美国概况(1)余编.doc

英美文化与概况British and American Studies ( American Part ) Unit One大学英语第一教研室 余非编 2013年2月Unit 1 The United States and American PeopleContents1. Geographical Position and Area of Land2. Rivers and Lakes 3. American People 1. Geographical Position and Area of Land The full name of the United States of America is sometimes abbreviated to the United States (US) or simply to America. With the fourth largest territory in the world , the United States is the worlds largest economy and its development involved many contributing factors. Rich land resources with varied geographical conditions is an important factor that contributes to Americas development .& The territory of the United States includes ： Mainland America A number of islands Some overseas territories& The United States :F The total land area : about 9.4 million square kilometers . F Consists of 50 states , two of them are separated from the continental United States. They are Alaska and Hawaii. Mainland America extends about 5,000 kilometers from east to west, and about 2,500 kilometers from south to north. Its coastline is about 20,000 kilometers.& Mainland America can be generally divided into three basic geographical areas or surface region : The Atlantic Seacoast and the Appalachian Mountains The Mississippi River Valley The Rockies and the Pacific OceanMore Details: Atlantic Seacoast and Appalachian Mountains The Atlantic Seacoast is a strip of fairly level country between the Atlantic and the Appalachians. It is the country of the first European immigrants and the 13 original states. The Mississippi River Valley The Mississippi River Valley, also known as the Central Plain , consists of the large area between the Appalachian on the east and the Rocky Mountains on the West. The sediment of the rivers makes the soil of the region very rich, thus, the Central Plain enjoys the name of “ Barn of America ”. The Rockies and the Pacific Ocean The Rockies On the west side of the Great Plain are Rocky Mountains, also known as “the backbone of the continent”. It stretches from Mexico into Wyoming and interrupted by Wyoming Basin. Rocky Mountains are well-known for their striking and varied scenery : Yellow Stone National Park, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Death Valley。 Pacific Coast The Mountains along the Pacific coast are called the Coast Ranges. They are of low elevation and gentle slope.& Main Valleys: Central Valley （中央山谷 ：美国西部加州以南的一条峡谷，加州农业生产重地 ） Willamette Valley（维拉美特谷：美国西部俄勒冈州） Silicon Valley （硅谷：美国西部加州一高科技区名） 2. Rivers and Lakes The Mississippi River , also known as “Old Man River”, is the most important and largest river in the United States. It flows about 6,400 kilometers from its northwestern source in the Rockies to the Gulf of Mexicao. Other Rivers in the United States: The Missouri River 密苏里河 （美国中西部河流，系密西西比河最长的支流） The Ohio River 俄亥俄河 （美国东部河流，系密西西比河水量最大的支流） The Tennessee River 田纳西河 （美国东南部，系俄亥俄河的最大支流） The Colorado River 科罗拉多河（美国西南部） The Rio Grande River 里奥格兰德河 （美国南部，美墨边界河） the Potomac River 波托马克河 （美国东部） the Hudson River 哈德逊河 （纽约州东部） The most importants lakes in America are the Great Lakes, which are composed of 5 lakes. Of these five lakes only one, Lake Michigan, belongs to America completely while the other four are shared with Canada. The five lakes slope downward towards the east. Lake Erie is over 100 meters higher than Lake Ontario and the river that connects them is called Niagara. The steep drop in elevation gives birth to the Niagara Falls, which attracts large numbers of visitors from around the world.3. American People The Indians and Indian Civilization The story about the American people involves the native Indians as well as immigrants from all over the world: White People: 78% of the total ; Other ethnic group: 22% of the total, including: African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans (Indians), Asians . The Indian people, also known as the first Americans, had developed three great civilizations in North America before the arrival of European colonists. They are Maya civilization , Toltec civilization and Aztec civilization Immigration into America The United States is a nation created by immigrants, and immigrants continue to affect Ameirican society significantly today. Most of the early immigrants were from Europ, but now most of the new immigrants are from Asia and Latin America. Ethnic Groups Large numbers of immigrants from all over the world turned the United States into a nation over 100 ethnic groups. An ehtnic group is made up of people with some common characeristics that make them different from other ethnic groups.1) European Americans The mojority of Americans are Caucasians , or informally called “white” people , who account for about 78% of the total US population . They are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from European nations. They share similar values and most of them believe in Christianity. Most of the early immigrants in 13 colonies were English protestants and came to the land for freedom of religious belief. About 1/3 of Americans have ancestors from Britain. They are the most influential and wealthiest in America because American culture is based on the Anglo-Saxon culture.2) African Americans African Americans , or people informally called black Americans , account for 12% of the total US population. They were called “unwilling immigrant” because they were victims of the traffic in slaves. Before the Civil War, over 90% of black slaves were in the south of United States. They were treated like animals and denied human rights. Even after the abolition of slavery, blacks were still thought to be inferior human beings and suffered from open or covert discrimination. After World War II, “ civil right movement ” waged by black people drew great attention and changes began to take place. The US Congress passed the Civil Right Act in 1964. It protected black peoples right to vote and enjoy the same education and employment opportunities as white people.3) Hispanics/Latinos Hispanics, or Latinos, are Spanish-speaking people from Latin America, which was dominated by the Spanish Empire. It is estimated Hispanics make up 10% of the total US population, and many of them are mixed blood. The majority of Hispanics are Mexican-Americans, and most of them are manual workers because of lacking in education and skills.4) Chinese Americans The early Chinese-Americans worked as gold miners and laborers in railway construction during mid-19th century As the cheap labor provided by the Chinese laborers took job away from American workers, Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882 to stop Chinese immigration. Although Chinese-Americans nowadays still suffer from racial discrimination in some cases, they have proved to be industrious and intelligent. Most of them are well-educated and have high-income positions.5) Jewish-Americans During the Second World War, many Jews went to America to escape the holocaust started by Hitlers government. Today, the number accounts for 2% of the US population. The Jews have been reputed for being skillful financiers or money-lenders. Many Jews in America are successful businessmen