英国社会与文化课后练习

英国社会与文化课后练习 I Multiple Choices Choose one right answer from the four choices 1 The Norman Conquest happened in A 55BC B 1066 C 700 D 966 2 Which of the following is not true about London A it s a political economic and cultural center of the country B it has a larger population than all other cities in England C it is not only the largest city in the country but also the largest in the world D it has played a significant role in the economic construction of the country 3 British Recorded history began with A Roman invasion B the Norman Conquest C the Viking and Danish invasion D the Anglo Saxons invasion 4 The English Civil War is also called A the Glorious Revolution B the Bloody Revolution C the Catholic Revolution D the Puritan Revolution 5 The Tower of London a historical sight located in the center of London was built by A King Arthur B Robin Hood C Oliver Cromwell D William the conqueror 6 In the 18th century there appeared in England which owed a great deal to the invention of machines A the Industrial Revolution B the Bourgeois Revolution C the Wars of the Roses D the Religious Reformation 7 was famous for his abdication because of his marriage with a divorced American A Edward VIII B Edward VII C George VI D George VII 8 The House of Lords is presided over by A the Lord Chancellor B the Queen C the Archbishop of Canterbury D the Prime Minister 9 The Prime Minister is appointed by and he or she always sits in A the Archbishop of Canterbury the House of Commons B the Archbishop of Canterbury the House of Lords C the Queen the House of Commons D the Queen the House of Lords 10 Which of the following is Not a characteristic of British government A It offers the Queen high political status and supreme power B It is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy C It is the oldest representative democracy in the world D It has no written form of Constitution 11 The ultimate authority for law making resides in A the Queen B the Cabinet C the House of Lords D the House of Commons 12 The sources of British law include A statutes common law equity law and European Community law B statutes common law and equity law C statutes common law and European Community law D a complete code and statutes 13 The National Health Service was established in the UK in and based at first on A 1948 Acts of Parliament B 1958 Acts of Parliament C 1948 the Bill of Rights D 1958 the Bill of Rights 14 Which of the following is Not related to the Constitution A It is a written document which lists out the basic principles for government B It is the foundation of British governance today C Conventions and Laws passed by Parliament are part of the Constitution D The common laws are part of the Constitution 15 Which of the following is NOT a true description of the Queen s role A The Queen selects the Prime Minister and the Cabinet B The Queen symbolizes the tradation and the Cabinet C The Queen acts as a cofidante to the Prime Minister D The Queen is the temporal head of the Church of England 16 Which of the following is Not a feature of the House of Lords A Lords do not receive salaries and many do not attend Parliament sittings B It consists of the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal C The Lords are expected to present the interests of the public D Most of the Lords in the House of Lords are male 17 Which of the following is NOT based on the fact A Members of Parliament elect the Prime Minister and the Cabinet B MPs receive salaries and some other allowances C MPs are expected to represent the interests of the public D Most MPs belong to the major political parties 18 In Britain children from the age of 5 to 16 can by law A receive completely free education B receive partly free education C receive no free education if their families are rich D receive no free education at all 19 In Britain the great majority of parents send their children to A private schools B independent schools C state schools D public schools 20 Which of the following is a privately funded university in Britain A the University of Cambridge B the University of Oxford C the University of Edinburgh D the University of Buckingham 21 Which of the following is NOT true A Parents send their children to public schools because they are rich B Parents send their children to public schools because their children can get better jobs when they leave school C Parents send their children to public schools because their children can have a better chance of getting into a good university D Parents send their children to public schools because their children prefer to go to public schools 22 Which of the following is Not a characteristic of the open University A It s open to everybody B It requires no formal education qualification C No university degree is awarded D University courses are followed through TV radio correspondence etc 23 In the examination called the 11 plus students with academic potential go to A grammar schools B comprehensive schools C public schools D technical schools 24 Which of the following is NOT included in the National Curriculum A Children must study the subjects like English mathematics science and so on B Children must sit in A level exams C Children must pass national tests D Teachers must teach what they are told 25 Which of the following is NOT true about British education system A It s run by the state B It s funded by the state C It s supervised by the state D It s dominated by the state 26 Which of the following schools would admit children without reference to their academic abilities A Comprehensive schools B Secondary schools C Independent schools D Grammar schools Explain the following terms Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest of 1066 is perhaps the best known event in English history William the conqueror confiscated almost all the land and gave it to his Norman followers He replaced the weak Saxon rule with a strong Norman government So the feudal system was completely established in England Alfred