英美概况期末习题3.doc

The Final Examination Paper for the Course of“An Introduction to the Society and Culture of Major English-speaking Countries”I. Choose the correct answer from each of the following, and write down the corresponding letter in the brackets. (20 points)( C )1. Which of the following about the House of Lords is NOT true?A. Lords do not receive salaries and many do not attend Parliament sittings.B. It consists of the Lords of Spiritual and the Lords of Temporal.C. The lords are expected to represent the interests of the public.D. Most of the lords in the House of Lords are males. ( B )2. Where is the international tennis championship held? A. Wembley. B. Wimbledon. C. St Andrews D. Clapham.( D )3.In 1960s in the U.S., the one group within the counter culture best known for their pursuit of happiness as their only goal in life was called .A. the “Hippies”B. the “Beat Generation”C. the “Me Generation”D. the “Lost Generation”( C )4. Which group of people can NOT vote in the general election in Great Britain?A. members in the house of CommonsB. Lords in the House of LordsC. the UK citizens above the age of 18D. the UK resident citizens of the Irish Republic( B )5. Which of the following is the worlds oldest national newspaper?A The Times.B The Observer.C The Guardian.D The Financial Times( C )6. The following were the founding fathers of the American Republic except_ A. George Washington.B. Thomas Jefferson.C. William Penn.D. Benjamin Franklin.( B )7. In order to go to university, secondary school students in the U.S.must meet the following requirements except that _.A .they have high school records and recommendations from their teachersB they make good impressions during the interviewsC. they get good scores in the Scholastic Aptitude TestsD. they pass the college entrance examination.( A )8. In the United States, people go to church mainly for the following reasons except _.A. for finding a job in society.B. for having a place in a community.C. for identifying themselves with dominant values.D. for getting together with friends.( C )9. The “American system” of mass production was first used in .A. car industry B. textile industryC. firearms industryD. agriculture( D )10. Which of the following is NOT a power of American president? A. The president can veto any bill passed by Congress. B. The president has the authority to appoint federal judges when vacancies occur. C. The president can make laws. D. The president has broad powers, with the executive branch, to issue regulations and directives regarding the work of the federal departments. IV. Fill in the blanks (15%)11. Britain consists of four nations, including England, Scotland , Wales, and one-sixth of Iraland .12. One of the developments brought about by the Industrial Revolution in America is the emergence of new forms of business organizations, notably the International joint venture and the multi-national corporation .13. Public and private colleges depend on three sources of income: student intuition_, endowments, and _ government funding_.14. The congress is divided into house of representatives with 435 members who serve two-year terms, and senate with 100 lawmakers who serve six-year terms.15. _The London Stock Exchange _ is one of the busiest share-dealing centers in the world.16. The Supreme Court is composed of one chief justice and four associate justice.II. Explain the following in English(30%)17 .Open UniversityThe Open University (also commonly referred to by its initialism OU) is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom. The university is funded by a combination of student fees, contract income, and allocations for teaching and research by the higher education funding bodies in each of the four countries of the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland). It is notable for having an open entry policy, i.e. students previous academic achievements are not taken into account for entry to most undergraduate courses. The majority of the OUs undergraduate students are based in the United Kingdom and principally study off-campus, but many of its courses (both undergraduate and postgraduate) can be studied off-campus anywhere in the world.There are a number of full-time postgraduate research students based on the 48 hectare university campus where they use the OU facilities for research, as well as more than 1000 members of academic and research staff and over 2500 administrative, operational and support staff.18. TabloidTabloid may refer to:a newspaper engaging in tabloid journalismTabloid (newspaper format)Tabloid (paper size)Tabloid (TV series), a Canadian television seriesTabloid (film), a 2010 documentary by Errol MorrisSopwith Tabloid, an aircraftTabloid Magazine, a song from The Living Ends album Modern Artillery19. the function of British parliamentThe main functions of British Parliament are: (1) to pass laws; (2) to provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government; (3) to examine government Policy and administrations, including proposal for expenditure; and (4) to debate the major issues of the day.20. the Bill of RightsThe Bill of Rights is the collective name for the first ten amendments to the United States Constitution. These limitations serve to protect the natural rights of liberty and property. They guarantee a number of personal freedoms, limit the governments power in judicial and other proceedings, and reserve some powers to the states and the public. While originally the amendments applied only to the federal government, most of their provisions have since been held to apply to the states by way of the Fourteenth Amendment.21. the “Lost Generation”The Lost Generation is a term used to refer to the generation, actually an age cohort, that came of age during World War I. The term was popularized by Ernest Hemingway who used it as one of two contrasting epigraphs for his novel, The Sun Also Rises. In that volume Hemingway credits the phrase to Gertrude Stein, who was then his mentor and patron.22. the Declaration of IndependenceThe Declaration of Independence was a statement adopted by the Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with Great Britain, regarded themselves as independent states, and no longer a part of the British Empire. John Adams put forth a resolution earlier in the year which made a formal declaration inevitable. A committee was assembled to draft the formal declaration, to be ready when congress voted on independence. Adams persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document,2 which congress would edit to produce the final version. The Declaration was ultimately a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The Independence Day of the United States of America is celebrated on July 4, the day Congress approved the wording of the Declaration.23.