英美概况期末考试名词解释整理

1、The industrialrevolution refers to the mechanization of industry andththe consequent changes in social and economic organization in Britain in the late 18 and early 19th centuries. Britain was the first country to industrialize.The industrial revolutionA period in the late 18th andearly 19th centuri

2、es when major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, production, and transportation had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions in Britain. The Industrial Revolution, was aperiodof unprecedented technological,economic and socialchange thatcompletelytransformedBritishculturefro

3、ma largelyrural,staticsociety with limited production and division of labour into the worlds first modern industrial society.the Black DeathIt was the deadly bubonic plague who spread through Europe in the 14th century.It swept through England without warning and any cure, and sparing no victims.It

4、killed between half and one-third of the populationof England. Thus, much landwas left untendedand labor was short. It caused far-reachingeconomic consequences.The Black-It was one of thedeadliestpandemics in humanDeathhistory, peaking in Europe between 1348 and 1350. It is widely thoughtto have bee

5、n an outbreak of bubonic plague caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestisis and have started in Central Asia. It came without warning, andwithout any cue.The Black Death is estimated to have killed30% to 60%of Europes population and had profound effects on the course of European history. In England, i

6、t killed almost half of the total population, causing far-reaching economic consequences.the Progressive MovementThe Progressive Movement is a movement demanding government regulation of theeconomy and socialconditions.Itspread quicklywiththe supportof largenumbersof peopleacrossthe country.Itwas no

7、t an organizedcampaign withclearlydefinedgoals.(Rather,itwas a number of diverseeffortsat political,social,and economicreforms. In spite of limitations of the movement, it brought about changes and improvement in many fields.)Roman Britainwas the part of the island of Great Britaincontrolled by the

8、Roman Empire between AD 43 and about 410. Britannia already had cultural and economic links with Continental Europe, butthe invaders introduced new developments in agriculture, urbanisation,industry and architecture, leaving a legacy that is still apparent today. The first Romans to campaign extensi

9、vely in Britain were the forces ofJulius Caesar in 55 and 54 BC, but the first significant conquest did not begin until AD 43, under Claudius.House of commonsI.House of CommonsCompositions:The House of Commons:The House of Commons is the real center of British p(651 in num.) from England (524), Wale

10、s(38), Scotland(72)and N Ireland(17)Functions: a, law passageb, authorizing taxation and public expenditurec, examining government action d. debateFeatures:a. electoral system (general election)b. general election by secret ballotc. party member elected to form a majority partyd. PM out of the major

11、ity, cabinet and shadow cabinetoliticallifebecauseitistheplacewhereabout650electedrepresentatives (Members of Parliament) make and debate policy. TheseMPs areelectedintheGeneralElectionsand shouldrepresenttheinterests of the people who vote for them.Manifest destinyManifest Destiny , which conveyed

12、the ideathat the rightful destiny of the United States was included to make an empire.Manifest Destiny:a. inevitability of the founding of USAb. legitimacy of the expansion of American Territoryc. spread of American democracy being the task of American people who were chosen to do the Lord s workCon

13、tainment policyContainment was a United States policy toprevent the spread of communism abroad. A component of the Cold War, this policy was a response to a series of moves by the Soviet Union to enlarge communist influence in Eastern Europe, China,Korea, Africa, and Vietnam. It represented a middle

14、-ground position between appeasement and rollback.Containment (1946); “ a long term, patient but firm and vigilantcontainment of Russian expansive tendencies.”The BerlinWallwas abarrierconstructedbytheGermanDemocratic Republic (GDR) starting on 13 August 1961, that completelycut off West Berlin from

15、 surrounding East Germanyand from East Berlin.The barrier included guard towers placed along large concrete walls, which circumscribed a wide area (death strip) that contained anti-vehicletrenches and other defences.The Cold War(1947 1991) was the continuing state of politicalconflict,militarytensio

16、n, proxy wars, and economic competitionexistingafter World War II (19391945), primarily between the Soviet Union andits satellite states, and the powers of the Western world, particularlythe United States. Although the primary participants military forcenever officially clashed directly, they expres

17、sed the conflict throughmilitarycoalitions,strategic conventionalforcedeployments,extensiveaid tostatesdeemed vulnerable,proxywars,espionage, propaganda,conventionaland nucleararms races,appeals to neutral nations,rivalryat sports events, and technological competitionsCold War InfluencePoliticalWASP

18、; military superpower from 1979Economic: economic recession; slow income risingSocial: new conservatism(middle class); rebuilding of American military strengthW The Cold War, often dated from 1947 to 1991, was a sustained stateof political and military tension between powers in theWestern Bloc, domi

19、nated by the United States with NATO among its allies, and powers in the Eastern Bloc, dominated by theSoviet Union along with the Warsaw Pact. This began after the success of their temporary wartime alliance against Nazi Germany, leaving the USSR and the US as two superpowerswith profound economic

20、and political differences. A neutral faction arose with the Non-Aligned Movement founded by Egypt, India, and Yugoslavia;this faction rejected association with either the US-led West or the Soviet-led East.The BerlinWall (German: BerlinerMauer)was abarrierconstructedby the GermanDemocratic Republic

21、(GDR,East Germany) startingon 13 August 1961, that completely cut off (by land) West Berlin fromsurrounding EastGermany and from East Berlin.1 The barrier includedguard towers placed along large concrete walls,2 which circumscribeda wide area (laterknown as the deathstrip)that contained anti-vehicle

22、trenches,fakirbeds and otherdefenses.The EasternBlocclaimedthatthe wall was erected to protect its population from fascist elementsconspiring to prevent the will of the people in building a socialiststatein East Germany. In practice,the Wallserved to preventthe massiveemigration and defection that m

23、arked Germany and the communist EasternBloc during the post-World War II period.The BerlinWallwas officiallyreferredto as theAnti-FascistProtectionRampart (German: Antifaschistischer Schutzwall) by GDR authorities,implyingthat neighbouringWest Germanyhad notbeen fullyde-Nazified.3The West Berlin cit

24、y government sometimes referred to it as the Wallof Shame a term coined by mayor Willy Brandtwhile condemning theWalls restriction on freedom of movement. Along with the separate andmuch longerInner German border (IGB) that demarcated the border betweenEast and West Germany, both borders came tosymb

25、olizetheIronCurtainthat separated Western Europe and the Eastern Bloc during the Cold War.Before the Wallserection,3.5millionEast GermanscircumventedEasternBlocemigrationrestrictionsand defected from the GDR,many by crossingover the border from EastBerlininto WestBerlin, from wherethey couldthen travelto West Germanyand otherWestern European countries.Between1961 and 1989, the wall prevented almost all such emigration.4 Duringthisperiod,around 5,000peopleattemptedto escape overthe wall,withan estimated death toll of o