英美文化.doc

十九、英美文化1The Geographical Features of the UK and the USA（1）The Geographical Features of the UKThe British Isles are a group of islands situated off the continent of Europe. The British state is made up of Great Britain (England, Wales, and Scotland) and Northern Ireland. Its full name is The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK).With an area of about 243,000sq km, Britain is just about 600 miles from north to south. It is therefore possible to ravel to any part of the country within one day.Britain is an island country, surrounded by the sea. It is separated from the rest of Europe by the English Channel in the south and the North Sea in the east.The English Channel between England and France is quite narrow and the narrowest part is called the Strait of Dover(多佛海峡). The United Kingdom is divided politically into four parts and they are:EnglandEngland occupied the largest, southern part of Great Britain with wales to its west and Scotland to its north, which takes up nearly 60% of the whole island. The Pennies（奔宁山脉） are the principal mountain chain. ScotlandScotland is in the north of Great Britain. There are three natural zones:the Highlands in the north and Ben Nevis, the highest mountain in Britain (1,343 m) is located there; the central Lowlands, the most important area in Scotland which contains most of the industry and population; the southern uplands.Though the Gaelic language is still heard in the Highlands and Western Isles, English is spoken all over Scotland.Edinburgh is the capital Scotland.WalesWales is in the west of Britain, most of which is mountainous. Cardiff is the capital.Northern IrelandBelfast is the capital of Northern Ireland.Rivers play a very important role in the countrys economy. The great ports of London, Liverpool and Glasgow are all connected to the sea by rivers. The longest river is the Severn River. The second and most important river is the Thames River, which is very favorable for transportation. Oxford is also on the Thames. River Clyde is the most important river in Scotland. The Lake District in northeast England is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Britain, which is the home of the famous lake poet William Wordsworth. The largest lake in Britain is the Lough Neigh in Northern Ireland.（2） The Geographical Features of the USAThe United States of America is also called the states, the us or Uncle sam. The continental united states lies in central north America with Canada to its north, Mexico and the gulf of Mexico to its south, the Atlantic to its east and the pacific ocean to its west.The U.S. has a land of 9.3 million square kilometers. It is the fourth largest country in the world, after Russia, Canada and China.It is a federal republic with 50 states. (In 1959, Alaska and Hawaii became the 49th and 50th states.) Alaska is the largest in area and Rhode Island the smallest. On the mainland, Texas is the largest state of the country.The Great Lakes are connected with the Mississippi River system, forming the worlds largest inland water transportation route and the biggest body of fresh water in the world.There are two major mountain ranges in America, one is the Appalachian Mountains (阿巴拉契亚山脉) and the other is the Rocky Mountains (落基山脉).The Appalachians run slightly from the northeast to southwest and the Rockies run slightly from the northwest to southeast. The Rockies, the backbone of the North American continent, is known as the Continental Divide. It separates the major river system of the United States.Lying between the Appalachian Mountains and the Rocky Mountains os one the worlds greatest continental riversthe Mississippi River (密西西比河)，which rises in the lake region in North Minnesota and flows to the Gulf of Mexico(墨西哥湾) and its headstream is Missouri River（ 密苏里河）. Another major river is the Ohio River(俄亥俄河).These rivers are important in American life. The Mississippi River has been called “Father of Waters” or “Old Man River”. The Ohio River has been called the American Ruhr after the Ruhr River in Germany. As in Germany, the area along the river is rich in valuable deposits of high-grade coking coal and is well known for its steel industry. On the pacific side there are two great rivers:L Colorado River in the south and the Columbia Rive, which rises in Canada.The most important lakes in the United States are the Great Lakes. They are Lake Superior, which is the largest fresh water lake in the world, Lake Michigan (the only one entirely in the US), Lake Huron, Lake Erie and Lake Ontario. They are all located between Canada and the United States except Lake Michigan.2The History of the UK and the USA（1）The History of the UKThe first known settlers of Britain were the Iberians. The Celts began to arrive about 700BC and kept coming until the arrival of the Romans. They were ancestors of the highland Scots, the Irish and the Welsh.Between 1st to 5th century, Britain was under