英语国家国家概况大题

1 Chapter1 1 What are the full name of the U K The united kingdom of great Britain and Northern Ireland 2 why do tourists from all over the world like to go to Scotland They like to enjoy the beautiful Scottish scenery to drink Scotch whisky and to see Scotsmen wearing kilts and playing bagpipes 3 what Is Standard English Standard English is based on the speech of the upper class of southeastern England It s widely used in media and taught at schools It s preferred by the educated middle class people It has developed and has been promoted as a model for correct British English It s also the norm carried overseas Today Standard English is codified to the extent that the grammar and vocabulary are much the same everywhere in the world where English is taught and used Chapter2 1 What are the tow components of the British Parliament They are the House oh Commons and the House of Lords 2 What were some of Queen Victoria s major achievements Queen Victoria made tremendous achievements in almost every aspect She promoted further industrial revolution the building of railways and the growing of trade and commerce By the end of her reign Britain had developed to an empire including a quarter of the global population and nearly a quarter of the world s landmass Chapter3 1 What are the three functions of the House of Commons The three functions are to draft laws to scrutinize criticize and restrain the activities of the government and to influence future government policy 2 Why are independence candidates unlikely to win in the general election Because even if they were elected they would be powerless in Parliament Therefore it is not possible for many people to vote foe independent candidates 3 What do British electoral campaigns usually involve during the process of a general election The electoral campaigns usually involve advertising in newspaper door to door campaigning and leaflets The main parties are given short period of time on national television to present their policies to the public Apart from the parties own publicity newspapers and TV programs spends a lot of time discussing the campaign interviewing politicians and predicting the results Chapter 4 Economy 简答题 简答题 1 What was the negative aspect of Thatcher s reform in the early 1980s 2 Its negative aspect was a rapid increase in unemployment in1982 the unemployment rate reached the level of Great Depression years with three million people out of work 2 What are the characteristics of Britain s agriculture Britain s agriculture is characterized by a small portion of the population engaged in agricultural activities with a high degree of mechanization Although it employs a mere 1 of the country s labor force it meets around 60 of the national demands Chapter 5 Education Media and Holidays 简答题 简答题 1 What used to be the major functions of grammar schools and vocational schools in Britain The major functions of grammar schools were to train the most academically capable students and prepare them for university whereas the major functions of vocational schools were to help less successful students to learn a trade 2 What role does the media play in Britain leisure culture The media plays an essential role in Britain leisure culture since it helps to shape the public s opinion determine people s moral and political orientation and consolidate or undermine the rule of a government Chapter 6 Literature 简答题 简答题 1 What are the three categories of Shakespeare s plays and their representatives Shakespeare s plays fall into three categories comedy tragedy and historical play The representatives of his comedies include A Midsummer Night s Dream The Merchant of Venice As You Like It and Twelfth Night His major historical plays include Richard Henry and Antonym and Cleopatra His great tragedies are represented by Hamlet Othello Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet 2 What is stream of consciousness Stream of consciousness is the writing technique which puts the unorganized flow of thought onto page Writers who adopt this technique give precedence to the depiction of the characters mental and emotional reactions to external events rather than the events themselves 问答题问答题 Give a brief account of Romanticism Romanticism is the literary trend that appeared in England at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries It is revolt against the prescribed rules of Classicism Writers of Romantic literature are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with reason and intellect Discontent with the development of capitalism they seek a literary refuge William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge began the trend with their joint work Lyrical Ballads whose preface is viewed as Romantic poetry s Declaration of Independence It was the second 3 generation Romantic poets such as Lord Byron Percy Byssi Shelley and John Keats who brought the Romantic Movement to its height Chapter 8 Geography and People 简答题 简答题 1 How is the American population distributed The distribution of the American population is rather uneven The most densely populated region is the northeastern part of the country The Great Plains have a comparatively small population The South also has a population of almost 57 5 million The West is not densely populated expect for some metropolitan center like Los Angeles and San Francisco It has about 20 of the nation s population 2 How is the life of the Native Americans today About one