Class system in British society
The class system does exist in British society. Most of the British population would claim themselves to be either of middle-class or working-class, though some people would actually belong to the upper middle-class or lower middle-class. Class divisions are not simply economic, they are cultural as well. People of different classes may differ in the kind of newspapers they read, in the way they speak and in the kind of education they receive. One of the distinctive features about the British class system is that aristocratic titles can still be inherited.
The Bill of Rights
In 1688,King James II's daughter Mary and her husband William were invited by the politicians and church authorities to take the throne, on condition that they would respect the rights of parliament. The Bill of Rights was passed in 1689 to ensure that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament
Constitution
Britain has no written Constitution. The foundations of the British state are laid out in statute law, which are laws passed by Parliament; the common laws, which are laws established through common practice in the courts; and conventions.
The functions of Parliament
The functions of Parliament are: to pass laws, to vote for taxation, to scrutinize government policy, administration and expenditure and to debate the major issues of the day.
The Good Friday Agreement:
As a result of multi-party negotiations, the Good Friday Agreement was approved on 10 April 1998. This agreement assures the loyalist community that Northern Ireland remains part of the UK and it won't change its political status unless the majority of the people of Northern Ireland agree. Under the terms of the agreement, Northern Ireland should be governed by 3 separate jurisdictions: that of the republic of Ireland, that of Great Britain and that of its own elected executive government of 10 ministers.
Privatisation in the 1980s
The British economy went through a particularly bad period in the 1970s, with high rates of inflation and devaluation of the Pound. Therefore, in the 1980s, when the Conservative party under Margaret Thatcher was in power, an extensive programme of privatisation was carried out. Many state-owned businesses (such as steel, telecom, gas, aerospace) were turned into private companies. Privatisation was successful in controlling inflation but at the same time unemployment rate increased rapidly.
Romanticism
Roughly the first third of the 19th century makes up English literature’s romantic period. Writers of romantic literature are more concerned with imagination and feeling than with the power of reason.
A volume of poems called Lyrical Ballads written by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge is regarded as the romantic poetry’s “Declaration of Independence.” Keats, Byron and
Shelley, the three great poets, brought the Romantic Movement to its height. The spirit of romanticism also occurred in the novel.
Modernism refers to a form of literature mainly written before WWII. It is characterized by a high degree of experimentation. It can be seen as a reaction against the 19th century forms of Realism. Modernist writers express the difficulty they see in understanding and communicating how the world works. Often, Modernist writing seems disorganized, hard to understand. It often portrays the action from the viewpoint of a single confused individual, rather than from the viewpoint of an all-knowing impersonal narrator out side the action. One of the most famous English modernist writers is V irginia Woolf
Transcendentalists
In his book Nature, Emerson claimed that by studying and responding to nature, individuals could reach a higher spiritual state without formal religion. A circle of intellectuals who were discontented with the New England establishment gathered around Emerson. They accepted Emerson’s theories about spiritual transcendence. They are known as transcendentalists.
Lost Generation
In the aftermath of World War I, many novelists produced a literature of disillusionment. Some lived in Europe. They were known as the “Lost Generation.”Two of the most representative writers of the “Lost Generation” were Hemingway and Fitzgerald.
Norman conquest had a huge impact on the England. First, a northern dialect of Old French, as the language of the ruling classes in England, displacing Old English.. It promoted both the centralization of the feudal state in the United Kingdom and the British political system. large numbers of Anglo-Saxon fled the country with Elite replacing
Puritanism
Puritans were those who followed the doctrine of John Calvin and wanted to purify the Church of England. They believe that human beings were predestined by god before they were born. Some were god’s chosen people while others were damned to hell. No Church nor good works could save people. The sigh of being god’s elect was the success in his work or the prosperity in his calling. They also argued that everyone must read the Bible in order to find God’s will and establish a direct contract with God. These beliefs had great impact on American culture.
The Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was mainly drafted by Thomas Jefferson and adopted by the Congress on July 4, 1776, when the people of 13 English colonies in North America were fighting for their freedom and independence from the British colonial rule. The document declared that all men were equal and that they were entitled to have some unalienable rights such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It also explained the philosophy of government: the powers of governments came from the consent of the governed and the purpose of governments were to secure the rights mentioned above. The theory of politics and the guiding principles of the
American Revolution mainly came from John Locke The causes of the American Revolution
Unit 1 UK 著名景点 Big Ben 大本钟2、Tower Bridge(crosses the River Thames; close to the Tower of London; symbol of London ) 3、Westminster Abbey ( Gothic church in the City of Westminster,London; Coronation and burial site for British monarchs.) 4、Red Double Decker Bus (mass transit) 英国基本知识 1、constituent parts ? England/ Scotland/ Northern Ireland/ Wales(国旗) 2、the national anthem(国歌)? God save the queen 3、The national Emblem? 4、National flower? Rose (Wars of the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster ( red rose) and the royal house of York (white rose).) 5、地理位置 6、Full name?The "United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".（The British Isles不列颠岛; Great Britain; UK ; Commonwealth） 7、Three political divisions（行政区域）: England, Scotland, and Wales. 8、Commonwealth? A free association of sovereign states comprising Great Britain and a number of its former dependencies ; united as ?free and equal members‘. 9、Capital England(London); Scotland(Edinburgh); Wales(Cardiff); Northern Ireland(Belfast) 10、Backbone of England? Pennine 11、Ben Nevis? the highest mountain in UK. 1343m 12、North Ireland? National flower: Irish clover (三叶草)；Lough Neagh (the largest lake in UK) ; industrious; agricultural 13、Rivers and lakes?1. The Severn River(longest river; from the mountain of Wales to the Bristol Channel) 2. The Thames River (Main source of London‘s water supply;Second longest river in Britain; Costwold Hills--North Sea)3. The Clyde River (The most important river in Scotland)4. Lake District 5. Lough Neagh（The largest lake in Britain (396 square kilometers), Northern Ireland.） 14、The climate in Britain?pea souper 超级浓雾 Unit2 UK 1、the first settler? The Iberian(伊比利亚人) 2、Stonehenge(巨石阵)?was a place of healing center；The most important monument left by Iberian；There are about 80 stones, and each is five meters tall. 3、The Celtic language? the basis of both Welsh and Gaelic(盖尔语) (Irish,Scotish). 4、Hadrian ‘s Wall 5、7th century Heptarchy（七国联盟）?(Wessex; Sussex; Kent; Essex; East Anglia; Mercia; Northumbria) 6、Viking pirates(维京海盗) ? Vikings from Denmark；established some small kingdoms；Northern and eastern England 7、The Norman Conquest(1066)? The Normans that invaded England in 1066 came from Normandy in Northern France.
英语国家概况考试题型如下： 1.选择题（30 X 1’） 2.填空题（20 X 1’） 3.简答（10 X 2’）--必须回答完整的句子 4.分析题（6 X 5’）-- 必须回答完整的句子 总分100 分 主要内容包括： 一．U.S. Geography 1.Full name of U.S.. 2.Number of States: 50 states. 3.After President Jefferson brought the Louisiana territory from France there was a desire for territorial expansion among many frontier men. 4.The U.S. has a land area of 9.3 million square kilometers. The fourth largest countries. 5.Taxas is the largest mainland state of the U.S.. Alaska is the largest state of the U.S.. 6.Hawaii is in the Pacific Ocean. 7.America’s movies are mostly made in Hollywood near the city of Los Angeles in south California. 二．U.S. People 1.The largest of the racial and ethnic minorities in the US is the Blacks (Afriican-Americans). 2.The “first Americans” were the Indians. 3.The Asian-Americans are the fastest-growing racial and ethnic group in the United States. 4.The first permanent settlement in North America was established in today’s V erginia in the year of 1607. 5.The “Three Faiths” in the U.S. refer to: ?Protestan ?Catholic ?Jewish 6.The majority of the Catholics in the U.S. are descendants of immigrants from Ireland, Italy and Poland. 7.American society is a stratified one in which power, wealth and pestige are unequally distributed among the population. 8.WASP stands for White Anglo-Saxon Protestant.
