime(哑剧)is one of the three christmas traditions that are particularly british (t)8、it is commonly believed that boxing day involves the sport of boxing (f)9、the biggest bonfire night(篝火之夜) celebration is held in london (f)10、in ireland, new year’ eve called hogma除夕)(december 31st) is the major winter celebration (t)选择题第一单元1、which of the following is not considered a characteristic of london? (d/the sports centre)2、which of the following is not true about the characteristics of britain? (b/differences of social systemsbetween scotland and wales(威尔士))3、which of the following is not true about britain? (d/it used to be one of the superpowers in the world)4、three of the following are characteristics of london. which of the four is the exception? (c/london is not only the largest city in britain, but also the largest in the world)5、the tower of london, a historical sight, located in the centre of london, was built by (d/william the conqueror)6、who were the ancestors of the english and the founders of england? (a/the anglo-saxons(盎格鲁-撒克逊人))7、which is the largest city in scotland? (c/glasgow(格拉斯哥))8、why did the scottish kings decide to form an independent singular scottish(奇异的苏格兰)state in the century? (a/they needed a unified independent nation to fight against viking raids (维京人袭击))9、where do the majority of people in scotland live? (b/in the lowlands(低地))10、which of the following statements is not true? (b/wales was occupied by the anglo-saxons(盎格鲁-撒克逊人))11、which of the following parties in scotland still wants an independent scotland? (c/the scottish nationalist(民族主义)party)12、when did scotland join the union by agreement of the english and scottish parliaments(议会)?(d/in 1701)13、llywelyn ap gruffudd is not a simple historical figure forthe welsh. he is almost considered the legendary(传奇)hero of welsh nationalism because (d/he unified wales as an independent nation)第二单元1、in the 17th century the english government encouraged people from scotland and northern england to emigrate to the north of ireland, because (a/they wanted to increase its control over ireland)【篇二:英语国家社会与文化入门_上册_翻译】united kingdom 该国,我们正在研究的全称是大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国。

英语国家社会与文化入门 Unit 1英国概述【最新文档】

英语国家社会与文化入门 Unit 1英国概述【最新文档】

At the peak of its power, it was often said that "the sun never sets on the British Empire" because its span across the globe ensured that the sun was always shining on at least one of its numerous colonies or subject nations.
Unit 1 A Brief Introduction of the UK
Major points
A complicated country with a complicated name and complicated population make-up
The imperial past and its effects on today’s UK Its class and race Its regions
National Emblem
“Union Jack” --- National Flag
The UK flag consists of three elements: • the cross of St. George (red on white) for England, • the cross of St. Andrew (white diagonal on blue) for Scotland, • and the cross of St. Patrick (red diagonal on white) for Ireland.
The imperial effects on today’s UK

英语国家社会与文化入门课后题答案之欧阳治创编

英语国家社会与文化入门课后题答案之欧阳治创编

Book1 Unit 11.What was the British Empire? What do you know about it? In what way is the “Empire” still felt in Britain and in the international field?The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries.In the international field, Britain has great voice in politics, economy and culture and so on.2.Why impossible to sum up British people with a few simple phrases: The UK is made up of different elements. It includes 4 parts within the one nation-state. It is now a multiracial society with different religion believes. It is divided economically and it is a society with a class-structure. And within each of the four countries there aredifferent regions. Since this country was so complicated both in history or humanity, it is impossible to sum up their people.3.A history of invasions: (1) Before the 1st century AD Britain was made up of tribal kindoms of Celtic people. They brought the central Europen culture to Britain. Then in 43AD, Roman Empire invaded Britain and controlled it for slave society but also disseminated their Catholicism.(2)However, in the 5th century, the Roman Empire rapidly waned in power and Britain was conquered by the Angles and the Saxons. In order to defend the Saxons, a great leader—King Arthur appeared. He created the "round table" to satisfy all the knights' requirement of having equal precedence. Thus it gradually formed the monarchy in Britain as a more democratic system. Whether Arthur's a real person in the history or not, Anglo-Saxons did succeed in invading Britain and they were the forefathers of the English. (3)In the 8th century, the Vikings from Denmark controlled the nothern andeastern England. A Anglo-Saxon herio, king Alfred the Great fought against the vikings with the truly English. And that's why there's a certain cultural difference between northerners and southerners in England (4)Later, the Nomans from northern France, under the leading of William of Normandy, killed the king and William became the Frist of England. They imported a rulling class that French-speaking Norman aristocracy rulled Saxon and English-speaking population. In this condition, there weren't a lot of rebellions among the English people. That directly formed an English unique character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. Even today, we can still find this personality from the British people through their lifestyles.How did they influence culture:[接着上边一起看] (2) a lot of stories of King Arthur, which brought a lot of singers, poets, novelists and filmmakers. Places associated with his legend. Round table was ween as an indicator of the way in which the English have wished to see their monarch as something other than a remote dictator.