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Text英国可以说是世界上最古老的代表的民主国家，可以在1000年追查根源。
其他国家也有长期的政治历史，但这些历史是由突发期显着，而经常是暴力，改变。
虽然英国也拥有了政治不稳定的时期相比，说，法国，美国，还是中国的国家建设进程一直是一个进化，而不是革命。
这种长期，不间断的历史仍然十分明显，在英国目前的政治体制和政治文化。
The Monarchy政府机构，是最古老的君主（由国王规则）。
这可以追溯到撒克逊人谁的，直到1066年诺曼征服公元5世纪的统治。
本女王伊丽莎白二世，是国王的直系后裔埃格伯特，谁团结在他的829统治英格兰。
君主的权力，主要是来自国王的“神权古代学说”。
有人认为，主权来自他从上帝的权威，不能从他的臣民。
由于这种神圣的权利，尽管有不同的家庭之间，有时谁坚持战斗，他们以合法的王位继承人，君主制的实际存在，很少受到质疑。
对于1000年英国有世袭的国王或女王作为国家元首，但有一个短暂的例外。
在17世纪有一个在英格兰与共和党的“圆颅内战”（即所谓的，因为男人不顾流行时尚和头顶的头发很短）由奥利弗克伦威尔，谁想要废除君主制，并要求领导保皇党谁它继续。
在罢黜国王查理一世在1642年，成功地圆颅党和公正十八年前的君主统治恢复。
虽然在理论上国王对他的球队的上帝在实践中，即使在中世纪，人们认为他不应该行使绝对的权力。
相反，主权应该愿意接受著名男性的意见。
国王是否愿意做领导之间的国王和教会一样强大，拥有土地的封建贵族，其他强大的集团的许多战役。
这是一个封建贵族和教会的反对约翰王（1199年至1216年的一些帮派）的政策。
这种反对如此强烈，国王最终给予了他们的自由和政治权利宪章，但其中世纪的大宪章拉丁名称命名。
大宪章放在国王的能力，他的皇室权力滥用的一些限制。
这仍然被视为英国的官方对公民权利的重要体现。
The Parliament这个词的“议会”的动词“来到往下谈”，即，讨论或交谈。
这个词是第一次使用在1236年正式描述封建贵族和县和偶尔的国王召见城镇代表聚会，如果他想筹集资金。
英语国家社会与文化入门（上）Unit 1 A Brief Introduction to the United Kingdom IThe full name of the country of UK is the Untied Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.UK includes 4 parts: the island of Great Britain is made up of England, Scotland and Wales, and Northern Ireland.Different people who belong to different class will tend to read different newspaper, watch different television programmes, speak with a different accent, do different things in their free-time, and have different expectations for their children.Before the 1st century AD Britain was made up of many tribal kingdoms of Celtic people.In 43 AD Britain was invaded by the Roman Empire and England and Wales became a part of the Roman Empire for nearly 400 years.After Roman time, Britain was under threat from outside, this time from Germanic peoples: the Angles, and the Saxon.In the 5th century AD it is said that a great leader appeared, united the British, and with his magical sword, Excalibur, drove the Saxons back. This is the story of King Arthur. According to legend Arthur gathered a company of knights to him and conflict between his knights led to Arthur creating the famous “round table” at which all would have equal precedence.Anglo-Saxon invaders were the forefathers of the English, the founders of “Angle-land” or “England” as it has become know.From the late 8th century on raiders from Scandinavia, the ferocious Vikings, threatened Britain’s shores.The next invaders were the Normans, from northern France, who were descendants of Vikings.Under William of Normandy they crossed the English Channel in 1066.William took the English throne, and became William the First of England.Robin Hood was a Saxon nobleman oppressed by the Normans, who became an outlaw, and with his band of “merry men” hid in the forest of Sherwood in the north midlands of England and they went out to rob from the rich to give to the poor.Charles the First’ attempt to overrule parliament in the 1640s led to a civil war in which parliamentary forces were victorious, and the king was executed. And then England was ruled by parliament’s leader, Oliver Cromwell.The largest city of Scotland is Glasgow and the capital city is Edinburgh.Scotland was not conquered either by the Romans or the Anglo-Saxons.Like England Scotland began to experience Viking raid in the 9th century.Under the leadership of Robert the Bruce, the Scots were victorious at the Battle of Bannockburn, leading to 300 years of full independence.In 1603, Queen Elizabeth the First of England died childless, and the next in line to the throne was James the Sixth of Scotland, so he also became James the First of England, uniting the two thrones.In 1707 by agreement of English and Scottish parliaments, Scotland joined the Union.The Scotland Act 1998 provided for the establishment of the Scottish Parliament and Executive.Scottish writes have given the world such well-known work as Walter Scott’s romances of highland Scotland and “Auld Lang Syne” (by Robert Burns)The capital city of Wales is Cardiff.Unit 2 A Brief Introduction to the United Kingdom IIThe capital city of Northern Ireland is Belfast.The most famous landmark of Northern Ireland is the “Giant’s causeway”, a rocky promontory made up of black hexagonal columns.From the time of Queen Elizabeth I the new settlers, loyal to the British crown and Protestant in religious persuasion, were granted land, position, and privileges which had been systematically take away from the indigenous, Roman Catholic population.“Great hatred, little room” was the way the modern poet W. B. Yeats described the situation. Until 1921 the full name of the UK was “The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland”, not only “Northern Ireland”, because the whole island of Ireland was politically integrated with Great Britain.The Easter Rising of 1916 was the most spectacular event, in which the rebels took over Dublin’s Post Office, forcing the British to retake it by military means.In 1919 a group calling itself the IRA (Irish Republican Army) expanded the fighting.In the end the conflict became too great to ignore, and as the Sinn Fein party, who were supporters of the Irish terrorists, gained most of the Irish seats in the British parliament, Irish independence became inevitable.In 1921 the southern 26 counties formed an independent “free state”, while the 6 north-eastern counties remained a part the UK.In 1969, the first British soldiers were seen on Northern Irish streets.The official IRA thought enough progress had been made that they could concentrate on a