英语国家概况-Land and people I. Different Names for Britain and its Parts 英国的不同名称及其各组成部分 1.Geographical names: the British Isles, Great Britain and England. 地理名称：不列颠群岛，大不列颠和英格兰。 2. Official name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. 官方正式名称：大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国。 3. The British Isles are made up of two large islands-Great Britain (the larger one) and Ireland, and hundreds of small ones. 不列颠群岛由两个大岛—大不列颠岛（较大的一个）和爱尔兰岛，及成千上万个小岛组成。 4.Three political divisions on the island：England, Scotland and Wales. 大不列颠岛上有三个政治区：英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士。 (1) England is in the southern part of Great Britain. It is the largest, most populous section. 英格兰位于大不列颠岛南部，是最大，人口最稠密的地区。 (2) Scotland is in the north of Great Britain. It has three natural zones (the Highlands in the north; the Central lowlands; the south Uplands) Capital: Edinburgh 苏格兰位于大不列颠的北部。它有三大自然区：北部高地，中部低地及南部山陵。首府：爱丁堡。 (3) Wales is in the west of Great Britain. Capital: Cardiff 威尔士位于大不列颠的西部。首府：加的夫 (4) Northern Ireland is the fourth region of the UK. Capital: Belfast. 北爱尔兰是英国第四个区域。首府：贝尔法斯特。 5.The Commonwealth (of nations)is a free association of independent countries that were once colonies of Britain. It was founded in 1931, and has 50 member countries until 1991. 英联邦是独立的前英国殖民地组成的自由联合体。它成立于1931年，至1990年止已有50个成员国。 II. Geographical Features 英国的地理特征 1.Geographical position of Britain: 英国的地理位置： Britain is an island country surrounded by the sea. It lies in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north coast of Europe. It is separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel in the south and the North Sea in the east. 英国是一个岛国。它位于大西洋北部，与欧洲大陆的北海岸隔海相望。南面的英吉利海峡和东面的北海将它与欧洲其它部分隔开。 2.The north and west of Britain are mainly highlands; and the east and southeast are mostly lowlands. 英国的西部和北部主要是高地，东部和东南部主要是低地。 III. Rivers and Lakes 河流与湖泊 Ben Nevis is the highest mountain in Britain (1,343m).
《新视野大学英语读写教程1》课程标准 课程性质：必修课 课程类型： B类（理论+实践） 学分：6学分 学时： 68学时（4学时/周，上课总周数17周） 适用专业：英语教育 考核要求：闭卷考试，平时成绩占50%，期末考试成绩占50% 一、课程性质与任务 课程性质：本课程是英语教育专业的一门基础必修课，是英语专业的主干课程。课程任务：学生系统掌握英语语言基础知识，具体包括语言体系知识（指语音、词汇和语法结构等方面的内容）、话语知识和跨文化交际知识，全面培养学生的语言能力，具体包括学习策略能力、语言尝试能力、语言思维能力和语言交际能力，使学生初步了解英语国家的文化背景知识。 同期及后续课程：《英语语音语调》、《英语听说》、《英语泛读》、《英语口语》、《英语语法》、《英语写作》、《英汉互译》、《英语国家概况》等课程。 二、课程教学基本要求 1．知识要求 （1）掌握英语语音的基础知识； （2）掌握语法基础知识； （3）掌握词汇2500个； （4）掌握篇章结构的分析理论； 2、技能要求： 听力理解能力：能听懂英语授课，能听懂日常英语谈话和一般性题材讲座，练习收听英语国家慢速英语节目，语速为每分钟80词左右，能掌握其中心大意，抓住要点，能运用基本的听力技巧帮助理解。
口语表达能力：能在学习过程中用英语交流，并能就某一主题进行讨论。能就日常话题和来自讲英语国家的人士进行交谈；能就所熟悉的话题经准备后作简短发言，表达比较清楚，语音、语调基本正确；能在交谈中使用基本的会话策略。 阅读理解能力：能够基本读懂一般性题材的英文文章，阅读速度达到每分钟80词；在快速阅读篇幅较长、难度略低的材料时，阅读速度达到每分钟70词，能基本读懂国内英文报刊，掌握中心意思，理解主要事实和有关细节；能读懂工作、生活中常见的应用文体的材料；能在阅读中使用有效的阅读方法。 书面表达能力：能用常见的应用文体完成一般的写作任务，能描述个人经历、事件、观感、情感等，能就一般性话题或提纲在半小时内写出80词的短文，内容基本完整、用词恰当，语篇连贯。 翻译能力：能借助词典对题材熟悉的文章进行英汉互译，英汉译速为每小时100英语单词，汉英译速为每小时50个汉字；译文基本流畅，能在翻译时使用适当的翻译技巧。 3、素质要求： 针对英语教育专业的知识技能的特点，培养学生在幼儿英语教学和小学英语课堂教学的能力，提高学生的综合素质。 三、教学条件 1、教师任职条件 本科以上英语专业学历，身心健康，热爱教育工作，热爱学生；有较强的教学能力、教育科研能力和创新能力，具有一定的教育学、心理学基本知识，并能运用在实际教学过程中。另外要求教师具有制作多媒体课件进行教学设计的能力，并具有应用现代教育技术进行教学的能力。 2、实践教学条件 校内实训条件：语言实验室、英语角、英语演讲比赛等。能容纳60人、安装多媒体投影仪设备的教室一间。 四、教学内容及学时安排