third of all Native American now live on reservations and the others live in cities Poverty and Unemployment are the major problems for them especially on the reservations 问答题 问答题 Why is the United States regarded as a melting pot and a salad The United States is not merely a nation but a nation of nations The immigrants came in waves including the Europeans the Africans and the Asians Therefore America was described as a melting pot where various racial and ethnic groups were combined into one culture Recently Americans have been called a salad in that people of different races and ethnic groups mix harmoniously but at the same time keep their distinct culture and custom Chapter 9 History 简答题 简答题 1 Why did America change its policy and enter World War The American s policy of neutrality changed in 1940 Because of the formation of the Axis the American government feared that the Axis countries were winning war and it might threaten American s security and interests It began to provide war equipment to the foreign nations resisting the aggression of the Axis Power The Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor became the direct cause for America s entrance into the war 2 What were Nixon s well known contributions during his presidency Nixon made three well known contributions a brought the Vietnam War to a close b reestablishing U S relations with China c negotiating the first Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty with the former Soviet Union 问答题 问答题 What made the United States a powerful country by the end of World War During the two world wars America remained neutral in the early stage of the wars However Americans continued their profitable trade with the warring 4 countries Therefore they not only retained their military forces but also accumulated great wealth When America entered the wars it was almost at the end of the wars By sharing the fruit of victory with other allies America greatly strengthened its power and became the most powerful country by the end of World War Chapter 10 Government 简答题 简答题 1 What are the two characteristics of the U S Constitution One is the checks and balances The other is that the powers of the central government and the powers of state government are specified 问答题问答题 How is a President voted into office in America Each party holds its national convention every four years to choose a candidate for the presidency To win a presidential election a candidate has to spend millions of dollars travel all over the country to make speeches and debate on television with the rival The general election is technically divided into two stages During the first stage presidential electors for each state will be chosen In the second stage the electors meet and vote a President Since the second stage is only a kind of formality everyone knows who will be the next President as soon as the first stage is over Chapter11 简答题 简答题 2 How did the Civil War affect the American economy After the Civil War the large southern cotton plantations became much less profitable Northern industries which had expanded rapidly because of the demands of the war surged ahead 3 Why does America try to reduce trade barriers Because the United States has increasingly realized that open bilateral trade will not only advance its own economic interests but also enhance domestic stability and its peaceful relationship with other nations 问答题 问答题 2 Cite examples to illustrate the role of government intervention in America s economic development The government has always played an active and important role in America s economic development In the early 1930s the United States suffered the worst economic depression in American history President Roosevelt introduced New Deal to tackle the financial crisis Besides he set up an Emergency Relief Commission to help those in desperate need and tried to relieve the serious problems of the jobless At the end of 1970s the American economy again suffered a recession The Reagan administration combated 5 inflation by controlling government spending deficit cutting taxes and raising interest rates Both policies mentioned above helped to set the country s economic development on its right course In all the intervention of the government has ensured that economic opportunities are fair and accessible to the people has prevented flagrant abuses of the system dampened the effects of inflation and stimulated growth Chapter 12 简答题 简答题 1 How does an American university choose its applicants American universities choose applicants on the basis of a their high school records b recommendations from their high school teachers c the impression they make during interviews at the university d their scores on the SAT 4 What are the origins of Thanksgiving Day Thanksgiving is associated with the time when Europeans first came to the New World In 1620 the Mayflower arrived and brought about 150 Pilgrims Life at the beginning was very hard and there was not enough food so many of them died During the following summer the Native Americans helped them and then they had a bountiful harvest So they held a big celebration to thank God and the Native Americans Chapter 13 简答题 简答题 3 What is the Lost Generation The Lost Generation refers to the young American writers caught up in the World War andand cutcut offoff fromfrom thethe oldold valuesvalues yetyet unableunable toto comecome toto termsterms withwith thethe newnew eraera whenwhen civilizationciviliza