political process, and run candidates for elections, but a strong faction felt that armed force was the only way to get the British out, and separated from the officials, calling themselves the “Provisional IRA”.In 1971 the Northern Irish government took the desperate step of imprisoning terrorist suspects from both sides without trial, a policy known as “internment”, which targeted primarily Catholic men in the North.In 1972 468 people were killed in Northern Ireland and that day has now been mythologiesed as “Bloody Sunday”, an important symbol of British oppression.In 1973, an agreement was reached between the main political parties in Northern Ireland, and importantly, the British and Irish governments, which led to a new form for the Northern Irish Parliament, with a Power-Sharing mechanism.The Sinn Fein party spoke of a twin campaign for union with Ireland, both political and military, which they called the policy of “The Bullet and the Ballot Box”.As a result of multi-party negotiations, aided this time by the intervention of the United States Senator George Mitchell, the Good Friday Agreement known also the Belfast Agreement, emerged on 10 April 1998.Unit 3 The Government of the United KingdomBritain is arguably the oldest representative democracy in the world, with roots that can be traced over a thousand years.The oldest institution of government is the Monarchy.The power of the monarchy was largely derived from the ancient doctrine of the “divine right of kings”The opposition was so powerful the king finally granted a gang of feudal barons and the Church a charter of liberty and political rights, still know by its medieval Latin name of Magna Carta, which is still regarded as Britain’s key expression of the rights of citizens against the Crown.The civil war which brought the Roundheads to power in the 17th century was rooted in a dispute over the power of the king vis-à-vis Parliament.In 1689 Parliament passed the Bill of Rights which ensured that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament.In 1832, when a system for choosing the House of Commons by popular election replaced the monarch’s job of appointing representatives, the modern political system was born.The party with the most supporters in the Commons forms the government, and by tradition, the leader of that party becomes Prime Minister.Britain is both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy.British governance today is based upon the terms and conditions of the constitution.Israel and Britain are the only two countries without written constitutions of the sort which most countries have.The foundations of the British state are laid out in statute law, that is, laws passed by Parliament; the common laws, which are laws which have been established through common practice in the courts, not because Parliament has written them; and conventions, which are rules and practices which do not exist legally, but are nevertheless regarded as vital to the workings of government.Parliament is supreme in the British state because it alone has the power to change the terms of the Constitution.Strictly speaking, the Parliament today consists of the Queen, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.The role of the monarchy today is primarily to symbolize the tradition and unity of the British state.There are 724 Lords and 646 Members of Parliament in the House of Commons.Unit 4 Politics, Class and RaceIn 1928 it reached the current level of about 99% can vote (those excluded are Lords, certain categories of convicted criminals, the legally insane, and resident foreign citizens – except UK resident citizens of the Irish Republic)After a government has been in power for 5 years it has to resign and hold a “general election”, in which all British adults are given the chance to vote again for their constituency’s MP.Anyone who is eligible to vote can stand as an MP. It is necessary only to make a deposit of 500 pounds which is lost if the candidate does not receive at least 5% of the vote.There are three major national parties: The Conservative party and the Labour party are the two biggest, and any general election is really about which of those two is going to govern. But there is a third important party, the Liberal Democrats.The Labour party is the newest of these three, created by the growing trade union movementat the end of the nineteenth century.The Conservative party is the party that spend most time in power.The Liberal Democrats are the third biggest party, and to some extent may be seen as a party of the “middle”, occupying the ideological ground between the two main parties.Margaret Thatcher is the UK’s first woman Prime Minister.The car-worker probably reads a paper like The Sun: a newspaper with little heard news and more about TV soap operas, the Royal family, and sport. The university teacher might read The Guardian: a larger newspaper with longer stories, covering national and international news, “high” culture such as theatre and literature, and so on.Unit 5 The UK EconomyThe UK is now the world’s sixth largest economy.The UK is not only a member of the G7, G8, G20 major economies, but also a member of the World Trade Organization.Firstly, the country had gone heavily into debt in order to finance the war, selling many of its accumulated overseas assets, and borrowing large amounts from the United States and Canada.Secondly, the ear of empire was over. India, popularly known as “The Jewel in the Crown” of the