英语国家概况（阅读） 1、Which of the following statements is NOT true? C.The Social Democratic and Labour Party is a very important political party in Britain 2、Which of the following statements is NOT correct? D.Parliament has no power to change the terms of the Constitution. 3、To get a bachelor’s degree, an American undergraduate student is required to do the following except ____. C.taking certain subjects such as history, language and philosophy 4、Which of the following is the only branch that can make federal laws, and levy federal taxes? B.The legislative. 5、Which one of the following is NOT particularly British Christmas tradition? C.Eating chocolate eggs on Easter Day. 6、Which of the following statements is NOT true about blacks after the 1960s? A.Blacks felt that they could be fully integrated into the mainstream of American life. 7、The New Deal was started by ___. A.Franklin Roosevelt. 8、Which of the following is NOT based on the fact? A.Members of Parliament elect the Prime Minister and the Cabinet. 9、Three of the following are characteristics of London, Which of the four is the EXCEPTION? C.London is not only the largest city in Britain, but also the largest in the world 10、In order to go to university, secondary school students in the US must meet the following requirements except that ___. D.They pass the college entrance examinations 11、Which of the following statements is NOT correct? When the War of Independence was over, ___. D.the relationships between the states and the national government were clearly defined. 12、Which of the following about the tabloids is not true? A.They are big format newspapers. 13、In the 17th century,the English government encouraged people from Scotland and Northern England to emigrate to the north of Ireland, because ____. A.they wanted to increase its control over Ireland 14、The largest religion in the US is ___. B.Christianity 15、Which of the following is NOT a feature of the House of Lords? C.The lords are expected to represent the interests of the public.
英语国家概况教学大纲 Company Document number：WTUT-WT88Y-W8BBGB-BWYTT-19998
《英语国家概况》课程教学大纲 课程名称：英语国家概况计划学分：2学分 计划学时：32学时课程性质：选修课 课程类型：专业课面向专业：商务英语、应用英语专业 编制单位：外语系编制时间：2012年8月 一、课程的性质、地位和作用 随着我国对外交往的日益频繁和涉外工作的需要，大学生不仅要学好英语，提高语言应用能力，还应加深对英语国家社会与文化生活基本情况的了解，从而在工作和生活中更好地进行跨文化交流。本课程就是根据此需要，根据《大学英语课程教学要求》而开设的选修课，体现了英语教学必须实行语言教学与文化知识课程紧密相结合的原则，有利于基础阶段语言教学与文化知识教学的相互促进。 二、教学目的及要求 本课程涉及了英语国家的地理、历史、语言发展、文化、社会等方面，目的在于扩大学生视野、对于英语国家的理解不仅从经济、政治的角度，而且要从社会、文化的角度来看问题。 1.提供了一个对于英语国家的中立的、恰当的、多角度的、贴近实际 的调查。 2.提高学生思维能力、分析和解决问题的能力。 3.培养学生对于人类和社会的客观的、健康的、科学的人生观、价值 观。
4.培养能把英语的语言基础知识和广阔的文化背景知识结合在一起的 优秀英语人才，即复合型人才。 5.帮助学生对于英语文学、报纸、杂志、脱口秀、英语笑话等的理 解。 三、课程的章节、具有的深度、广度、难点、重点 Chapter 1 Geography, People and Language 通过对本章的学习，了解英语国家的地理、气候、主要城市、人民、英语语言的发展。 重点：地理、人口特点 难点：英语语言发展的三个阶段 Chapter 2 History 从国家的建立、进入封建社会、到现代社会的转化，全面地了解英语国家的历史。 重点：历史转折性事件、关键人物、工业革命、现代社会 难点：两次世界大战以及其对英语国家的影响 Chapter 3 Government 了解英语国家的宪法、政府、政党、选举等。 重点：英语国家的立法机关、行政机关、司法机关 难点：不同政治体制下这三者的关系、作用 Chapter 4 Economy 了解英语国家的近代经济、现代经济。 重点：英语国家的近现代经济 难点：在国家经济中起重要作用的产业
