《英美概况（二）》（专升本）练习题一
I. Fill in the following blanks in English (30points, 2 points for each blank).
1. The dividing line between the north and the south is _________, with the city _________ on
the border between the two parts.
2. Columbus discovered the new World in the year of ________.
3. The first permanent settlement in North America was established in today’s _________ in the
year of __________.
4. The __________officially proclaimed the birth of a new American nation.
5. The institution that began to assume the function of a national government during the
American Revolution was the __________.
6. The city where the Declaration of Independence was signed and where the U. S. Constitution
was made is ___________.
7. The Constitutional Convention was held in the year of 1787 and the president of the
Convention was __________.
8. A federal system is one in which __________ is shared between central authority
and its constituent parts with some rights reserved to each.
9. The U. S. federal government consists of the following three branches:_________, legislative ,
and __________.
10. The Congress is divided into ___________ with 435 members who serve two-year terms, and
the Senate with __________ lawmakers who serve six-year terms.
11. In 1852, a New England woman named Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote novel titled
__________, which intensified the political debate on slavery.
12. the USA launched military attack coded Desert Storm on Iraq for Iraqi invasion and
annexation of Kuwait on January 17, _________.
13. The first academic institution that a child attends is called __________.
14. In the U.S.A., children are offered _________ years of free public education.
15. “All men are created equal” is from the document _________.
16. Thanksgiving Day falls on __________, on which Americans give thanks for blessings they
enjoy.
17. Christmas is on Dec. 25th, which is celebrated for __________.
18. Franklin Roosevelt was elected President of the US in ________.
19. There are two major denominations in America: Christian Science and __________that are
the results of native developments.
20. The basic causes of World War I lay in the __________, economical and ________ rivalries
of the great powers.
21. The period of the “Cold War” began when_________ came forth in March 1947.
22. The history of the U.S. is generally agreed to have begun in the year of ________.
23. In April 1949, _______nations established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to
coordinate the military actions of member nations against the USSR.
24. The United States is situated in the central part of North America with its two youngest states:
Alaska and _________.
25. There _________ categories of degrees are offered by American universities.
26. The term "Father of Waters" is used to refer to ___________.
27. The largest freshwater lake in the world is___________.
28. The Niagara Falls is located on the US and Canadian boundary between lake_________ and
lake__________.
29. Between the Sierra Nevada Mountains and the Rocky Mountains there is a large area of desert, of which _________ is the lowest and hottest place in America. It got its name because many adventurers died here during the__________ when explorers rushed to California for gold.
30. The __________ is the official residence of the President and to the east of it stands the
Capitol, the building where the US Congressmen meet to make laws for the nation.
31. Among the Great Lakes, only Lake _________belongs to America completely while the other
four are shared with__________.
32. The __________ is the largest city in the US, followed by ___________and Chicago.
33.Martin Luther King was a black minister, who became a great leader of the_________ in the
1950s and 1960s.
34. On August 28, 1963, Martin Luther King led over 200 000 Americans on a march in
Washington D.C. to fight for the Civil Rights Law to guarantee equality for all people and delivered his best-known speech “__________” before the Lincoln Memorial.
35. The Americans’ _________ is a day to honor the memory of those who have given their lives
for their country.
36. Reader's Digests founded in _________and published in 15 languages and 39 editions, prints
nearly 19 million copies a month.
II．Choose the correct answer (10 points, 1 point for each).
1. Which of the following is not true about the characteristics of New England?
A. Economically backward.
B. Long established.
C. Small-scale.
D. Urban.
2. Which of the following is not in New York City?
A. Wall Street.
B. The Empire State Building.
C. The Black quarter of Harlem.
D. Niagara Falls.
3. Texas is famous for three of the following except _________.
A. unrestricted gambling and easy divorce laws
B. cowboy tradition
C. many millionaires
D. oil industry
4. The following were some of the characteristics of Protestantism except __________.
A. challenging the authority of the Pope B salvation through faith
C. salvation through the church
D. establishing a direct contact with God
5. Which of the following American values did NOT come from Puritanism?
A. Separation of state and church.
B. Respect of education.
C. Intolerant moralism.
D. A sense of mission.
6. The following were the founding fathers of the American Republic except_________.
A. George Washington
B. Thomas Jefferson
C. William Penn
D. Benjamin Franklin
7. Which of the following is the only branch that can make federal laws, and levy federal taxes?
A. The executive.
B. The legislative
C. The Judicial
D. The president
8. Which of the following is NOT a power of the president?
A. The president can veto any bill passed by Congress.
B. The president has the authority to appoint federal judges when vacancies occur.
C. The president can make laws.
D. The president has broad powers, with the executive branch, to issue regulations and
directives regarding the work of the federal departments.