British Empire, gained its independence in 1947.Thirdly, despite the relatively rapid and trouble-free process of decolonization, Britain has still forced to maintain a substantial and expensive military presence in many overseas locations until the process was completed.Fourthly, although Britain was quite badly damaged by German bombing during the war, its industry survived comparatively unaffected. This failure to invest sufficiently in industry also reflects a long-standing and continuing problem in the UK economy.National economies can be broken down into three main areas: “primary” industries, such as agriculture, fishing, and mining; “secondary” industries, which manufacture complex goods from those primary products; and tertiary industries, often described as services, such as banking, insurance, tourism, and the selling of goods.Britain’s agricultural sector is small but efficient, producing 58% of the UK’s food needs with only 2% of its workforce.Scottish ports land the majority of the fish caught.Three of the biggest ten companies in Britain are to be found in the energy sector: Shell, British Petroleum (BP), and British Gas.The World’s largest mining company, RTZ, is a UK company which operates mines all over the world.The British company Glaxo-Wellcome is the biggest drug company in the world.70% of the UK’s workforce are employed in the service sector.London is one of the top three financial centres in the world. It has the greatest concentration of foreign banks in the world, accounts for 20% of all international bank-loans, and is the world’s largest foreign exchange market. As well as banking, dealing in commodities and insurance are important processes in “The City”—the name given to the historic area at the centre of London where all this business is concentrated, at the heart of which is London Stock Exchange, one of the business share-dealing centres in the world.Aerospace is one of the UK’s highest value adding manufacturing sectors.Unit 6 British LiteratureThe major literature competition is the annual Booker Prize.Much early British writing was concerned with Christianity: Anglo-Saxons produced beautifully illustrated versions of the Bible: the most famous of these is the Book of Kells. One of the oldest of these early “Old English” litrary works is long poem from Anglo-Saxon times called Beowulf.One work from Norman Conquest times often studied today by middle school and college students is The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer, who was the first court poet to write in English.There was a general flowering of cultural and intellectual life in Europe during the 15th and 16th century which is known as “The Renaissance”.Christopher Marlowe’s most famous play is The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus, the story of a man who sold his soul to the devil in return for power.William Shakespeare is probably the best-known literary figure in the world.The tragedies include Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, and Macbeth.Among the comedies are The Taming of the Shrew, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, and The Tempest.A permanent monument of English literature style commemorates James’s name. He ordered the translation of the Holy Scriptures known as the King James Bible(1611).The Essays of Frances Bacon made popular in English a literary form widely practiced afterward.The literary giant of the 17th century, John Milton was much bound up in Puritan Revolution. The most famous pamphlets is Areopagitica. During his retirement from public life he produced his masterpieces: Paradise Lost, its sequel, Paradise Regained, and the poetic tragedy Samson Agonistes.Johnthan Swift’s name is linked with the fanciful account of four voyages known to us as Guliver’s Travels.Scotland produced a much-loved poet, Robert Burns, who wrote in Scottish dialect.Daniel Defoe ‘s first and greatest novel appeared in 1719, which was Robinson Crusoe, the most famous tale of shipwreck and solitary survival in all literature.Two poets offered what had been called romantic poetry’s “Declaration of Independence.” This was a volume of poems called Lyrical Ballads, written by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge.George Gordon, Lord Byron’s large body of work includes the partly autobiographical Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage. Don Juan owed its title.John Keats’s art is nowhere greater than in the two pomes “Ode on a Grecian Urn” and ”Ode to a Nightingale.”Percy Bysshe Shelley’s writing has a wide range. The lovely musical quality of his work appears in the fine verses of “Ode to the West Wind” and “To a Skylark”The spirit of Romanticism also occurred in the novel, notably in Mary Shelley’s (the poet Shelly’s wife) Frankenstein, the story of science gone wrong through the disastrous consequences of an arrogant scientist’s attempts to create life.Most of Sir Walter Scott’s themes came from medieval and Scottish history and he wrote a number of romantic novels.Jane Austen, who excelled at this form of writing, is indeed one of the greatest of all Englishnovelists. A delightful, almost flawless stylist, she has devoted admirers of her Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, and Emma, among other works.Perhaps the most famous literary family in British history are the Bronte sisters, and they too were influenced by the Romantic movement. Charlotte Bronte’s Jane Eyre and Emily’s Wuthering Heights are the most