(3)anglo-saxon invaders were the forefathers of the English. By Vikings' settlements the Enlish heroes were truly English. There remains to this day a certain cultural divide between northerners and southerners in england.(4)Norman aristocracy ruling a largely Saxon and English-speaking population. the legend of Robin Hood.4.General characteristic of Scotland: Scotland is the second largest of the four nations, both in population and in geographical area. It is also the most confident of its own identity because alone amongst the non-English components of the UK it has previously spent a substantial period of history as a unified state independent of the UK. (1) rugged. (2) not conquered by the Romans (3) maintain its separate political identity for more than a hundred years.(4) eager for independence.How Scotland became part of the union of Great Britain: in 1707 by agreement of the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the Union. In 1745 there was a brutal military response from the British army. The rebelarmy was destroyed at the battle of Culloden in northern Scotland.5.Describe Wales and the unification with Britain: (1) wales was an important element in Britain's industrial revolution, as it had rich coal deposits. It is successful in attracting investment from abroad. Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. (2)Wales has been dominated by England for longer than the other nations of the union. Despite this nearness and long-standing political integration Wales retains a powerful sense of its difference from England. In 1536, wales was brought legally, administratively, and politically into the UK by an act of the British parliament. This close long-standing relationship means that modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses --- its legal system and its education system are exactly thesame as in England.6.Differences between England, Scotland and Wales in terms of cultural tradition: [书上说的比较散,建议参考festival那章的答案,这里只有一些零散的不系统的比较] (1) English character: a richly unconventional interior life hidden by an external conformity. But young people are not all stereotypes. But it is certainly true that the lifeless fronts of many english houses conceal beautiful back gardens. (2)The dream of an independent Scotland has not vanished. They are always eager for freedom. Scotland has a great tradition of innovation in the arts, philosophy and science. "Superficially fully integrated into the UK, but concealed beneath this is a still-strong Scottish identity." Some people speak Gaelic.(3)Wales is different, and one of the key markers of that diffenece is the Welsh language -- the old British Celtic tongue which is still in daily use. Modern wales lacks some of the outward signs of difference which Scotland possesses. (its legal system and education systemare exactly the same as in England)Unit 21.Why is Northern Ireland so significant in the UK: Though Northern Ireland is small it is significant because of the political troubles there.Its political problem: The problem is in Northern Ireland in 1921 in southern Ireland independence from Britain, Ireland North and South following the separation of issues left over by history, mixed it with historical, political, ethnic and religious conflicts, extremely complex. Ireland’s independence, to remain under British rule within the framework of the 6 in the northern island of Ireland residents of the pro-British Protestant majority (about 51%), the Catholic nationalist minority (about 38%), as a result of the two major forces in Northern Ireland On the contrary position of ownership and lead to confrontation, conflict. [因为发现实在太难sum up 了,所以就搜了一下,以下是wikipedia版本]Northern Ireland was for many years the site of aviolent and bitter ethno-political conflict — the Troubles —which was caused by divisions between nationalists, who are predominantly Roman Catholic, and unionists, who are predominantly Protestant. Unionists want Northern Ireland to remain as a part of the United Kingdom,[6] while nationalists wish for it to be politically reunited with the rest of Ireland, independent of British rule. [网络其它版本]Until 1921 the full name of the UK was "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland", not only "Northern Ireland", because the whole island of Ireland was politically integrated with Great Britain, and had been since 1801, while Britain's domination of the Irish dated back centuries even before that date. But Irish desires for an independent Irish state were never lost, and one of the key issues in late nineteenth century British politics was a campaign in parliament for what was called "home-rule"—Irish political 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 for the duration of the war.2.Factors in Irish and English history that affect the situation in Northern Ireland today: Along with the political campaign for home-rule there were groups who followed a more direct method of pursuing Irish independence, engaging in guerilla or terrorist activities against British institutions and the British military forces. During the First World War and immediately after, this activity increased, sometimes brutally suppressed by British forces.3.Sum up solutions to NI's political problems of different parties and groups in the UK: Margaret Thatcher's government did not give in to this demand for political status and 11 prisoners starved to death. This event revitalised the political campaign of Sinn Fein, the legal political party which supports the IRA's right to fight. Its leaders spoke of a twin campaign for union with Ireland, both political and military, which they called the policy of "The Bullet and the Ballot Box".4.What do you think should be the right solution to the political problem in Northern Ireland: I think they can ask the UN for help. / Keep the present status. Turn to other countries for help. [自由发挥啦]Unit 31.Characteristics of the