Contemporary America.doc

幻灯片1Contemporary America Objectives : 1.Have a general understanding about the United States of America .2.Enlarge your English vocabulary and improve grammar study through learning this textbook.3.Develop your language competences and linguistic skills via studying this book .4.Improve your English reading efficiency and translation skills .5.Be able to write academic papers which relate to your majors .6.Enhance English listening ,speaking ,reading and writing skills which can help you do better in your future learning .幻灯片2American early History l Chapter 1.l History : Questions to think about l 1.Why did the Spanish go to America in the 16th century ?l 2.What led to the English colonization?l 3.Was the “New World “ a virgin land as the Europeans described it ?l 4.What was the English policy toward Native Americans and what were its consequences?幻灯片3Comtempory Americal 5.What were the puritan values and why did the Puritans go to America ?l 6.What caused the fast development of education in the British colonies ?l 7.What were the characteristics of colonial development in early American history ? 幻灯片4Chapter ThreeAmerican Government Questions for discussion 1,What were the opinion of the American presidents about the governmental power ?2,What are the typical features of the Federal Government ?3,From the views of the America Founders ,what was the business of the government ?4,How did the American Constitution set out the structure of the federal government ?幻灯片5Discussionl 5,How did the American Founders mesh the interests of small and larger states ? l 6,How do the Americans vote for their presidents ? l 7,How did the Constitution divide the powers into three branches ? and explain their separate roles in the federal government .l 8,What are the advantages of this balance of power among the federal government ?幻灯片6AMERICAN CONSTITUTIONl 1,Sumarize the system of CHECKS and BALANCES in your own words l 2.Why has the process of federalism accelerated over the last century ? l 3.Why did the historians describe federalism metaphorically as Layer Cake or Dual federalism ?l 4.How do you understand president Richard Nixon “New Federalism “ ?l 5.Illustrate the functions of the Three Branches of Government 幻灯片7THE FEDERAL SYSTEMl 6.How do the states mirror the federal division of powers ?l 7.Why is the local government at the county and municipal level much more idiosyncratic ?l 8.Why did president Harry S Truman once remarked that “the chief executive often has to be chief lobbyist “ ?l 9.Why did the US congress vote for term limits ?l 10.How do you understand president Bushs declaration “I earned political capital and now I intend to spend it “ ? l 11.What is the legal power of the US presidents ?幻灯片8Legislative Branch l 5.How do you understand “ bring home the pork “ or “pork-barrel “ legislation ?l 6.What is the main purposes for setting up Conference Committees ? l 7.What is the constitutional powers of the Congress ?l 8.What is procedural ideas VS substantive ideas ?幻灯片9The Legislative Branch l 1.How many people are there in the Congress and how long do they serve in each term ?l 2.Why did the divided government and different term lengths weaken the role of the parties ?l 3.Why do senators view issues more nationally than representatives ?l 4.What are the prime responsibility of the House and Senate ?幻灯片10LEGISLATIVE l 5.What is a “ pocket Veto ? l 6.How do you understand Delegates Mode and l Trustees Mode ?幻灯片11THE JUDICIAL BRANCH l 1.What is the principle of judicial review ?l 2.How are justices selected and appointed ?l 3.How do you understand “Class Action Suits “?幻灯片12CHAPTER FIVE SOCIETYl 1.How do you understand the Culture War mentioned in the first passage ?l 2.What are the traditional American values discussed in this chapter ? Or you can summarized them in your own words .l 3.How do you define the phrase “working poor ” ?l 4.Gererally speaking ,How do Americans feel about their lives and future ?幻灯片13American Class l 5.Why do vast majority Americans consider themselves to be middle class ?l 6.How do you define “OVERCLASS ” in American society ?l 7.How do you understand “ The American Dreams ” mentioned in the text ?l 8.What do “aristocracy of money ” and the “aristocracy of mind ” refer to ?幻灯片14Rural and Urban Americal 1.What are the real divisions between haves and have nots ? l 2.Why do Americans outside the megalopolises often criticize the transformations ?l 3.What do urban Americans support ,in contrast ?l 4.Why are Rural areas becoming less isolated ? 幻灯片15Rural and Urban America l 5.Generally speaking ,What are the common characteristics of the Americans ?l 6.How do you understand this sentence “ In America ,every place becomes more like itself ?l ”?幻灯片16Poverty and Affluence l 1.Why has been a steady decrease in the percentage of citizens in poverty during the last half century ?l 2.Why has the disparity between the rich and poor widened dramatically ?l 3.What are the real reasons for this huge gap between rich and poor ?l 4.What are the key factors for the differences in the real income of the Americans ?幻灯片17Poverty and Affluence l 5.How to make the country of America a comfortable and relatively middle-class nation from top to bottom ?幻灯片18The American Family l 1.What are the reasons for the changes of the family dynamics over the past few decades ?l 2.Why are divorces becoming more and more popular among women ?l 3.What effects did the Liberal Revolution of the 1960s have on American families ?l 4.What does “ there is a nostalgia for the mythical good old days ” refer to ? 幻灯片19The American Family l 5.Why are middle-class Americans being torn between traditional and modern family models? ?l 6.What does affluence contribute to the American families ?l 7.What kind of marriage models did the Republican Party candidates and the Religious Right promote in 2004 ?l 8.Why could economics help explain the decline in child birth in 1970 ?幻灯片20The American Family l 9.How did the lives of the vast majority of American teenagers look like outside the family ?l 10.Why has the sexual intercourse been decreasing among American teenagers ? l 11.Why did the American teens have “Virginity Oath ” or promote “ The Silver Ring Thing ” in their lives ?幻灯片21l 12.What effects does the pursuit of riches have on American families ? l 13.Why are poorer Americans less optimistic about the future ?幻灯片22American Women l 1.What does “separate sphere ” philosophy hold out the roles of the women in America ?l 2.According to feminists ,why did the country need to adopt an Equal Rights Amendment ?l 3.Why did the ERA fail ?l 4.What gains have the women made across racial and ethnic lines ?幻灯片23幻灯片24Race l 1.Why does racial equality remain a dream deferred ?l 2.How do you understand this sentence “ Racial progress is a train that left the station fifty years