2014专八人文知识材料
人文知识
英语国家社会与文化考题回顾：
1999 年:
1. The Observer
2. The geographical location of North America
3. The old universities in U.K.
4. Westminster Palace
2000年:
1. The titles of English nobility
2. The features of Irish landscape
3. The longest river in Britain
4. The legislative branch in U.K.
5. The Hundred Years’ War
2001年:
1. The founding of Harvard
2. The settlement of Anglo-Saxons
3. The official name of U.K.
4. The economic activity of Canada
2002年:
1. Wall Street—the financial center
2. Big Ben, Benjamin Hall
3. The compulsory education in U.K.
4. Three branches of U.S.A. government
2003年:
1. The location of California
2. British news agency
3. The founding fathers of U.S.A.
4. The geography of Canada
2004年:
1. 1920s in U.S.A.
2. The largest river in U.S.A.
3. The discovery of the New World
4. The first settlement in America
2005年:
1. The capital city of Canada
2. How long the U.S. President serves
3. The important cities in U.S.A.
4. The state church in England
2006年:
1. The President in the Civil War
2. The capital city of New Zealand
3. The natives of Australia
4. The Prime Minister in Britain is head of the Cabinet
1. The President during the American Civil War was _________.
A. Andrew Jackson
B. Abraham Lincoln
C. Thomas Jefferson
D. George Washington
2. The capital of New Zealand is ____________.
A. Christchurch
B. Auckland
C. Wellington
D. Hamilton
3. Who were the natives of Australia before the arrival of the British settlers?
A. the Aborigines
B. the Maori
C. the Indians
D. the Eskimos
4. The Prime Minister in Britain is head of __________.
A. the Shadow Cabinet
B. the Parliament
C. the Opposition
D. the Cabinet
2007年:
1. The origin of the current British population
2. The Head of State of Canada is represented by the Governor-general
3. The author of the Declaration of Independence
4. The original inhabitants of Australia
1. The current population in the United Kingdom are descendants of all the following tribes except ________.
A. the Anglos
B. the Celts
C. the Jutes
D. the Saxons
2. The Head of State of Canada is represented by _______.
A. the Monarch
B. the President
C. the Prime Minister
D. the Governor-General
3. The Declaration of Independence was written by __________.
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. George Washington
C. Alexander Hamilton
D. James Madison
4. The original inhabitants of Australia is _________.
A. The Red Indians
B. the Eskimos
C. the Aborigines
D. The Maoris
2008年:
1. The largest city in Canada.
2. The legislative branch of the U.S. government
3. The oldest sport in U.S.A.
4. The head of the executive branch in New Zealand
1. The largest city in Canada is ___________.
A. Vancouver
B. Montreal
C. Toronto
D. Ottawa
2. According to the United States Constitution, the legislative power is invested in _______.
A. the federal government
B. the Supreme Court
C. the Cabinet
D. the Congress
3. Which of the following is the oldest sport in the United States?
A. baseball
B. tennis
C. basketball
D. American football
4. The head of the executive branch in New Zealand is _________.
A. the President
B. the Governor-General
C. the British Monarch
D. the Prime Minister
5. The Canterbury Tales, the collection of stories told by a group of Pilgrims on their way to Canterbury, is an important poetic work by __________.
A. William Langland
B. Geoffrey Chaucer
C. William Shakespeare
D. Alfred Tennyson
2009年:
