英美國家概況 美國篇

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1、Unit 3 1.the first English settlement in North America The first English permanent settlement was organized in 1607 by the London Company with a charter from the English king. The colonists settled in Virginia and survived by imposing strict discipline on themselves and by transplanting tobacco in

2、to the colony of Virginia. In 1619, the settlers elected their delegates and set up the House of Burgesses, and the same time they bought and enslaved black servants. 2.Puritanism Puritans were those who followed the doctrine of John Calvin and wanted to purify the Church of England. They believe

3、d that human beings were predestined by God before they were born. Some were God’s chosen people while others were damned to hell. No church nor good works could save people. The sign of being God’s elect was the success in his work or the prosperity in his calling. They also argued that everyone mu

4、st read the Bible in order to find God’s will and establish a direct contact with God. These beliefs had great impact on American culture. 3. The Declaration of Independence It was mainly drafted by Thomas Jefferson and was adopted by the Congress on July 4, 1776, when the people of 13 English col

5、onies in North America were fighting for their freedom and independence from the British colonial rule. The document declared that all men were equal and that they were entitled to have some unalienable rights such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. It also explained the philosophy of go

6、vernment: the powers of governments came from the consent of the governed and the purpose of governments were to secure the rights mentioned above. The theory of politics and the guiding principles of the American Revolution mainly came from John Locke. 4. George Washington George Washington was o

7、ne of the founding fathers of the American Republic. He was the Commander-in-chief of the Continental Army in the War of Independence against the British colonial rule and the first President of the United States. 5.Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin was one of the founding fathers of the United

8、States of America. He participated in writing the Declaration of Independence and making the US Constitution. Unit 4 1.The Articles of Confederation After the War of Independence was won, the new nation of the United States was organized under the agreement of the Articles of Confederation

9、with a weak national government called the Congress. Each state had its own government, made its own laws and handled its internal affairs. The states did not cooperate with the Congress and with each other. The Congress had no power to force any state to contribute money to the national government

10、and the Congress could not tax any citizen either. As a result, the Articles of Confederation failed. 2. A federal system A federal system is one in which power is shared between a central authority and its constituent parts, with some rights reserved to each. 3. The making of the US Constitutio

11、n The Articles of Confederation failed. The Congress decided to hold a constitutional convention to revise the Articles of Confederation. The delegates from 12 states (Rhode Island refused to participated) gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 and ended up in writing a new constitution and set a federal

12、 system with a strong central government. The Constitution provided that an election of the president would be called, federal laws would be made only by a Congress made up of the House of Representatives and the Senate and a Supreme Court would be set up. This new Constitution was finally approved

13、by the majority of the citizens in over 9 of the 13 states and was officially put into effect in 1787. 4.The executive The chief executive is the president, who is elected to a four-year term. A president can be elected to only two terms according to an amendment passed in 1951. The president ca

14、n propose legislation to Congress. He can veto any bill passed by Congress. The veto can be overridden by a two-thirds vote in both houses. The president can appoint federal judges as vacancies occur. He is the commander in chief of the armed forces. The president has other broad authorities in runn

15、ing the government departments and handling foreign relations. 5.The Bill of Rights It consists of the first 10 amendments which were added to the Constitution in 1791. It was passed to guarantee freedom and individual rights such as freedom of speech, the right to assemble in public places, the

16、 right to own weapons and so on. 6. Homeland Security Homeland security is short for the United States Department of Homeland Security(abbreviated as DHS). It is found on March 1, 2003, and is a Cabinet department of the United States federal government with the primary responsibilities of prote

17、cting the territory of the US from terrorist attacks and responding to natural disasters. With more than 200, 000 employees, DHS is the third largest Cabinet department, after the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs. Other agencies with significant homeland security responsibilities include

18、the Departments of Health and Human Services, Justice and Energy. Unit 5 1.Eli Whitney Eli Whitney is an American inventor who invented the cotton gin, which made removing the seeds from the bolls of cotton much easier. He also began manufacturing rifles with machinery, using interchangeable

19、 parts. This contributed to the American system of mass production. 2.Samuel Slater In 1793, Samuel Slater built the first factory in the United States-- a cotton cloth factory in Pawtucket, Rhode Island. He built the factory from memory, because it was a crime to carry factory plan out of England

20、. The success of his factory started a process of change that turned the northeastern region of the United States into an important manufacturing center and helped the nation become a major cotton producer. 3.Industrial Revolution in America After independence, America was principally an agricu

21、lture country. The Industrial Revolution in England brought many changes to American industry between 1776 and 1860. One key development was the introduction of the factory system. A second development was the “American system” of mass production. A third development was the application of new techn

