A Brief Introduction to English-speaking Countries

1
A Brief Introduction to English-speaking
Countries

• Zhang Huahong
• School of Foreign Studies
• Available at
• sfs.scnu.edu.cn/hhzhang/index.htm

2
Preliminary Considerations

• The significance of the study
• The suggested way of study
• Means of course evaluation
• Teaching and learning focus
• Text books Book 1, Book 2 of
• ???????????

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Weekly Assignments

• 1.Do the exercises of two chapters.
• 2.Work in groups of four discussing the
• Questions For Thought after the text
• in speaking class, as assigned by the
• monitor, prepared for presentation.
• 3.Group members work out the accord-
• ing answers on the paper by turns
• and hand in for regular evaluation.

4
Significance of Course Paper

• 1.Writing aims at cultivating scientific
• spirit of learning with discovery and
• analysis by means of extensive and
• selective reading.
• 2.A course paper is made up of
• a. summary of related readings to the
• topic under discussion
• b. arguments or hypothesis
• c. confirmation of the hypothesis

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1.Abstract2.Key words3.Body a. Introduction
with Literature review b. Points of interest
under discussion c. Hypothesis/argument d.
Illustration e. Comment f. Conclusion4.Refere
nce

• Suggested format of Paper

6
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?.????.?Reference 1Levinson, S. Pragmatics
M. Cambridge Cambridge University Press,
1983. 15-20. 2???.??????????J.??
?,1995(1)68-72.????????N????J????
M?? D????C???

• Format of Reference

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Early Settlement

• 3,000 BC Iberians from Spain
• 2,000 BC Beakers from
  Holland
• 700 BC Germanic Celts
• 55 BC500 AD Romans
• 500 AD Anglo-Saxons
• 800900 AD Vikings and Danes
• 1066 AD Norman French

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William the Conqueror

• (1066-1154) William I, (succeeded by William
  II, Henry I) reorganized the feudal system,
  making all landholders swear greater loyalty to
  him rather than to their separate lords. He also
  ordered an exhaustive survey of the landed wealth
  in his realm. The written results, known as the
  Domesday Book, helped determine the revenues owed
  him by his subjects.

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Plantagenet (Norman)

• (1154-1485) Nickname of Anjou dynasty,
  founded by Geoffrey IV, husband of Matilda,
  daughter of King Henry I of England. The kings,
  in the main line of descent, were Henry II,
  Richard I, John, Henry III, Edward I, Edward II,
  Edward III, and Richard II through the house of
  Lancaster, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI and
  through the house of York, Edward IV, Edward V,
  Richard III.

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Tudor (Welsh)

• The dynasty (1485-1603) founded by the Welsh
  nobleman Owen Tudor, who married Catherine of
  Valois, the widow of the English king Henry V.
  Their eldest son, Edmund Tudor, married Margaret
  Beaufort, a descendant of John of Gaunt, son of
  King Edward III. In 1485 Edmund and Margaret's
  son, Henry, killed Richard III of the house of
  York and became Henry VII, the first Tudor
  monarch succeeded by Henry VIII and his son and
  two daughters, Edward VI, Mary I, and Elizabeth I.

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Stuart (Scottish)

• (1603-1714) James I, who succeeded childless
  Queen Elizabeth, as the first Stuart king of
  England, was succeeded by Charles I, Charles II,
  James II, and Mary II. who first ruled with her
  husband, William III, until her death in 1694.
  William then ruled alone until 1702, succeeded by
  Queen Anne, the second daughter of James II.

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Hanover (German)

• (1714-1901) Childless Queen Anne was
  succeeded by George I, then by George II, George
  III, George IV, childless William IV and Queen
  Victoria.
• Twentieth Century (German)
• (1901-) Edward VII, George V, Edward VIII,
  George VI, Queen Elizabeth II

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U. K. Historical Dates

• 1536,1707 the Kingdom of Great Britain
• 1801 the United Kingdom was created
• 1833 slavery abolished in the Empire
• 1911 power of House of Lords reduced
• 1921 the British kingdom was renamed
• 1945 Labor Party made a welfare state
• 1979 the first woman as prime minister
• 1997 the Labor Party returned to power
• 1999 Scotland, Walesa level of self-rule

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1. Why is Britain called a complicated
country with a complicated name?2. What are the
effects of its imperial past?3. When did it
become a member of the European Union?4. Why
is it considered a multiracial society?5. How
remarkable are its class, regional and
economic differences?6. How significant is the
role of London?

