英美文化考点.docx

英美文化考点.docx

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英美文化考点

英语国家概况复习重点：

1.Puritanism;PuritanswerethosewhofollowedthedoctrineofJohnCalvinandwantedtopurifytheChurchofEngland.Theybelievethathumanbeingswerepredestined（注定的）byGodbeforetheywereborn.SomewereGod'schosenpeoplewhileothersweredamnedtohell.NoChurchnorgod’workscouldsavepeople.ThesignofbeingGod'selectwasthesuccessinhisworkortheprosperityinhiscalling.TheyalsoarguedthateveryonemustreadtheBibleinordertofindGod'swillandestablishadirectcontactwithGod.ThesebeliefshadgreatimpactonAmericanculture.

2.ThethreetraditionsofChristmasinBritain:

OneistheChristmasPantomime,acomicalmusicalplay.Themainmalecharacterisplayedbyayoungwomanwhilethemainfemalecharacter,oftenanuglywomancalled“theDame”,isplayedbyaman.AnotherBritishChristmastraditionistoheartheQueengiveherChristmasmessagetoherrealmoverthetelevisionandradio.AthirdBritishtraditionisBoxingDay,whichfallsonthedayafterChristmas.Traditionally,itwasonBoxingDaythatpeoplegaveChristmasgiftsormoneytotheirstafforservants.NowthatmostBritishpeopledonothaveservants,thiscustomisnolongerobserved.However,anewBoxingDaycustomhasemergedinthecities:

shopping.ShopsopenuptoselloffalltheirChristmasstockdecorations,food,cardsandgiftitemsatlowprices.

3.Grammarschools;ItisatypeofsecondaryschoolsinBritain.Grammarschoolsselectchildrenatage11,throughanexaminationcalled"the11-plus".Thosechildrenwiththehighestmarksgotogrammarschools.Theseschoolslayemphasisonadvancedacademicsubjectsratherthanthemoregeneralcurriculumofthecomprehensiveschoolsandexceptmanyoftheirpupilstogoontouniversities.

4.TheBBC:

TheBritishBroadcastingCorporation.IthasbeentheBritain’smainpublicservicebroadcaster.ItcurrentlyhastwoTVchannels.

5.Qualitypapers:

theybelongtooneofthecategoriesofthenationaldailies.Thequalitypaperscarrymoreseriousandin-deptharticlesofparticularpoliticalandsocialimportance.Theyalsocarryreviews,suchasbookreviewsandfeaturearticlesabouthighculture.Thesepapersarealsoreferredtoas“thebroadsheets”becausetheyareprintedonlarge-sizepaper.Thereadersofthemaregenerallyawell-educatedmiddleclassaudience.

6.SinnFein;ItisalegalpoliticalpartyinNorthernIrelandwhichsupporttheIRAtofightfortheunionofIreland.TheleaderofSinnFeinpreferunionwithIrelandbyatwincampaign,bothmilitaryandpoliticalwhichtheycallthepolicyof“theBulletandtheballotBox”.ItbelievethatwithouttheparticipationofSinnFeinthepoliticalproblemofNorthernIrelandcannotbethoroughlysolved.

7.Comprehensiveschool:

TheyarethemostpopularsecondaryschoolsinBritaintoday.Suchschoolsadmitchildrenwithoutreferencetotheiracademicabilitiesandprovideageneraleducation.Pupilscanstudyeverythingfromacademicsubjectslikeliteraturetomorepracticalsubjectslikecooking.

8.TheHouseofLords:

TheHouseofLordsconsistsoftheLordsofSpiritual,whoarethearchbishopsandmostprominentbishopsoftheChurchofEngland;andtheLordsTemporal,whichreferstothoselordswhoeitherhaveinheritedtheseatfromtheirforefathersortheyhavebeenappointed.Thelordsmainlyrepresentthemselvesinsteadoftheinterestsofthepublic.

9.ChecksandBalance:

Thegovernmentisdividedintothreebranches,thelegislative,theexecutiveandthejudicial,eachhaspartofthepowersbutnotallthepower.Andeachbranchofgovernmentcancheck,orblock,theactionsoftheotherbranches.Thethreebranchesarethusinbalance.Thiscalled“checksandbalances”.

10.TheHouseofCommons;TheHouseofCommonsistherealcenterofBritishpoliticallifebecauseitistheplacewhereabouts650electedrepresentatives（MembersofParliament）makeanddebatepolicy.TheseMPSareelectedintheGeneralElectionsandshouldrepresenttheinterestsofthepeoplewhovoteforthem.

11BoxingDay:

ItisatypicalBritishtraditioncelebratedonthedayafterChristmas.PeopleusedtogiveChristmasgiftormoneytotheirstafforservantsonthisday.Andnowtheymostlydoshopping,payvisits,enjoyeatingandrelax.

12.Independentschools:

arecommonlycalledpublicschoolswhichreceivetheirfundingthroughtheprivatesectorandtuitionrates,withsomegovernmentassistance.Independenceschoolsarenotpartnationaleducationsystem,butthequalityofinstructionandstandardsaremaintainedthroughhermajesty’sInspectorsofschools.Theseschoolsarerestrictedtostudentswhoseparentsarecomparativelyrich.

13.Anglo-Saxons:

TheyweretwogroupsofGermanicpeopleswhosettleddowninEnglandfromthe5thcentury.TheywereregardedastheancestorsoftheEnglishandthefoundersofEngland.

