北京外国语大学美国社会文化与研究试卷
1998
1．Why was the formulation and the passage of the Bill or Rights taken up as the first thing when Congress met after the ratification of the Constitution?
2．What was judicial review? Who initiated this practice under what circumstan ce?
3．What are the serious consequences of the Vietnam War for the United Stat es?
4．In the late 19th century, there was a strong and widespread anti-Chinese mo vement in the United States. What were the causes of this anti-Chinese mo vement? What role did the Chinese play in the development of the United States?
5．What is Nixon Doctrine? What is the background for the doctrine? 6．What were the three essential tools of the frontiersmen when they were mo ving west? Please explain why?
7．What do the values of individualism, freedom, and democracy mean to Ame ricans?
8．Why do you think the Americans are often called the hyphenated American s?
1999
Answer the following questions briefly and to the point
1.What was Reagan’s policy towards the Soviet Uni on in his first term?
What measures did he take?
2.What was the Supreme Court decision on “Brown v. Board of Educa
tion of Topeka”? What is the significance of the decision?
3.Why did the Roosevelt Administration initiate the “Good Neighbor Po li
cy” towards Latin America in the 1930s? What was the major content of the policy?
4.What are the major elements in the Great Society as proposed by P
resident Johnson?
5.What is the cultural implication of “Manifest Destiny”?
6.What is the significance of Andrew Jackson being elected as Preside
nt of the United States?
7.What is the “Protestant ethic”? How did it influence the emergence o
f capitalism?
8.Why do you think it took the Americans so long to accept the fact t
hat there are classes in the U.S.?
2000
1.What was the nature of the conflict between Jefferson and Hamilton?
2.Why did Wilson take the United States into the First World War?
3.Under what circumstances was the Lend-Lease designed? For what
purpose?
4.What is the cause of the Red Scare? What did the American govern
ment do in this period?
5.Who initiated the Great Society? What is the goal and content of the
Great Society? Is the Great Society a success?
6.What is mean t by the “Irangate” scandal?
7.What is the “American Dream”?
8.Why do you think the American frontier has been particularly importa
nt in shaping American values?
2001
1. Why did the founding fathers introduce checks and balances into t he political system?
How do checks and balances work?
2. What are the political principles embodied in the Declaration of Ind ependence?
3. Why did President Lincoln issue Emancipation Proclamation? What was its impact on the course of the Civil War?
4. What were the features of American economic development at the turn of the 20th century?
5. Some people say that Japan attacked Pearl Harbor because it wa s pushed to the corner by the policy of the Roosevelt Administration. W hat is your comment on this argument?
6. What is the philosophy underlying American education? What are t he four characteristics of American public schools?
7. What was the cause and consequence of the Spanish-American W ar?
8. How serious is the drug problem in the United States? Why has t he problem become so serious?
2002.
1. Who was Tom Paine? What role did he play in the War of Independen ce?
2. What is federalism? Why was it introduced into the Constitution? How does the Constitution ensure the practice of federalism?
3. What was the cause of the Montgomery bus boycott? How did the boyc ott end? What is the consequence of the boycott?
4. What is the meaning of white-collar crime? Why are many of these cri mes unreported? Does this show anything about the general attitude towards w hite-collar crimes?
5. What are the major criticisms of the American system of justice?
6. What is the content of the Compromise of 1850 over slavery? What rol
e did this Compromise play?
7. What were the events leading to the declaration of the Monroe Doctrine? What is the content of the Doctrine? What is the significance of the Doctrine?
8. What are some of the major religious bodies and their characteristics in the United States?
2003
1. What are the powers delegated to the Federal and state governments res pectively?
2. What was the economic policy of the Reagan Administration? What was the consequence of such a policy? (Use your knowledge from the reader and the American history)
3. What are the contents of the Eisenhower Doctrine, the Nixon Doctrine a nd the Carter Doctrine?
4. What are the major types of interest groups in the United States? Give examples.
5. What is affirmative action? How was it introduced? What has it achieved? Why did it encounter strong opposition in the 1980s and 1990s?
6. What are the Water-gate scandal and the Iran-gate Scandal about? What are the impacts of the two sandals?
7. What is gender inequality? How is it reflected in education, employment and politics? Is gender inequality also reflected in daily social life? If so, ple ase give examples to illustrate your point.
8. When did the Red Scare and McCarthyism take place in the United Stat es? Why did they take place at that time? What are they about respectively? Do they have any impact on American politics?
20061.What political , economic, and social reforms did the Republican governm ents achieve in the South between 1866 and 1877?
2. How has the American social welfare system evolved?What are some of the problems/criticisms that it has to face nowdays?
3.Assess the contribution of the following factors to the Progressive movement
a. middle class
b. muckrakers
c. philosophy of pragmatism
d scientific
e presidential leadership
Please choose three out of the five factors
4. How is the US congress organized? What functions does it perform?
5. Select three New Deal agencies or commissions and assess how wwell eac
h satisfied the three R's of relief, recovery, and reform.
6. What are the traditional American Values and beliefs?
7. Do you agree or disagree with the following statements:" The Cold War hosti lity between the United States and the Soviet Union was inevitable"? State your re asons.
8. What are the causes of the New Economy? And how is the New Economy reshaping American economy and society?
2008
美国社会研究试卷
说明：请用英语回答下列问题。本试卷共150分，其中内容130分，语言20分。
1.When did the Reconstrustruction start and end ?What were the aims and ach
ievements?Were the 14th and 15th Amendments fully implemented?Why or why not?(15points)
2.How are the executive and legislative branches of government organized at t
he state level?What are the function of state government as compared to th
e federal government? (20points)
3.To our sisiter republics south of our border,we offer a special pledge—to co
nvert our good words into good deeds—in a new alliance for progress –to assist free men and free government in casting off the chains of poverty.Bu t this peacefull revolution of hope cannot become the prey of hostile power s Let all our neighbors know that we shall join with them to oppose aggre ssion or subversion anywhere in the Amercias.And let every other power k now that this hemisphere intends to remain the master of its own house. (2 0points)
4.How is the American President elected?. (15points)
5.What are the factors that led to the rise of business tycoon in the 19th cent
ury in the Untied States?Name teo such tycoon and give a brief account of their success stories. (15points)
6.What are the problems the elderly facein the Untied States?What programs a
re there that can provide help and relief to them and how ant erderly cove red by these progrem? (15points)
7.What measure did Presisdent Ronald Reagan and President Bill Cliton respec
tively take to revive and develop Amercian economy? (15points)
8.How has regligion influenced and shaped Amercian political culture? (15poin
ts)