1. The Head of State of New Zealand
2. The capital of Scotland
3. The author of the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. president
4. The cities located on the eastern coast of Australia.
1. The Head of State of New Zealand is ___________.
A. the Governor-General
B. the Prime Minister
C. the high Commissioner
D. the Monarch of the United Kingdom
2. The Capital of Scotland is ___________.
A. Glasgow
B. Edinburgh
C. Manchester
D. London
3. Who wrote the Declaration of Independence and became the United States of America?
A. Thomas Jefferson
B. George Washington
C. Thomas Paine
D. John Adams
4. Which of the following cities is located on the eastern coast of Australia?
A. Perth
B. Adelaide
C. Sydney
D. Melbourne
2010年
1. The British Constitution
2. The first city in Canada
3. The founding of Australian Federation
4. The Emancipation Proclamation
1. Which of the following is Incorrect?
A. The British Constitution includes the Magna Carta of 1215.
B. The British Constitution includes Parliamentary acts.
C. The British Constitution includes decisions made by courts of law.
D. The British Constitution includes one single written constitution.
2. The first city ever founded in Canada is ______.
A. Quebec
B. Vancouver
C. Toronto
D. Montreal
3. When did the Australian Federation officially come into being?
A. 1770
B. 1788
C. 1900
D. 1901
4. The Emancipation Proclamation to end the slavery plantation system in the South of the United States was issued by _____.
A. Abraham Lincoln
B. Thomas Paine
C. George Washington
D. Thomas Jefferson
2011年：
1. The northernmost part of Great Britain is:
A. Northern Ireland
B. Scotland
C. England
D. Wales
2. It is generally agreed that ________ were the first Europeans to reach Australia’s shores.
A. the French
B. the Germans
C. the British
D. the Dutch
3. Which is known as the Land of Maple Leaf?
A. Canada
B. New Zealand
C. Great Britain
D. The U.S.A.
The United Kingdom
地理、人口及基本事实:
1. Official name: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Geographical Names: British Isles, Great Britain and England
2. Geographical position: the English Channel
3. Four political divisions: England (London), Scotland (Edinburgh), Wales (Cardiff), Northern Ireland (Belfast)
4. The Commonwealth: a free association of independent countries, from 1931 to 1991, 50 member nations
4. Rivers and Lakes: the longest—the Severn; Thames—the second longest and the most important; River Clyde—the most important in Scotland; Lough Neagh—the largest lake
5. Mountains: Ben Nevis (the highest); Scafell (the highest in England); Snowdonia (the highest in Wales)
6. The People: English (Anglo-Saxons); (the Celts) Welsh; Scottish; Irish.
7. Eisteddfodau—the annual festival for Welsh poetry, music, singing and art
8. Places of historical interest: the Tower of London (William the Conqueror); Big Ben; Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament); Westminster Abbey (coronation, wedding ceremony); St. Paul’s Cathedral (London; Protestant Church); Tower Bridge (1894; suspension bridge close to the Tower of London; River Thames); Speakers’ Corner (London Hyde Park)
历史备考点:
The Origins of a Nation
1. The first known settlers—Iberians
2. The Celts (700 B.C.): three waves—Gaels; Brythons; Belgae
3. Romans:
Julius Caesar (55 B.C.); Claudius (43AD, successful invasion); Christianity
4. The Anglo-Saxons: Three Germanic tribes (Jutes, Anglos, Saxons)
The foundation of the English state—shires; narrow-strip, three-field farming system; the manorial system; the Witan (贤人会议)
5. The Viking and Danes:
Alfred the Great—“the father of the British navy”; translate into English Ecclesiastical History of the English People (英国人民教会史)；established schools; formulate a legal system
6. The Norman Conquest: 1066, the best-known event in English history, William the Conqueror defeated King Harold of England at the battle of Hastings; the establishment of the feudal system; the introduction of Norman French culture, language, manners and architecture; closer connection with Rome
The Shaping of the Nation
1. The Great Charter: 1215, King John, 63 clauses. The statement of the relationship between the Crown and the baron; a guarantee of the freedom of the Church; a limitation of the power of the king (the spirit of the Great Charter or Magna Carta)
2. All Estates Parliament—Simon de Montfort, 1265, the Great Council, the House of Lords, the House of Commons, the beginning of Parliament
3. Black Death: the deadly epidemic disease; the 14th century; reduced the population from 4 million to 2 million;
4. The Hundred Years’War (1337—1453): Henry V; Joan of Arc; blessing for both Britain and France
4. The Peasant Uprising: 1381, Wat Tyler (killed) and Jack Straw; to rebel the Poll Tax; a telling blow to villeinage.
Transition to the Modern Age
1. The Wars of Roses (1455-1485): the battles between Lancaster (red rose) and York (white rose); Henry Tudor (the descendant of Duke of Lancaster) won, thus the rule of Tudors; the death blow to feudalism.
