英美概况练习题
Britain
Exercises of Chapter One
I. For each statement there are four choices marked A, B, C, D, choose the best one to complete the statement.
1. The national flag of the United Kingdom, known as the Union Jack, is made up of _____ crosses.
A. one
B. two
C. three
D. four
2. Which flower is the symbol of England/Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland?
A. Thistle
B. Shamrock
C. Daffodil
D. Rose
3. The highest mountain peak in Britain is in ________.
A. England
B. Scotland
C. Wales
D. Northern Ireland
4. The largest lake in Britain is ______.
A. Loch Lomond
B. the Lough Neagh
C. Windermere
D. Ullswater
5. The largest lake in Britain is located in ________.
A. England
B. Scotland
C. Wales
D. Northern Ireland
6. The Lake District is well-known for________.
A. its wild and beautiful scenery
B. its varied lakes
C. the lake Poets
D. all of the above three
7. The British Isles are made up of______.
A. two large islands and hundreds of small ones
B. two large islands and Northern Ireland
C. three large islands and hundreds of small ones
D. three large islands and Northern Ireland
8. Which is the largest city in Scotland?
A. Cardiff
B. Edinburgh
C. Glasgow
D. Manchester
9. There are ______ political divisions on the island of Great Britain.
A. one
B. two
C. three
D. four
10. Among the four political divisions of Britain, __________ is the most densely populated.
A. England
B. Scotland
C. Wales
D. Northern Ireland
11. The capital of Scotland is __________.
A. Belfast
B. Cardiff
C. Edinburgh
D. Dublin
12. Britain’s climate is influenced by ______that sweeps up from the equator and flows
past the British Isles.
A. the Atlantic Gulf Stream
B. the Brazil Current
C. the Labrador Current
D. the Falkland current
II. Read the following statements carefully and decide if each of them is True or False.
1. To the west of Great Britain is the second largest island known as Scotland.
2. There are three political divisions on the island of Great Britain. They are England，Scotland and Wales.
3. The Pennines are known as the “Backbone of England”.
4. London, the capital of the UK, is situated on the Severn River near its mouth.
5. The official name of UK is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
6. The longest river in Britain is River Thames.
7. On the island of Great Britain, there are four political divisions—England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland.
8. God Save the Queen is a national anthem used only in Britain.
9. The highest point of the Pennines is Cross Fell which is 893 meters high.
10. The largest lake in England is Lake Windermere which is located in the Lake District.
III. Fill in the blanks
1. The capital of the Scotland is ___________, the capital of Wales is ________ , the capital of the Republic of Ireland is __________ and the capital of Northern Ireland is _____________.
2. The highest peak of Britain is __________. It is located in the Highlands of Scotland.
3. _________ is the largest and most populous of the three political divisions on the island of Great Britain.
4. Britain is separated from the European continent by the North Sea, __________________ and ______________________.
5. _______________ is the longest river in Britain.
6. The “Backbone of England” r efers to the __________________.
7. ______________ is the second longest and most important river in Britain.
8. _________________ is the largest lake in Britain which is located in Northern Ireland.
9. The climate of Britain is moderated by the ________________________ and is much milder than that of many places in the same latitude.
10. The British national anthem is ____________________.
11. The British Isles are made up of two large islands- _____________ and ___________, and hundreds of small ones.
12. The three political divisions on the island of Great Britain are _________, ________, and _______.
IV. Directions: Give a brief answer to each of the following questions.
1. What is the general climate in Britain?
2. What is the most important river in Britain?
3. What is the longest river in Britain?
4. What does “UK ” stand for?
5. What is UK made up of?
Keys to Exercises of Chapter One
I.
1. C
2. D/A/C/B
3. B
4. B
5. D
6. D
7. A
8. C
9. C10. A11. C12. A
II.
1. F (The west of Great Britain is Ireland, not Scotland.)
2. T
3. T
4. F (London is located on the Thames River, not the Severn River.)
5. T
6. F (The longest river in Britain is the Severn River.)
7. F ( There are three, not four.)
8. F (It is a national anthem used in number of Commonwealth realms.)
9. T 10. T
III.
1. Edinburgh, Cardiff, Dublin, Belfast
2. Ben Nevis
3. England
4. the Strait of Dover, the English Channel
5. Severn River
6. the Pennines
7. Thames River8. Lough Neagh9. Atlantic Gulf Stream
10. God Save the Queen/King11. Great Britain, Ireland12. England, Scotland, Wales.
IV.
1. What is the general climate in Britain?
Britain enjoys a favorable maritime climate.
2. What is the most important river in Britain?
The most important river in Britain is Thames River.
3. What is the longest river in Britain?
The longest river in Britain is Severn river.
4. What does “UK ” stand for?
UK stnads for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
5. What is UK made up of?
UK is made up of Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Exercises of Chapter Two
I. For each statement there are four choices marked A, B, C, D. Choose the best one
to complete the statement.
1. The English people are descendants of ________.
A. Celts
B. Romans
C. Anglo-Saxons
D. Danes
2. Middle English took shape about a century after the ________ Conquest.
A. Roman
B. Anglo-Saxon
C. Norman D Danish
3. The Romans led by Julius Caesar launched their first invasion on Britain in _______.
A. 200
B.
C. B. 55 B.C. C. 55 A.
D. D. 410 A. D.
4. The Hundred Years’ War started in _________.
A. 1733
B. 1453
C. 1337
D. 1357
5. The spirit of the Great Charter was the limitation of the powers of _______, keeping them within the bounds of the feudal law of the land.
A. the Archbishop of Canterbury
B. the barons
C. the church
D. the king
6. The earliest settlers on the British Isles were the ________.
A. Celts
B. Gaels
C. Iberians
D. Brythons
7. The British recorded history begins with ________.
A. the arrival and settlement of Celts
B. the Norman Conquest
C. Roman invasion
D. Viking and Danish invasions
8. The English Civil War is also called ______.
A. the Puritan Revolution
B. the second Magna Carta
C. the Long Parliament
D. the Anglican War
9. In 43 A.D. Romans under ________ conquered Britain.
A. Julius Caesar
B. Claudius
C. Augustine
D. the Pope
10. The Wars of Roses were fought between the House of __________ and the
House of __________.
