英语国家概况课程设计.doc

华南农业大学珠江学院
《英语国家概况》课程测评设计

系： 外国语系 年级专业：2013级商务英语1303班

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提交日期： 2016年12月20日 成绩评定：

A Guide to English-Speaking Countries
I The United Kongdom of Great Britain

1.1Geography, People and Language
1.1.1 Geography
Ÿ latitudes 49°N and 61°N and longitudes 8° W to 2°E
ŸAbout 243000 square kilometers
Ÿ England,Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland
ŸThe longest river:Severn River
The largest Lake in the British lsles:Lough Neagh
ŸThe River Thames:① the longest river in England and the second longest in the United Kingdom②a historical landmark in the city of London. Climate: Temperate, with warm summers, cool winters and plentiful precipitation, Winter fog, Rainy days, Instability/Changeability
Major Cities:
London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom, the political, industrial,cultural and financial center of the country ,also is the one of the world’s leading banking and financial centers.
(Big Ben, Westminster Abbey, The Palace of Westminster,Guildhall,Hyde Paris, Buckingham Palace, Tower Bridge, London Eye)
◆ Edinburgh is the capital of Scotland.the city is administrative,financial,legal,medical and insurance center of Scotland,it has beautiful scenery and renowned architecture
Landmarks ＆Symbols of Edinburgh: Edinburgh castle, Palace of Holyrood.
◆ Cardiff is the capital city of Wales for 58 years ,is the youngest capital city in Europe.one of the most fashionable cities in the United Kingdom.
◆ Belfast is the largest city and the capital of northern Ireland ,is an important historic city.
1.1.2People
Overall population: about 63 million
Immigrants:Italians,Greeks,Australians,New Zealanders,etc.
1.1.3 Language
ŸOld English（5th~11th）
ŸMiddle English（11th~15th）
ŸModern English（15th~）
ŸStandard English

1.2 History
1.2.1 The Founding of the Nation
Roman Britain and the Anglo-Saxons:
Prehistoric Period(history undocumented)
Celtic Britain(5th—8th Century BC)
The name of Britain—Britons
Roman Britain(43 AD—5 th Century)
Julius Caesar invaded Britain
The Anglo-Saxon Invasion(5th—8th Century)
Germanic people &English&Roman Christianty
St.Augustine:founded the Christianchurchin southern England

Danish Invasion(8th Century—1066)
Alfred the Great
The Norman Conquest
The military conquest of England by William

Feudal Society: ŒGreat Charter Brith of Parliament ŽHundred Years’ War(1337-1453) The War of the Roses(1455-1485)

1.2.2 Transition to the Modern Age
Religious Reformation
2 religious camps:Catholic and Protestant
Immediate cause:Herry VIII’s divorce
Act of Supremacy:Herry VIII—“the only supreme head of the church of England”
In essence, the Reformation was a political movement in a religious guise.
Golden Age of English History

The Civil War
The civil war(1642-1651):the monarchy was abolished
The Commonwealth(1649-1660)
Parliament had Charles II as king of England. This put an end to the Commonwealth.

Restoration and the Glorious Revolution
1661,Charles II:to restore the old social order
1685,James II: to reestablish Catholicism
Bill of Rights:limiting the power of the monarch and guaranteeing the authority of Parliament

The Industrial Revolution
Seven Year’s War1756-1763)
The Industrial Revoltuion took place first in Britain for the following reasons:huge market
1.2.3The Rise and Fall of the British Empire
First British Empire: 19th Century
Second British Empire during the Victorian Age:Mid-and late-19th Century
World War I:

Most countries support the Allies Powers and Allies Powers won.The cost of the war for Britaini was great.
World War II：

Germany-launching a plan to conquer Europe
Britain-appeasement
The Fall of the Empire:
Independence movement—India,Pakistan,Burma,Malaya,and Egyt
1.2.4 Britain since World War II

1.3 Government and the Commonwealth
1.3.1 Constitution
British Constitution is made up of:Statutory Law/Common Law/Conventions
1.3.2 Government
ŸThe Legislature(Basic Structure of UK Central Government)
Parliament(the law-making body of Britain& the parliament consists of the King or Queen, the House of Lords, the House of Commons)
Queen(Queen Elizabeth II is a “constitutional monarch”)
The House of the Lords(the Upper House):
The House of Commons:to pass laws,bills and acts of Parliament/to scrutinize,criticize and restrain the actions of the government/ to influence the future government policy)
ŸThe Executive: head of the government
The Cabinet:supreme decision-making body in the British government Privy Council (its main duty is to give advice)
ŸThe Judiciary (two branches of law: Civil law & Criminal law)
1.3.3 Political Parties
ŸOverall Introduction
Comparative Description on the two major parties

Conservative Party
Labor Party
Development

From Tories(a political group which appeared under King Charles II)

ByUnionists,liberals,socialists and the Fabian Society

Time

The middle of the 19 th century(old)

In 1990(young)

Characteristics

Right wing party They stand for private enterprise and freedom from state control.