2. The English Reformation: (1529-1534) Henry VIII, began with a struggle for divorce (Catherine of Aragon) and ended in the freedom from the Papacy; an independent Church of England; the king—the Supreme Head of the Church of England.
3. Bloody Mary: 300 Protestants; the French port of Calais
4. Elizabeth I: the defeat of Armada (the Spanish fleet)
5. The English Renaissance: (rebirth) largely artistic; Elizabethan Drama (Christopher Marlowe, Ben Johnson and William Shakespeare)
6. The Divine Rights of Kings: Charles I
7. The Civil Wars (1642-1646; 1647-1649): between the Cavaliers (the king’s men) and Roundheads (the Parliamentary supporters); Oliver Cromwell (New Model Army) (Lord Protector); Charles I; the Puritan Revolution; overthrew the feudal system; the beginning of the modern history; 1649-1658 Commonwealth; Lord Protector
8. The Restoration; the return of Charles II from his exile in France;
9. The Glorious Revolution: 1688, the smooth takeover of English throne by William of Orange, replacing James II (a Catholic king, the brother of Charles II), with no bloodshed, nor execution of the king.
10. The Bill of Rights (1689) and the constitutional monarchy
11. The Gunpowder Plot of 1605: Guy Fawkes (Catholic) planted barrels of gun-powder in the cellar of the Parliament; the execution of Fawkes; a national annual celebration (bonfire and firework display) on the 5th of November
12. 1707, the Act of Union joined England and Scotland (Anne)
1801: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
1921: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
13. The Plantagenet Dynasty: Henry II—Richard III
Tudor Monarchs: Henry VII, Henry VIII, Edward VI, Mary Tudor and Elizabeth I
Stuart Monarchs: James I (1611, the Authorized or King James Version of Bible), Charles I, Charles II, Anne
Hanoverian Monarchs:
The British Empire
1. Whigs and Tories (the forerunner of the Conservative Party)
2. The Enclosure Movement:
3. The Industrial Revolution: the mechanization of industry; the late 18th and early 19th century; James Watt and steam engine in 1769; after the revolution, by 1830, “the workshop of the world”; the industrial working class—the proletariat
4. The Chartist Movement (1836-1848)—“the first broad, really mass, political formed, proletarian revolutionary movement” (Lenin)
5. The Labor Party—the Independent Labor Party(the origin); then the Labor Representation Committee; the Labor Party (1906).
6. The first colony—Newfoundland, 1583
7. The East Indian Company: 1600, the economic penetration; 1858, ruled by the British crown; 1877, Queen Victoria, Empress of India.
8. The Opium War: 1840
9. WWI: the Central Power (Germany and Austria-Hungary); the “Allies”(Britain, France and Russia); The Treaty of Versailles (1919); the League of Nations
10. The Roaring Twenties: women with cropped hair and short dresses; two imports from America: jazz, silent films
11. The Swinging Sixties—the permissive age; pop music (the Beatles turned their hometown of Liverpool into a place of pilgrimage)
12. 1973: a full member of the European Economic Committee
13. Thatcherism: the policies put forward by Margaret Thatcher (the iron lady), the return to private ownership of the state-owned industries, the strengthening of the role of market forces, and an emphasis on law and order.
14. The Statute of Westminster (1931)
政治
1. The Constitutional Monarchy
2. The monarch: the symbol of the whole nation, the head of the executive, head of judiciary, the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the “supreme governor” of the Church of England.
3. The components of the English Parliament: the Sovereign, the House of Lords (the oldest part of the Parliament) and the House of Commons (the real center of power in the Parliament) (651 members of Parliament); the maximum duration—five years
4. The British Constitution: unwritten, including statute law, common law and conventions.
5. Prime Minister—the leader of the majority party; the Cabinet—the core of leadership; Lord Chancellor—the president of the House of Lords