British constitutional monarchy: The monarch of the country has limited rights because of Bill of Right. For example, while the official head of state is the queen, her powers are largely traditional and symbolic. The government at national and local levels is elected by the people and governs according to British constitutional principles.How the English monarchy evolved to present constitutional monarchy: Originally the power of the monarch was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the "divine right of kings". For a thousand years Britain has had a hereditary king or queen as the head of the state. While the King in theory had God on his side, in practiceeven in medieval times it was thought that he should not exercise absolute power. King John was unwilling to receive advice from prominent men, which led battles between the king and other powerful groups. Finally the king granted them a charter, named Magna Carta, of liverty and political rights. The civil war2.The civil war was rooted in a dispute over the power of the king vis-a-vis Parliament. James I and his successor Charles I both insisted on their divine right as kings. They felt Parliament had no real political right to exist, but only existed because the king allowed it to do so. It was the effort to reassert the rights of parliament that led to the civil war.English Revolution: "English Revolution" has been used to describe two different events in English history. The first was the Glorious Revolution of 1688, whereby James II was replaced by William III and Mary II as monarch and a constitutional monarchy established, was described by Whig historians as the English Revolution.[1]In the twentieth-century, however, Marxist historians used the term "English Revolution" to describe the period of the English Civil Wars and Commonwealth period (1640-1660), in which Parliament challenged King Charles I's authority, engaged in civil conflict against his forces, and executed him in 1649. This was followed by a ten-year period of bourgeoisrepublican government, the "Commonwealth", before monarchy was restored in the shape of Charles' son, Charles II, in 1660.3.History of English parliament: Traditionally, when medieval kings wanted to raise money he would try to persuade the Great Council, a gathering of leading, wealthy barons which the kings summoned several times a year. Later kings found this group was so small that they could not make ends meet. So they widened the Great Council to include representatives of counties, cities and towns and get them to contribute. It was in this way that the Great Council came to include the House of Lords(who were summoned) and the House ofCommons(representatives of communities).What role did the parliament play in the Civil War: Since James I and Charles I both thought that Parliament didn't need to exist, the Parliament was enraged. Leading politicians and church authorities asked William of Orange to replace them two. In 1689 Parliament passed the bill of Rights which ensured that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament.4.Characteristics of British constitution: Unlike many nations, Britain has no core constitutional documents. Contents: Statute laws(laws passed by Parliament); the common laws(laws which have been established through common practice in the courts); and conventions(rules and practices which do not exist legally but are nevertheless regarded as vital to the workings of government).5.Why parliament is supreme: because it alone has the power to change the terms of the Constitution. There areno legal restraints upon Parliament.Parliament's function: First, it passes laws. Second, it provides the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation. Third, it scrutinises government policy, administration and expenditure. Fourth, it debates the major issues of the day.Queen/King's role: To symbolise the tradition and unity of the British state. To represent Britain at home and broad. To set standards of good citizenship and family life. She is 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.PM's role: The Prime Minister is the leader of the political party which wins the most seats in a general election. He/She chose usually around 20 MPs to become government ministers in the Cabinet. Together they carry our the functions of policy-making, the coordination of government departments and the supreme control of government.6.The House of Lords: It was below the Queen, consisting 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 of they have been appointed). The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests of the public. It is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom's national legislature. It remains the relationship with government, debates legislation and has some power to amend or reject bills (has some legislative functions). Unit 41.Anyone who is eligible to vote can stand as an MP. It is necessary only to make a deposit of 500 pounds.Why small parties and independent candidates powerless: Voters will see it as a wasted vote because even if they were to win the seat they would be powerless in parliament against the big parties' representatives. Votingthem will prevent the voters from contributing to the competition between the big parties as to which of them will form a government.2.Three big parties in the UK: the Labour party, the Conservative party, the Liberal Democrats. Similarities: Since Conservative began to have a "fartherly" sense of obligation to the less fortunate in society, they didn't dismantle principles the Labour set up. That indicates that thus the difference between the Labour and Conservative is one of degree, not an absolute. Dissimilarities: (1) Labour is a socialist party. They believe a society should be relatively equal in economic terms and that