英语国家社会与文化入门期末考试复习资料
III. Acronyms
1. GCSE: General Certificate of Secondary Education（普通中等教育证书）
2. the BBC: the British Broadcasting Corporation（英国广播公司）
3. WASP: White Anglo-Saxon Protestant（盎格鲁-撒克逊白人新教）
4. NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation（北大西洋公约组织）
V. Term Differentiating
1. The Anglo-Saxons: They were two groups of Germanic peoples who ttled
down in England from the 5th century. They were regarded as the ancestors of the English and the founders of England.
2. Class System(U.K.): The class system does exist in British society. Most of the
British population would claim themlves to be either of middle-class or working-class, though some people would actually belong to the upper middle-class or lower middle-class. Class divisions are not simply economic, they are cultural as well. People of different class may differ in the kind of newspapers they read, in the way they speak and in the kind of education they receive. One of the distinctive features about the British class system is that aristocratic titles can still be inherited.
3. Grammar Schools: It is a type of condary schools in Britain. Grammar schools
lect children at the age of 11, through an examination called “the 11-plus”.
Tho children with the highest marks go to grammar schools. The schools lay emphasis on advanced academic subjects rather than the more general curriculum of the comprehensive schools and expect many of their pupils to go on to universities.
4. The Commonwealth: The Commonwealth is a voluntary association of states
which is made up of Britain and m卡通男孩简笔画
ostly of former British colonies. There are 54 members
of the Commonwealth including one currently suspended member: many of the are developing countries like India and Cyprus; others are developed nations like Australia, Can好读书读好书
ada and New Zealand. The Commonwealth was t up as a forum for continued cooperation and as a sort of support network.
5. Tabloids: A tabloid is a small format newspaper with colour photos and catchy
headlines. Tabloids are interested in scandals and gossip usually about famous people. They also carry lots of crime, sports and ntional human interest stories so as to attract readers. Stories are short, easy to read often rely more on opinions than fact. They belong to a category of national papers different from quality papers.
6. Puritanism: Puritans were tho who followed the doctrinee of John Calvin and wanted to purify the Church of England. They believe that human beings were predestined by God before t hey were born. Some were God’s chon 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 m
ust read the Bible in order to find God’s will and establish a 什么让生活更美好500字六年级
direct contact with God. The beliefs had great impact on American culture.
7. Bill of Rights(Amendments): The Bill of Rights consists of the first 10 amendments which were added to the Constitution i描写中秋节的作文
n 1791. The Bill of Rights was pasd to guarantee freedom and individual rights such as freedom of speech, the right to asmble in public places, the right to own weapons and so on.
8. The Three Faiths: By the 1950s, the three faiths model of American religion had developed. Americans were considered to come in three basic varieties: Protestant,人体模特艺术图片
Catholic and Jewish. In terms of numbers, the Protestants are the strongest, the Catholics are next to the Protestants and Jewish are the smallest among the three groups.
VI. Q&A(references)
1. The influence of the foreign invasions of Britain on the development of the
English language:
A: (1)During the 5th Century AD three Germanic tribes (Saxons, Angles, and Jutes) came to the British Isles from various parts of northwest Germany as
well as Denmark. Through the years, the Saxons, Angles and Jutes mixed
their different Germanic dialects. This group of dialects forms what
linguists refer to as Old English or Anglo-Saxon.
(2)The arrival of St. Augustine in 597 and the introduction of Christianity
into Saxon England brought mor爱国的英语
e Latin words into the English language.
(3)Around 878 AD Danes and Normen, also called Vikings, invaded the
country and English got many Nor words into the language, particularly in the north of England. The Vikings, being Scandinavian, spoke a language (Old Nor) which, in origin at least, was just as Germanic as Old English.
(4)After William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, invaded and
conquered England in 1066 AD with his armies and became king, the Old French took over as the language of the court, administration, and culture.
