Comprehensive Test I

II.

1.What are the difference between subcultures and counterculture?

 subculture: share many elements of mainstream, maintain own distinctive customs, values and lifestyles

counterculture: reject the conventional wisdom and provide alternatives to mainstream

2.What are the major events that led to the outbreak of the Civil War?

 John Brown, tried to began a slave rebellion in Virginia/ election of Abraham Lincoln

3.How are college students selected in the United States?

 a) high school records

b) recommendation from high school teachers

c) the impression during the interview

d) score on the SAT

4.What king of changes has the American workforce undergone in the past few decades?

 a) the structure: (labor market) from manufacturing-based to service-oriented

(the employment distribution) from blue-collar to white-collar

b) sharp increase of women in number

5.What does “the feminization of poverty” mean? And how has it affected the American family?

 single mothers account for about half of households with children living below the poverty line

6.What are fundamental principles established by constitution?

 a) popular sovereignty: control by the people

b) a republic government in which the people choose representatives to make decisions for them

c) limited government with written laws

d) separation of powers

e) a federal system

III.

1.What are the main characteristics of religious in America?

 a) diversity

b) freedom: government not interfere

c) competition: adept at organizing and marketing

d) commitment: high proportion believing in God

2.How did Horace Mann’s ideas on mass education influence the education system in the United States?

 education should not be reserved for the high class, but should be extended to all people

“common school”: public education open to all, supported by all and controlled by all

4.What kind of changes has the American family experienced since the 1950s?

 decrease of classic American family(traditional nuclear)

rise of dual-employed, blended, child-free, single-parent, gay and lesbian, cohabitation and independent living

5.What was the constitutional convention in 1787 hold for?

 discuss the changes which would be necessary to strengthen the Articles of Confederation

Comprehensive Test II

II.

1.What are the main natural resources in the United States?

 water, forests, mineral and agricultural resources

2.What were John Dewey’s major contribution to American education?

 a) what to teach: “the only worthwhile knowledge is knowledge that can be used” school should not teach useless facts but teach attitudes and skill so as to produce useful, responsible and happy adults

b) how to teach: “learning best by doing” school should help develop special abilities and subjects should be adjusted to the child’s innate capacities

3.What are the main problems in the American media?

 a) tendency toward conglomeration: economic forces reduce the number of media operations

b) influence of advertising: likely to ignore or minimize a news item that may harm its advertiser

c) an uniformed public: the general public isn’t well-informed about politics and public affairs media: entertainment-oriented

4.What kind of difficulties have the Asian American experienced in American society?

 a)early immigrants: viewed as competitors for scarce jobs/ Chinese Exclusion Act(1882)

b) discrimination against Asians

5.What do you know about Electoral College?

 not excitable masses supposedly dispassionate, reasonable

body that elects the president and vice-president with total number of members, 538

each state represented by the same number of members as in its congressional delegation

6.What does ”detente” mean? How did the US government apply this policy during the Cold War?

 meaning: a relaxing of strained relationships between nations

officially recognized the People’s Republic of China

Nixon visit China and signed the “Shanghai Communique”

Jimmy Carter: abandon a 30-year-old position that the government of Taiwan was the official government of China

III.

1.What do you know about the two Protestant denominations founded in the United States—— the Mormons and the Christian Scientists?

 Mormons: at first practiced polygamy and throve in Utah discontinued the practice until 1896 one of the fastest growing denomination

Christian Scientists: man is wholly spiritual so that healing of sickness results from spiritual understanding rather than from medical treatment Christian Science Monitor is considered one of the nation’s finest newspapers

3.How did the United States transform from an agricultural country to a post-industrial one?

 from agricultural to industrial:

a) abundant natural resources

b) large labor supply brought by waves of immigrants

c) the assembly line

d) development of transportation

e) sufficient capital

f) favorable political and social climate

from industrial to post-industrial:

manufacture of information and knowledge has dominated American Economy

4.How has the two-party system evolved in the United States?

 a) the election system: tendency for some groups within a district to form coalitions

b) the effect of the presidency

c) the division of interests: a polarization of interests on any problem in the country

Comprehensive Test III

II.

1.What do you know about the Reconstruction in American history?

 now constitutions had been ratified in all southern states to abolished slavery however, southern blacks had only limited civil rights

2.Why are the Americans still very religious?

 a) religious tradition

b) search for social conformity and emotional security

c) disillusioned with social conditions

4.In what ways can the US government affect the American economy?

 a) direct service: the postal system, construction and maintainence of most highways

b) fiscal policy: taxing and spending decisions federal budget: the principal instrument

c) monetary policy: tighten or loosen the money supply to slow or invigorate the economy

5.What are the major Hispanic groups in American society?