英语国家概况课程标准 课程代码： 适用专业：商务英语 一、课程概述 1．课程性质 语言是文化的载体，文化是语言的基础。英语语言学习和英国国家文化相互依存、密不可分。一个优秀的英语语言学习者，若不了解该语言背后所承载的民族文化，其交际能力也会受到限制。该课程能使学生了解和掌握英美两国政治，历史，经济，社会，文化和教育等基本知识，了解英美国家社会发展、现状和影响这两个国家社会发展的因素，拓展学生的知识面，培养学生文化意识，启发学生了解西方社会，了解交际规则，增强学生的英语语言学习能力，为后续专业课程的学习打下一定的基础，进而为培养高技能应用型复合人才打下基础。 2．课程设计思路 本课程在设计上围绕合作学习法—任务型教学法、比较教学法、线索梳理法、启发式等教学法。 合作学习法—任务型教学法 合作学习法又称协作学习，是以合作学习小组为基本形式，系统利用教学中动态因素之间的互动，促进学生的学习，以团体成绩作为评价标准，共同完成教学活动。任务型教学法是一种以任务或活动为核心单位计划组织语言教学的途径,一种强调“在做中学”的语言教学方法。合作学习法与任务型教学法结合是指教师设计学习任务，指导并帮助学生以小组为单位通过合作、协商完成学习任务的教学过程。主要采用组织演示、演讲、讨论等形式。 2）比较教学法 比较教学法是在教学过程中，利用教学内容的相互联系和区别，促进学生掌握和巩固教学内容、达到教学目标的一种逻辑思维方法。例如，在学习美国的政体时，我们可以和英国政体、甚至是我国的政体进行比较，异中求同，同中求异。从而对“Parliament”、“Congress”和我国的NPC （The National People’s Congress）形成更深刻的理解。运用这种教学法不仅有利于学生掌握基本知识与技能，而且有利于提高学生的创造性思维能力。3）线索梳理法 线索梳理法，尤其是历史年代轴线表示法是表达历史线索最清晰的一种方式，这种方式的特点是易于梳理，可操作性强，非常直接，便于记忆。比如说，英国历史很长，如果不进行梳理，很难记忆，如果整理成一条线索，效果却不能同日而语： Early settlers——Roman invasions——Anglo-Saxons——the Viking and Danish Invasions——the Norman Conquest——William’s Rule——the Great Charter——the Hundred Year’s War——the English Reformation——the English Renaissance——the Civil War——the Glorious Revolution——the Industrial Revolution——the two World Wars 同样，美国历史部分可整理成这样一条线索： The war of Independence——the War of 1812——territorial expansion and Westward Movement——the Civil War——the two World Wars——the Cold War——the Berlin Blockade——the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s——the Vietnam War 二、课程培养目标 1．知识目标 了解主要英语国家的地理，历史，经济和政治等方面的概况；了解主要英语国家的文化传统，风俗习惯和社会生活的其他有关情况。 2．技能目标 扩大知识面，有效弥补英语专业学生知识面窄的不足；提高英语阅读的能力和语言应用能力。 3．素质目标
I. Read the following unfinished statements or questions carefully. For each unfinished statement or question, four suggested answers marked A, B, C and D are given. Choose the one that you think best completes the statement or answer to the question. Write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space on the answer sheet. (50 points, I point for each) 1.The British Isles are made up of _A_ large islands and hundreds of small ones. A.two B. three C. four D.five 2.The Norwegian Vikings and the Danes captured York , an important center of Christianity in _B_ A. 835 B. 867 C. 876 D.878 3.The spirit of the Magna Carta was the limitation of the powers of _D_, keeping them within the bounds of the feudal law of the land. A. the Archbishop of Canterbury B.the barons C.the church D.the king 4.The nobles force King John to sign _A_ on June 19, 121 5. A. the Great Charter B. the People's Charter C.the Declaration of Btreda D.the Bill of Rights. 5.In _C_ , Philip II of Spain dispateched the fleet to invade Englad without success. A. 1585 B.1587 C. 1588 D.1589 6.The Commonwealth of England created by Oliver Cromwell lasted only _B_ years. A. 10 B.11 C.12 D.13 7.One of Cromwell's first acts after declaring England a Commonwealth, was to crush a rebellion in _D_ A. Scotland B.Wales C. England D.Ireland. 