22、ologies to industrial tasks. A fourth development was the emergency of new forms of business organization--the bank and the corporation. 4.Corporation Corporation is a form of business organization. Compared with the sole proprietorship and the partnership, the corporation may survive the death of

23、its founder or founders. Because it could draw on a pool of investors, it is a much more efficient tool for raising the large amounts of capital needed by expanding business. And it enjoys limited liability, so investors only risk the amount of their investment and not their entire assets. 5.Servi

24、ce industries Service industries are industries that sell a service rather than make a product. Service industries range from banking to telecommunications to the provision of meals in restaurants. 6. Stock When starting or expanding business, corporations need to borrow money. They may issue st

25、ocks for people to buy. When people buy stock, they become part owner of the company. If the company makes a profit, they receive a share of it. Likewise, if the company loses money, the stockholder will not make a profit or the value of their shares will drop-they lose money. 7.Agribusiness Becau

26、se American agriculture is a big business, people coined the term “agribusiness” to reflect the large-scale nature of agriculture enterprises in the modern US economy. The term covers the entire complex of farm-related businesses. 8. Migrant workers Many big farms hire temporary workers only for a

27、 specific chore-such as picking crops. Many of these seasonal workers travel form farm to farm, staying only until the crops are picked. Unit 8 1. Elementary school In the United States, elementary school usually means grades kindergarten(K) through 8. But in some places, it includes only grade

28、s K to 6. Many Americans refer to elementary grades as “grammar school”. 2. Boards of education It refers to groups of people who make policies for schools at the state and/or district level. They also make decisions about the school curriculum, teacher standards and certification, and the overall

29、 measurement of student progress. 3.Higher education In America, higher education refers to education on the college level. American higher education includes four categories of institutions. They are the university, the four-year undergraduate institution, the technical training institution and t

30、he two-year or community college. Some are supported by public funds and some by private funds. 4.The Servicemen’s Readjustment Act The servicemen’s Readjustment Act was passed in 1944. It was soon popularly called the “GI Bill of Rights”. The Act promised financial aid, including aid for higher e

31、ducation to members of the armed forces. Many veterans benefited from this Act and become successful later in life. 5.Affirmative Action Programs Affirmative Action Programs were first advocated by some colleges in the 1960. The purpose of the program was to equalize educational opportunities for

32、all groups and to make up for past inequality by giving special preference to members of minorities seeking jobs or admission to college. But some critics accused the programs of reverse discrimination. Unit 10 1. The black "underclass" Some blacks have been left behind in the general gains of

33、progress made in the past decades, and the urban ghettos now contain a permanently impoverished "underclass" of habitually unemployed or underemployed black people. 2. Poverty as a social problem Over 24 million people are living at or below the official poverty line, which is considered insuffi

34、cient to meet basic requirement of food, clothing, and shelter. There are millions more living slightly above the poverty line, whose plight is not much better. Furthermore, the affluent majority seems indifferent to the problems of the poor. This raises some serious moral problems and inevitably cr

35、eates fierce conflicts of interest and many political controversies. 3. Socially stratified American society American society is divided into social classes that have varying degrees of access to the reward the society offers. 4. Drug abuse as a social problem Drug abuse in the US has come

36、to be regarded as one of the most challenging social problems facing the nation because drug abuse is perceived as a major threat to American society, particularly to its younger members and has a wide range of social costs. 5. White-collar crimes White-collar crimes are those committed by highe

37、r income groups such as the crimes of fraud, false advertising, corporate price fixing, bribery, embezzlement, industrial pollution, tax evasion and so on. Some sociologists argue that the higher classes may actually have a higher rate of crime than the lower classes. 6. The abuse of power by gov

38、ernment People believe that public organizations in the United States sometimes work in concert to advance their own interests rather than those of the people. Government in America is widely distrusted for the lace of answerability. 7. The abuse of power by corporations The abuse of power by cor

39、porations is shown in the fact that these corporations are concerned with their own profits than with social responsibility, the quality or price of their products, or the truth of their advertising.They have professional lobbyists in Washington to influence public officials behind the scenes. They

40、argue for legislation to serve their own ends, influence the appointment of officials, block reforms they consider undesirable, and often seem to have more say in the councils of government than the ordinary voters. 8. Richard Nixon He was the former President of the United States. While he was in office, he contributed to the establishment of diplomatic relations between the U.S. and China and visited China in 1972. Shortly after he was re-elected, he was involved in the Watergate scandal, for which he was forced to resign from presidency.