9. The Bill of Rights consists of __________.
A. 10 very short paragraphs in an amendment
B. 10 amendments adopted in 1787
C. 10 amendments added to the Constitution in 1791
D. the amendments concerning the freedom of speech, the freedom of the press and the
freedom of religion
10. Which of the following is NOT guaranteed in the Bill of Rights?
A. The freedom of religion.
B. The freedom of searching a person’s home by police.
C. The freedom of speech and of the press.
D. The right to own weapons if on wishes.
11. Which of the following was NOT a Protestant denomination?
A. The Baptists.
B. The Catholics.
C. The Methodists.
D. The Presbyterians.
12. The following are distinctively American features of religion except__________.
A. V arious religious groups have coexisted in the U.S. more harmoniously than Europe
B. Scientific and economic advance and material prosperity have not been accompanied by a
decline in religious faith
C. There has been little concentration on doctrine or religion argument in the U.S.
D. There has been very much concentration on doctrine or religious argument in the U.S.
13. In the U.S., people go to church mainly for the following reasons except__________.
A. for finding a job in society
B. for having a place in a community
C. for identifying themselves with dominant values
D. for getting together with friends
14. Which of the following did not take place in the 1960s?
A. The Anti-Vietnam War Movement.
B. The Anti-drug Movement.
C. Women’s liberation Movement.
D. Public protests by blacks and other minority groups.
15. In the United States school system, which of the following division is true?
A. Elementary school, grammar school.
B. Elementary school, junior high school.
C. Elementary school, secondary school.
D. Junior high school, senior high school.
16. The first American Thanksgiving was hosted by __________.
A. the Indians
B. the Pilgrims
C. the Spanish settlers
D. the French settlers
17. The Pilgrims were able to survive in America because __________.
A. they received help from the Indians
B. they were supported by rich companies
C. many ships brought them food from England
D. they had signed the Mayflower Compact
18. The leading producing area for chemicals and machinery is _________.
A. The East North Central
B. the Middle Atlantic region
C. the Pacific coast region
D. the South Atlantic region
1 9. _________ has been known as the automobile capital of the world.
A. New York
B. Atlanta
C. Philadelphia
D. Detroit
20. _________, the steel capital of the country, is the oldest and largest steel making center.
A. Chicago
B. Detroit
C. Pittsburg
D. Birmingham
III. Define the following terms (30 points, 6 points for each)
1. Impeachment
2. NBC
3. VOA
4. The New Deal
5. Olympic Games
6. The Continental Congress
7. The Statue of Liberty
8. Emancipation Proclamation
9. Franklin D. Roosevelt
10. T he People’s Temple
11.Continental Congress
12. Protestant Church
13. Abraham Lincoln
14. AP
15. Yale University
IV. Answer the following questions (30 points, 10 points for each).
1. Briefly describe elementary and secondary education in the USA.
2. Tell the main functions of the three branches of the government.
3.What are the major rivers and mountains in the USA?
4. In the middle of the 19th century, how was the new American two-party system established?
5. What are the causes and effects of the Great Depression?
6.Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of mass education.
7. Give a brief account of America in the post World War II decade.
8. What role does American government play in the development of economy?
9. Give a brief account of the U.S. overseas invasion and expansion in the 20th Century.
Ⅴ。Decide whether the following statements are true [T] or false [F] (10 points, 1 point for each).
___ 1. With a period of rapid industrial development and prosperity in 1920’s, Americans’purchasing power grew as quickly as it should.
___ 2. The leading region for manufacturing activity is the Middle Atlantic region.
___ 3. The invasion of Afghanistan by the USSR commenced in 1979. This invasion aroused strong objection and reaction from the USA and other countries
___ 4. The American aggression of Korea took place in June 1950, and the Korean War broke out. ___ 5. US-led NATO mounted an air strike on Yugoslavia on March 24, 1999.
___ 6. In the American big corporations and companies, the management usually isn't separated from property rights.
___ 7. The Pilgrims were the first English colonists to permanently settle in New England in what we now know as Massachusetts.
___ 8. Before the English controlled North America, Spaniards were the most important colonists there.
___ 9. The emigration from England to the colonies in America was mainly sponsored by the king.
___ 10. The early settlers in the colony discovered a way to make money by growing cotton.