8.The first steam engine was devised by _b_ at the end of the 17th century, and the Scottish inventor James Watt modified and improved the design. A. Robert Bakewell B.Thomas Newcomer C.Jethro Tull D.Thomas Coke 9.By _A_ Britain had built up a big empire, "on which the sun never set". A. 1900 B.1910 C. 1920 D.1930 10.The spark of the First World War was struck at Sarajevo on June 28, _B_, when the Austrian Crown Prince Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by a Serbian nationalist. A. 1913 B. 1914 C. 1915 D.1916 11.At the general election of 1945 Winston Churchill was heavily defeated, becaus_D_. A. people did not support his postwar policies B. Britain's old-colonial possessions were left C. Britain failed to become a full member of the EEC D. people wanted to forget about the war behind them and as Churchill had symbolized the war effort 12.In 1982, teh Falkland Islands War broke out between Britain and _a_ A. Argentina B.Brazil C. Peru D.Columbia
2011英语国家概况期末考 1 of 100 Whose speech is closest to BBC English? A Cockney Southerners in England northerners in England A Welsh 2 of 100 The two newest states which joined the United States are _____. Alaska and Hawaii California and New Mexico Alaska and Florida Hawaii and Oregon 3 of 100
Which of the following is NOT one of the general standards for admission into an institution of higher learning in the U. S. A.? ACTP GPA MBA SAT 4 of 100 Britain's longest rivers are _____. the Severn and the Thames the Thames and the Clyde the Clyde and the Humber the Severn and the Clyde 5 of 100 New Englanders were originally known as _______. Yankees German farmers
Fishermen from Scandinavia English Puritans 6 of 100 The Constitution of the United States provides that _____ shall be President of the Senate. the Chief Justice the Secretary of State the Vice President the President 7 of 100 Which of the following is NOT one of the clauses in Magna Carta? There should be the same weights and measures throughout the country. The principle of parliamentary supremacy should be confirmed and free speech in Parliament should be guaranteed.
龙源期刊网 https://www.doczj.com/doc/9b16904968.html, 《英语国家概况》的教学反思 作者：童方吟 来源：《读与写·上旬刊》2017年第11期 摘要：《英语国家概况》是每所大学英语专业都会开设的课程，这一学科对于经济全球化的今天来说至关重要，因此，对于这门学科的教学，教师应该认真反思，如何高效的提高教学质量。 关键词：国概；教学方法；存在问题 中图分类号：G648 文献标识码：B 文章编号：1672-1578（2017）11-0001-01 英语教育专业的专业课程大致包括三种类型：英语语言课程、英语文学课程、英汉与汉英翻译课程。英语国家概况则属于英语语言课程中的一门专业必修课，其总体目标是：比较系统的介绍英、美、加、澳、新等主要英语国家在历史、地理、社会、政治、经济、教育等方面的情况以及其文化传统，让学生了解这些主要英语国家的背景知识，以扩大学生知识面，增强学生对英语国家文化的识别力、理解力，培养和提高学生观察、分析和解决问题的能力，使学生的在了解英语国家文化的过程中理解和运用英语进行有效的交际和成功的沟通。 进入新世纪以来，《基础教育课程改革纲要》的颁布，标志着我国的英语教育进入了一个崭新的大好时机。作为英语专业知识类课程，英语国家概况具有自身显著的特点，如果不改进与完善该课程的教学理论和方法，该课程就很难适应新的教学要求。 1.课程教学现状以及问题 1.1 教材及教学资料。《概况》课程的一大缺陷就是教材及教学资料很不完整，给老师的备课无形中增加了难度。目前市场上使用较普遍的是周叔麟主编的新版《英美概况教程》、王恩铭主编的《英语国家概况》、来安方编著的《英美概况》等，虽然看起来版本很多，但是每个版本都有自己的缺陷所在，体系并不很完整合理，并且，配套教学资料相当匮乏，这也严重的影响了学生学习的自主性。 1.2 课时安排。现今很多大学都在大二开设《概况》课程，通常为36个学时，并且是作为考查课程。要想学生在短短的36个课时里面掌握五个国家的历史、文化、政治、社会、经济等各方面内容，这对于教师的教学和学生的学习来说都比较困难，很容易造成学习上囫囵吞枣的现象。 1.3 学生的主观能动性。《国概》课程由于知识面广，生词量大，阅读量也大，这就导致学生在接触这本教材的时候就会产生畏惧心理，不知如何开始。将国概课程试卷与英语专业其