Left wing party They stand for national and communal growth.

Supporters

Middle & upper-middle class People of higher position

Working calss and common people relatively poor or underprivileged

Right (Margaret Thatcher)
Left(Tony Blair/Gordon Brown)
1.3.4 Election
Held every five years in the 646 constituencies
1.3.5The Commonwealth
ŸOrigin of the Commonwealth:in 1949,”British” was dropped from the title of “Commonwealth”àthe London Declaration accepted and recognized India’s continued membership as a republic.àFrom 1960 onwards ,new members joined the Commonwealth.
ŸCharacteristics and Functions:a voluntary association of the independent sovereign states/to advocate democracy,human rights,and to promote economic cooperation and growth of its members
ŸMembers:an organization composed of 53 states in 2005/a population of approximately 1.8billion people ,some 30 percent of the world’s total population
ŸOrganizations:The headquarters are all located in London/the Commonwealth Secretariat/Commonwealth Ministers’Meeting held annually.
ŸCommonwealth Day:the second Monday in March every year/an opportunity to promote understanding of global issues,internatonal cooperation and the efforts to improve the lives of its 1.8 billion citizens.

1.4 Economy
1.4.1 Recent History of British Economy
Group of 8:a forum for the governments of the world’s eight wealthiest countires that originated in 1975.
Economic decline(after world war II)àcauses:two world war great economic lossBritain failed to invest in industry after World War II
Policies :(mixed economy ) & during the 20 th century the government has become involved in the economy through introduction of social welfare policies and laws to regulate industrial relations.
1945-1979:result:Britain’s economic growth fell behind that of western European countries
1979-1997:result:Britain’s economic growth still lagged behind/in 1997,the labor party Tony Blair (the “Third Way”) Result: Britain’s economic growth surpassed other major European countries
1.4.2 Current British Economy
The world’s fifth largest economy
Natural Resources & Infrastructures:Principal resources—oil and gas/Large amount of coal
Agriculture：Mild climate-favorable environment for agriculture and stock raising.
Energy Production: (Shell、British Petroleum、British Gas)
Services industries: the strongest performing sector in the UK economy.
Finance:
London known as the world’s leading international financial centre
‚The London foreign exchange market is the largest in the world
ƒFund Management „Securities Dealing
1.5 Education, Media and Holiday
1.5.1 Education
ŸEducation Policy:
Compulsory education Comprehensive schools/Grammar schools/Vocational schools
Subjects : mathematics, English, science, geography, history, technology, music, arts, physical education and a foreign language.
ŸEducational System
Primary and Secondary Education : (State system—local authority maintained / Independent system—Public schools)
Independent system—— famous schools:Eton ,Harrow and Winchester
National curriculum
Higher Education
1.5.2 Media
ŸNewspapers—long established industry
the world’s oldest Sunday newspaper)
The Times
ŸTelevision and Broadcast
The British Broadcasting Corporation(BBC) 1936
Independent Television(ITV)1955

1.5.3Holidays and Festival
Christmas: celebration of the brith of Jesus Christ
Boxing Day: the day following Christmas day
Easter:the oldest and most important Christian festival
National festival:on November 5
Bonfire Night:light huge bonfire
Mother’s Day:first celebrated in 1908
April Fools’Day: playing practical jokes on this day.
Remembrance Sunday:held on the second Sunday in November
1.6 Literature
The Old English Period and Middle English Period (450-1500)

The Old English Period:the epic Beowulf
The Middle English Period:With the Norma Conquest in 1066,Britian entered the Middle Ages(1066-1485)
Geoffrey Chaucer
‚The Renaissance (1500-1660)
Ÿ Sonnet:of the Italian origin ,one of the best-known sonnet writers is Willian Shakespeare,who wrote 154 of them.
Drama：The highest glory of the English Renaissance isdrama
ŸWilliam Shakespeare(1564-1616): was born in that house on Henley Street in Stratford-upon-Avon in April 1564.
Comedy: a midsummer might’sdream(1595) / the merchant of Venice(1598)
Tragedies: Hamlet（1601） / Remeo and Juliet (1597)
ƒThe Neo-Classical Period (1660-1785)
ŸHistorical Background
ŸRepresentatives
John Milton:(1608-1674) Paradise Lost
Alexander Pope:(1688-1744) the first English poet who could lived off the sales of his works
Jonathan Swift:(1667-1745) Yahoo
Daniel Defoe:(1660-1731) Robinson Crusoe
„The Romantic Period (1785-1830)
ŸPioneers of Romantic Poets
Pioneers:William Wordsworth(1770-1850) & Samuel Taylor Coleridge(1772-1834)
Declaration of Independence of romantic poetry—Lyrical Ballads(1798)
ŸThe Major“Second Generation”of Romantic Poets:
Geogre Gordon Byron(1788-1824)
John Keats1785-1821)
…The Victorian Period (1832-1901)
ŸCritical Realism:
Featuresà Representatives
ŸRepresentatives
Charles Dickens(1812-1870)
Jane Austen(1775-1817) :
Bronte Sisters( Charlotte & Emily & Anne) :
George Eliot(1819-1880)
Thomas Hardy(1840-1928) :
†The Modern Period (1914-1945)