successful.Charles Dickens produced Pickwick Papers, Oliver Twist, David Copperfield and Great Expectations.Later in the 19th century Robert Louis Stevenson also wrote Scottish historical romances, The Adventures in Treasure Island and Kidnapped thrill readers young and old. His most famous short novel was The strange Case of Doctor Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.Among Thomas Hardy’s better-known novels are The Return of the Native, Tess of the D’urbervilles, and Jude the Obscure.20th century literature can be broadly divided into two stylistic periods: Modernism, and Postmodernism.One of the most famous of English modernist writers is Joseph Conrad, whose most famous novel is The Heart of Darkness.Virginia Woolf is another writer associated with Modernism, and one of the most famous writers of the century. Mrs. Dalloway, To the Lighthouse, and Orlando are among her best-known books.D.H. Lawrence wrote Sons and Lovers.Unit 7 British Education SystemMany people think school is just about teaching children what are often called “the three Rs” – “reading, riting and rithmetic”. But the purpose of the British education system is also to socialize children.The school (or college) tie is a clear marker of social class.Education in the UK is compulsory. Children are legally obliged to attend school from the age of 5 (4 in Northern Ireland) to 16.State schools are funded by local and central government. The government also sometimes assists schools established by religious groups.In the private sector there are independent schools which are commonly, but confusingly, called public schools. Independent schools receive their funding through the private sector and through tuition rates, with some government assistance.Between the ages of 5 to 11, pupils mainly attend state sector primary schools.From the age of 11 up to around the age of 19, students attend secondary schools.General Certificate of Secondary Education are the main means of assessing pupils’ progress in their final 2 years of compulsory education.Other pupils who decide not to go to university may choose to take vocational training.So far, the UK has only one privately funded university, the University of Buckingham. Oxford and Cambridge date from the 12th and 13 centuries.The Open University offers a non-traditional route for people to take university level courses and receive a university degree.Unit 8 British Foreign RelationsBritain was active in setting up the United Nations and, in recognition of its continuingimportance to world politics it was awarded a seat on the UN Security Council.The contemporary foreign policy of the UK is greatly influenced by its imperial history and also by its geopolitical traits.The Prime Minister and Cabinet decide on the general direction of Britain’s foreign policy. The main government department involved is of course the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.The Ministry of Defence, although it is considered less important than the FCO, is an important play.The Department of Trade and Industry is concerned with formulating international trade policy and managing British commercial relations with other countries.A less obvious, but extremely influential play in Britain’s foreign poly is the Treasury. Britain is one of the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, along with Russia, China, the US and France.In 1973 the United Kingdom joined the European Economic Community, now EU.Through its involvement in NATO, Britain was committed to European defence cooperation Britain is also a member of the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of states which is made up mostly of former British colonies.The keystone of British defence policy is its participation in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, more commonly known as NATO.Unit 9 The British MediaThe observer, which is still published every Sunday, first appeared in 1791, making it the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper, while The Times, which began publishing in 1785, is the United Kingdom’s oldest daily newspaper.This watchdog function, keeping an eye on the government, is one of the reasons why a free press is considered so important to the functioning of parliamentary democracy.The British media all must follow the Advertising Code which ensure that advertisements are legal, decent, honest and truthful; have a sense of responsibility for consumer and society; and respect the principles of fair competition.Until the 1980s, almost all the national newspapers had their headquarters on or around Fleet Street in London, and sometimes you will hear newspaper culture referred to still as “Fleet Street”, or even, sometimes, the Street of Shame, reflecting the birth of scandals which take place.While officially speaking the British press is “free” from government control and censorship and can print what it likes, there are limits to what will appear in the daily paper.The oldest and most popular soap, which began in the 1960s, is Coronation Street.The British Broadcasting Corporation – more familiarly known as the BBC or even “the Beeb” – us Britain’s main public service broadcaster.The BBC is funded by licence fees and viewers must buy a licence each year for their TV set. Unit 10 Sports, Holidays and Festivals in Britain“Football hooligans”, supporters of rival teams, sometimes clash before, during and after matches and occasionally run riot through the town, breaking windows and beating each other up.Wimbledon, actually a London suburb, is where the world’s best players gather to compete ongrass courts. It is one of the major events of the British sporting calendar and probably the most famous tennis event in the world.Cricket was one of the very first team sports in Britain to have organized rules and to be played according to the same rules nationally.The game of golf was invented by the Scottish.The true sport of British Kings and Queens is not skiing or golfing, but horse racing.There are two kinds of horse racing: flat racing, where horses and riders compete on a flat, oval track; and steeplechasing, which is racing either across the countryside, or around a course designed to represent the obstacles you might encounter in the countryside. Christmas, December 25th, is the biggest and best loved British holiday.There are three Christmas traditions which are particularly British: one is the Christmas Pantomime, a comical musical play.Another British Christmas tradition is to hear the Queen give her Christmas message to her realm over the television and radio.A third British tradition, which is also celebrated in countries with British heritages, is Boxing Day, which falls on the day after Christmas.For church goers it is Easter, not Christmas, which is the most important Christian festival. One of Britain’s most impressive and colourful festival happens on the second Saturday in June when the Queen’s Birthday is officially celebrated by “Trooping the Colour” around Buckingham Palace in London.The UK, unlike most countries, does not have a “national day”.One truly English holiday is Bonfire Night – sometimes called Guy Fawkes Night – celebrated in the early autumn.The Twelfth is the high point of what is known as the Marching Season, when Protestant “Orangemen” take to the streets wearing their traditional unifors of bowler hats, black suits and orange sashes, marching through the streets sing, banging durms and playing in marching bands.Northern Irish Catholics celebrate the birthday of the patron saint of Ireland, St Patrick, on March 17 each year.How Hogmanay is celebrated varies throughout Scotland, but one widely practiced is “first footing”.Each year Scottish people all over the world celebrate their most beloved national poet, Robert Burns, by holding a Burns Supper on the evening of his birthday.Halloween is a Scottish festival that comes from the great feast of the pagan Celts which marked the arrival of the winter half of the year.Wales has some of the oldest and richest literary, musical and poetic traditions in Europe. Unit 11 Land, People and HistorySeen from the air, the visitor’s first impression of Ireland is an intense green or rather mixture of greens, which changes little between summer and winter.Emigration did take place before the Great Famine, mostly from the northern part of Ireland, known as the province of Ulster.The event that triggered the Great Famine was a blight on the potato crop.The stereotype of the Irish in the British popular press of this period is of a people who were, at best, lazy, impractical, and dreamy; at worse, dirty, untrustworthy, and close to animals.Thus the Great Famine became a watershed in Irish history.And yet Ireland’s history has been one of invasions of vastly different peoples – Celts, Christians, Vikings, Normans, English – each of which has made a distinctive contribution to its present population.But for all the legacies of the Celts, it is their language that has proved the most lasting.With the language, the Celts brought an instrument of social and cultural unity to the island, which transcended political and social divisions.Along with their language, the Celts also brought a legal system.From around 800 onwards Viking marauders attacked Ireland, as well as England.During the course of the 13th century, the Normans were the first to attempt to impose on Ireland a centralized administration which mimicked the parliament and legal system and administrative practices of their native England.Following its slogans of “Liberty, Equality, Fraternity,” the Society of the United Irishmen was founded in 1791 to press for radical reform.After the defeat of the 1798 rebellion, the London government took drastic action to curtain any notions of Irish independence.The Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB; later known as the Irish Republican Army of IRA) was founded in 1858 to promote, by violence if necessary, Irish independence from Great Britain.To counter just such bloody and futile rebellions, a constitutional movement seeking Home Rule was instituted up by Issac Butt.The Home Rule bill was finally passed in 1914, but its implementation was shelved upon the outbreak of World War I.In 1916 the Irish Volunteers and the Irish Citizen Army staged another, and final, rebellion against British rule, which is called The Easter Rising.In December, 1921 the Anglo-Irish Treaty was signed, with the result that 26 counties gained independence as the new Irish Free State.Unit 12 Politics and EconomyIn structure, like most former colonies of Great Britain, the Irish Republic has a Prime Minister or Taoiseach and a Deputy Prime Minister or Tanaiste.Once elected, it is the Taoiseach who appoints a cabinet to execute the daily business of government.The Parliament or Dail frames and enacts all legislation for the country.Finally, the laws are enforced by an unarmed police force, called the Garda Siochana.Being a republic, rather