英语国家概况复习要点 Part One UK The Country 1.Different Names for Britain and its Parts Name：England Britain Great Britain (GB/G.B.) British Isles British Empire The Commonwealth The United Kingdom(The UK) The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Parts：England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland 2. Official name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. Geographically, the British Isles includes Great Britain, the whole of Ireland, and all the offshore islands Politically, the British Isles is made up of U.K. and Republic of Ireland. 3. the highest mountain in Britain：Ben Nevis(本尼维斯山) the largest mountain range in Britain：the Grampians（格兰扁山脉） 4.the longest river：The Severn River (塞文河) The most important river in Britain and the second longest river: Thames（泰晤士河） 5. the largest lake in Britain：Lough Neagh（内伊湖）( Northern Ireland) 6. Backbone of England：the Pennies（奔宁山脉） The people 7.The first known settlers of Britain were the Iberians. 人们所知的英国最早居民是伊比利来人。 8.Basis of Modern English race? The earlist people known in Britain were nomads（游牧者）from mainland Europe in the Old Stone Age（旧石器时代）,followed by Neolithic（新石器时代）Iberians （伊比利亚人) and the Beaker Folk(比克人）in the Bronze Age（青铜器时代） 9.the contributions made by Anglo-Saxons to the English state? ①.established 'Old English' ②.laid the foundations of the English state ③. divided the country into shires ④. created the 'Witan' to advise the King(the basis of the Cabinet) 10.different invaders? First invasion—In 55 BC, Julius Caesar Second—Caesar's second raid in 54 BC Third and final—In 43 AD, Emperor Claudius, final and successful Roman invasion of Britain (recorded) Left—In 410, Germanic barbarian attack Rome, forcing Roman troops to leave Britain, and thus ending its occupation of the island History 9.Who is known as “ the father of the British navy” ? Sir Francis Drake 10. The Norman Conquest and its consequences The Norman Conquest (1066-1071) Fuse: Edward ruled for 24 years and died in January, 1066. Harold was chosen to be king. William, Duke of Normandy, heard the news of Harold’s coronation, he got very angry and claimed that he had the sole right to be king of England because
Unit1 A Brief Introduction to the United Kingdom 1.The flag of Britain : Union Jack （英国国旗中没有显示出Welsh旗） 2. The basic information of each country: Count ry Capital Area Memo Englan d London 最大 1.最不会把自己的 “英格兰文化区 别于其他文化” 2.一个高度城市化
3.The time joining the British parliament: However, in 1707 by agreement of the English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the Union. 4.Difference between the British Isles ,UK, Great Britain , and England: British Isles: the island of Great Britain the island of Ireland
surrounding isles ●UK=Great Britain + Northern Ireland ●Great Britain =England +Scotland + Wales 5.The four major invasions in the history of Great Britain : At first, England was occupied by Celtic people. Then in 43AD Britain was invaded by the Roman Empire. Result: England and Wales became a part of the Roman Empire for nearly 400 years. the Angle-Saxon invaded. Result: The land they lived became" Angle-land", later changed into England, the language they spoken became English. PS：One of the best-known English legends derives from this time. In 5 century AD, King Author(亚瑟王) united the British, and with his magical sword, Excalibur（被称为“王者之剑”的圣剑）,