A. Lanchester, York
B. Lanchester, Kent
C. Lancaster, Kent
D. Lancaster, York
11. Doomsday Book was in fact a record of each man’s ________.
A. experience
B. behavior
C. property
D. reputation
12. The British Industrial Revolution first began in the________ industry.
A. iron and steel
B. textile
C. coal-mining
D. ship-building
13. Who invaded and conquered Britain for the first time in 55 BC____?
A. Emperor Claudius
B. Julius Caesar
C. King Alfred
D. King Ethelred
14. Christmas Day ______, Duke William was crowned in Westminster Abbey.
A. 1056
B. 1066
C. 1006
D. 1060
II. Read the following statements carefully and decide if each of them is True or False.
1. It was the Angles who gave their name to England and the English people.
2. The Wars of the Roses affected the ordinary people very much.
3. William Walworth launched the Peasant Revolt of 1381 in England.
4. In the English Civil War, the Puritans were not the King's opponents.
5. The Anglo-Saxon Conquest was important in English history because it laid the foundation on which the English nation was to be formed.
6. The Great Charter was signed in 1215 by King John.
7. The Chartist Movement finally succeeded and it constituted a glorious page in the history of the workers’ struggle for liberation.
8. Henry VII was responsible for the founding of the Church of England.
9. The Hundred Year’s War refers to the intermittent war between France and England that lasted from 1337 to 1453.
III. Fill in the blanks
1. The England Civil War not only overthrew __________ in England, but also undermined the feudal rule in Europe.
2. During the First Civil War, those who stood on the side of the king were called ________ and those who supported the Parliament were called ______ because of their short haircuts.
3. The Romans brought the new religion, _______ , to Britain.
4. The battle of _______ witnessed the death of Harold in October, 1066.
5. After the Industial Revolution, Britain became the “________” of the world.
IV. Explain the following terms in English.
1. Black Death
2. Industrial Revolution
3. the Wars of Roses
4. Norman Conquest of 1066:
5. Roman invasion of Britain
V. Write between 100 ~ 150 words on the following topics
1. How did the “Glorious Revolution” break out? What was the s ignificance of it?
2. The Civil Wars and their consequences
Keys to Exercises of Chapter Two
I.
1. C
2. C
3. B
4. C
5. D
6. C
7. C
8. A
9. B10. D11. C 12. B 13. B14. B
II.
1. T
2. F (The wars affected the nobles very much)
3. F (Wat Tyler lauched the Peasand Revolt of 1381.)
4. F (The Puritans were the King’s opponents)
5. T
6. T
7. F (The Chartist Movement finally failed.) 8. F (Henry VIII was responsible for it.) 9. T
III.
1. the feudal system
2. Cavaliers, Roundheads
3. Christianity
4. Hastings
5. workshop
IV.
1. Black Death
Black Death was the modern name given to the deadly epidemic disease spread by ratfleas. It spread through Europe in the 14th century and swept through England in the summer of 1348. It reduced England's population from four million to two millon by the end of 14th century.
2. Industrial Revolution
The Industrial Revolution refers to the mechanization of industry and the consequences in social and economic organization in Britain in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Britain was the
first country to industrialize. The Industrial Revolution in Britain first began in the textile industry.
3. the Wars of Roses
They referred to the battles between the House of Lancaster and the House of York between 1455 and 1485. The former was symbolized by the red rose, and the latter by the white one. After the wars, feudalism received its death blow and the king’s power became supreme.
4. Norman Conquest of 1066:
In January 1066, King Edward, the last Saxon king, died childless. He had promised to leave the English throne to his cousin William, but he chose Harold, his wife’s brother as king. So William led his army to invade England. In October 1066, during the important battle of Hastings, William defeated Harold and killed him. One Christmas Day, William was crowned king of England, thus beginning the Norman Conquest of England. The Norman Conquest of 1066 is perhaps the best-known event in English history.
5. the Roman invasion of Britain
In 55 BC and 54 BC, Julius Caesar, a Roman general, invaded Britain twice. In AD 43, the Emperor Claudius invaded Britain successfully. For nearly 400 years Britain was under the Roman occupation, though it was never a total occupation. British recorded history begins with the Roman invasion.
V.
1. How did the “Glorious Revolution” break out? What was the significance of it?
In 1685 Charles II died and was succeeded by his brother James II. James, who was brought up in exile in Europe, was a Catholic. He hoped to rule without giving up his personal religious views. But England was no more tolerant of a Catholic king in 1688 than 40 years. So the English politicians rejected James II, and appealed to a Protestant king, William of Orange, to invade and take the English throne. William landed in England in 1688. The takeover was relatively smooth, with no bloodshed, no execution of the king. This was known as the Glorious Revolution. William and his wife Mary were both protestants and became co-monarchs. They accepted the Bill of Rights. It’s the beginning of the age of constitutional monarchy.
2. The Civil Wars and their consequences
Because of the absolute rule of Charles, the confrontation between Charles I and the parliament developed into the civil war. The war began on August 22, 1642 and ended in 1651. Charles I was condemned to death.
The English Civil War is also called the Puritan Revolution. It has been seen as a conflict between Parliament and the interests of the urban middle class and the traditional economic interests of the Crown. The economic interests of the urban middle class coincided with their religious (Puritan) ideology while the Crown’s traditional economic interests correspondingly allied with Anglican religious belief. The English Civil War not only overthrew feudal system in England but also shook the foundation of the feudal rule in Europe. It is generally regarded as the beginning of modern world history.
Exercises of Chapter Three
I. For each statement there are four choices marked A, B, C, D. Choose the best one
to complete the statement.