than a monarchy, the government is headed by a President, who is elected directly by the people.Every citizen of 35 years of age or over usually is eligible to run for President.The President’s term of office is seven years. A President can be reelected once only.The executive powers of the State are exercised by, or on the authority of, the Government. The Government consists of the Taoiseach and the ministers that he or she appoints to the cabinet.The Parliament of Ireland is comprised of two houses: the Dail and the Seanad or the Senate. The elected system used in Ireland is called “proportional representation”.The civil service is divided into sixteen Government Departments, each headed by a Ministerappointed by the Taoiseach.The legal courts in Ireland are arranged in a hierarchy, while the District Court is at the bottom of the ladder, and then Circuit Court, the High Court and the Supreme Court is the court of final appeal.Ireland’s entrance into the EU in 1973 has transformed labour practice and given Ireland access to the Single Market.Mimicking the boom in Asia, the media called Ireland’s sudden wealth “The Celtic Tiger” economy.Unit 13 Irish Culture: How the Irish Live NowOn the one hand, the English political domination of Ireland has left the Republic with a secure and workable administrative, educational, and judicial system.On the other hand, the Irish are proud they do not have a monarchy: they think of themselves as citizens, not as subjects.In Ireland, the Catholic Church also exercised a firm hold over educational structure, over hospitals, over the media, and over the way people thought about themselves and their lives. What has changed dramatically in the last forty years has been the structure of Irish family life.The primary agent in effecting change in traditional family life has been the movement for women’s liberation.The communal facility in both city and countryside that is most widely patronized is the public house or “pub”.One of the reasons why these informal work practices are congenial is that there is little division in an Irish person’s life between his work and his social life.In Ireland, trade unions are an important part of job security.Traditionally, Irish education was undertaken by various religious orders, mostly Roman Catholic, with the result that forty years ago, almost three quarters of existing schools were “denominational” — that is, associated with one religious denomination or another.In 1996-1997 the Irish government extended free education to cover all public universities, as is common in most of European countries.In Ireland, education is compulsory for children aged six to fifteen years.The vast majority of children receive their primary education in “national schools”; i.e., state-aided schools.Most secondary schools are privately owned, many by Catholic religious communities — and are hence sectarian or denominational.Like the Chinese gao kao, the Leaving Certificate exams set by the Department of Education which are uniform for all Irish students.There are five public universities in the State.The University of Dublin comprises one college, Trinity College. This is the oldest university in the State, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I for the education of Protestants.Unit 14 Irish Culture: Language, Literature and ArtsThe language that is spoken universally in the Republic of Ireland is a version of standard。
英语国家社会与文化入门全文翻译A Brief Introduction to the United Kingdom该国，我们正在研究的全称是大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国。
这是一个什么在许多方面是一个复杂的国家复杂的名字。
大多数人都知道做些什么，因为它的庞大的海外帝国给它一个重要的国际作用，只是来到一个在未来数年年底，之后第二次世界大战。
然而，一些市民对英国知道（他们可能会呼吁干脆英国或错误，英格兰）可能不大如何最真实的英国人今天过自己的生活。
一方面，帝国的日子已经足够长的时间以前，只有老人记得他们的任何东西是生活中的重要性。
英国不再是一个帝国的国家，尽管其帝国的影响可能常常在遇到的各种方式，而不是在与50或更多曾是这个帝国的一部分，和国家之间的密切关系，至少它通过一个松散的维持（自愿）组织的联系称为英联邦国家。
但更重要的英国国际关系今天是欧洲联盟，其中英国1973年以来的成员，这是在考虑更有用现代英国强调它的作用作为一个欧洲国家，而不是其英联邦成员资格。
它仍然是一个相对富裕的国家，是7国集团成员的大型发达经济体。
另外一个旧帝国的作用明显成效在于弥补的英国人口本身。
从这些英联邦国家，这在20世纪50年代和60年代鼓励一些移民，已制作了其中1人在20个非欧洲种族。
他们自己或其父母或祖父母，出生在印度或巴基斯坦，加勒比国家，这些只是最常见的。
这将引入什么是对英国的章节关键主题：因为是大多数情况下，或所有，国家是不可能总结了一些简单的对话英国人民。
英国认为谁，很多人认为的英国绅士。
但是，这仅仅是一个旧有的从未适用于英国绝大多数人来说，没有什么真正的有效性今天。
英国是一个国家，一个单一的护照，和一个政府及对其所有的主权，但作为国家的大力顾名思义，它是由不同的元素组成。
它包括4一个国家内的部分国家：大不列颠岛是由英格兰，苏格兰和威尔士，北爱尔兰，一份关于爱尔兰邻近的岛屿省份，完成设置。
因此，在讨论英国和英国的一些考虑，必须使这些分歧，例如：一个来自苏格兰的女人不会高兴，如果我们打电话给她的英国绅士？她是苏格兰和女性，并认为她的身份从不同的男人和不同的英语。
UNIT31.Which of the following statements was correct around the time of the American Revolution? The American had the mixed blood of Europeans or their descendants.2. Which of the following was NOT one of the three forces that led to the modern development of Europe?The spiritual leadership of the Roman Catholic Church.3. The following were the main Reformation leaders exceptMartin Luther King4. The following were some of the characteristics of Protestantism exceptsalvation through the church.5. Which of the following American values did NOT come from Puritanism?separation of state and church.6. Lord Baltimore's feudal plan failed becausethe English king did not like the plan.7. The following were the founding fathers of the American Republic exceptWilliam Penn.8. The theory of American politics and the American Revolution originated mainly fromJohn Locke.9. Which of the following was NOT a denomination of Protestantism?Catholics.10. "No taxation without representation" was the rallying cry of “the people of the 13 colonies on the eve of the American Revolution.UNIT41. Which of the following statements