• General features of Britain

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1. GREAT BRITAIN

• 1.How does England play a dominant role of in
  culture and economy?
• 2.Can you tell the story of King Arthur?
• 3.Whats the legend of Robin Hood like?
• 4.In what way is parliament dominant over the
  throne?
• 5.What are the physical features of Scotland?
• 6.What caused the cultural division between
  highland and lowland?

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• 7.How important is the battle of Bannockburn to
  the Scots?
• 8.Who is the national hero to bring about the
  300-year independence of Scotland?
• 9.What happened to Scotland in 1707?
• 10.How is the strong Scottish identity shown?
• 11. Can you say something about Wales?
• 12. Why is it said Wales has a history of
  invasions?
• 13. In what century was its unification with the
  UK completed?

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2. Northern Ireland

• 1.Can you tell about the population and
• physical features of Northern Ireland?
• 2.What about its economy?
• 3.What is the Home Rule Bill?
• 4.What happened in Ireland in the Easter
• Rising of 1916?
• 5.What does the Sinn Fein Party aim at?
• 6.What caused the religious conflicts in
• Ireland historically?

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7.What is the significance of partition of
Ireland in 1921? 8.Who began the Civil Rights
Movement in Northern Ireland in the 1960s?
9.What caused the presence of British
soldiers in Northern Ireland since 1969?10.How
was IRAs violence in the 1970s?11.What does
Bloody Sunday symbolize?12.What caused the
collapse of the power- sharing in Northern
Ireland?13.How did the British and Irish
govern- ments cooperate for a solution?
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3. THE U. K. GOVERNMENT

• 1.King Egbert
• 2.Divine right of kings
• 3.The civil war
• 4.Roundheads
• 5.Magna Carta
• 6.The Great Council
• 7.William of Orange
• 8.The Bill of Rights of 1689

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• 9.The Cabinet
• 10.The prime minister
• 11.George I
• 12.The Constitution
• 13.Parliaments power and functions
• 14.The roles of the monarch
• 15.The House of Lords
• 16.Life peers
• 17.The House of Commons

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4. POLITICS

• 1.Importance of general elections
• 2.The formation of the government
• 3.Vote of no confidence
• 4.The electoral campaigns
• 5.Procedure of general elections
• 6.The Conservative Party
• 7.The Labor Party
• 8.The Liberal Democrats

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• 8. The National Health Service
• 9. Recent political trends in the UK
• 10.Margaret Thatcher
• 11.John Major
• 12.Tony Blair

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5. THE UK ECONOMY

• 1.Absolute decline and relative
• decline of British economy
• 2.Privatization in the 1980s
• 3.Main sectors of the UK economy
• 4.Primary industries
• 5.Secondary industries
• 6.Tertiary industries
• 7.Agriculture

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• 8. Energy production
• 9. Offshore oil industry
• 10.Manufacturing industry
• 11.The City of London
• 12.London Stock Exchange
• 13.Aerospace industry
• 14.Frank Whittle
• 15.Concorde

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• 6. BRITISH LITERATURE
• 1.Early British literature concerned with
  Christianity
• 2.Beowulf
• 3.The Canterbury Tales by Chaucer
• 4.Stories of King Arthur and his knights
• 5.Drama in the Renaissance
• 6.William Shakespeare

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• 7.Classicism in the 18th century
• 8.Romanticism in the 19th century
• 9.Critical realism in the 19th century
• 10.Characteristics of the twentieth century
  literature
• 11.Naturalism
• 12.Modernism
• 13.Postmodernism

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• 7. SPORTS IN BRITAIN
• Football, the FA and the FA Cup
• Tennis and Wimbledon
• Cricket and Golf
• Hunting and fishing
• Horse racing and equestrianism
• The Grand National
• The Royal Ascot
• Hunt saboteurs

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• 8. HOLIDAYS AND FESTIVALS
• 1.Traditions of Christmas
• 2.The Christmas Pantomime
• 3.Principal boy and the Dame
• 4.Boxing Days tradition
• 5.Easter and Ramadan
• 6.Trooping the color
• 7.Bonfire Nights traditions
• 8.The Battle of the Boyne

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• 9.William of Orange
• 10.St Patricks Day in Ireland
• 11.The Christian Trinity
• 12.Hogmanay in Scotland
• 13.First-footing
• 14.Robert Burns and haggis
• 15.Halloweens traditions
• 16.The Druids in Wales
• 17.The Eisteddfod in Wales

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• 9. British Education
• Purpose of the education system
• Education and social class
• Comprehensive school
• Grammar school
• National Curriculum
• Public school
• GCSE, GCE-A, and GNVQs
• Old Universities