part of the role of government is to act as a "redistributive" agent. They think government should provide a range of public services, therefore high taxes. (2) Conservative is the party that spent most time in power. They are seen as the party of the individual, protecting individual's right to acquire wealth and to spend it how they choose, therefore low taxes. (3) Liberal Democrats isa party of the "middle", occupying the ideological ground between the two main parties. They are comparatively flexible and pragmatic in their balance of the individual and the social.3.Recent political trends [注意下一小问]: (1) Conservatives won the election under their leader Margaret Thatcher in the 1970s. During that time the economy did badly, with high inflation and low growth. (2) she dismissed being "fartherly", encourages entrepreneurship. One of the major policies was the privatisazion of nationalised industry. (3)part of the mechanism of change was a less redistributive taxation system. Tax rate were cut to allow people to keep more of what they earned.Author's opinion: The 1980s have seen British politics move to the "right", away from the "pulic" and toward the "private"; away from the "social", and toward the "individual", and all parties have had to adjust to those changes.4.How people are divided into different classes: (1) employment: manual(or blue-collar) workers usually call themselves working-class, and office(or white-collar) workers would usually call themselves middle-class. (2) cultural differences: like what newspaper they read. Working-class often read THE SUN, a newspaper with little hard news and more about soap operas, royal family and sports. Middle-class often read THE GUARDIAN, a larger newspaper with longer stories, covering national and international events. (3) education: private school or public school. (4) the UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. (5) the way they speak.Compare with the US and China: not similar at all. The UK has also retained a hereditary aristocracy. Among the students at the private schools attended by the upper-middle-class above would be a thin scattering of aristocratic children, who will inherit titles like baronets. This is due to Britain's different history and convention. Unit 51.Absolute decline means recession, developing in a minus speed.Relative decline means that although the UK improved, other countries developed more rapidly than the UK, which made it slid from being the second largest economy to being the sixth.Reasons: (1) The UK had gone into debt after WWII. (2) Britain spent a higher proportion of its national wealth on the military than most of its competitors. (Joining NATO and UN Security Council) (3)The era of empire was over. Former colonial countries announced independence, leaving Britain as a medium-size Euporean country.(4)Britain's industry survived comparatively unaffected, but its competitors did not. So the competitors invested in modern equipment and new products while British industry still continue with older ones. (5) Low rates of investment. The UK lacks a close relationship between industry and banks due to its history. A low rate of domestic industrial investment coupled with a very high rate of overseas investment.2.What did the conservative party under Mrs. Thatcher promise to do to the UK national economy in 1979: A radical programme of reform.What was her radical reform programme: Bureaucracy was reduced, (foreign exchange controls were lifted, rules governing banks loosened, for example). Throughout the 1980s an extensive programme of privatisation was carried out.Was is successful: It seemed in some ways to be successful in that inflation came under control, and business made profits. The negative aspect was a rapid increase in unemployment. The national economy as a whole continued to grow at lower rates than its competitors.3.Main areas in national economies: Primary industries such as agriculture, fishing and mining; secondary industries which manufacture complex goods from those primary products; tertiary/service industries such as banking, insurance, tourism and the retailing.Development of each: (1) agricultural sector is small but efficient. Energy production is an important part of the UK economy. (2)in the secondary sector, manufacturing industry remains important, producing 22% of national wealth. (3)tertiary or service industries produce 65% of national wealth.4.Why relatively shrinking of the important secondary industry and a spectacular growth in tertiary or service industries: A lot of the tertiary or service industries is domestic activity, accounting for about 10% of the world's exports of such services. 70% of the UK's workforce are employed in the service sector.Compare tertiary industries in China in the past 20 years or so: Chinese tertiary industries didn't grow as fast as the UK, though the portion was increasing.How is this growth related to the reform and opening up to the outside world: China was famous for the name of "world factory", which means Chinese workforces can produce products at low paid. China is a developingcountry, experiencing the transfer of manufacturing is reasonable. However, as China is developing, wages of workforces are also increasing. Comparing to India, we may lose our "advantage" gradually.Unit 61.Why Geoffrey Chaucer's work written in Middle English can still read and studied today: It is notable for its diversity, both in the range of social types amongst the 31pilgrims, and the range in style of the stories they tell. 2.Do you think Elizabethan Drama occupies a significant position in British literature: Yes. Elizabethan drama, and Shakespeare in particular, is considered to be among the earliest work to display a "modern" perception of the world: full of moral doubts and political insecurities, where