6. The Official Opposition—the party which wins the second largest number of seats, the “shadow cabinet”
7. Downing Street No. 10—the official residence of the Prime Minister
8. The Speaker—presiding over the House and enforcing the rules of order
9. The vote of no confidence (不信任投票)—the House of Commons
教育,社会,文化传统
1. NHS—the National Health Service, a full range of medical services, the largest single employer of labor in U.K.
2. Established religion: the Church of England (the Sovereign as the “Defender of Faith”) (changes only with the consent of the Parliament); the Presbyterian in Scotland
3. Football: soccer, 19th century; Rugby—invented at Rugby school in Warwich shire in the 19th century; Cricket—the most typical English sport; the home of golf is Scotland
4. Eton—public school; Harrow School; Rugby School
5. the oldest university--Oxford
6. Stratford-on-Avon: the birthplace of William Shakespeare; anniversary the 23rd of April
7. Magazines and newspapers: the Observer (the world’s oldest national newspaper); the Spectator; the Times; the Guardian; the Daily Telegraph; the Economist: BBC-the most important broadcasting company; the Reuters: German,
8. The most famous music and art festival in Britain
9. Easter: the resurrection of Christ, the first Sunday after the first full moon after the spring equinox
10. Hogmanay—Scottish New Year’s Eve
11. Boxing Day: December 26th, the gift to give “Christmas boxes”, or gifts of money, to servants or tradesman
12. An Englishman’s house is his castle.
13. Queen’s Birthday: Buckingham Palace; Trooping the Color (女王阅旗仪式)
Ireland
1. The Emerald Isle: the rich green countryside
2. The largest river—the Shannon River
3. Two official languages: Irish, English
4. National Day: March 17th, St. Patrick’s Day (the arrival of St. Patrick—the most important
event in Irish history)
5. Parliament: the House of Representatives (Dail Eireann); the Senate (Seanad)
6. The two political parties: Fianna Fail; Fine Gael
7. The oldest university in Ireland: the University of Dublin
8. Roman Catholics: 93% of the Irish population
9. Ulysses: James Joyce’s masterpiece
The United States of America:
地理, 人口及基本事实
1. The Rocky Mountains—the backbone the continent
2. The Mississippi—the world’s third longest continental river, “Father of Waters”, “Old Man
River”.
3. The Five Great Lakes: Huron; Ontario; Michigan; Erie; Superior
4. The Niagara Falls—between Lake Ontario and Lake Erie
5. Yellowstone National Park—the oldest national park in the world and the largest wildlife
preserve in the U.S.A.
6. The Statute of Liberty—New York Harbor
7. Grand Canyon—the state of Arizona
8. Alaska and Hawaii—the two newest states in USA
9. Alaska—the largest state in area; Rhode Island—the smallest; Texas—the largest state on the
mainland
10. New England—the birthplace of America
11. The nickname of the U.S.A.: Yankees
12. Thomas Edison—the Wizard of Menlo Park (门洛帕克的奇才) （新泽西州东北部的爱迪生纪念塔）
13. Thomas Jefferson—the first one to inaugurate in New York City
1600—1900:
1. The discoverers of America: Christopher Columbus; Amerigo Vespucci
2. The first colony—Jamestown, Virginia, 1607
3. The 13 colonies: along the east coast
4. May Flower: 1620, Plymouth, the state of Massachusetts
5. Stamp Tax: British East India Company; tea at lower prices in colonies
6. The Boston Tea Party: 1773
7. The First Continental Congress: 1774, Philadelphia;
8. The Second Continental Congress:: 1775, Philadelphia; the Continental Army and Navy
9. The beginning of the War of Independence；The turning point of the War of Independence (the Gettysburg victory) (the Gettysburg Address—the government of the people, for the people, by the people)
10. The Declaration of Independence: drafted by Thomas Jefferson, July 4th, 1776
11. The Treaty of Paris: 1783, the independence of the United States
12. The Constitutional Convention: 1787
13. The Bill of Rights: the first ten amendments of the Constitution
14. Lincoln: Emancipation Proclamation; Homestead Bill: 1865
16. The Louisiana Territory: Thomas Jefferson; Napoleon; 15 million dollars; Spain: Florida, the Gulf Coast; the War with Mexico (1846-1848): Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, etc.
17. The Westward Movement:
18. KKK: Ku Klux Klan, terrorized and attacked the black, progressives, Communists and social party members.
1900—1945:
1. The “Open Door Policy”—Theodore Roosevelt (the 26th president); the “Big Stick” policy (the big stick—the navy of USA; the winner of Nobel Prize for Peace in 1905)
2. The 1920s—material success and spiritual frustration, confusion and purposelessness
3. The Great Depression—1929-1933, the stock market crash, from prosperity to bleak despair, 3. “New D eal”—to save American democracy and capitalist system, social security systems, “the only thing we have to fear is feat itself”
4. WWI—pro-Ally partiality
5. Isolationism—1930s, to keep the U.S. out of the war in Europe and Asia
6. 1941, the Atlantic Charter: a joint communiqué by U.K. and U.S.A.; Franklin D. Roosevelt and Winston Churchill;
7. WWII—(guiding principles) establish postwar political structure in accordance with American interests and; prevent Soviet Union from over-expansion
1945—:
1. The containment policy (1947, towards the Soviet Union); the Truman Doctrine (1947): the Marshall Plan (1947)
2. The Civil Rights Movement: Martin Luther King (non-violence) and Malcolm X (violence)
3. The Sino-US relations: 1972, the Shanghai (Joint) Communique; 1979, the diplomatic relations
was established
4. The Vietnam War: 1950-1975
5. Baby-boomer: 1946-1961, helped to bring an end to the Vietnam War
5. The Counterculture Movement
6. The New Frontier: John F. Kennedy
7. The Watergate Scandal—Nixon, the first to resign in American history
8. New Right conservatism: the late 1970s and the early 1980s
9. Desert Storm
政治
1. The American constitution; 1787, 1789; the oldest written constitution; principles—rule by law: popular sovereignty; separation of power; judicial review; civilian supremacy in military matters; protection of individual rights and federalism
2. The Bill of Rights
3. The Separation of three powers: Congress (the legislative branch); President (the executive branch); the judicial branch
4. The Congress: the Senate (2 members from each state) (vice president as the president of the Senate 副总统为参议院议长); the House of Representatives (based on population) (the presiding officer—the Speaker of the House众议院主持官员)
5. The President can appoint the federal court judges, preside over the government, sign and veto laws passed by the Congress;
6. Impeachment
7. The judicial branch: the Supreme Court; the circuit court of appeals (巡回上诉法院); district court
8. The bipartisanship (the two party system)—the Republican; the Democratic The emblem of the two parties
9. The Democratic: Anti-Federalists; Thomas Jefferson; greater federal involvement in economic issues and less state’s rights
10. The Republican: a less powerful central government; more rights to the states
11. “Winner-take-all” pri nciple: applied in all states except Maine
教育,社会,文化传统
1. The higher education: two-year colleges, four-year colleges and universities.
2. The best research universities: Harvard (1636), Yale, Princeton, Columbia, MIT (on the east); Stanford, Berkeley (on the west)—private.
3. Three functions of the higher education: teaching, research and public service.
4. The age of the students admitted by schools: 6
5. Graded schools: elementary schools (grades 1—8); high school (9—12).
6. No national system of education, the state establishes policies for the education within its boundary
7. Three main types of popular music: Jazz (U.S.’s unique contribution to music); Rock-and-roll; the Western Country music.
8. “The Lost Generation”: the young people in the post WWI era; Getrude Stein; E. Hemingway;
F.S. Fitzgerald; J.D. Passos
9. Nationally observed holiday of America
10. Important cities:
Washington D.C.(1800, John Adams ordered the transfer of the capital from Philadelphia to Washington D.C.);
New York City (city of the world; Times Square; the United Nations; Manhattan—the heart of the city; Wall Street; Broadway);
Chicago—the second largest city; “Great Center Market of U.S.”
San Francisco—the Golden Gate Bridge
Los Angeles—Hollywood and Disneyland
Philadelphia—the city for two Continental Congress; the capital city from 1790 to 1800; founded by William Penn, meaning “the city of Brotherly Love”; the cradle of American liberty Huston—“the Pearl in the Gulf”; “the Space City of the U.S.A.”
