英美概况总.doc

Canada
Geography
Canada makes up 41 percent of North America.
The northernmost perminant settlement is in Canada, Canadian Forces Station (CFS) Alert on the northern tip of Ellesmere Island, just 834 kilometres from the North Pole
Canada is the world’s second largest province or territory, after Russia.
Even with its size, Canada is one of the lowest population density of any of the provinces or territories in the world.
History
The Vikings were the first known Europeans to have settled in Canada, several centuries before Columbus, though their settlements did not last.
The French were the first Europeans to make lasting settlements, starting with Arcadia and Quebec.
England gained control over Canada by the 1763 Treaty of Paris after they defeated France in the French and Indian wars.
The United States invaded Canada during the war of 1812.
The road to Canada’s independence started with the 1840 Act of Union.
Culture
The Inuit, better known as the Eskimos, are one of the many native tribes of Canada.
The Hudson Bay Company, which began with the Canadian fur trade, is the oldest company in North America.
The French of Quebec struggles with desires to become independent.
Ecology
The moose is native to Canada and a national symbol, appearing in the coat of arms of several provinces.
The Canadian goose is often to be seen as it migrates south for the winter.
Polar Bears live in the cold artic parts of Canada.
了解美国到内战的历史
１．Christopher Columbus (1451-1506) was an Italian explorer who sailed across the Atlantic Ocean in 1492, hoping to find a route to India (in order to trade for spices). He made a total of four trips to the Caribbean and South America during the years 1492-1504, sailing for King Ferdinand II and Queen Isabella of Spain. On his first trip, Columbus led an expedition with three ships, the Niña, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria.
2．Vespucci, Amerigo
Amerigo Vespucci (1454-1512) was an Italian explorer who was the first person to realize that the Americas were separate from the continent of Asia. America was named for him in 1507, when the German mapmaker Martin Waldseemüller, printed the first map that used the name America for the New World.
3. Mayflower
The Mayflower was the name of the ship in which the 102 Pilgrims sailed from England to what is now Massachusetts, on the northeastern coast of the USA. The Pilgrims landed on December 11, 1620.
4．colonies
1. The thirteen colonies were colonies of what country? _______________________________
2. Which colony was farthest north? _______________________________
3. Which colony was farthest south? ____________________________
4. The colonies were bounded by the Appalachian Mountains on the west. What ocean bordered the colonies on the east? ______________________________________________
5. The oldest colony was Virginia (founded in 1607). Which colony was just south of Virginia? ______________________________
6. The colony of Virginia contained what are now the states of Virginia and West Virginia. What colony bordered Virginia to the northeast? ______________________________
7. The colony of Massachusetts was composed of what are now the states of Massachusetts and Maine. What colony was between the two parts of Massachusetts? ______________________________
8. What colony was located east of Connecticut? ______________________________
9. The colony of New York contained what are now the states of Vermont and New York. What two colonies bordered the colony of New York on the south? ______________________________ and ______________________________
10. In what year did the 13 colonies declare their independence from Britain? _______________
5. Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence is a document drafted by Thomas Jefferson and issued on 4th of July, 1776, in which the 13 United Colonies declared that they were free and not subject to the government of Great Britain.
6. American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (1775-1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was a war started by the 13 colonies in North America, who wanted their indpendence from Great Britian. The colonists revolted against British rule and taxation without representation. The war began on April 19, when British regulars fired on the Minutemen of Lexington, Mass.
France, Spain, and the Netherlands helped the colonists against Britian. In 1783, the Treaty of Paris formalized the independence of the United States of America.
7.Founding Fathers
The the "Founding Fathers" of the USA are those men who participated in the creation of the United States of America and the US Constitution. Some of the more famous of these writers and signers of the Declaration of Independence and/or the US Constitution are George Washington (the first President of the USA), Thomas Jefferson, James Madison (the fourth President of the USA), Benjamin Franklin, John Adams, John Hancock, Alexander Hamilton, and others.
8. Civil War
The US Civil War (April 12, 1861 - April 9, 1865) was a deadly conflict fought within the USA. The 11 southern US states (who called themselves the Confederate States of America) wanted to leave the United States of America over issues of slavery and states' rights (the exact cause of the Civil War is still hotly debated, but the South wanted to continue owning slaves, who labored on cotton plantations, and did not want the Federal Government to interfere with their local laws).
The Confederacy fought the Union (the 23 northern US states). The Civil War began soon after President Abraham Lincoln was elected; Lincoln opposed the expansion of slavery into new US states. The war began on April 12, 1861, when Confederate troops attaked Fort Sumter, South Carolina. The South did well at the start of the war, but began to lose to
the North around 1863 (the time of the Battle of Gettysburg in Pennsylvania).
Lincoln was assassinated soon before the end of the war. During the Civil War, over half a million Americans died and almost one million were injured. On April 9, 1865, the southern General Robert E. Lee surrendered to the nothern General Ulysses S. Grant. The North won the war, and slavery in the USA was abolished.
Gettysburg Address
The Gettysburg Address was a short speech given by President Abraham Lincoln at the dedication of the National Cemetary at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, during the Civil War (November 1863). In his two-minute speech, Linoln stated how a country must be dedicated to human freedom in order to survive. Lincoln's historic speech follows:
"Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth, upon this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal.
Now we are engaged in a great civil war, testing whether that nation, or any nation, so conceived, and so dedicated, can long endure. We are met here on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of it as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live. It is altogether fitting and proper that we should do this.
But in a larger sense we can not dedicate -- we can not consecrate -- we can not hallow this ground. The brave men, living and dead, who struggled, here, have consecrated it far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember, what we say here, but can never forget what they did here. It is for us, the living, rather to be dedicated here to the unfinished work which they have, thus far, so nobly carried on. It is rather for us to be here dedicated to the great task remaining before us -- that from these honored dead we take increased devotion to that cause for which they here gave the last full measure of devotion -- that we here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain; that this nation shall have a new birth of freedom; and that this government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth."