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• 10. British Society
• owner-occupation
• Four main types of home
• flats terraced houses
• the semi detached houses
• Class system in the society
• Upper and lower middle-classes
• Hereditary aristocracy
• Oxbridge and life peers
• Ethnic relations in Britain

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• 11 Foreign Relations
• 1.Britains imperial prime
• 2.Active in setting up the U.N.
• 3.End of the great British empire
• 4.Foreign policy influenced by its history and
  geopolitical traits
• 5.Long-term physical separation from the European
  continent
• 6.The involvement of the Foreign and Commonwealth
  Office

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• 7.The Treasury
• 8.A parliamentary democracy
• 9.Permanent member of UN. SC
• 10.Member of the European Union
• 11.Member of the Commonwealth
• 12.Special relationship with US
• 13.The Suez Crisis
• 14.Outpost of US military bloc
• 15.The presence of US bases in UK

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• 12 British Media
• 1.Popularity and functions
• 2.Newspapers
• Observer Times Guardian
• News of the World Telegraph
• Financial Times The
  tabloids
• 3.The broadcast media
• 4.Television and radio
• 5.British Broadcasting Corporation
• 6.The Independent TV Commission

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• 13. Australia outline, history
• 1.The flag of Austria
• 2.The national anthem
• 3.Australias coat of arms
• 4.Official language and National day
• 5.Location, size and climate
• 6.Multicultural society
• Aboriginal migration
• Torres Strait Islander
• 7. Services to facilitate immigration

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• 8.Aboriginal society before whites
• 9.Impact of European settlement
• 10.British colonization
• 11.Exploration of the land by whites
• 12.Expansion of British settlement
• 13.Economy in early colonies
• 14.Structure of local governments
• authorities
• legislature
• 15.Formation of the Commonwealth of Australia

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• 14. Political Life
• 1.The six states (settlement, economy,
  population, natural resources and capitals)
• New South Wales Victoria
• Queensland South
  Australia
• Western Australia Tasmania,,
• 2.The three internal territories
• 3.The external territories
• 4.Australian federation
• How to change the Constitution
• Anglo-Australian links

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• Powers and duties of Governor-General
  
• and the governors
• Formation of federal government
• Australian parliament
• term of the Senators
• term of the MP
• 5.State level
• parliament and government
• Policy-making of the government
• 6.Finance and responsibility of the
• local government
• 7.Secret ballots

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• 8. Political parties in Australia
• 9. Public service and organization
• of ministries
• 10.Freedom-of-information legislation
• 11.National interests in developing international
  relations
• 12.Australia and the UN
• 13.Changes in foreign policy
• 14.Australia in Asia-Pacific region with ASEAN

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• With Japan and China
• With South Korea
• With Indo-China
• With Papua New Guinea
• 15.Australia in the South Pacific region
• With New Zealand
• 16.Australia and the western countries
• With the US
• With Canada
• With the European countries
• 17.Australias nuclear policies

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• 15. Australian Economy
• 1.Changes after WWII
• expansion of secondary industry
• economic diversification and growth
• export-oriented mining and energy projects
• 2.Rural and mining sectors account
• for ¾ of total exports
• leading role of wool production
• worlds largest coal exporter
• 3.Secondary and tertiary industries
• 4.Overall performance since 1980s

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• 5.Unexpected mineral discovery
• 6.Major mineral producer-exporter
• 7.Worlds key commodity supplier
• 8.Change in pattern of international
• trade in the last 25 years
• ranges of products and export markets
  
• diversified
• the manufacturing share of overall
• exports soaring
• 9.Australias import pattern
• 10.Government investment in trade

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• 11.Imports suppliers
• US, Japan as the largest
• falling British share
• rising share of developing world
• 12.Role in world trade organizations
• 13.Trade with New Zealand
• 14.Limitations on agricultural growth
• 15.Major agricultural exporter
• 16.Manufacturing industry
• economic restructuring ¼ of total
  exports
• 17.Tertiary sector largest segment

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• 16. Culture and Society
• 1.Two main types of school
• 2.Compulsory schooling
• Primary schooling
• Secondary schooling
• correspondence courses
• schools of the air
• 3.Education for Aboriginal and Islander
• 4.Education for the disabled
• 5.Multicultural education

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• 6.Assistance from federal government
• 7.teachers qualification
• 8.post-secondary education
• 9.Arts distinctive Australian trends
• 10.Poetry Henry Kendall
• Henry Lawson
• 11.Fiction Henry Lawson
• Patrick White
• 12.Drama David Williamson
• 13.Newpapers and Magazines

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• National newspapers
• Local newspapers
• Oldest newspapers
• Proprietorship in the print media
• 14.national radio and television services
• ABC
• Radio Australia
• SBS
• 15.commercial radio and TV stations
• The Australian Broadcasting Tribunal
• Formal regulations