Detroit—the motor city;
11. Independence Day: July 4th, the birthday of the nation;
12. Halloween: October 31st, “Trick or Treat”;
13. Thanksgiving Day: a typical American holiday; (began with) the Pilgrims; the first celebrated on December 13th, 1621; the theme—peace and plenty
14. Veterans’ Day: (or the Armistice Day); (celebrated) the signing of 1918 Armistice
15. The plane—1903, the Wright brothers
16. Newspaper and magazines: the New York Times; Washington Post; the Los Angeles Times; the Wall Street Journal; Time; Newsweek; Readers’ Digest
17. The largest public library: Library of Congress; Metropolitan Museum: the 5th Avenue, Manhattan, New York City: the Empire State Building: Manhattan, New York City
Canada
1. The National Day: July 1 (1867)
2. The origin of the name “Canada”: “kanata”, a settlement, Indian
3. The national flag: Maple Leaf Flag, white square in the centre, a red stylized 11-pointed maple
leaf
4. Two discoverers of Canada: John Cabot (Newfoundland, east coast); Jacques Cartier (the St.
Lawrence river)
5. Official languages: Bilingualism—English, French; the official Language Act (1969)
6. Important cities: Ottawa (the capital, the 4th largest city); Vancouver (the third largest city,
ice-free harbor); Montreal (the second largest city); Toronto (the largest city, Toronto university—the largest university)
7. Seven Years’ War: 1756-1763; between France (defeated) and England
8. Quebec: the largest province; strong French culture
9. The Constitutional Act of 1791: Upper Canada (English law and constitution); Lower Canada
(French law and institutions)
10. The British North America Acts in 1867: the dominion; the Statute of Westminster in 1931:
independence.
11. The Parliament: the Crown, the Senate and the House of Commons
12. Constitution: partly written, partly unwritten, including fundamental acts, customs and
parliamentary traditions of British origin
Australia
1. “T he Land Down Under”.
2. Australia’s National Day: January 26 (1788), the date of the first European settlement of the continent
3. Great Barrier Reef: the longest coral reef in the world, from southern Queensland to the Gulf of Papua
4. National flower: wattle; national bird: lyrebird
5. Important cities: Canberra (the capital); Sydney (New South Wales); Melbourne (Victoria); Brisbane (Queensland); Adelaide (South Australia); Perth (West Australia); Hobart (Tasmania); Darwin (the Northern Territory);
6. 1901: the Commonwealth of Australia; 1931: independence, the Statute of Westminster 《威斯敏斯特法案》
7. Elementary education: 5-11; secondary education: 11-18
8. Animals: koala; kangaroos
9. William Dampier: the first Englishman to reach Australia, the author of the book A New Voyage Around the World; James Cook: the English put Australia on map, British colony;
10. 1788, as a colony to receive convicts from Britain
11. Multiculturalism: coined in Canada in 1960s, adopted by Australia in 1973, emphasizing the unique characteristics of different cultures in the world .
12. Politics: a written Constitution; Legislature: the Queen, the House of Representatives, the Senate
13. The gold rushes: 1850s, the discoveries of gold in New South Wales and Victoria
14. The Sydney Morning Herald (先驱报): the oldest newspaper in Australia
New Zealand
1. National Day: December 6th, 1840, the anniversary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi,
Waitangi Day
2. The land of the long white cloud
3. Cities: Auckland (the largest city, the North Island), Wellington (the capital, the North Island)
4. Official languages: English, Maori
5. Haka: a dance performed to daunt the enemy and to prepare warriors for the battle
6. The International Date Line—just west of the line, the first country to get the new day
7. fault line: the cause of the frequent earthquakes
8. The Kiwis: the national symbol, the name the New Zealanders called themselves, the national
flightless bird
9. Abel Tasman: the first European to visitor, who named the area Statenland, later Nieuw
Zeeland
10. No single written constitution, including parliamentary statutes, judiciary rulings,
administrative practices.
11. Only one chamber: the House of Representatives
12. the world’s biggest farm, the world’s largest exporter of lamb and mutton, diary products
13. General election in New Zealand is held every 3 years since 1879; the National Party, the Labor Party