“WASP” cultureWhite Anglo-Saxon Protestant (WASP) is an informal term, often derogatory or disparaging, for a closed group of high-status Americans mostly of British Protestant ancestry. The term implies this group wields disproportionate financial and social power.The term is also used in Australia and Canada for similar powerful groups.While WASP power in the United States was unchallenged throughout the 19th century and the early 20th century, most scholars agree that the groups influence has waned since the end of World War II, with the growing importance of Jews, Catholics, and other former outsiders.24.semi-detached housesSemi-detached houses on the Great West Road, photographed on the way to Heathrow. I took the airport bus from somewhere in Central London. The Underground extension to Heathrow was not built until 1977. The location is very approximate.Semi-detached housing (often abbreviated to semi in the UK, Canada and Australia, as in three-bedroom semi) consists of pairs of houses built side by side as units sharing a party wall and usually in such a way that each houses layout is a mirror image of its twin. This style of housing, although built throughout the world, is commonly seen as particularly symbolic of the suburbanisation of the United Kingdom and Ireland, or post-war homes in Central Canada. Confusingly, this is sometimes colloquially called a duplex in New England, other parts of the United States, and most of Canada, a term used elsewhere for two apartments, one above the other.This type of housing can be thought of as being a half-way state between terraced or row housing and single-family detached homes. Terraced housing is constituted by continuous row houses with open spaces at the front and back, while semi-detached houses have front, rear and any one side open spaces, and individual detached houses have open spaces on all sides.25. OxbridgeOxbridge is a portmanteau of the University of Oxford and the University of Cambridge in England, and the term is used to refer to them collectively, often with implications of perceived superior social status. Oxbridge can be used as a noun referring to either or both universities or as an adjective describing them or their students.26. The Canterbury TalesThe Canterbury Tales is a collection of stories written in Middle English by Geoffrey Chaucer at the end of the 14th century. The tales (mostly written in verse although some are in prose) are presented as part of a story-telling contest by a group of pilgrims as they travel together on a journey from Southwark to the shrine of Saint Thomas Becket at Canterbury Cathedral. The prize for this contest is a free meal at the Tabard Inn at Southwark on their return.V. Answer the following questions briefly. (35points)27. What are some of the major powers of each of the three branches of the U. S. government? How are the three branches supposed to check and balance each other? (10%) The answer to the former question is as follows. The three branchesthe Legislative, the Executive, headed by the president. And the Judicial, headed by the Supreme Court. The Legislative, including both houses of Congress (the Senate and the House of Representative) .The legislative branch is the only branch that can make federal laws, levy federal taxes and declare war or put foreign treaties into effect. The Executive, headed by the president. The president can appoint federal judges as vacancies occur, including members of the Supreme Court. All such court appointments are subject to confirmation by the Senate. The president has broad powers, with the executive branch, to issue regulations and directives regarding the work of the federal departments. He is the commander in chief of the armed forces. The judicial branch is headed by the Supreme Court with a chief justice and 8 associate justices. The Federal courts have jurisdiction over cases arising out of the Constitution and other cases which do not arise out of individual states. The Supreme Court has the judicial review power. The answer to the latter question is as follows. System of “checks and balances ” of the three-part national government works to keep serious mistakes from being made by one branch or another. 28.How to identify people of different classes in British society?(8%)In British society,the classes mainly are classified into upper classes of society ,middle class and salaried people.We should correctly know their strengths and weaknesses.With the objective attitude to the question .29.What factors contribute to the success of American business and industry?(10%)Factors contributing to successSound business idea.Skills in both making and selling the product/delivering the service and running a business.Competent staff.Good cashflow management.Management of inventory, debtors and creditors.Able to adapt and change, making use of new technologies.Good people management and client relationship management.Good marketing plan.30.Hamlet is one of the best-known tragedies by William Shakespeare, what do you know about the play? (7%)An analysis of Hamlets character William Shakespeare, the most remarkable playwright and poet of England in the period of the Renaissance. Hamlet, as one of the four great tragedies of Shakespeare, it creates many vivid characters, particularly the image of Hamlet is most well-know.Hamlet is the prince of Denmark. In the early period of time, he has an enthusiastic spirit and positive attitude towards life. We can find it from Ophelias compliment: “The courtiers, soldiers, scholars eye, tongue sword; the expectancy and rose of the state; the glass of fashion and the mould of form; the observed of all observers” (Vickers, 1981:46). But after his fathers death, his mothers remarriage, his uncles usurpation and his girl friends betrayal, everything changes in his life and he has to face many choices.Some people think Hamlet is weak and hesitant because his hesitance of killing his uncle and he is skeptical about the words of his fathers ghost. But that is unreasonable. Hamlet is not weak; on the contrary, he is intelligent and brave. He is honest in nature, but he has to play as a madman. He is kind in nature, but he has to revenge. Facing the contrast and difficulties in his life, he doesnt shrink back but choose to accomplish the revenge plan with more efforts. Sometimes, Hamlet shows doubts, shake and weak will, however, this is not his character. By nature, Hamlet is strong. Hes energetic with a magnificent soul. He is magnificent and strong even in times of setbacks, since a man of determination makes far wiser choices at trying moments than a vulnerable striving man. Such was the comment for Hamlet by Belinskiy(1948:207) which obviously explains the strong of Hamlet. As the prince of Denmark, on one hand, he must obtain realistic proof to prove his uncles crimes; one the other hand, he hopes the revenge is not only the personal revenge, but the change of society. He prays in Act 1, Scene 5: