《英美概况》谢福之课后简答题及答案 Chapter 1 geography people and language 1.what is the full name of the U.K?
A: the full name is the united kingdom of great Britain and northern Ireland. 2.Why do tourists from all over the world like to go to Scotland?
A: because they like to enjoy the beautiful Scottish scenery, to drink the scotch whisky and to see the Scotsmen wearing kilts and playing bagpipes.
3.How many periods can the development of the English language be divided into and what
are they?
A:the development of English language be divided into three period :old English , middle English ,modern English .
4.Why did English become more important after the Black Death?
A: the laboring and merchant classes grew in economic and social important after the Black Death. So English also grew in importance compared to French .
Chapter 2 History
1.What are the two components of the British parliament? A: they are the House of Commons and the House of Lords. 2.What were some of Queen Victoria’s major achievements?
A:the Queen Victoria’s major achievements in almost every aspect : she promoted further industrial revolution, the building of railways and the growing of trade and commerce. By the end of her reign , British had developed to an empire including a quarter of the global population and nearly a quarter of the world’s landmass.
3.What were the two camps in Europe in world war I?
A: The central powers which included Germany ,Austria-Hungary , the ottoman empire and Bulgaria and allied powers which were mainly comprised of France , the Russian empire ,and British empire , Italy and the united states.
5.Why did Britain cooperate closely with the united states after world war II? A: because they were allied during the war and share the same worries about the former soviet union.
Chapter 3 government and the commonwealth 1.What the three functions of the house of commons?
A: the three functions are : to draft laws, to scrutinize, criticize and restrain the activities of the government policy.
2.Why is the Conservative party sometimes called the “Right”?
A: because the conservative party is supported by landowners and businessmen, who are often from the middle and upper-middle class.
3.What kind of public image dose liberal democrats have in Britain?
A:the liberal democrats is perceived as “middle” between the conservation and the labor party . it is comparatively flexible and pragmatic in its balance of the individual and
the social . it emphasizes the need for a change in Britain’s constitutional arrangements to make the government more democratic and accountable.
4.Why are independent candidates unlikely to win in the general election ? A; Because even if they were elected, they would be powerless in parliament. Therefore , it is
not possible for many people to vote for independent candidates. Chapter 4 economy
1.What was the negative aspect of Thatcher’s reform in the early 1980s? A: its negative aspect was a rapid increase in unemployment . in 1982,the unemployment rate reached the level of the great depression years, with three million people out of work.
2.What are the characteristics of Britain’s agriculture?
A:britain’s agriculture is characterized by a small portion of the population engaged in agriculture activities with a high degree of mechanization. Although it employs a mere 1% of the country’s labor force , it meets around 60% of the national demands.
3.What happened to Britain’s beef industry in the mid-1990s?
A: Britain’s beef industry was hit badly by BSE, resulting in a ban on beef exports in 1996.
4.What are some of the popular tourist attractions in Britain?
The popular tourist attractions in England include : The Dorset and the East Devon Coast, the Lake District, Stonehenge , Windsor Castle, University towns of Oxford and Cambridge, Tower of London ,St.Paul’s cathedral and so on .
Chapter 5 education ,media and holidays
1.What used to be the major functions of grammar schools and vocational schools in Britain?
The major functions of grammar schools were to train the most academically capable students and prepare them for university , whereas the major functions of vocational schools were to help less successful students to learn a trade.
2.What kind of subjects do Britain comprehensive schools provide?
Britain comprehensive schools provide a general education, offering both academic subjects like literature and science, and practical subjects like cooking and carpentry.
3.In what ways do British universities enjoy complete academic freedom?
British universities enjoy complete academic freedom because they can appoint their own staff, decide which students to admit, provide their own courses and award their own degrees.
4.How do the students in the open university receive their education?
The students follow university courses through textbooks, TV and radio broadcasts, correspondence ,video, and a network of study centers.
5.What role dose the media play in British leisure culture?
The media play an essential role in British leisure culture since it helps to shape the public’s opinion, determine people’s moral and political orientation and consolidate or undermine the rule or a government.
Chapter 6 literature
1.What are the three categories of Shakespeare’s play and their representatives?
Shakespeare’s plays fall into three categories: comedy, tragedy and historical play. The representatives of his comedies include A Midsummer Night’s Dream, The Merchant of Venice, As You Like It and Twelfth Night. His major historical plays include Richard Ⅲ, HenryⅣand Cleopatra . His great tragedies are represented by Hamlet, Othello, King Lear , Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet.
2.What is critical Realism?
critical Realism is a literary school which flourished in the 40s and early 50s of the 19th century .the critical realists described the chief traits of the society and criticized the capitalist system from a democratic viewpoint . the greatest English critical realist was
Charles Dickens .
3.What are the two new literary trends prevailing at the end of 19th century? The new literary trends that prevailed at the end of 19th century are neo-romanticism and aestheticism. Those who belong to neo-romanticism laid emphasis on the invention of exciting adventures and fascinating stories, and those of aestheticism believed in “art for art’s sake”.
4.What is stream of consciousness?
stream of consciousness is the writing technique which puts the unorganized flow of thought on page . writers who adopt this technique give precedence to the depiction of the characters’mental and emotional reactions to external events, rather than the events themselves. Chapter 7 society and culture
USA
Chapter 8 geography and people
1.How is the American population distributed?