英美文化与国家概况全英文共96页

美国文化概况Chapter 1 Population, race and ethnic groups第一章人口和种族1) Introduction①American is the third most populous country in the world, with 255.5 million people. It isa nation of immigrants. Immigration accounts for a major source of population growth. There are many racial and ethnic groups. Between 80% and 90% of immigration in the United States now is from Asian and Hispanic counties. The first immigrants in American history came from England and Netherlands. Population movements are common in America.美国是世界上的第三大人口国，总人口约2.555亿，仅次于中国和印度。

美国是一个移民大国，移民人口是其人口总数增长的重要原因。

美国的有着不同民族和种族的人口。

在目前美国移民人口中，80%-90%来自亚洲和西班牙语国家。

美国历史上最早的移民来自于英格兰和荷兰。

人口迁徙在美国十分普遍。

2) Black people and the Civil Rights Movement①blacks and slaveryThe largest of the racial and ethnic minorities in the U.S., which 12.1 per cent of the population; the first blacks were brought to North America as slaves in 1619.美国最大的少数人种是黑人，占人口的12.1%；1619年最早的人人作为奴隶被运至美国。

英国概况The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland，简称“UK（联合王国）”。

Geography位于欧洲大陆西北部的Great Britain Island（大不列颠岛）上，东濒North Sea（北海），西临Atlantic（大西洋），南与European Continent（欧洲大陆）以English Channel（英吉利海峡）、Denver Channel（多佛海峡）相隔。

由Great Britain（包括England、Scotland、Wales和Ireland 东北部）和附近大约5500多个小岛组成。

陆界与Republic of Ireland（爱尔兰共和国）接壤。

国土总面积共24.18万平方公里，海岸线总长1.15万公里。

英吉利海峡分割英法两国，连接大西洋和北海。

the English Channel: separates England and France and connects the Atlantic ocean and north sea."the act of union of 1801": in 1801 the english parliament passed an act by which scotland, wales and the kingdom of england were constitutionally joined as the kingdom of great britain.1801合并法：1801年英国议会通过法令，规定英格兰、苏格兰和威尔士根据宪法合并成为大不列颠王国。

gaelic: it is one of the celtic language, and is spoken in parts of the highlands.盖尔语：是盖尔特语言的一种，在高地地区仍有人说这种语言。