1. By tradition, the leader of the majority party is appointed ______ by the Sovereign in the United Kingdom.
A. Prime Minister
B. Member of Parliament
C. Lord of Appeal
D. Speaker of the House
2. The British Prime Minister is appointed by __________ and he or she always sits in _______.
A. the Queen, the House of Commons
B. the Speaker, the House of Lords
C. the Archbishop of Canterbury, the House of Commons
D. the Archbishop of Canterbury, the House of Lords
3. All the government ministers of Britain must be members of ________.
A. the House of Lords
B. the House of Commons
C. the Privy Council
D. Parliament.
4. The party that has the majority of seats in ________ will form the government.
A. the House of Commons
B. the House of Lords
C. the Privy Council
D. the Cabinet
5. The ultimate authority for law-making resides in the ________.
A. the House of Lords
B. the House of Commons
C. the Privy Council
D. the Shadow Cabinet
6. The predecessor of the English parliament is ________.
A. the Great council
B. the Witan
C. the House of Plantagenet
D. Magna Carta
7. The House of Commons consists of ________ Members of Parliament.
A. 651
B. 1,200
C. 1,198
D. 763
8. The Tories were the forerunners of _______ , which still bears the nickname today.
A. the Labour Party
B. the Liberal Party
C. the Social Democratic Party
D. the Conservative Party
9. Which group of people can NOT vote in the general election in Great Britain?
A. members in the house of Commons
B. Lords in the House of Lords
C. the UK citizens above the age of 18
D. the UK resident citizens of the Irish Republic
10. The party which wins the second largest numbers of seats at the House of
commons is called __________.
A. the frontbenchers
B. the backbenchers
C. the shadow cabinet
D. the Opposition
11. In Britain, government cannot spend any money without the permission of ________.
A. the Queen
B. the Prime Minister
C.the House of Commons
D. the House of Lords
12. Which document, for the first time in English history, forced King to take the advice of nobles?
A. the Petition of Right of 1628
B. Habeas Corpus Act
C. Magna Carta
D. the Bill of Rights of 1689
13. Elizabeth II succeeded to the throne in ______.
A. 1951
B. 1952
C. 1953
D. 1954
14. Among the following members the first one to succeed to the throne is _____________.
A. the king’s brother
B. the catholic son
C. the protestant daughter
D. the protestant son
15. The monarch’s eldest daughter is usually called ___________.
A. princess of Wales
B. princess royal
C. princess daughter
D. female prince of Wales
16. Most of the practical work of the government is done by __________.
A. the prime minister
B. the cabinet ministers
C. the heads of departments
D. the civil servants
17. A civil servant must be ______.
A. a member of the Party in power
B. a member of parliament
C. active in politics
D. politically neutral
18. The High Court of Justice includes the following divisions except the ___.
A. the Queen’s Bench
B. the Chancellor Division
C. the Family Division
D. the Criminal Division
19. The House of Lords is preside by __________.
A. the Lord Chancellor
B. the Queen
C. the Archbishop of Canterbury
D. the Prime Minister
II. Read the following statements carefully and decide if each of them is True or False.
1. Members of Parliament (MPs) are those who inherit the noble titles.
2. The system of the parliamentary government of the U.K. is based on a written constitution.
3. The House of Lords is now made up of two kinds of Lords: the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal.
4. In Britain, changes of Government do not involve changes in departmental staff, who continue to carry out their duties whichever party is in power.
5. The Queen formally appoints all government office holders except the Prime Minister.
6. Prime Minister is the leader of the British government.
7. The title of the life peer is hereditary.
III. Fill in the blanks
1. The Whigs were the forerunners of the ________ Party while the Tories were the forerunners of the ________ party of England.
2. The three major political parties in the UK are __________________, ____________________ and __________________.
3. The present sovereign of Britain is Queen ________, and Prince ________ is the heir to the throne.
4. The presiding officer of the House of Commons is “ ________.”
5. The person who presides over the debate of the Upper House is known as_______.
6. British Parliament consists of the Sovereign, the House of _____ and the House of ______.
7. The United Kingdom is a __________ monarchy, in which the ________ is the head of state and the __________ is the head of government.
8. Britain is divided into ______ constituencies. Each of the constituencies returns _____ member to the House of Commons. A general Election must be held every _____ years and is often held at more frequent intervals.
9. The party which wins the second largest number of seats becomes the official ___________, with its own leader and “___________ cabinet”.
IV. Explain the following terms in English.
1. constitutional monarchy
2. the Opposition
V. Directions: Give a brief answer to each of the following questions.
1. What are the two major political parties in Britain?
2. What is the role of the Monarchy in the British government?
3. What are the main functions of Parliament?
Keys to Exercises of Chapter Three
I.
1. A
2. A
3. B
4. A
5. B
6. A
7. A
8. D
9. B 10. D 11. C 12. C 13. B
14. D 15. B 16. D 17. D 18. D 19. A
II.
1. F
2. F
3. T
4. T
5. F
6. T
7. F
III.
1. Liberal, Conservative
2. the Conservative Party, the Labor Party, Liberal Democrats
3. Elizabeth II, Charles
4. Mr. Speaker
5. Lord Chancellor
6. Lords, Commons
7. constitutional, Monarch, Prime Minister 8. 651, one, five 9. Opposition, shadow
IV.
1. Constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy is a county in which head of the state is a king or a queen. In practice, the Sovereign reigns, but does not rule. In English history, constitutional monarchy was established after Glorious Revolution in 1688.
2. the Opposition
In the General Election, the party which wins the second largest number of seats becomes the offcial Opposition, with its own leader and “shadow cabinet”. The aims of the Opposition are to contribute to the formulation of policy and legislation, to oppose government proposals, to seek amendments to government bills, and to put forward its own policies in order to win the next general election.
V.
1. What are the two major political parties in Britain?
The two major political parties in Britain are Conservative Party and Labor Party.
