英美文化概况试卷名词解释

名词解释 1the strategy of preemption In an address delivered to the west point graduates ,president bush ,for the first time ,put forward the strategy of preemption .by preemption ,the us means that when it determined that a country which is repressive and hostile to the us has acquire or produced weapons of mass destruction or has potential to have such weapons ,the us should use force to remove this threat to us security and should not wait till the danger becomes imminent or until the us is attacked .this has come to be known as the bush doctrine. 2the house of commons The house of common, is the real center of british political life because it is the place where about 650 elected representatives(members of parliament)make and debate policy .these mps are elected in the general elections and should represent the interests of the people who vote for them. 3the bill of rights The bill of rights consists of the first 10 amendments which were added to the constitution in 1791.the bill of rights was passed to guarantee freedom and individual rights such as freedom of speech, the right to assemble in public places ,the right to own weapons and so on. 4engagement and expansion The late 1980s and the early 1990s saw dramatic changes in the world .the fall of the berlin wall ,the change of the eastern European countries and the disintegration of the soviet union radically changed the balance of power in the world .the us became the only superpower of the world .after several adjustments ,the national strategy of the us was engagement and expansion ,which means the us would take a more active part in world affairs and would more actively promote market economy and American style democracy in the world . 5the cold war By the end of ww2,the united states ,which had not suffered as much as other allied countries ,became the strongest country in the world .as the possessor of atomic tombs and much of the worlds gold reserve and industrial production in its hand ,the policy-makers of the us wanted a world order dominated by the us ,a world market free and open to American goods and services .in pursuing this goal ,the us encountered determined resistance from the soviet union .gradually the two wartime allies fell apart and the cold war began . 6the containment policy The us put into effect the containment policy in the late 1940s .by containment ,the us meant that it would use whatever means ,including military force ,to prevent the soviet union from breaking out of its sphere of influence .in order to contain communism ,the us fought two was in asia: the Korean war and Vietnam war . 7anglo-saxons They were two groups of germantic peoples who settled down in England from the 5th century .they were regarded as the ancestors of the English and the founders of England . 8the bill of rights of 1689 In 1688,king james2 daughter marry and her husband William were invited by the politicians and church authorities to take the throne ,on condition that they would respect the rights of parliament .the bill of rights was passed in 1689 to ensure that the king would never be able to ignore parliament . 9the functions of parliament the functions of parliament are :to pass laws , to vote for taxation ,to scrutinize government policy, administration and expenditure and to debate the major issues of the day . 10comprehensive schools Comprehensive schools are the most popular secondary schools in Britain today .such schools admit children without reference to their academic abilities and provide a general education .pupils can study everything from academic subject like literature to more practical subjects like cooking . 11.grammar schools It is a type of secondary schools in Britain. grammar schools select children at the age 11,through an examination called “the 11- plus”.those children with the highest marks go to grammar schools .these schools lay emphasis on advanced academic subjects rather than the bmore general curriculum of the comprehensive schools and expect many of their pupils to go on to universities. 12the first English settlement in north America The first English permanent settlement was organized in 1607 by the London company with a charter from the English king .the colonists settled in Virginia and survived by imposing strict discipline on themselves and by transponting tobacco into the colony of Virginia .in 1619 ,the settlers elected their delegates and set up the house of burgesses ,and the same time they bought and enslaved black servants .these two events greatly influenced the political and social development of the united states later. 13puritanism Puritans were those who followed the doctrine of john calvin and wanted to purify the church of England .they believe that human beings were predestined by god before they were b6rn. Some were gods chose people while others were dammed to hell. No church nor good works could save people. The sign of Gods elect was the success in the work or the prosperity in his calling .They also argued that everyone must read the Bible in order to find gods well and establish a direct with God. These beliefs had great impact on American culture. 14.a federal system A federal system is one in which power is shared between a central authority and its constituent parts, with some rights reserved to each. 15.boards of education Boards of education refer to groups of people who make policies for schools at the state and/or district level. They also make decisions about the school currilum. Teacher standards and certification and the overall measurement of student progress. 16.Higher education In American, higher education refers to education on the college level. American higher education includes four categories of institution. They are the university, the four-year undergraduate institution the technical training institution and the two-year or community college. Some are supported by public funds and some by private funds .many universities and colleges have won reputations for providing their students with a higher quality of education .the great majority are generally regarded as quite satisfactory . 17the servicemens readjustment act the servicemens readjustment act was passed in 1944. it was soon popularly called the “gi bill of rights” .gi was a nickname for the American soldier .the nickname came from the abbreviation for “government issue”-the uniforms and other articles “issued” to a soldier. The act promised financial aid, including aid for higher education to members of the armed forces . 18.The three traditions of Christmas in Britain There are three Christmas traditions which are particularly Britain :one is the Christmas pantomime ,a comical musical play. The main male character is played by a young woman while the main female character, often an ugly woman called “the dame” ,is played by a man another british Christmas tradition is to hear the queen give her Christmas message to her realm over the tv and radio .a third british tradition is boxing day, which falls on the day after Christmas .traditionally ,it was on boxing day that people gave christmas gifts or money to their staff or servants .now that most british people do not have servants ,this custom is no longer observed .however ,a new boxing day custom has emerged ,in the cities :shopping .shops open up to sell off all their christmas stock decorations ,food cards and gift items at low price . 19the making of Britain”s foreign policy The general direction of Britain:s foreign policy is mainly decided by the prime minster 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