14.EliWhitney;EliWhitneyisanAmericaninventorwhoinventedthecottongin,whichmaderemovingtheseedsfromthebollsofcottonmucheasier.Healsobeganmanufacturingrifleswithmachinery,usinginterchangeablepart.ThiscontributedtotheAmericansystemofmassproduction.

15.migrantworkers;Manybigfarmshiretemporaryworkersonlyforaspecificchore---suchaspickingcrops.Manyoftheseseasonalworkerstravelfromfarmtofarm,stayingonlyuntilthecropsarepicked.Theyareknownasmigrantworkers.TheyarethePrimaryIndustry,theSecondaryIndustryandTertiaryIndustryorservice.

17.“Footballhooligans”;Itreflectstheviolenceassociatedwithfootball.“Footballhooligans”aresupportersofrivalteams.Theysometimesclashbefore,duringandaftermatchesandoccasionallyrunriotthroughthetownbreakingwindowsandbeatingeachotherup.

18;TheDeclarationofIndependence;ItwasmainlydraftedbyThomasJeffersonandadoptedbythecongressonJuly4,1776.Whenthepeoplefrothe13EnglishcoloniesinNorthernAmericawerefightingfortheirfreedomandindependencefromtheBritishcolonialrule.Thedocumentdeclaredthatallmenareequalandthattheywereentitledtohavesomeunalienablerightssuchaslife,libertyandpursuitofhappiness.

19.theBillofRightsinUS;TheBillofRightsconsistsofthefirst10amendmentswhichwereaddedtotheConstitutionin1791.TheBillofRightswaspassedtoguaranteefreedomandindividualrightssuchasfreedomofspeech,therighttoassembleinpublicplaces,therighttoownweaponsandsoon.

20.ThreeFaithsintheU.S;Bythe1950s,thethreefaithsmodelofAmericanreligionhaddeveloped.Americanswereconsideredtocomeinthreebasicvarieties:

Protestant,CatholicandJewish,theorderreflectingthestrengthinnumbersofeachgroup.

21.London;Londonisthelargestcitylocatedinthesouthofthecountry.ItisdominantinBritaininallsortsofways.ItistheculturalandbusinesscenterandtheheadquartersofthevastmajorityofBritain'sbigcompanies.Itisnotonlythefinancialcenterofthenation,butalsooneofthethreemajorinternationalfinancialcentersintheworld.

22.Christmas:

ItisthebiggestandthemostpopularBritishholidaycelebratedbyonDecember25theachyeartocommemoratethebirthofJesusChrist.Peopleusuallydecoratehomeswithevergreenplants.Christmastreesandornament.TheyalsoexchangegiftsandChristmascards.ThreetypicalBritishtraditionsonChristmasare:

theChristmaspantomime,theQueen’sspeechandtheBoxingDay.

23.GgeorgeWashington;GeorgeWashingtonwasoneofthefoundingfathersoftheAmericanRepublic.HewastheCommander-in-ChiefoftheContinentalArmy（陆军）intheWarofIndependenceagainsttheBritishcolonialruleandthefirstPresidentoftheUnitedStates.

24.Tabloids:

Atabloidisasmallformatnewspaperwithcolorphotosandcatchyheadlines.Tabloidsareinterestedinscandalsandgossipusuallyaboutfamouspeople.Theyalsocarrylotsofcrime,sportsandsensationalhumanintereststoriessoastoattractreaders.Storiesareshort,easytoreadandoftenrelymoreonopinionsthanfact.Theybelongtoacategoryofnationalpapersdifferentfromqualitypapers.

25.comprehensiveschools:

TheyarethemostpopularsecondaryschoolsinBritaintoday.Suchschoolsadmitchildrenwithoutreferencetotheiracademicabilitiesandprovideageneraleducation.Pupilscanstudyeverythingfromacademicsubjectslikeliteraturetomorepracticalsubjectslikecooking.

26.HomeRule:

IrelandhadlongbeendominatedbyBritain,butIrelanddesiredforaindependentIrishstatewasneverlost,“HomeRule”referstoacampaignforIrishcontrolofIrishaffairs.ThehomeRulebillwasfinallypassedin1914,buttheprocesswasovertakenbythefirstWorldWarandwassuspendedforthedurationofthewar.

27.KingArthur:

HewasakingofEnglandinthefifthcenturyandunitedtheBritishanddrovetheSaxonbackwithhismagicalsword,Exalibur（亚瑟王之剑）Hisrealexistenceisindoubt.Heisthecentralfigureofmanylegends

28.theBritishConstitution:

ThereisnowrittenconstitutionintheUnitedKingdom.TheBritishConstitutionisnotsetoutinanysingledocument,butmadeupofstatutelaw,commonlawandconventions.TheJudiciarydeterminescommonlawandinterpretstatutelaw.

29.Agribusiness;ItreferstothenewfarminginBritain,becauseit’sequippedandmanagedlikeanindustrialbusinesswithasetofinputsintothefarmofprocesseswhichoccuronthefarm,andoutputsorproductswhichleavethefarm.Theemphasisisuponintensivefarming,designstogivethemaximumoutputofcropsandanimals.

30.Britishconstitution:

Britishhasnowrittenconstitution.ThefoundationsoftheBritishstatearelaidoutinstatutelaw,whicharelawspassedbyparliament;thecommonlaws,whichare