2. What is the role of the Monarchy in the British government?
The sovereign is the symbol of the whole nation. In law, he/she is head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the crown and the “supreme governor” of the established church of England.
3. What are the main functions of Parliament?
The main functions of Parliament are: (1) to pass laws; (2) to provide the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation; (3) to examine government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure; (4) to debate the major issues of the day.
Exercises of Chapter Five
I. For each statement there are four choices marked A, B, C, D. Choose the best one to
complete the statement.
1. In Britain compulsory education presently ends at ______________.
A. 14
B. 16
C. 17
D. 18
2. Which one is not considered as the most famous boarding private schools in Britain?
A. Eton College
B. Harrow School
C. Woodland Junior School
D. Rugby School
3. Only those p upils with the highest marks in the “eleven plus” e xamination can go to _____ schools.
A. grammar
B. independent
C. comprehensive
D. Public
4. If a student wants to go to university in Britain，he will take the examination called_____________.
A. General Certificate of Education—Advanced
B. General Certificate of Secondary Education
C. the common entrance examination
D. General National V ocational Qualifications.
5. In Britain, the great majority of parents send their children to _________.
A. private schools
B. independent schools
C. state schools.
D. public schools
6. Buckingham University is a(n) _____ university which was established in 1973.
A. independent
B. open
C. old
D. state
II. Read the following statements carefully and decide if each of them is True or False.
1. Education in Britain is compulsory for children aged from 5 to 16.
2. Like all British universities, Buckingham University is also partially funded by central government grants.
3. Boarding private schools, such as Eton College, Harrow School are open to all in Britain and a large percentage of population can attend the schools.
4. Of all the English university Oxford and Cambridge are the most prestigious
5. Grammar schools emphasize academic studies and teach a wide range of subjects.
III. Fill in the blanks
1. The examination all students in England and Wales should take at the end of their compulsory education is ___________________________.
2. In the United Kingdom, education is compulsory for all between the ages of ______ and ________.
3. The academic degrees in America are the Bachelor’s degree, the __________ and the Doctor’s degree.
Keys to Exercises of Chapter Five
I. 1. B 2. C 3. A 4. A 5. C 6. A
II. 1. T 2. F 3. F 4. T 5. T
III. 1. GCSE 2. 5, 16 3. Master’s degree
Exercises of Chapter Six
I. Match the following works with their authors.
a. Canterbury Tales
b. Paradise Lost
c. Robinson Crusoe
d. Hamlet
e. Pride and Prejudice
1. Jane Austin
2. Shakespeare
3. Geoffrey Chaucer
4. John Milton
5. Daniel Defoe
II. True or false
1.John Donne is regarded as a metaphysical poet in the 17th C.
2.Francis Bacon was a famous dramatist in the Renaissance period.
3.Romantic poets in Britain celebrate the beauty of nature, value powerful feelings / emotions of
each individual, and regard imagination as the source of literary creation.
4.Charles Dickens is considered the greatest novelist in the Victorian period.
5.Jane Eyre is a novel written by Thomas Hardy
III. Fill in the blanks.
1. The novel Tess of the D’Urbervilles is written by
2. The publication of Lyrical Ballads marked the beginning of in British literature.
3. The writing technique shared by James Joyce and Virginia Woolf is termed as
4. Sons and Lovers by D.H. Lawrence is read by some critics as an illustration of , which suggests that boys have a suppressed desire to marry their mothers.
5. The keynote of Renaissance literature is , ie, “Man is the measure of everything.”IV. Define the term “symbolism” with reference to the novel Lord of the Flies by William Golding.
Keys to Exercises of Chapter Six
I. 1. e 2. d 3. a 4. b 5. c
II. 1. T 2.F( essayist, NOT dramatist) 3.T 4.T 5.F（by Charlotte Bronte）
III. 1. Thomas Hardy 2. Romanticism 3. stream of consciousness
4. Oedipus Complex
5. Humanism
Exercises of Chapter Seven
I. For each statement there are four choices marked A, B, C, D. Choose the best one
to complete the statement.
1. What is the most popular type of home in England?
A. A semi-detached house
B. A detached house
C. A flat
D. A terraced house
2. Three “Don’ts” includ e the following except _____.
A. jumping up the queue
B. asking a woman her age
C. bargaining while shopping
D. laughing at one’s own faults
3. Three “ings” include the following except _____.
A. betting
B. drinking
C. tipping
D. bargaining
4. The three royal traditions are the following except _____.
A. playing the flute
B. the changing of the Queen’s guard
C. making a parliamentary speech by Queen
D. watching the horse racing
II. Fill in the blanks
1. In terms of marriage no child can marry below the age of _____.
2. The nickname for Britain is __________.
3. In Britian, if someone says “I want to wash my hands”, what he/she really means is that he/she is going to a ______________.
4. It is said that British people are ____________, which means they don’t like small talk.
5. British people are usually considered ____________, because are inclined to be suspicious of anything that is strange or foreign.
Keys to Exercises of Chapter Seven
I. 1. A 2. D 3. D 4. D
II. 1. 16 2. John Bull 3. lavatory 4. reserve 5. conservative
Exercises of Chapter Eight
I. For each statement there are four choices marked A, B, C, D. Choose the best one
to complete the statement.