the Roman occupation. Julius Caesar invaded Britain for the first time in 55BC and in 43 AD the Emperor Claudius invaded Britain successfully. The Romans built a network of towns and roads. The Romans also brought the new religion, Christianity, to Britain. The Romans remained in control of Britain for nearly 400 years. However, they had no impact on the language or culture of Ordinary Britons.In the mid-5th century, Jutes, Saxons and Angles invaded Britain. The was called the Anglo-Saxons. Although the Anglo-Saxons are ferocious people, they laid foundations of the English state. They divided the country into shires, which later the Normans called counties. They devised the narrow-strip, three-field farming system, which continued until the agricultural revolution in the 18th century. They also established the manorial system, where the lord of the manor collected taxes and organized the local army. And they created the council to advise the king, the basis of the Privy Council, which still exists today.The Norman Conquest of 1066 is perhaps the best-known event in English history. In 1066, William the Conqueror landed in England and built the Norman Empire, thus the feudal system was completely established.Britain was the country to industrialize in the late 18th 19th century. Population became increasingly concentrated in towns. Changes occurred in textiles and other industries. The real revolution in textiles was in 1770 when power driven machinery was introduced. John Kays flying shuttle speeded up hand weaving. James Watt produced a very efficient steam engine that could be applied to textile and other machinery. As a result of the Industrial Revolution, Britain was by 1830 the “workshop the world”. Towns grew rapidly and became the course of the nations wealth.One of the most far-reaching consequences of the Second World War was that it hastened the end of Britains empire. India gained her independence in 1947 and Burma in 1948. Princess Elizabeth was crowned Queen Elizabeth in 1952 in Westminster Abbey. The election 1979 made Margaret Thatcher to power and she became the fist woman Prime Minister.（2）The History of the USAIn 1942, Christopher Columbus, an Italian navigator discovered the New Continent.The first English colony in the New Continent was founded at Jamestown, Virginia in 1607. Between 1607 and 1733 the British established 13 colonies along the east coast of North America among which Georgia was the last. In 1602, 201 Pilgrims, to escape religious persecution, sailed to the New World in a ship called Mayflower. They arrived at Plymouth. The neighboring Indians helped them survive by teaching them how to grow corn. Hence the first Thanksgiving celebration was held to give thanks to God.In September 1774, the First Continental Congress was held in Philadelphia, which encouraged Americans to refuse to buy British goods. On April 19, 1775, the battles of Lexington and Concord broke out and the War of Independence began. In 1775, the Second Continental Congress was held in Philadelphia and the Congress founded a Continental Army and Navy under the command of George Washington. In 1776, the Declaration of Independence was drafted by Thomas Jefferson, which stated that the colonies were “free independent states” and adopted on July 4th, 1776 at a session of the Second Continental Congress. The American troops defeated the British at Saratoga in Northern New York, which was a turning point of the war. In September 1783, the Treaty of Paris was signed, where Britain recognized the independence of the United States. In 1789, the Federal Government was set up and Washington became the 1st American president, while John Adams was elected vice president.In April 1861, the Civil War broke out and ended in 1865 with the victory of the North. The Union Army under the command of Ulysses s. Grant defeated the Confederate Army at Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, which was the turning point of the Civil War. On November 19, 1863, Abraham Lincoln made the famous Gettysburg a dress, in which he said: “that government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth.” In December 1865, the Thirteenth Amendment, which banned slavery, was added to the constitution.The United States in the 1920s has been described as a period of material success and spiritual frustration or confusion and purposelessness. There was a marked increase in the living standard of many people. However, when the world war was over, there existed a highly aggressive and intolerant nationalism. Many people believed that American political, economic and social institutions were far better than that anywhere else in the world.On October 24, 1929, the first blow to the stock market came. This was the beginning of a long economic depression, which lasted for 4 years from 1929 to 1933. In 1939, Franklin D. Roosevelt ws elected American president and put forward the New