英语国家概况期末考查试题

英语国家概况期末考查试题

专业年级：12翻译2班 学号：20124312 姓名：曹忠慧 成绩：

I. Please comment on the rise and fall of British Empire.

Colonization of Newfoundland, the first British colony overseas, in 1583 marked the

beginning of the British Empire. By 1873, Britain had long been an empire which

included the colonies in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and many small states

in the West Indies. By the end of the 19th century, the British Empire included a

quarter of the global population and nearly a quarter of the world’s landmass. During

the mid-19th century, the British government consolidated the existing colonies by

bringing them under the direct control of the government. Before World War I, Britain

had the largest colonial empire in the world. However, Britain suffered great loss to its

manpower in the two World Wars and exhausted its reserves of gold, dollars and

overseas investment. Most of Britain’s colonies gained independence since the 1940s,

which inevitably led to the fall of the Empire.

II. List the major wars in American History from colonial period to the first half

of the 20th century and comment on their influence on America’s development.

1. The Revolutionary War lasted from 1775-1783. This fight between Great Britain

and its thirteen colonies was the result of years of growing conflict. After the French

and Indian War that occurred between1754-1763, the British government began

requiring the colonies to pay higher taxes. Over time, protests and conflict led to a

tightening of control by the Mother Country. Beginning with the fighting at Lexington

and Concord in April 1775, open warfare broke out. On October 19, 1781, the British

soldiers were forced to surrender and the war came to an end. The British and the

Americans made formal peace and in 1783 they signed the Treaty of Paris. With the

signing of this treaty, the United States of America won its independence.

2. The Civil War which lasted from 1861 to 1865 divided the United States to such an

extent that its impact can still be felt over 140 years later. Many of the major causes of

the war were set from the inception of the Constitution. The battles, both large and

small, were horribly bloody and resulted in over 600,000 deaths and over 450,000

injuries. Accordingly, on January 1,1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation

Proclamation, which granted freedom to all slaves including those in areas still

controlled by the Confederacy. The war resolved two fundamental issues. Slavery was

completely abolished and America became not a collection of semi-independent states,

but a single, indivisible nation.

3. World War I was fought between 1914 and 1918, though the United States did not

enter the war until 1917. The causes of World War I are complicated and based on

years of entangling alliances and competition between nations. After World War I,

America saw a short-term development in the 1920s, but unexpectedly, the Great

Depression broke out.

4. When events began happening in Europe that would eventually lead to World War

II, many Americans took an increasingly hard line towards getting involved. World

War I had caused an increased desire for isolationism amongst the American people.

However, the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 led to America's involvement in the

war. During the war, the development of the American economy reached a higher

stage. As a result, America became the strongest power in the Western world.

5. The Cold War was a stand-off between the two major superpowers left at the end of

World War II: the United States and the Soviet Union. They both tried to further their

own ends by influencing nations around the world. The period was marked by conflict

and increasing tension that only resolved with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the break

up of the Soviet Union in 1991.

6. Both Korea and Vietnam were "hot" wars that occured during the Cold War era. In

both of the conflicts, America was fighting overseas to try and stop the spread of

communism. Unfortunately, neither war resulted in victory for the United States and

both led to increased dissension amongst the American people. The war greatly

weakened America and sharpened the country’s internal contradictions.

III. What are the political systems in UK and in the United States?

Britain is both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. Its

government system or so-called the Westminster system has directly influenced the

political system of many other countries. The main characteristic is the doctrine of

Parliamentary supremacy 、the core of the power is the cabinet、clearance monarch