1. Where is the international tennis championship held?
A. Wembley.
B. Wimbledon.
C. St Andrews
D. Clapham.
2. Easter is kept, commemorating the ________of Jesus Christ.
A. coming
B. birth
C. death
D. resurrection
3. Which one of the following features is NOT related to quality newspapers?
A. providing gossips about film stars, politicians, etc.
B. long informative articles
C. wide range of topics
D. objective presentation, less sensational language
4. The established church of Britain is ________.
A. The Church of Scotland
B. Free churches
C. The United Reformed Church
D. The Church of England
5. Christianity has three main groups except __________.
A. the Roman Catholic
B. the Eastern Orthodox Church
C. the Protestant Church
D. Buddhism
6. British newspapers possess the following features except _____.
A. freedom of speech
B. fast delivery
C. monoplied by one of the five large organization
D. no difficulty for independent newspapers to survive
7. The earliest newspaper in Britain is _____.
A. Daily Mail
B. Daily Telegraphs
C. The Times
D. Guardian
8. The Economist, New Statesman, Spectator are _____.
A. journals
B. daily newspapers
C. local papers
D. Sunday newspapers
9. The Church of England is also called _____.
A. the Anglican Church
B. the Congregational
C. the Salvation Army
D. Puritanism
II. Read the following statements carefully and decide if each of them is True or False.
1. The national church in Scotland is also the Church of England.
III. Fill in the blanks
1. In England, People usually ______ when first introduced.
2. There are two established church in Britain: ____________ and _____________.
3. The three world religions are Buddhism, Islam and ________.
4. ______ is the doctrine of Christianity.
Keys to Exercises of Chapter Eight
I. 1. B 2. D 3. D 4. D 5. D 6. D 7. C 8. A 9. A
II. 1. F
III. 1. shake hands 2. the church of England, the Church of England
3. Christianity
4. Holy Bible
America
Exercises of Chapter One
I. Fill in the blanks.
1. The full name of US is ____________________________.
2. The USA consists of _____ states and a federal district of _________________.
3. ____________________ located in New York Harbor is a symbol of liberty.
4. The national flower and tree of America is ________ and __________.
5. The nickname of US is ______________.
6. The capital city of US is _________________.
7. US can be divided into _________ distinct areas based on the geographical features.
8. ______________ is the lowest point of America.
9. Among the Great Lakes, __________________ is completely in America.
10. Between the Appalachian and Rochies is the __________________.
11. The Yellowstone National Park is primarily in _________________.
12. The largest state in US is ________________.
13. __________________ is the largest Mississippi tributary measured by water volume.
14. The longest river in North America is ________________.
15. The most populous city in the United States is______________.
16. The Great Lakes include ___________, __________, _________, _________, and __________.
17. The Mississippi has been called “father of waters” or_____________.
18. _______________ ----is the largest fresh water lake in the world.
19. _________________ is the largest inland salt lake in North America.
II. Read the following statements carefully and decide if each of them is True or False.
1. The African Americans is the largest racial minority.
2. Mississippi River is the longest river in the world
3. Alaska is the largest state among the continuous states in the USA.
4. The USA is the fourth largest country in the world in population.
5. The climate of Hawaii is tropical.
6. Coal deposit of America ranks the first in the world.
7. Los Angeles is home to Hollywood, globally recognized as the epicenter of the motion picture industry.
8. The Great Salt Lake is the largest inland salt lake in North America.
9. “The star-spangled banner” is the national anthem of the USA.
10. The official motto of the USA is In God We Trust (since 1956).
11. Mt. McKinley and Death Point are the highest and lowest points, respectively, in USA.
12. Alaska is the largest state of the US and Rhode Island is the smallest.
13. The southern tip of Florida is tropical, as is Hawaii.
III. Directions: Give a brief answer to each of the following questions.
1. What is the general climate of the U.S.?
2. What are the general geographic features of the U.S.?
Keys to Exercises of Chapter One
I.
1. the United States of America
2. 50 Washington D.C.
3. Statue of Liberty
4. rose, oak
5. Uncle Sam
6. Washington D.C.
7. three
8. Death Point
9. Lake Michigan 10. Great Plains 11. Wyoming 12. Alaska 13. The Missouri River 14. the Mississippi River
15. New York City 16. Lake Superior, Lake Michigan, Lake Huron, Lake Erie, and Lake Ontario 17. “Old Man River” 18. Lake Superior 19. The Great Salt Lake
II. 1-5 TFFFT 6-10 TTTTT 11- 13 TTT
III.
1. Due to its large size and geographic variety, the United States includes most climate types. In the contiguous United States to the east of the 100th meridian, the climate ranges from humid continental in the north to humid subtropical in the south. The southern tip of Florida is tropical, as is Hawaii.
2. The vast landscape of the United States can be divided into three distinct areas according to their geographical features: the eastern part, the western part and the Great Plains in between. The eastern part consists of the highlands formed by the Appalachian Range. The western part consists of high plateaus and mountains. The Great Plains lie between the Appalachians in the east and the Rocky Mountains in the west.
Exercises of Chapter Two
I. For each statement there are four choices marked A, B, C and D, choose the best one to complete the statement.
1. The Monroe Doctrine had the following features or ideas except ____.
A. non-colonization
B. America for Americans
C. non-intervention
D. Latin America for Europeans
2. The US continental expansion was almost complete by ______.
A. 1840
B. 1845
C. 1846
D. 1848
3. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., advocated the philosophy of _________.
A. economic equality
B. nonviolence
C. military protest
D. black power
4. Which statement about the US in 1920s is not true?________
A. women got their right to vote.
B. people’s attitude to work changed a lot.
C. many famous film production companies were founded.
D. country was the most popular music at that time
5. The faces of George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, _________, and Abraham Lincoln are carved into the face of Mount Rushmore, forming the Mount Rushmore National Memorial, South Dakota
A. Theodore Roosevelt
B. John F. Kennedy
C. John Adams
D. Benjamin Franklin
II. Fill in the blanks.
1. The American continent was first discovered by an Italian sailor called ___________ in ______.
2. The first successful permanent English settlement was Virginia Colony at _________ in 1607.
3. ________________, which was adopted on July 4 by the Congress, 1776, officially proclaimed the independence of 13 North American colonies.
4. In 1863, Lincoln issued the ________________ which liberated some four million black slaves in the seceded states.
5. _________________marked the beginning of the War of Independence.
6. Before slavery was abolished, many people forged the _______________, a secret organization to offer help to the Negroes to escape to the north.
7. The famous novel ___________written by Harriet Beecher Stowe made a great stir in the northern states and the novel became an instant best seller.