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• 16.The Australian Associated Press
• 17.Restraints on the media
• 18.Public and private health care
• Practicing doctors and nurses
• Hospitals
• Medicare
• Health-insurance organizations
• 19.Federal governments role
• 20.Care for Aboriginal and Islander
• National Aboriginal Health Strategy

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• 21.Royal Flying Doctor Service
• 22.The Red Cross Society
• 23.The fighting against AIDS
• 24.National Campaign Against Drugs
• 25.History of social services
• 26.Social security programs today
• The age pension
• The sole parent pension

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• 21. New Zealand (1)
• 1.Geography
• North Island
• South Island
• 2.The Weather
• 3.Wildlife
• Unique flora and fauna
• 4.Environmental Issues
• Resource Management Act
• Ozone depletion

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• 5.Population
• Highly urbanized
• Concentrated on the North Island
• Components
• European, Maori, Polynesian
• Immigration
• 6.Maori society
• 7.Pacific Island people
• 8.Language
• 9.Human Rights
• 10.Standard of Living

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• 11.Maoritanga
• Traditions
• Legends about Maui
• Maori Society
• Ethnic Relations
• Maori Language
• 12.History
• First settlers of the Island
• European Navigators and settlers
• The Gold Rushes
• Maori-Pakeha relationship
• Social welfare system
• The Post-War Years

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• 22. New Zealand (2)
• 1.Government
• The Constitution
• Parliament
• A single-chamber parliament
• Members of Parliament
• Election
• Mixed Member Proportional Representation
• The Cabinet
• The Ombudsman
• Local Government

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• 2.Education
• Early Childhood Education
• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools
• Correspondence School
• Private Schools
• Special Needs Education
• Universities
• Polytechnics
• The Open Polytechnic

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• 3.Agriculture
• Hard-won Reputation as
• the Worlds Largest Farm
• Technology
• Farm Management
• Crops and Horticulture
• 4.Forestry Fishing
• Forests
• Exports of Forest Products
• Fisheries and Fish Exports
• Aquaculture

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• 5.Overseas Trade
• Exports
• Dairy products
• meat
• wool
• Forestry exports
• Service
• Markets
• Government Policy and Priorities
• Imports