was NOT correct? When the War of Independence was over, the relationships between the states and the national government were clearly defined.2. According to the author, the Articles of Confederation failed because of the following reasons. Which is not true?Some new states wanted to be free from the Union.3. Which of the following states refused to participate in the Constitutional Convention?Rhode Island.4. Which of the following statements was NOT correct? When the Constitution was written,t here was a Bill of Rights in the Constitution.5. Which of the following is the only branch that can make federal laws, and levy federal taxes? The legislative.6.Which of the following is NOT a power of the president?The president can make laws.7. The Bill of Rights consists of10 amendments added to the Constitution in 1791.8. Which of the following is NOT guaranteed in the Bill of Rights?The freedom of searching a person's home by police.9. The following were NOT written into the Constitution in 1787 exceptthe powers of the president.10. The New Deal was started byFranklin Roosevelt.UNIT 51. The first factory in the United States was a cotton textile mill in Pawtucket, in the state of Rhode Island.2. The “American system” of mass production was first used in United States.firearms industry3. The United States had the first standard paper currency in 1863.4. In which year was the United States rated NO.1 in terms of production capacity in the world? 19455. Which of the following is NOT considered as part of the service industry?Steelmaking6. The United States was rated forth in the world in terms of land area and the size of population.7. The United States produces as much as half of the world’ssoybeans and corn.8. Which of the following is generally considered as an important institutional factor that contributed to the success of American business and industry?Laissez-faire9. Who has extolled the virtues of farmers?Thomas Jefferson10. The latest technology that farmers have adopted iscomputersUNIT61. Which of the following was NOT a Protestant denomination?The Catholics2. Which of the following is unconstitutional in the United States?Public money is provided to support religious schools.3. Which of the following is NOT regarded as one of the three basic religious beliefs?Islamic4. Which of the following is true?Liberal Protestants and Jews join non-believers in maintaining that abortion is a basic right for women,5. Which of the following continues to have an all-male clergy?The Catholic Church6. Which of the following features is NOT distinctively American?There has been very much concentration on doctrine or religious argument in the US.7. In the United States, people go to church mainly for the following reasons except for finding a job in society.8. Which of the following statement is NOT correct according to the author?Protestant Church is an established church by law in the US.UNIT 71. Which of the following was a writer of the post-Revolutionary period?Washington Irving2. Which of the following is considered an American masterpiece?Moby Dick3. Which of the following was written by Henry David Thoreau?Walden4. Whitman’s poetry has the following characteristics exceptfragmented haunting images5. Mark Twain’s work are characterized by the following exceptegotism6. Three of the following are characteristics of Emily Dickinson’s poems. Which one is NOT? Her poems are very long and powerful.7. Henry James was mainly interested in writing about American living in Europe.8. Sherwood Anderson is NOT included in the group of naturalists.9. Three of the following authors are Noble Prize winners. Which one is NOT?F.Scott Fitzgerald.10. John Steinbeck does NOT belong to the ‘Lost Generation’.11. Lig ht in August was NOT written by Hemingway.12. Which of the following is NOT an African-American author?Alan Ginsberg13. The following author were women writers who wrote novels in the 19th and early 20th century with the exception ofWilla Cather14. The following writers represent new American voices exceptT.S.Eliot15. Among the following Native American writers, whose publications are regarded as sparking the beginning of the Native American Renaissance?Scott Momaday’sUNIT 81.Which of the following subjects are NOT offered to elementary school students?Politics and business education.2. The expenditure in American public schools is guided or decided by _______.boards of education3. In the United States school systems, which of the following divisions is true?Elementary school, secondary school.4. Which of the following is NOT mentioned in American higher education?Research institutions5. Three of the following factors have contributed to the flourishing of large universities in America, which is the exception?Large universities offer scholarships to all students.6. The most important reason for students wanting to get into more desirable institutions because they find it easy for them to get jobs after having graduated from one of them7. In order to go to university, secondary school students must meet the following requirements except that _______.they pass the college entrance examinations8. Three of the following universities have large endowments from wealthy benefactors. Which is the exception?The State University of New York9. Both public and private universities depend on the following sources of income except _______. Investment10. To get a bachelor's degree, an undergraduate student is required to do the following except