8. The Second Continental Congress met in _________ in May 1775. The representatives agreed to take steps to organize an American army and appointed ____________Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army.
9. ______________________is the turning point in the American Civil War.
10.___________________(1954-1968) is the movement for racial equality in the U.S. that, through __________________, broke the pattern of racial segregation in the South and achieved equal rights for the blacks.
11. The ten years betw een 1919 and 1929, usually called the “_____________” or the “_________”, were a time of carefree prosperity, isolation from the world’s problems, bewildering social change and a feverish pursuit of pleasure.
12. The second Congress issued the United States ________________on July 4, 1776, rejecting the monarchy on behalf of the new sovereign nation.
III. Read the following statements carefully and decide if each of them is True or False.
1. The first successful English settlements were the Virginia Colony in Jamestown in 1607 and the Pilgrims’ Plymouth Colony in 1620.
2. Between 1607 and 1733 the British established 13 colonies along the east coast of North America.
3. The United States was founded by thirteen British colonies located along the Atlantic seaboard.
4. The early settlers in all these 13 colonies were from different European countries, but the majority of them came from England.
5. After the Seven Year’s War (also known as the French and Indian War 1754-1763), France gained control of Canada and all of North America east of the Mississippi.
6. The Battle of Gettysburg is the largest battle in the history of the Western hemisphere.
7. The mainland of the U.S. as we know today was almost complete in 1776.
8. Boston Tea Party was the direct cause of the American War of Independence.
IV. Directions: Give a brief answer to each of the following questions.
1. What is the significance of American Revolution?
2. What is the importance of the Emancipation Proclamation?
3. What is the major significance and consequence of the Westward Movement?
V. Directions: How do you comment on the American Civil War?
Keys to Exercises of Chapter Two
I. 1-5 DDBDA
II.
1. Christopher Columbus, 1492
2. Jamestown
3. Declaration of Independence
4. Emancipation Proclamation
5. The Battle of Lexington
6. Underground Railroad
7. Uncle Tome’s Cabin
8. Philadelphia, George Washington
9. The Battle of Gettysburg 10. Civil Rights Movement, nonviolent protest 11. Roaring Twenties, Jazz Age 12. Declaration of Independence
III. 1-5 TTTTF 6-10 TFT
IV.
1.The American War of Independence was both a national liberation war and a Bourgeois revolution. The British colonial rule was overthrown and a new independent national country was set up. By smashing the fetters of British colonial rule, the American people gained independence, which gave capitalism a chance for rapid development. It shows that a weak nation can defeat a strong one. This encouraged the national liberation struggle of the other colonies in the world.
2. It helped to end the war sooner. Many Negroes took part in the war and made great contributions to the victory of the North. The North began to gain advantage in the war. Marx said it was “the most important document in American history since the founding of the United States.
3. This is a large-scale advancement of American economy and territory. It effectively makes the USA become one of the most powerful nations of the 20th century, and helps the formation of American nationality. However, Westward Mov ement is also the Indians’ tragic history---Trail of Tears. It causes great suffering, destruction, and cultural loss for the Native Americans of North America.
V. Hint:
Causes: Tensions between slave and free states mounted with arguments over the relationship between the state and federal governments, as well as violent conflicts over the spread of slavery into new states. Before the civil war, industry and railroads developed well in the north while it was much left behind in the south. The capitalists i n the north couldn’t get enough raw materials from the south and lost the market of the south while the south provided raw materials for British factories and imported British industrial goods. What’s more, Capitalists needed free men to work at factories while Planters own many slaves as their manpower.
After Lincoln was elected as President in 1861, seven slave states declared their secession and formed the Confederate States of America. This signaled the war on the way.
Process: The War Began with the Firing on Fort Sumter on April 12, 1861. After the fall of Fort Sumter, four other Southern states seceded from the Union and joined the Confederacy. Failure after failure came to the North at the first stage as the north was not well equipped. The Homestead Act in 1862 and especially the Emancipation Proclamation issued by Lincoln On January 1, 1863 helped the north turn the tide of the war. The Proclamation declared freedom for all slaves in the areas under Confederate control. Large numbers of free Blacks joined the Union army. The last time the South invaded the North and the point turning is in the Battle of Gettysburg on July 1, 1863. The war ended with the Union victory after the Battle of Richmond in 1865.
Influences: The civil war remains the deadliest war in American history. The war and its resolution led to a substantial increase in federal power. Victory for the North prevented a permanent split of the country, led to the end of legal slavery in the United States and strengthened the role of the federal government.
Exercises of Chapter Three
I. For each statement there are four choices marked A, B, C and D, choose the best one to complete the statement.
1. The power of the state in the US is actually from _____.
A. the central government
B. the state constitution
C. the US Constitution
D. both B and C
2. The terms of the senator and representative are _____ and ____ years respectively.
A. two … four
B. two … three
C. two … six
D. six … two
3. Certain presidential appointments must be approved by a majority vote in ________.
A. Congress
B. the House of Representatives
C. the Supreme Court
D. the Senate
4. The American president has all the following powers except ____.
A. deploying armed forces
B. making treaties
C. making laws
D. granting pardons
5. The highest authority of the Supreme Court is _________.
A. to review decisions of the courts of appeal
B. to review decisions of the federal district courts
C. to try the impeachment case
D. to interpret the US Constitution
6. The American Congress has all the following powers except ____.
A. appoints the members of the Cabinet
B. levy and collect taxes
C. declare war
D. the power of impeachment
II. Fill in the blanks.
1. The United States i s the world’s oldest surviving federation. It is a ________________ and ________________.
2. The ___________ is the legislative branch of the Federal Government.
3. The___________ framed in ______and ratified in 1789 is the supreme law of the U.S..
4. The bicameral Congress, made up of the______ and _____________ is the law-making and the supreme legislative body of the nation.
5. Federalism means the division of powers by the ___________ between the ____________ government and _________ government.