the Great He was king of Wessex one of the seven Anglo Saxon Kingdoms It was he who led the Anglo Saxon to flight against the invading Danes and maintained peace for a long time Alfred was not only a brave king at wartime but also a wise king at peacetime He encouraged education and introduced a legal system He is known as the father of the British navy Geoffrey Chaucer He was an important English poet in the fourteenth century His best known is The Canterbury Tales which describes a group of pilgrims travelling to Canterbury to visit Thomas Becket s tomb Because he was the first important English poet to write in English He has been known as the Father of English Poetry The Black Death It is a modern name given to the dearly bubonic plague an epidemic disease spread through Europe in the fourteenth century particularly in 1348 1349 It came without warning and without any cue In England it killed almost half of the total population causing far reaching economic consequences The Wars of Roses the name Wars of the Roses was refer to the battles between the House of Lancaster symbolized by the read rose and that of York symbolized by the white from 1455 to 1485 Henry Tudor descendant of Duke of Lancaster won victory at Bosworth Fireld in 1485 and put ht country under the rule of the Tudors From these Wars English feudalism received its death blow The great medieval nobility was much weakened The Glorious Revolution of 1688 1 It refers to the event of 1688 in the English Revolution when the Catholic king James II was forced to flee with his baby son to France 2 The throne was offered to his Protestant daughter and her husband Dutch king William 3 The bill of Rights was passed by Parliament to restrict the power of the Monarchy 4 This was the beginning of the Constitutional Monarchy in Britain The Gunpowder Plot of 1605 1 It refers to the most famous of a number of Catholic conspiracies in English history which occurred in the reign of James I 2 It was the plot to blow up the King and Parliament 3 in which a man called Guy Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the House of Commons in the very act of preparing the explosives 4 Guy Fawkes Night is still celebrated on November 5th each year the Protestant Church 1 It refers to the Christian church whose faith and practice originated with the principles of the Reformation 2 As the Pope s political power and religious authority declined in the sixteenth century 3 Protestant churches sprang up in Northern Europe in opposition to the established Roman Catholic Church 4 In Britain Protestantism gradually became the dominant faith in the Elizabethan age the Church of England 1 Also called Anglican Church it is one of the many Protestant sects which broke away from Roman Catholic Church during the Religious Reformation 2 It is an established Church which means that it represents the official state religion 3 having certain duties towards the state and receiving certain privileges from it 4 Its temporal head is the Queen and twenty six of its highest priests sit in the House of Lords the Protestant Reformation 1 A religious movement started in 1517 when the German monk Martin Luther posted for debate 2 a series of theses that challenged Roman Catholic teaching 3 Many Protestant sects broke away from the central organization of Roman Catholic Church 4 Most of the Protestants stressed the Bible as the source and the norm of their teaching instead of the Pope as a Source of authority Privy Council 1 A consultative body of the British monarch 2 Its origin can be traced back to the times of the Norman Kings After the Glorious Revolution of 1688 its importance was gradually diminished and replaced by the Cabinet 3 Today it is still a consultation body of the British monarch 4 Its membership is about 400 and includes al Cabinet ministers the speaker of the House of Commons the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and senior British and Commonwealth statesmen the English Civil War 1 One of the most important events in the whole of British history 2 It is a bitter power struggle 1642 1648 between the monarchy and Parliament 3 The victory of the Parliament led to the execution 1649 of Charles I and the temporary overthrow of the monarchy and 4 the country became for more than ten years a sort of republic founded by Oliver Cromwell the Industrial Revolution 1 It refers to the period in British history from 1750 to 1850 2 Great changes took place with the invention of the steam engine 3 More factories and big towns were built 4 It made Britain stronger and richer and at the same time it also created entirely new social class the industrial workers the Victorian age I It refers to the monarch of Britain under the great Queen Victoria from 1837 to 1901 the longest reign in British history 2 The Victorian age was an age of national development and national optimism 3 The Victorians were very religious and conservative in family life 4 It was also in its later stages an age of imperialism Constitutional Monarchy 1 The Constitutional Monarchy is one in which the Monarch respects the Constitution 2 In law the monarch is head of the executive an integral part of the legislature head of the judiciary commander in chief of all the armed forces and head of the Church of England In practice the real power of monarchy has gradually been reduced and today the Queen acts solely on the advice of her ministers 3 In the Glorious Revolution William and Mary became the joint rulers of Britain and the Constitutional Monarchy began 4 The Bill of Rights which was passed in 1689 restricted the power of the monarchy the British Constitution 1 It is unwritten 2 Its components include Acts of Parliament the Prerogative of the Crown Conventions of the Constitution Common Law and Parliamentary Privilege 3 It is more flexible than the written ones in other countries the Bill of Rights in 1689 1 it was the Bill passed by the Parliament in 1689 after the Glorious Revolution 2 It laid down a number of things