the right of those who wield power to do so is put in question.The most important figure in Elizabethan Drama: William ShakespeareSome of his well-known plays: (tragedies)Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth; (comedies)The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, the Tempest; (history plays)Richard III, Richard II, Henry IV, Henry V jJulius Caesar, Antony and Cleopatra.3.Some of the features of Romantic Literature: writers of romantic literature are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason.4.Modernism: it refers to a form of literature mainly written before WWII. It is characterized by a high degree of experimentation. It can be seen as a reaction against the 19th century forms of Realism. Modernist writers express the difficulty they see in understanding and communicating how the world works. Often they seem disorganized, hard to understand. It often portrays the action from the viewpoint of a single confused individual, rather than from the viewpoint of an all-knowingimpersonal narrator outside the action.Postmodernism: After WWII. Postmodernist can be thought of as abandoning the search of buried meaning below confusing surfaces.Examples to illustrate: (modernist) Virginia Woolf "Mrs.Dalloway""to the Lighthouse""Orlando";wrence "Sons and Lovers" andE.M.Forster "aPassage to India"; (postmodernist)George Orwell "1984", John Fowles "the French Lieutenant's woman"Book I Unit 7, British Education System1.What are the purposes of the British education system?Please comment on these purposes. What are the main purposes of the Chinese education system? Are there any differences or similarities in the education of the two nations?Schools in Britain do not just teach the students 3 Rs, (reading, writing and arithmetic), but to provide children with literacy and the other basic skills they will need to become active members of society.2.How does the British education system reflect social class?Firstly, in Britain, the school you attend can refer to your social status.And the school tie is a clear market of social class,3.What are the major changes that have taken place sinceWorld War II? Is British education moving towards more progress or more equality? Pick up some examples from the text to illustrate your points.1)The old education system has disrupted due to the war. Sowith the help of the church and newly powerful trade unions began to reconstruct a new education system.2)The new system emphasizes equality. 1944 education actmade entry to secondary schools and universities meritocratic. Children would be able admitted to schools not because they were of a certain social class or because their parents possessed a certain amount of money, but because of the abilities they displayed. All children were given right to a free secondary education and the main concern was to make sure more children had access to a good education.3)1989, a national curriculum was introduced by thegovernment.4.Why does the author say that universities in Britain haverather elitist?Most students in British universities are from the middle classes, attend good schools, perform well in their A-levels and receive a fully-funded place in a university. And when they graduate, they can become very influential in banking, the media, the arts, education or even the government. 5.What is the Open University in Britain? What do youthink of this system?The opening university offers a non-traditional route for people to take university level courses and receive a university degree. People can register without having any formal educational qualifications. They follow university courses through textbooks, TV and radio broadcasts, correspondence, videos, residential schools and a network of study centre.I think the system has been quite successful. Thanks tothe system, tens of thousands of Britons, from various statuses attend the Open University each year. And thishas improve the equality in Britain’s high education.Unit 8 British Foreign Relations1.What and how did the British Empire end? How did theBritain react to this reality? How did the end of British imperialism influence the psychology of the British and the making of Britain’s foreign polic y?1)After the World War II the British could no longer affordto maintain its empire; while Britain had won the war, it had paid a terrible price in terms of lives and in terms of economic destruction. And the British realized that countries should be granted the independence and left to run their own affairs. People and territory should not just be treated as a source of economic resources for the ruling centers of commerce in Europe.2)Many people are still alive who can remember whenBritain was one of the most powerful and rich nations on earth. It is sometimes hard to think about Britain as it really is today.3)Because Britain lost its empire so recently, british policymakers frequently forget that Britain is not as influentialas it used to be in world affairs. Historians argue that the British foreign policy makers retain very conservative and traditional views of Britain’s role as a world power and point to many major foreign policy decisions as examples.2.What are the foundations of Britain’s foreign p olicy?It is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits.Britain’s imperial history made the policy maker very conservative and traditional.And its geopolitical traits created a sense of psychological isolation in its inhabitants. And as Britain is an island state, it naturally developed as a nation of seafarers who roamed the globe looking for territory and economic opportunities.3.How is Britain’s foreign policy made? Does thegovernment’s foreign policy represent the d esires of British citizen?1)The prime minister and cabinet decide on the generaldirection of Britain’s foreign policy. The main government department involved is of course the foreign。