6. The Separation of powers in the United States means the allocation of ___________ power to Congress, ___________ power to President and ________ power to the Supreme Court.
7. The _________is the commander-in-chief of the military
8. The President must be ______________ of the U.S., be at least ____ years old, and a resident of the United States for at least _____ years.
9. The judicial branch is headed by the U.S. _________________, which is the only court specifically created by the Constitution.
10. The US constitution allows the president to ________________ in federal criminal cases.
11. His nomination of officials needs the approval of ___________.
12. The Supreme Court is made up of _____ justices. One of these is the Chief Justice. They are appointed by ___________and must be approved by __________.
13. In general, America has a 2-party system. That is the 2 major political parties---now ________________ and ________________.
14. The method of voting is _________________where the highest polling candidate is elected.
15. _________ must be at least 30 years old, a citizen of the United States for at least nine years
16. _____________________founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, is often called the Grand Old Party (GOP).
III. Read the following statements carefully and decide if each of them is True or False.
1. The separation of powers is one of the basic doctrines in the U.S. Constitution in order to prevent abuse of power.
2. The Constitution outlines the structure of the national government and specifies its powers and activities.
3. Powers of the state government are from the federal government.
4. The United States is the world’s oldest surviving federation.
5. The president is in charge of making sure laws and government plans are carried out.
6. The President has no power to veto legislative bills before they become law.
7. All treaties and all the President’s appointments to high office are subjected to the Senate’s approval.
8. Under the Constitution, the President is head of the Senate.
9. The Secretary of State is the Chief Executive Officer of the United States Department of State.
10. All the bills passed by congress must be signed by the president before becoming laws.
11. If the president abuses his power and commits high crimes, the Supreme Court has the power to impeach him.
12. Justices have their jobs for life, unless they resign, retire or are impeached.
13. Both Houses of Congress are directly elected.
14. All U.S. citizens from the age of 16, regardless of race, gender, or wealth, with the only exception to this is the disenfranchisement of convicted felons, and in some states former felons as well.
15. The constitution states that members of the House of Representatives must be at least 25 years old, a citizen of the United States for at least seven years.
IV. Explain the following terms in English.
1. Federalism
2. The Separation of Powers
V. Directions: Give a brief answer to each of the following questions.
1. The form of the U.S. government is based on three main principles, what are they?
2. What is the “winner-take-all” principle?
VI. Write between 100 ~ 150 words on the following topic:
What are the features of the Federalism?
Keys to Exercises of Chapter Three
I. 1-5 CDDCD 6-10 A
II. 1. Constitutional republic, representative democracy 2. Congress 3. 1787, Constitution
4. Senate the House of Representatives
5. Constitution, federal, state
6. the Legislative, the Executive, the Judicial
7. president
8. a natural born citizen,35,14
9. Supreme Court
10. give pardons 11. the senate 12. 9, President, the Senate 13. The Democratic Party, The Republican Party 14. first-past-the-post 15. Senators 16. The Republican Party
III. 1-5 TTFTT 6-10 FTFTT 11-15 FTTFT
IV.
1. There is a division of powers between the federal government and the state government.
2. There is a division of powers among the three branches of the federal government. This is one of the basic doctrines in the U.S. Constitution in order to prevent abuse of power. The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the U.S. Constitution, which serves as the country’s supreme legal document. To ensure each of the three branches a sufficient role in the actions of the others so that no one branch may dominate the others.
V.
1. Federalism, the Separation of Powers, and Respect for the Constitution and the Rule of Law
2. The candidate with the most votes in a state wins all of that states electoral votes. The candidate who wins the majority of the Electoral College votes will be the president.
VI.
The United States is the world’s oldest surviving federation. The government is regulated by a system of checks and balances defined by the U.S. Constitution, which serves as the country’s supreme legal document. According to the Constitution, the federal government is composed of three branches: the Legislative, the Executive and the Judicial. In the American federalist system, the separation of powers is one of the basic doctrines in the U.S. Constitution in order to prevent abuse of power. These three separate but interdependent branches and their various powers are delineated in the U.S. Constitution. Each of the three branches of government can check and balance the powers of the others. In this way, no one branch becomes too powerful. Each branch “checks” the power of the other branches to make sure that the power is balanced between them.
Chapter Five American Education
I. Direction: Read the following unfinished statements of questions carefully. For each unfinished statement of question four suggested answers A, B, C and D are given. Choose the one you think best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. The world-famous Harvard University is in _____.
A. Massachusetts
B. New York
C. Washington
D.C. D. New England
2. Which of the following statements about American education is not true?
A. Elementary and secondary education in America is free and compulsory.
B. Private schools are financially supported by religious or nonreligious private organizations
or individuals.
C. Most parents send their children into public schools because it provides better educational
quality.
D. Generally, the curriculum in public elementary school is determined by individual school
districts.
3. Typically, in America formal education involves three levels except ______.
A. preschool education
B. elementary education
C. secondary education
D. post-secondary education
4. In Middle School or Junior High School, the core courses for children include the following except _____.
A. English
B. social studies
C. liberal arts
D. science
5. There are over _____ universities, colleges and junior colleges in the United States.
A. 4253
B. 4352
C. 4532
D. 3542
6. Who is fully responsible for education in America?
A. the Federal government.
B. the state governments.
C. the national government.
D. the Department of Education.
7. The expenditure in American public schools is guided or decided by _____.
A. teachers
B. students
C. headmaster
D. boards of education
8. In the American school system, there are twelve levels called _____.
A. classes.
B. grades.
C. divisions.
D. high school.
9. Yale University was founded in _____.
A. 1701
B. 1746
C. 1749
D. 1636
10. _____ is the earliest university in America.
A. Yale
B. Harvard
C. Brown
D. Columbia
11. Junior college in America is _____.
A. two years
B. three years
C. four years
D. five years
12. The tuition in a private college is _____.
A. high
B. rather high
C. quite low
D. Tolerable
13. The main difference between Middle School and Junior High School lies is
_____ . (p145)
A. school grades
B. teachers
C. extracurricular activities
D. elective course
14. Which of the following is not the admission criteria into colleges for high school
students?