Deal to get America out of the depression.On the night of June 17, 1972, police at the Watergate apartment-office complex in Washington D.C. arrested five men, who proved to be working for Richard Nixons committee to reelect the President. In 1973, one of Nixons aides, Alexander Butterfield, disclosed the Nixon had a taping system installed in the White House and that conversations about Watergate had been recorded. The Watergate investigator ordered Nixon to surrender his tapes, but he refused. On August 5, Nixon finally handed over the complete tapes. Four days later, Nixon resigned, the first president to do so in U. S. History. After Watergate, Americans disillusion grew.3The Political Systems（1）The Political systems of the UKThe United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy the head of State is king or queen. In practice, the Sovereign reigns but doesnt rule. The united kingdom is governed, in the name of the sovereign, by his or her Majestys Governmenta body of Ministers. There is no written constitution in UK. It is made up of stature law, common law and conventions.The monarchy is the oldest institution of government. Queen Elizabeth is the current Queen and Head of the Commonwealth. The Queen is the symbol of the whole nation. British Parliament which has a maximum duration of 5 years consists of two chambers, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. To the full sense, the British Parliament consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Today, the House of commons is the most powerful part of Parliament. The House of Commons is elected by universal adult suffrage and consists of 651 members of Parliament. It is in the House of Commons that the ultimate authority for law-making resides. General elections for the House of Commons are held at least every five years.There are two major parties in Britain, the Labor Party and the Conservative Party. The leader of the party that wins the most seats is asked to form a government and the leader becomes the Prime Minister and selects his or her cabinet.Her Majestys Government is the body of ministers responsible for the conduct of national affairs. The Prime Minister presides over the cabinet and about 20 senior ministers compose the Cabinet. Ministers are responsible collectively to Parliament for all Cabinet decisions.（2）The Political systems of the UKThe American Constitution is the oldest written constitution in the world. It was drawn up in 1787 and went into effect in 1789. The Constitution of United States is the basic instrument of American government and the supreme law of the land. The Constitutional Convention opened in May 1789 and met for the last time in September, to sign the final version of the achievement. The Congress, by a two-thirds vote in each house, may initiate an amendment to the Constitution. The Constitution includes seven articles. Article , the Legislative ArticleOnly Congress has the power to make laws and define its two-chamber system, the Senate (100 members, two from each state) and the House of Representatives.( Membership is based on population). Article , the Executive ArticleThe article establishes the Electoral College, describes the presidents term of office, the qualifications and his duties and powers. The last includes acting as commander in chief of the military; negotiation foreign treaties; nominating government officials, ambassadors and judges; and granting pardons to national offenders.Article , the Judicial ArticleThe Constitution established the Supreme Court as the highest court in the land. The president appoints the justices of the Supreme Court and the Judges of the lower federal courts. According to the Constitution, the federal judges shall hold office “during good behavior”, in practice, until they die, retire or resign. The Supreme Court is the highest court of the United States and is the only organ, which has the power to interpret the Constitution.The Constitution sets up a strong national government, which has two layers of rule. There is central or federal government for the nation. There are also state and local governments. Each layer of government has separate and distinct powers laid down in the Constitution.The government is divided into three branches: the legislative, the executive and the judicial. Each has part of the powers but not all the power. And each branch of government can check the actions of the other branches and the three branches are thus balanced. For example, Congress may pass a law, but the president can veto it. Then Congress may pass the law again by a two-thirds vote and the president cannot veto it. But the law may still be cancelled if the Supreme Court decides it goes against the Constitution.The congress by a two-thirds vote in each house may initiate an amendment to the Constitution. Or the legislatures of two-thirds of the states may ask Congress to call a national convention to d