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英国Unit 3 第6题What kind of institution(部门is the House of Lords(上议院)? What role dose it play in 部门) 部门(上议院)British government? A: It consists of the Lords Spiritual(神职议员)who are the Archbishops(大主教) and most prominent (杰出的、卓越的)bishops (主教)of the church of England ;and the Lords Temporal(世俗议员),which refers to everyone else。

②They inherited(继承) the seat from their forefathers or been appointed by the sovereign (郡主、最高统治者)parliament 议会)they speak and vote .In (as individuals (个人),not as representatives (代表)of the greater interests of the country. They do not receive salaries and many do not attend Parliament at all.unit5 3.What are the three main areas in national economies?Describe the development of each of the three areas in the UK economy. 答案National economies can be broken down into three main areas,”primary”industries, such as agriculture ,fishing, and mining,”second-ary”industries, which manufacture complex goods from those primary products ;and tertiary industries .often described as services,such as banking, insurance, tourism, and the selling of goods. Britain’s agricultural sector is small (producing 1.4%of the national wealth )but efficient, producing 58% of the UK’s food needs with only 2%of its workforce.Three quarters of Britain’s land is used for agriculture. With about a quarter of that under crops-wheat and barley are the two commonest. The rest is grazing for animals, including cattle (both dariy and beef), The fishing industry provides 55%of the UK demand for fish Sconish ports land the majority of the fish caught. In the secondary sector of the economy. Manufacturing industry remains important, producing 22% of national wealth. British companies are are active in all major fields of manufacturing industry, but are particularly strong in pharmaceuticals(the British company Glaxo-Wellcrme is the biggest drug company in the world),chemicals([C]is the second largest paint manufacture in the world),aerospace overall the UK industry is third in (size in the world)and food drink (Scotch whisky being a major export). )unit7 1. (1)What are the purposes of the British education system? (2)Please comment on these purposes. (3)What are the main purposes of the Chinese education system? (4)Are there any differences or similarities in the education of the two nations? 答:(1)The purpose of the British education system is to teach children practical skills and socialize them. (2)Children learn practical skills, and the rules and values they need to become good citizens, to participate in the community, and to contribute to the economic prosperity of an advanced industrial economy.(3)The purpose of the Chinese education is to provide children with literacy and the other basic skills they will need to become active members of society. (4) In china, people think school is just about teaching children what are often called” the three R’s---“reading, writing and ‘arithmetic”(reading, writing and arithmetic). 2. How does the British education reflect social class? British education reflect the deeper divisions in British society in which social class is still very important: class inequality can be erased or continued according to education policy. What’s more, the enduring feature o f British education is the continuing debate over how “equal” educational opportunity should be. In British, the accent you speak with, the clothes you wear, and the schools you attend are all markers that identify your social class. The school (or college)tie is a clear marker of social class. Even on informal occasions you will sometimes see men wearing their school ties as belts to hold up their trousers –proudly displaying their attendance at a certain school. In Britain, where you are educated is very important to you future.3 what are the major changes that have taken place since World war 2? Is British education moving towards more progress or more equality? Pick up some examples from the text toillustrate your points. Other major changes to the British education system were caused by world war Ⅱ。

This time, the new system would emphasize equality. The result was the 1944 Education Act which made entry to secondary schools and universities” meritocratic”. Children would be abilities they displayed. All children were given the right to a free secondary education and the main concern was to make sure more children had access to a good education. In the 1960s,comprehensive schools were introduced all over the country, which ended the division between grammar schools----where the most academically capable pupils were sent to be prepared for university----and vocational school where less successful pupils were sent to learn allowed to let children "compete" for places. 4. Why does the author say that universities in Britain have been rather elitist? 答:Most students were from the middle classes, attended good schools, performed well in their A-levels and received a fully-funded place in a university. In recent years, great efforts have been made to increase the numbers of and kinds of people that pursue higher education. Access for mature students and students without traditional A-level qualifications is widening. 5. (1) what is the Open University in Britain? (2)What do you think of this system? (1)The Open University offers a non-traditional route for people to take university level courses and receive a university degree. People can follow university courses through textbooks, TV and radio broadcasts, correspondence, videos, residential schools and a network of study centre. (2)It was the Open University which provided the inspiration for the founding of China’s TV and Radio University.。

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