英美文化概况1.Emancipists: The emancipists are ex-convicts who were fully or conditionally pardoned for conduct or service. They became successful farmers,lawyers, architects and government administrators. They contributed a lot to the development of Australian society. By the 1820s, a third of the richest men in the colony were emancipists, among them were Mary Reiby and James Ruse.2.Wakefield Scheme: Wakefield Scheme was devised by Edward Wakefield, a convict and theorist on colonization, to solve the problems of labour shortage in colonial Australia. His proposal on the development of colonial Australia was that land should not be freely and cheaply available. It should be sold at sufficient price to ensure that only men of capital could afford it. The money earned from selling land should be used to assist selected free migrants to Australia.3.The “Washminster” form of polity: The “Washminster” form of polity is adopted by the Australia government. It is a mixture of the US Washington system of government and the British Westminster system. This means that the political structure of the government is based on a Federation of States with a three-tier system of government. However, the thief executive is a Prime Minister, instead of a President as in the US system.4.The advantages of the pluralist form of government: The advantages of the pluralist form of government are : it enables the citizens to exercise their political right to choose their own government; it secures transparency and accountability of the government; it provides for an alternative government which cancompetently take over the state affairs should any government collapse; the citizens can exert their power through major interest groups.5.Multiculturalism: Multiculturalism was adopted in 1973. It was comprised of policy: Cultural Identity, which means the right to express and share one’s cultural heritage; Social Justice, to right to equal treatment and opportunity; and Economic Efficiency, the need to maintain and develop the skills of all Australia regardless of their backgrounds6.The Write Australia Policy: The White Australia Policy was officially adopted by the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901, in the Immigration Restriction Art. It was made to stop Chinese and other non-British migrants form entering and setting down in Australia. This was mainly achieved through a diction test in a European language. The White Australia Policy was officially abolished in 1973.7.The Resource Management Act：The Resource Management Act reflects New Zealander s’ environmental awareness. Under the Act, laws governing land, air and water resources are combined together to ensure the sustainable management of natural resources. It focuses on the effects of human activities on the whole environment as well. The Act came into force in 1991. With it, New Zealand leads the World in environmental legislation.8.MMPR：MMPR stands for Mixed Member Proportional Representation. Under this new election system, each voter has two votes, the first one for a candidate in their electorate, the second for a political party. The second vote, when counted nation-wide, decides the number of seats each party will take in Parliament.9.Structures of government：Canada’s system o f government is based on the British system of parliamentary democracy. Like Britain, Canada is a monarchy. The official head of state is the Queen, but she is represented by an official called a Governor General as she doesn’t live in Ca nada. Canada is a federation with ten provinces and three territories. The gov ernment of the country is referred to as “the federal government”, to distinguish it fromthe lower level government of each province. The Canadian parliament is divided into the House of Commons and the Senate. The members of the House of Commons are elected, whereas the senators are appointed by the Governor General, who acts upon the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons forms the Government and the party leader becomes Prime Minister. The cabinet, chosen by the Prime Minister, is made up of senior MPs from the governing party.10.Immigration policy of Canada: Canada’s immigration policy is mainly based on practical economic considerations. Immigration meant importing labour, even today immigration policy is based on who the country needs to help it prosper. Another characteristic is that it accepts more readily groups who will more easily fit into the Canadian society. These make Canada look hard-headed rather than humanization. There have been changes in immigration regulations and practices, and the Canadian immigration record is significantly less racist than it used to be.11.Three factors that influence Canadian economy：First of all, Canadian economy is influenced by Canada’s physical geograph y, which is rich in natural resources; but the huge sizeand small population of the country has made extracting and transporting goods to markets difficult. The second influence is its neighbour, the United States, which has a much more powerful economy and a larger market. This means that trade has quite naturally developed and regions. The third influence is federal government’s intervention in the economy: the federal government has constantly intervened in the development of the country’s re sources and infrastructure,rather than allowing market forces to play a full role.12.Canada-US Free Trade Agreement：The Free Trade Agreement was negotiated between Canada and the United States when conservative leader Brian Malroney was the Prime Minister of Canada. FTA came into effect on January 1, 1989 with a schedule of removing tariff protection on most items by 1998. The idea was that freer international trade is beneficial to all. For Canada, this has been an “imperfect” and controversial agreement. One controversial aspect was the agreement to allow free movement of agriculture products, which put Canadian farmers into direct competition with their larger, more competitive American counterparts. Another controversial issue was the provision of a guarantee that US would retain access to Canadian energy supplies in case of emergency or changes in world supplies, which some critics said was a loss of Canadian sovereignty. Entering into the FTA also meant a new, reduce role in the economy for a government that has been by tradition, very interventionist. However, FTA will probably bring benefits in the long run as the world becomes more economically interdependent and more tolerant of the free trade principles envisioned by the GATT.13.Canada-US relations：The Canadian-US relationship isunique in many ways：First, they are two of the most open and interconnected societies in the world. The sovereignty of the two countries is less formal and concrete. Second, they share a long, undefended border. And they participated in the same military alliance, most notably, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Third, they also share long term interests in their economy. And to facilitate economic integration, the two countries established the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). However, in Canadian-US relationship, there are points where differences of opinion occur. Canadian-American relations have often been rocky because of disagreements over foreign policy.14.The first Nations:The First Nations are the native tribes of aboriginal people who lived in Canada before the European explorers settled. They were officially referred to as “the First Nations” because they are the original inhabit ants of the country, and because there is not one single group or culture—there are many “nations”, or tribes, which have different languages, customs and beliefs.1.Describe women’s situation in the colonial Australia.From 1788 to the 1830s, many wives of convicts made desperate efforts to be brought out to live with their husbands.For these wives, being left behind in the UK often meant deprivation even death, for them and their children. A women was claimed as a servant and /or a concubine. Convicts could claim the remaining women. The women who were not claimed claimed either sle pt on the streets or were sent to the “Female Factory”-a prison in Paramatta. Single women were at risk of being viciously treated. For women this vicious system meant that they were obliged to work and sleep with one man or bear the considerable risks of being shared between men.Women in the colony had little choice between an informal family relationship or prostitution.1.What are some of the key changes that have been introduced by the Australia government since 2007?Some key changes have been introduced since 2007. The government has withdrawn its troops from Iraq, although it maintains military support for the USA involvement in Afghanistan. The Labour Government also abandoned the Liberal Party’s commitment to a balanced budget by making major government investments in education, health, communications and the environment. The other major political change in the 21st century has been the increased popular support for the Green Party.3.How has New Zealand avoided the air, water and land pollution problems that other industrialized countries have?Favourable geographic features, low population and a late development of industry mean New Zealand has avoided the air, water and land pollution problems of more densely populated and heavily industrialized countries.Individuals and their local authorities reduce waste and recycle their rubbish. There are no nuclear power plants or weapons. New Zealand has significantly influenced international attitudes on ozone depletion, whaling, sustainable forestry and the relationship between trade and the environment issues, such as climate change, biodiversity, pollution and waste.4.What is so unique about Canadian-American relations?Canadian-American relationship is a unique one: they are two of the most open and inter connected societies in the world. Unlike relations between other states, the sovereignty of the two countries is less formal and concrete and it is pointed out that,fo r example, Canada doesn’t have a “policy” for dealing with its neighbour. Canadian-American relations have often been rocky because of disagreements over foreign policy. Two heads of state nearly coming to blows—but in a way it characterizes the closeness of the relationship between Canada and the USA. Like brothers, these two countries may quarrel sometimes, but their relationship is too important to ever be seriously jeopardized by disagreements over short- and medium- term issues.。