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23. AMERICAN BEGINNINGS1.Discovery of
America2.Puritanism 3.The Pilgrim Fathers4.The
influence of Puritanism on American
culture5.The causes and major leaders of the
American Revolution6.The Declaration of
IndependenceQ1, Q3
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24. U. S. POLITICAL SYSTEM1.the Article of
Confederation2.the making of the US
Constitution3.the three branches of the federal
government4.checks and balances5.the Bill
of Rights6.political parties Q1, Q3, Q5
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25. AMERICAN ECONOMY1.Samuel Slater
Q1, Q2, Q32.Eli Whitney3.Industrial Revolution
in America4.Corporation5.Service industries
6.Stock7.The root of Americas
affluence8.Agribusiness9.Migrant workers10.The
success and problems of American agriculture
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26. RELIGION IN THE U. S. 1.American
history and religious liberty2.The US
Constitution and religion3.Protestants in the
US4.Catholic in the US5.Three faiths in the
US6.Religious diversity7.Characteristics of
American religious beliefsQ1, Q2, Q3, Q4
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27. AMERICAN LITERATURE 1.Writers of the
post-Revolutionary period Washington Irving
James Cooper2.Transcendentalists Ralph Emerson
Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 Henry Thoreau3.Power of
imagination Egdar Poe Nathaniel Hawthorne
Herman Melville
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27. AMERICAN LITERATURE 4.New visions of
American Walt Whitman5.Reform and liberation
Harriet Stowe6.Regionalism William Howells
Mark Twin Emily Dickinson
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27. AMERICAN LITERATURE 7. A new wave
Henry James Edith Wharton Naturalists
Stephen Crane Theodore Dreiser Jack
London8.Rebellious spirit Sherwood Anderson
Sinclair Lewis9.The modernistsimagism---in
poetry Ezra Pound T. S. Eliot E. E. Cumming
Wallace Stevens William C. Williams
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27. AMERICAN LITERATURE 10.The Lost
Generation F. Scott Fitzgerald Ernest
Hemingway William Faulkner11.The Harlem
Renaissance12.New Drama Eugene
ONeill13.Depression Realism and Escapism
John Steinbeck Margaret Mitchell
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27. AMERICAN LITERATURE Norman Mailer
Joseph Heller 14.The postwar voices The
Beat Generation Black writers Women
writers Theater Tennessee Williams
Arthur Miller
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28. EDUCATION IN U. S. 1.the goal of
education2.expenditure of education3.different
education laws for different states4.several
levels of schooling5.curricula for
students6.compulsory education for all
children7.public taxation for schools8.education
in the hands of state and local governments
Q1, Q2, Q3
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28. EDUCATION IN U. S. 9.equal education
opportunities for minority groups 10.a
strong demand for higher education11.the complex
system of higher education12.varieties of
colleges and university13.trends in degree
programs14.the Servicemens Readjustment
Act15.affirmative action programs16.nontradition
al students
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29. SOCIAL MOVEMENTS IN
AMERICA1.Greensboro Sit-In2.The Civil Rights
Movement3.Martin Luther King, Jr.4.The Anti-War
Movement5.Free Speech Movement6.The Counter
Culture7.Womens Liberation Movement
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30. SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN AMERICA
1.racial problems2.inequality in American
society3.discrimination against blacks4.the
black underclass5.poverty as a social
problem6.drug abuse Q1
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30. SOCIAL PROBLEMS IN AMERICA
7.social costs of drug abuse8.crime9.the
profile of a typical criminal10.racial prejudice
in the high rate of arrests11.white-collar
crime12.the abuse of power by government13.the
abuse of power by corporations
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31. TECHNOLOGY IN AMERICA1.Eli Whitney and mass
production2.John H Hall3. the Stevens and
transportation 4.Samuel F B More5.The Pony
Express System6.Alexander Graham Bell7.Thomas
Alva Edison8.Frederick Winslow Taylor
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31. TECHNOLOGY IN AMERICA 9.Henry Ford 10.the
invention of the radio11.the Age of Visual
Information12.household technologies
13.computer science14.rocketry15.Use of
nuclear energy
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32. POST-WWII AMERICAN FOREIGN POLICY
1.the beginning of the Cold War
2.Americo-Soviet Arms Race3.the Truman
Doctrine4.the containment policy 5.the Cuban
Missile Crisis in 19626.the Korean War
Sino-American relations7.engagement and
expansion8.unilateralism9.the Sept.11 terrorist
attack war on Iraq
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33. SPORTS SCENIC SPOTS 1.the American
Football 2.baseball3.Jackie Robinson4.the
World Series5.basketball6.James Naismith7.NBA
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33. SPORTS SCENIC SPOTS 8.the Grand
Canyon9.Yellowstone National Park10.Disneyland1
1.The National Monument12.The Everglades13.Niaga
ra Falls
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34. EARLY AMERICAN JAZZ1.jazz music2.New
Orleans jazz3.Louis Armstrong4.Ragtime
music5.Count Basie6.Boogie Woogie
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35. CANADACOUNTRY PEOPLE 1.the search for
the Canadian identity2.the regions of
Canada3.the Yukon the Northwest
Territories4.British Columbia5.the prairie
provinces
77
35. CANADACOUNTRY PEOPLE 6.Central
CanadaOntario Quebec7.the Maritimes (the
Atlantic regions)8.The First Nations (the
Aboriginal people)9.European settlement in
Canada10.The Confederation11.The origin of the
word Canada
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36. GOVERNMENT POLITICS 1.Canadas
political system2.A nation based on peace,
order and good government3.Tolerance of
different values and customs4.English-speaking
Canada5.French-speaking Canada
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36. GOVERNMENT POLITICS 6.Canadas system
of government7.The Governor General8.The
federal government9.The House of Commons10.The
Senate
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37. THE CANADIAN MOSAIC 1.the Canadian
mosaic2.multiculturalism3.the First
Nations4.the Inuit5.the Metis6.immigration
policy of Canada7.Immigration Act 19768.Quebec
and French Canadians
81
38. THE CANADIAN ECONOMY 1.three factors
influencing Canadian economy2the Canada-US
Free Trade Agreement3.natural resources in
Canada4.agriculture in Canada5.manufacturing
industry in Canada6.service industry in Canada
82
39. CANADIAN LITERATURE 1.the central idea
of Canadian literature2.Native Canadian
mythology3.Early colonial literature4.The
literature of nation-building5.Ted Allen6.Hugh
Maclennan7.Margaret Laurence8.Margaret
Atwood9.Alice Munro10.Michael Ondaatje
83
40. INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 1.Canada as a
middle power in international
affairs2.Canadas role in international
organizations3.The emergence of Canada as a
full- fledged and sovereign state4.Canadas
role in the Suez Crisis of 19565.Lester
Pearson6.involuntary military
guarantee7.Canada-US relations
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