1.Ku Klux klan
Ku Klux Klan, often abbreviated KKK and informally known as the Klan, is the name of three distinct past and present far-right[5][6][7][8] organizations in the United States, which have advocated extremist reactionary currents such as white supremacy, white nationalism, and anti-immigration, historically expressed through terrorism.[
6. Why did USA enter the World war II?
7. Great Depression
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October, 1929 and rapidly spread worldwide. The market crash marked the beginning of a decade of high unemployment, poverty, low profits, deflation, plunging farm incomes, and lost opportunities for economic growth and personal advancement. Although its causes are still uncertain and controversial, the net effect was a sudden and general loss of confidence in the economic future.[1
8. New Deal
The New Deal was a series of economic programs implemented in the United States between 1933 and 1936. They were passed by the U.S. Congress during the first term of President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The programs were Roosevelt's responses to the Great Depression, and focused on what historians call the "3 Rs": Relief, Recovery, and Reform.
11. The Black American Civil Rights
King Jr., Martin Luther
Martin Luther King, Jr. (1929-1968) was a great man who worked for racial equality in the USA. He was born on January 15, 1929, in Atlanta, Georgia. After graduating from college and getting married, Dr. King became a minister and moved to Alabama. During the 1950's, Dr. King became active in the movement for civil rights and racial equality. He participated in the Montgomery, Alabama, bus boycott and many other peaceful demonstrations that protested the unfair treatment of African-Americans. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964. Dr. King was assassinated on April 4, 1968, in Memphis, Tennessee. Commemorating the life of a tremendously important leader, we celebrate Martin Luther King Day each year in January.
14'Parks, Rosa
Rosa Parks (February 4, 1913 - October 24, 2005) was a pivotal figure in the fight for civil rights. On December 1, 1955, a Montgomery, Alabama, bus driver ordered Mrs. Parks to give up her seat to a white man. When she refused, she was fined and arrested. This incident prompted a city-wide bus boycott, which eventually resulted in a Supreme Court ruling that segregation on city buses is unconstitutional.
Pre-test
1. What is the most important river in England? The Thames
2. Which season is generally regarded the best in Britain? summer
3. What’s the most important port in Great Britain? London
4. What does the term “old university” in Britain refer to? Oxbridge
Oxford & Cambridge (p.191/194)
5. What are the three academic degrees?
BA, BS; MA, MS; Ph. D (MBA---NBA)
Bachelor’s / Master’s/ Doctor’s Degrees
6. What is Reuters? news service/ agency
7. What does BBC stand for? (p.212/211)
radio company
British Broadcasting Corporation (1922)
B.B.C. World Service
8. What is the most typical British sport?
cricket (p.215)
9. Is it possible for the young people to get married without their parents’ consent? Y
10. What is the most influential character of the English people? exclusiveness
(p.278/287)
11. What is TOEFL?
Test of English as a Foreign Language
GRE --- Graduate Record Examination
IELTS---International English Language Testing System
雅思---国际英语语言测试系统
12. What is the “Stars & Stripes”?
national flag of U.S.A.
13. What is the oldest national park in America? Yellowstone national park
14. What is the main river in America?
the Mississippi
15. Which city is regarded as the traditional “melting pot” in America? New York
16. What is the oldest university in America? Harvard
17. What is the largest city in America?
New York
18. What is Hollywood famous for?
film-making
19. What do you think is the most typical American food?
Fast food/ hamburgers & hot-dogs
20. What do you think is the most serious social problem in America?
Racial discrimination/ crime/
The gap between the rich & the poor
美国价值观
AMERICAN VALUES
If you asked most Americans what the cultural values in the U.S. are, you might get some blank stares, or a statement of some basic beliefs. The question may seem simple, but the answer is quite complex. In a society as highly diverse as the United States, there is likely to be a multitude of answers.
American culture has been enriched by the values and belief systems of virtually every part of the world. Consequently, it is impossible to be comprehensive. Nevertheless, a few selected values are at the core of the American value system.
Individual Freedom
The one value that nearly every American would agree upon is individual freedom. Whether you call it individual freedom, individualism, or independence, it is the cornerstone of American values. It permeates every aspect of our society.
The concept of an individual's having control over his/her own destiny influenced the type of government that was established here, and individual rights are guaranteed in the United States Constitution (the supreme law of the land).
These rights are so protected in our judicial system that, even though Americans may complain that criminals sometimes "get away with murder," most people believe it is better to free a few guilty persons than to imprison one person who is innocent.
While our economic system may be dominated by large corporations, the majority of American businesses are small, and many are owned by an individual or a family. It is part of the "American dream" to "be your own boss," and being an entrepreneur is one of the most appealing ways to improve one's economic future.
Choice in Education
Education is often regarded as the key to opportunity, including financial security. Americans take a pragmatic approach to learning, so what one learns outside the classroom through internships, extracurricular activities and the like is often considered as important as what is learned in the classroom. Consequently, lifelong learning is valued which results in many adult and continuing education programs.
Americans have many choices. In school they decide their major field of study, perhaps with or without their parents' influence, and students even get to select some of their courses. These "elective" courses often confuse foreign students who may expect a more rigid curriculum.
The belief that Americans should "be all that you can be" emanates from our Protestant heritage. Since the majority of the early settlers were Protestant, they believed that they had a responsibility to improve themselves, to be the best they could be, to develop their talents, and to help their neighbors. These convictions have not only influenced our educational system, but are often reflected in U.S. foreign policy. What some might consider meddling in other people's af