华东师范大学英美文化考试资料总结

1、主题：期末考试题型与范围期末考试的题型有：1. 听力（点填空）2阅读理解3. 选择题4. 匹配体（即提供一组名词术语和何一组解释，要求将名词术语与相应解释文字匹配起来）5. 判断对错考试内容就是课本中的地理、历史、政治和教育共四章内容，题目只涉及课本内容，不涉及课堂拓展内容，所以请大家务必好好看书。另外考试请记住带收音机，并在试卷上写好自己的上课时间（单双周/星期/第几节课）America ns established their basic system of public schools in 1825.A basic read ing literacy 99%Equality of op

2、port unityEleme ntary through colleger Gen erally speak ingsix years of eleme ntary schoolstwo years of junior high (middle )schoolfour years of senior high schoolAmerica n public school system:Primary eleme ntary schoolsJcompulsory educati onsec on daryf high schoolsJFinally higher levels college u

3、ndergraduate and graduate programsGen erally speak in g,five years old and ending at 16 to 18, but can vary slightly from state to state.12 years differe nt 6-3-3 5-3-4 but all do guara ntee 12years of compulsory educati on.Educati on requireme nts can gen erally be satisfied by atte nding: public s

4、chools,state-certified private schools, religious, privately own ed, etc.or an approved home school program.School atte ndance is man datory and n early uni versal at the primary and sec on dary levels (ofte n known in side the Un ited States as the eleme ntary and high school levels).Education in t

5、he United States is provided mainly by government, with control and funding coming from three levels: federal, state, and local.Official n ame: the Uni ted States of America , Ofte n called as the Uni ted States, the U.S., the US, the USA, or simply America, or the States in American spoken EnglishN

6、atio nal An them 国歌：The Star-Spa ngled Banner星条旗永不落National Day 国庆节：July 4Nati onal flower: roseNati onal stone: blue sapphireNati onal bird: bald eagleCapital: Wash ington D.C. (as a memorial to George Wash ington and Christopher Columbus)Nick name: Un cle SamAmerica n Gover nment and PoliticsI. Fo

7、undations1. Articles of Confederation2. American Constitution3. Bill of Rights1. The Articles of ConfederationWhen the War of Independence was over, the United States was not one unified nation as it is today. Each new state was organized very much like an independent nation, they1) had its own gove

8、r nment2) made its own laws3) han dled all of its internal affairsThe agreement that set the plan of cooperation (the states cooperate with the Congress or with each other) was called The Articles of Con federation (1781)联邦条款However, it has two serious weak nesses:1) no n ati onal executive or law-e

9、 nforcing branch2) the Con gresss in ability to regulate trade and levy taxes 征税On February 21, 1787, Congress called for a Constitutional Convention 制宪会议 to be held in May to revise the articles. All of the states except Rhode Island were represented.2. American ConstitutionBetween May and Septembe

10、r,1787, the convention wrote the present Constitution for theUnited StatesThe Con stituti on set up a federal system with a strong cen tral gover nment.It became the fun dame ntal law of the land on March 4, 1789.It retained some of the features of the Articles of Confederation but gave considerably

11、 more power to the federal gover nment.The new Constitution provided for executive and judicial branches of government, lacking in the Articles, and allowed the government to tax its citizens.The Con stituti on also called for the elect ion of a n ati on al leader, or preside nt.It provided that fed

12、eral laws would be made only by a Con gress made up of represe ntatives elected by the people.It also provided for national court system headed by a Supreme Court.3. Bill of RightsThe first ten amendments to the U.S Constitution were called the Bill of RightsIt was adopted in 1791 and promises to pr

13、otect individuals rights.II. Government Institutions1. The Executive Branch2. The Judiciary Branch3. The Legislative BranchGovernmentThe government was set up according to the American Constitution, based on 3 general prin ciplesFederalismThe Separati on of PowersRespect for the Con stituti on and t

14、he rule of lawPrinciple 1. FederalismEach America n is subject to 2 gover nments1. That of the Union 2. That of his statePrinciple 2. Separation of powers1) Executive2) Legislature3) JudicialThe 3 elements are checked and balanced1. The Executive BranchExecutive Head- presidentThe Chief Executive of

15、 the Un ited States is the president who, together with the vice preside nt,is elected to a four-year term.In 1951 , a constitutional amendment set a limit of two termsTwo PresidenciesThe Preside nt has several sig ni fica nt leadership roles.The leadership roles are divided into two large areas of

16、authority and resp on sibility,domesticpolicy and foreign affairs policy.The leadership roles are gen erally referred to as the two presidencies1) The Domestic Policy PresidencyChief formulator of public policy, often proposes legislati on to Con gresshas the formal con stituti onal authority to ove

17、rsee the executi on and impleme ntati on of the law.has broad powers to issue regulati ons and direct ions regard ing the work of the federal gover nmenthas the ability to sig ni fica ntly in flue nce the legislative and judicial bran ches.Appo ints federal judges as vaca ncies occur, i ncludi ng me

18、mbers of the Supreme Court.Appo ints the heads and senior officials of the executive branch age ncies(Each appointment must be confirmed by the Senate House)CabinetThe appo in ted secretaries of the major departme nts of the gover nment make up the preside nt scab in et.The Cabinet in cludes the Vic