taking certain subjects such as history, language and philosophyUNIT 91. Black American sang the anthem of the civil rights movement, ______affirming their commitment to fight racial prejudice.We Shall Overcome!2. The most notorious terrorist group against black civil rights workers in the South was known as Ku Klux Klan.3. The reason why many young people were involved in the social movements of the 1960s was thatthey resented traditional white male values in US society4. In addition to such tactics as sit-ins, young students also added ______to educate people about war in Vietnam.Teach-in5. According to the author, three civil rights groups provided the leadership, the tactics, and the people to fight against Southern segregation. Which is the exception?The students for a democratic society6. A historic moment of the civil rights movement was the March on Washington of August 28, 1963 when ______delivered his “I Have a Dream”Martin Luther King, Jr.7. In January 1965, President Johnson declared “_______”to eliminate poverty “by opening to everyone the opportunity to live in decency and dignity.”War on poverty8. Unlike Martin Luther King, _______the chief spokesperson of Black Muslins advocated violence in self defense and black pride.Malcolm X9.During the early stages of the civil rights movement, the major integration strategy initiated by the Congress of Racial Equality was known as _____to integrate interstate buses and bus station in the South.Freedom rides10. Due to his firm belief in nonviolent peaceful protest in the spirit of India’s leader Gandhi, _______was awarded the Noble Peace Prize in 1964.Martin Luther King,Jr.11. The one group within the counter culture best known for their pursuit of happiness as their only goal in life was called____the Hippies12. In the 1960s, feminism was reborn. Many women were dissatisfied with their lives, and in 1963, with the publication of _______by _________, they found a voice.The Feminine Mystique, Betty FriedanUNIT 101. Which of the following statement is NOT true about blacks after the 1960s?Blacks felt that they could be fully integrated into the mainstream of American life.2. the main factor contributing to the widening income gap between blacks and whites in the 1970s was _____black had low position and low pay in the workplace hierarchy3. Which of the following is NOT the reason for the higher arrest rates among minority groups? The aggressive nature of these groups.4. Which of the following does NOT belong to the white-collar crime?Robbery5. Which of the following statement is NOT true?The Northern states did not have racial discrimination.6. Accoding to the text, which of the following is NOT a dysfunction caused by drug abuse? Drug abuse is a major cause of unemployment.7. If white-collar crimes were included in the Crime Index, the profile of a typical criminal in the United States would be the following EXCEPTliving near city centers8. Which of the following used human beings as guinea pigs to test drugs like LSD?The CIAUNIT111. When did the word stereotype come into use in English?Early 17th century2. Which organization in the United States demonstrated strongly against any laws that might restrict gun ownership?The NRA (national Rifle Association)3. Which of the following websites are meant to cater to young tastes?Facebook4. Who was the author of the popular play The Melting Pot which was associated with life in America since the late 18th century?Israel Zangwill5. What was the major historical event that resulted in the separation of the Protestants from the Roman Catholic Church?The 16th-century Reformation6. Which of the following expressions represents the core value of the mainstream society in the USA?Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.7. Which of the following was President Franklin D.Roosevelt’s main concern?Social justice8. According to the author, the mosaic metaphor for American image has one fatal flaw. What is it?American is not open to change .9.The internet has several characteristics that reflect life in the USA today. Which one is NOT? People can freely download MP3 music10. Which of the following institution is responsible for the making of the Internet?The US military11. Free use of the Internet in the US responds to the basic American values, except that _____it doesn’t help create material wealth.12. Which of the following helps theorize the concept of Fraternity? Karl Marx。
英语国家社会与文化入门前言：在综合英语中，以往英美文化概况占40分，在2014年占到30分。
2010年地理、历史、政治、社会生活、文学、科技都涉及到了，偏重的话没有，几乎分值差不多。
从近五年（2009年至2014年）来看，这部分比跟专八难一些，而且题型不同。
英美概况就把课文中的重点提取出来，加上课后习题，就已经够了。
但是鉴于近年来这部分的考到课外的也比较多，所以建议在看外给定的参考书之外，也买《星火专八人文知识》那本来看看，并做完里面的练习，因为2012年有些选择题是从里面原题出的。
首先我们先来看看近四年来英美概况部分的题型。
2009年—2014年英美概况题型—————————————————————————————————————2009年：判断，填空，作家与作品连线2010年：填空，作家与作品连线，简答题2011年：选择题，填空，简答题2012年：选择题，填空，简答题2013年：填空题，判断，问答题2014年：填空题，判断，问答题—————————————————————————————————————从上表可以看出，近几年来该部分的题型还是一直有在变化，但是不变的是考点，把考点记住了，随便你怎么考。
你看课后习题，出题点就是本文的重点了。
其实你要好好看课后习题，把每一题的知识点都要把握住，特别是做错的题。
好，接下来我们来看看这份弥足珍贵的英美概况笔记：该笔记完全按照《英语国家社会与文化》（第三版）（朱永涛著）上下两册书编写的。
这两本书也是华南师范大学外国语言文化学院研究生入学考试指定的参考书之一。
因此，为了考个好分数，这两本书不得不看，而且不得不讲效率地看。
该笔记一共40个章节，但不是与课本设置的章节一一对应：—————————————————————————————————————课本：上册Chapter 1-20 （英国、爱尔兰、澳大利亚）下册Chapter 1-20 （新西兰、美国、加拿大）笔记：Chapter 1-12（美国）Chapter 13-24（英国）Chapter 25-28 （澳大利亚）Chapter 29-30（新西兰）Chapter 31-36（加拿大）Chapter 37-40（爱尔兰）—————————————————————————————————————笔记的章节之所以这样设置是有道理的，把美国与英国放在前面是因为这两个国家是重考点出现最频繁的国家，俗话说“一年之计在于春，一天之计在于晨”，不过这跟本文没有任何联系。