ŸFiction:Joseph Conrad(1857-1924) . Virginia Woolf(1882-1941) .James Joyce (1882-1941) D.H.Lawrence(1885-1930)
ŸPoetry:William Butler Yeats(1865-1939) . Thomas Stearns Eliot(1888-1965)
ŸDrama:George Berenard Shaw(1856-1950)
‡The Postmodern Period(1945-)
Fiction:George Orwell(1903-1950)
Drama:Samuel Beckett(1906-1989)

Q:Why to say British history has been a history of invasion? Illustrate this point with examples how did each of the invasions influence English culture?
A: Before the first century AD Britain was made up of many tribal kingdoms of Celtic people: a powerful culture originating in central Europe. Then in 43AD Britain was invaded by the Roman empire, and England and Wales (though not Scotland or Ireland) became a part of the Roman empire for nearly 400 years.Two more groups of invaders were to come after the English: from the late 8th century on, raiders from Scandinavia, the ferocious Vikings, threatened Britain's shores. William the duke of Normandy ,France in 1066 at an annual rate of military invasion.
Q:What is your idea about UK keeping the monarch?
A:In reality, the King or Queen does everything on the advice of the Prime Minister, and his/her role is symbolic, ceremonial, 
and not political.
Britain for heads of state and the separation system, the emperor is the phantom head only courtesy and symbolic meaning, it is the general understanding of jurists, emperor actually in some cases, there are still and its extensive influence, even the Blair once said "England can do without me, but not without her majesty the queen", the prime minister is the head of government, direct the work of the cabinet.

Q:What the power differences between Elizabeth I and Elizabeth II ?
A: The reign of Elizabeth I, is a parliamentary system, not the prime minister, right in the hands of the queen. Elizabeth II is a constitutional monarchy, the prime minister's power larger than the queen, the queen became king series and died. The queen is only the nominal head of state, is appointed by the queen is responsible for the technical secretary, but in fact the queen cannot appoint or dismiss ministers and officials; Prime minister general by the majority leader of the house of Commons, and "advised" the queen appointed by the prime minister other cabinet members. And the British government is not responsible to the queen, it must be responsible to the house of Commons, which indirectly responsible to British voters.

II The United States of America

1.1Geography, People and Language
1.1.1 Geography
In the central part of North America / Canada on the north / Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico on the south / Atlantic Ocean on the east / Pacific Ocean on the west
9,6 million square kilometers
Original 48 states (Alaska & Hawaii)
Main Geographical Regions:New England(Harvard)、The Mid-Atlantic States(New York)、The South、The Midwest(Chicago)、The Southwest、The west(California)
The Mississippi River as the “father of waters” & The great Lakes
1.1.2Climate mainly temperate with some mild subtropical zones with only the southern Florida and Hawaii being tropical
1.1.3Natural Resources rich in mineral / oil /
Energy crisis:oil consumption and reservation
1.1.4Major Cities
New York—commercial and financial center
Washington D.C—sent of the federal government
Los Angles—second largest city
Chicago— the windy city
Seattle, Philadelphia, Sam Francisco
1.1.5Pople the third most populous nation in the world,ranking behind China and India
About 8 million black people were brought to America from Afria as slaves from 1620 to 1820.the black people account for about 12% of population.

1.2History
1.2.1Ameica in the Colonial Era
Pilgrims Fathers:
Boston Tea Party: in 1773
The First Continental Congress :1774-09
1.2.2The War of Independence
The Shot of Lexington : in April 19,1775
The Second Continental Congress: founding Continental Army and Navy
Declaration of Independence:on july 4,1776 / drafted by Thomas Jefferson
Process of the War:dragged on for seven years
The Establishment of the Constitution:on May 25,1787
1.2.3The Civil War
Causes of Civil War:Economic、political
The North:23 states,22million population
Comparison of Power: The South:11states,9 million population
The Fierce War:Abraham Lincoln
Influence of the Civil War:abolished the slavery system
1.2.4America in the 20 th Century
World War I:outbreak of the first