19、e Preside nt and the heads of 15 executive departme nts theSecretaries of Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Education, Energy. Health and Human Services,Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development. Interior. Labor, State, Transportation,Treasury, Veterans Affairs, and the Attorney General . 司法部长2

20、) The Foreign Policy Presidencythe Comma nder-in-Chief of the armed forcesMore significantly, while the Congress has the authority to Declare War, presidents sinceWash ington have made war without explicit con gressi onal cooperati on.Primarily resp on sible for foreig n relatio ns with other n ati

21、onsAppo ints ambassadors and other officials subject to Sen ate approvalFormulates and man ages the n ati on s foreig n policysecttetamy of state 国务卿Represe nts his country in con sultatio ns with other heads of stateNegotiates treaties with other coun tries through his officials.(Such treaties must

22、 be approved by two-thirds vote of the Senate.)Also negotiates with other nations less formal“ execu行政OgBements” .(Such agreements are not subject to Senate approval.)White House -where the first family live2. The Legislative BranchThe United States Congress is the chief legislative or law-making bo

23、dy in the land.It is the only branch that can make federal laws, levy taxes, declare war or put foreign treatiesinto effect.All Legislative Powers herein granted shall be vested in a Congress of the United States, whichshall consist of a Senate and House of Representatives(Article I, Section 1, of t

24、he Un itedStatesConstitution)Two Houses comparisonNumber of membersThe Senate is composed of 2 members from each state.Membership in the House of Representatives is based on population and size of the state, thereare 435 seats elected from con stitue ncies.MembershipThe Con stituti on requires that

25、U.S. Senators must be at least 30 years of age, citize ns of the U.S for at least 9 years, and reside nts of the states from which they are elected.The sen atorial term is 6 years, and every 2 years on e-third of the Sen ate sta nds for re-elect ion.Members of the House of Representatives must be at

26、 least 25, citizens for 7 years, and residents of the states which send them to Con gress.Lawmak ingEach house of the Congress has the power to introduce legislation on any subject, EXCEPT revenue bills which must first come from the House of Represe ntatives.The Con stituti on provides that the Vic

27、e preside nt shall be preside nt of the Sen ate. He has no vote, except in a case of a tie.The House of Represe ntatives choose its own presidi ng officer the Speaker of the House.Law-making procedureEither house may propose abillread studied - commented L amendedVote (if passed)*The other House(sim

28、ilar procedure occurs)Law-making procedureApproval of both HousesPresidentAgree Veto 否决Congress 2/3 majorityTake effect3. The Judicial BranchCon stitutio n. Article IIISection 1. The Judicial Power of the United States shall be vested in one Supreme Court 合众国的司法权属于最高法院.Section 2 The judicial power s

29、hall extend to all cases, in law and equity 衡平法,arising under this Con stituti on, the laws of the Un ited States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, un der their authority司法权适用的范围，应包括在本宪法、合众国法律、和合众国已订的及将订的条约之下发生的一切涉及普通法及衡平法的案件The Supreme Court, created by the Judiciary Act 联邦司法法 of Septembe

30、r 24, 1789, has final authority in all legal questions or controversies arising under the Constitution or the laws of the Un ited States.The size of the Supreme Court is determined by the Congress. There are currently 9 justices on the Court a Chief Justice and 8 Associate Justices. 一名首席大法官及 8 名大法官I

31、f without an impeachable 弹劾 offense, Supreme Court Justices serve for life or until they volun tarily retire.III. Voting & ElectionsCandidates & CampaignsThe president elect ion was held every 4 years:The Con stitutio n requires the Preside nt can didate to be a n atural-born America n citize n at l

32、east 35 years of age.The electors of all fifty states and the District of Columbia a total of 538 persons comprise what is known as the Electoral College .（选举团） To be successful, a can didate for the Preside ncy must receive 270 votes.Every successful political campaign consists of three essential i

33、ngredients :a good can didatean adequate orga ni zati onsufficie nt money to make the campaig n go onIn most elect ions, each major party selects a can didate and supports him or her with money, advice, and publicity.Because it is expe nsive to run a campaig n, minor parties and in depe ndent can di

34、dates with smaller funds find it difficult to compete aga inst the major party can didates for votes.Political partiesPolitical parties, which are made up of groups of voters who share similar political views, or philosophies, are an important feature of the American political system.Two Major Parti

35、esThere are two major America n parties the Democratic Party and the Republica n Party.Two Major Partiesthe Democratic PartyEvolved from Thomas Jeffers on s party.The symbol of the party is the don key.the Republica n PartyFormed in the 1850s by people in the states of the North and West who wan ted

36、 the gover nment to prevent the expansion of slavery into new states. (Abraham Lincoln is among them.)The symbol of the party is the elephant.The Democratic PartyMost America ns con sider the Democratic party the more liberal party.The Democrats believe the federal gover nment and the state gover nm

37、ents should be active in providing social and economic programs for those who need them.The Democrats earned the reputati on in the 1930s duri ng the econo mic depressi on.Democrats set up gover nment programs to provide paid employme nt for people buildi ng public works New Deal” by Preside nt Roosevelt.(罗斯福新政)The Republican PartyAmerican people tend to regard the Republicans more conservative.Republica ns believe too many social programs are too costly to the tax-payers.They place more emphasis on private en terprise and often accuse the Democrats of making the gover