that future monarchs could not do 3 It marked a sharp decline in powers of the Monarch 4 It marked the beginning of the British Constitutional Monarchy General Election 1 General Election is held at least every five years 2 The country is divided into 635 constituencies each of which returns one Member of Parliament 3 The one who has the most votes in a constituency becomes a Member of Parliament 4 The leader of the party with the largest number of members returned to the House of Commons becomes Prime Minister British Parliament 1 It includes three elements the Crown the House of Lords and the House of Commons 2 It is the supreme law making authority in Birtain 3 The real centre of parliamentary power is in the House of Commons 4 Other functions include to control and criticize the executive government to control the raising and the spending of money the House of Lords 1 It is an important part of Parliament 2 Its members are peers most of whom are hereditary 3 Its powers have been severely reduced by the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949 4 It must pass all financial legislation sent to it from the House of Commons and can delay other Bills for only one year 5 It has a special judicial function the House of Commons 1 It consists of 635 elected Members of Parliament 2 MPs have a number of privileges eg the freedom of speech in Parliament 3 It is by far the most powerful and important element in Parliament therefore plays the key role in the activities of Parliament as a whole English reserve 1 English reserve is the best known quality of the British and in particular of the English to other Europeans 2 The English are on the whole reserved they do not talk very much to strangers 3 do not show much emotion and seldom get excited 4 This reluctance to communicate with others is an unfortunate quality in some ways since it tends to give the impression of coldness English modesty 1 English modesty is a quality closely related to English reserve 2 Within their heart the English are perhaps no less conceited than anybody else 3 but in their relations with others they value at least a show of modesty 4 Self praise is felt to be ill bred and the English are typical of self deprecation English sense of humour 1 English Sense of humour is a quality that is similar to English modesty Its starting point is self deprecation and its great enemy is conceit 2 Its ideal is to laught at oneself at one s own faults one s own failures and embarrassments even at one s own ideals 3 It is an attitude to life rather than the mere ability to laugh at jokes This attitude is never cruel or disrespectful or malicious English sportsmanship 1 Sportsmanship is an English ideal that is highly valued in Britain 2 Sportsmanship is the ability to practise a sport in obedience to its rules while also showing generosity to one s opponent and good temper in defeat 3 Sportsmanship as an ideal is applied to life in general This is proved by the number of sporting terms used in ordinary speech English class system 1 As a social convention the English class system is much less rigid than it was but it still exists below the surface 2 Broadly speaking it means there are two classes the middle class and the working class The middle class consists chiefly of well to do business men and professional people of all kinds the working class consists chiefly of manual and unskilled workers 3 The most obvious difference between them is in their accent The middle classes also tend to live a more formal life than working class people and are usually more cultured The National Health Service 1 It is a very important part of the welfare system in Britain 2 It is a nationwide organization based on Acts of Parliament 3 It provides all kinds of free or nearly free medical treatment both in hospital and outside 4 It is financed mainly by payments by the state out of general taxation People are not obliged to use this service The service is achieving its main objectives with outstanding success Answer briefly the following questions What were the consequences of the Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest of 1066 is one of the best known events in English history It brought about many consequences William confiscated almost all the land and gave it to his Norman followers He replaced the weak Saxon rule with a strong Norman government So the feudal system was completely established in England Relations with the Continent were opened and civilization and commerce were extended Norman French culture language manners and architecture were been introduced The church was brought into closer connection with Rome and the church courts were separated from the civil courts 4 What were the contents and the significance of the Great Charter The Great Charter or the Magna Carta was document signed in 1215 between the barons and king John It had altogether 63 clauses of which the most important contents were these 1 no tax should be made without the approval of the Grand Council 2 no freeman should be arrested imprisoned or deprived of his property except by the law of the land 3 the church should possess all its rights and privileges 4 London and other towns should retain their ancient rights and privileges 5 there should be the same weights and measures throughout the country The Great Charter was a statement of the feudal and legal relationship between the Crown and the barons a guarantee of the freedom of the Church and a limitation of the powers of the king The spirit of the Great Charter was the limitation of the powers of the king but it has long been regarded as the foundation of English liberties What do you know about the English Renaissance Renaissance was the revival of classical literature and artistic styles in European history It began in Italy in the early 14th century and spread to England in the late 15th century The English Renaissance had 5 characteristics 1 English culture was revitalized not so much directly by the classics as by contempora