A. class ranking
B. Standardized test scores
C. research ability
D. GPA
15. Among the following universities, which is not a member of Ivy League?
A. Columbia University.
B. Brown University.
C. University of Pennsylvania.
D. Massachusetts Institute of Technology
II. Read the following statements carefully and decide if each of them is True or False.
1. ______ Formal education in the United States consists of elementary, secondary and higher education.
2. ______ Department of Education in the United States is mainly responsible for making educational laws.
3. ______ Hiring teaching staff is the matter of headmaster in the United States.
4. ______ With a bachelor or master's degree majoring children education, anyone can successfully apply for a teaching job in any state.
5. _____ Children education is compulsory but age for it varies.
6. _____ It is very easy to get a bachelor's degree since America is great power in education.
7. _____ Most of American college students depend on their parents to finish their higher education.
8. _____ SAT and ACT are the most common standardized tests that American students take when applying to college.
III. Fill in the blanks
1. American children usually begin their school at the age of _____.
2. An elementary school teacher must have at least a ________ degree of arts with a major in
education.
3. ______________ is viewed by public as famous universities.
4. There are four grades in universities. They are freshmen, ___________, junior and senior.
5. The tuition in a ________ college is very high.
6. The academic degrees in America are the Bachelor’s, the ___________ and the Doctor’s degrees.
7. The American children usually graduate from high school at the age of _____.
8. The students who are working for a bachelor's degree are called ___________.
9. In the United States, elementary education begins from __________.
10. Most famous universities in the United States are __________institutions.
11. American government provides ________ years of free formal education.
12. Most American students lack the financial resources to pay tuition fees, and they must rely on _____________ and _____________. (p147)
IV. Explain the following terms in English.
1. Ivy League
2. Community colleges
V. Write between 100 ~ 150 words on the following topics
1. Briefly introduce American educational system
2. What are the admission criteria into colleges for American high school students?
Keys to American Education
I. Multiple choice
1-5 ACACB 6-10 BDBAB 11-15 ABDCD
II. True or False
1. T
2. F
3. F
4. F
5. T
6. F
7. F
8. T
III. Fill in the blanks
1. five or six
2. Bachelor's
3. Ivy league
4. sophomore
5. private
6. Master's
7. 18
8. undergraduate 9. kindergarten 10. private 11. 12 12. student loans or scholarships
IV. Explain the following terms in English.
1. Ivy League
Ivy League refers to eight private institutions of higher education in the Northeastern US. The term also has connotations of academic excellence, selectivity in admissions, and a reputation for social elitism. Ivy League schools are often viewed by the public as some of the most prestigious universities worldwide and are often ranked amongst the best universities in the United States and worldwide.
2. Community colleges
Community colleges refer to those university providing two years education before further study at another college or university. In most states, they are operated by local special districts subject to guidance from a state agency. Students may receive an associate degree after completing a two-year program.
V. Write between 100 ~ 150 words on the following topics
1. America educational system provides children with 12 years of free public education. American education is mainly divided into three levels: elementary school education, secondary education, and post-secondary education. Children are divided by age groups into grades ranging from kindergarten at the age of five or six to twelfth grade. Education in the United States is state-administered rather than nation-administered. Each state has an educational administration, not subject to federal control and the state authorities lay down general principles concerning the
organization of schools and so. Therefore, though children education is compulsory, the age for compulsory education varies from state to state.
2. Admission criteria for high school students into college involve the rigor and grades earned in high s chool courses taken, the students’ GPA class ranking, and standardized test scores such as the SAT or the ACT tests. Most colleges also consider more subjective factors such as a commitment to extracurricular activities, a personal essay and an interview. While colleges will rarely list that they require a certain standardized test score, class ranking, or GPA for admission, each college usually has a rough threshold below which admissions unlikely.
Chapter Six American Literature
I. Direction: Read the following unfinished statements of questions carefully. For each unfinished statement of question four suggested answers A; B, C and D are given. Choose the one you think best completes the statement or answers the question.
1. Ernest Hemingway achieved Nobel Prize winner for Literature for his _____.
A. The Sun Also Rises
B. Farewell to Arms
C. The Old Man and the Sea
D. For Whom the Bell Tolls
2. Which of the following books is not written by Mark Twain?
A. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
B. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
C. Life on the Mississippi
D. Leaves of grass
3. Which of the following books is written by Washington Irving?
A. Nature
B. The Scarlet Letter
C. The Sketch Book
D. Martin Eden
4. _____ is regarded as the father of detective stories.
A. Mark Twain
B. Edgar Allan Poe
C. Herman Melville
D. Washington Irving
5. The greatest American playwright is _____. (p168)
A. Ernest Hemingway
B. Eugene O’Neil
C. Robert Frost
D. Toni Morrison
6. _____ belonged to the Lost Generation.
A. Ernest Hemingway
B. Walt Whitman
C. Tennessee Williams
D. William Faulkner
7. Hawthorne is a famous American writer in _____ fiction.
A. romantic
B. realistic
C. Jewish
D. southern
8. The Father of American literature was _____.
A. Mark Twain
B. Washington Irving
C. Walt Whitman
D. Emerson
9. Which of the following is not naturalistic works?
A. Sister Carrie
B. The Call of the Wild
C. Moby Dick
D. American Tragedy
10. Among the following writers, who is not an experimenter in era of modernism?
A. Ezra Pound
B. T.S. Eliot
C. F. Scott Fitzgerald
D. Robert Frost
II. Fill in the blanks
1. Hawthorne’s best novel is ______________.
2. Whitman is remembered for his poems _____________.
3. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is considered _____________’s masterpiece.
4. Ernest Hemingway is the spokesman of the ________ generation.
5. The best novel written by Theodore Dreiser is ________________.