 Mexican Americans: one of the oldest immigrant groups

6.What are the major parties involved in the making of US foreign policy?

 a) the president and congress

b) the Department of State

c) the Department of Defense

d) CIA and intelligence agencies

e) the National Security Council

f) interest groups

III.

1.What do you know about the contemporary trends in American education?

 a) year-round education: lag behind of British and Japanese counterparts

b) the home schooling movement

c) multicultural education

d) lifelong education

2.What are the main problems in US economy?

 a) trade deficit

b) unemployment

c) the underground economy: illegal activities

3.What kind of difficulties have the Native Americans experienced in American history?

 many perished as a result of diseases brought by European settlers, along with dislocation, warfare, genocide and impoverishment

4.What are the major powers of the three branches of the US government? How are the 3 branches supposed to check and balance each other?

5.What do you know about the Marshall Plan? And what was the US foreign policy underlying the design of the plan?

 offering American money, supplies and machinery to any European country that wished to participate in the alliance(NATO: a mutual defense alliance)

to further check Soviet expansion and bring Europe into American sphere of interest

Comprehensive test IV

II.

1.What do you know about the size and the geographical location of the United States of America?

 the fourth largest country in area(9.37 million km2) stretch across central North America from the Atlantic Ocean on the east to the Pacific Ocean on the west, and from Canada on the north to Mexico and the Gulf of Mexico on the south

2. What do you know about the Progressive Era? What does the term mean?

 a movement to reform society and individuals through government action

3.What are the major religious group in the United States?

 87%-Christian (59%-Protestant, 27%-Catholic and 1%-Eastern Orthodox)

4.What do you know about the WASPs and its influence on American society?

 WASP- White Anglo-Saxon Protestants(English decent), have dominated the American political, economic system and social values for many centuries

5.What are the main problems in American family?

 a) divorce: divorce rate in the United States increased dramatically after the 1950s creates emotional turmoil and special strains among Americans

b) domestic violence: spouse abuse is one of the most common forms of violence in the United States

6.How does the American president influence the foreign policymaking in the United States?

 the president plays a leading role in the application of foreign policy because of his constitutional roles as commander in chief, chief diplomat and chief executive “undeclared war”

III.

1.What do you know about the main geographical regions in the United States?

 a) the New England states (New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, etc. )

b) the Middle Atlantic states (New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, etc.)

c) the Southeastern states (North Carolina, Georgia, Florida, etc.)

d) the states of the Midwest (Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, etc.)

e) the Great Plains and Mountain states (North Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, etc.)

f) the Southwestern states (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, etc.)

g) the states of the Far West (Washington, Oregon, California, etc.)

2.How has religion influenced the American society and culture?

 a) the development of education: the Puritans believed that every child should be educated so that he could read the Bible

b) the rapid growth of economy in the United States: the Protestant ethic in their pursuit of wealth

c) justify American expansionist movement in the late 19th century and overseas military interferences after WWII

4.How did American press transform from sensational reporting to objective reporting at the turn of the 20th century?

 sensational journalism symbolized by Pulitzer and Hearst whipped up war hysteria among the public and pushed America into a war with Spain in 1898

5.What do you know about the trend of downsizing in the US economy?

 lay off workers to adapt to the new global economy as a result, the number of temporary or contingent workers grew considerably cause many American workers to suffer from job loss anxiety

Comprehensive Test IV

II.

1.What were the major causes of the Great Depression?

 a) overproduction of crops depressed food price and farmers suffered

b) interest rates low, much of capital went into reckless speculation

c) the bubble of fragile prosperity finally burst

2.How do you explain the term “evangelicals”?

 more conservative and orthodox in their religious beliefs and practices, believe that the Bible is literally true

3.What is the system of higher education in the United States like?

 a) the university: several colleges, one or more graduate school

b) the college: the independent 4-the college: the independent 4-ear undergraduate institution

c) the technical training institution: 6 months to 4 years in duration, learn technical skills

4.What kind of role does the media play in American society?

 a) the signaler role: alerting the public to important developments as soon as possible

b) the common-carrier role: serving as an open channel through which political leaders and the public can communicate

c) the watching role: protecting the public from deceitful, careless, incompetent, and corrupt officials

5.What kind of difficulties have African Americans experienced in US history?

 a) African Americans were brought to the United States against their free will, were sold as slaves and had virtually no rights

b) were threatened by Ku Klux Klan barred from voting, using public facilities, attending schools and associating with whites

c) still lag behind whites in all aspects of life(income, average years of schooling and employment)

6.What do you know about the Bill of Rights?

 lay out the basic rights that all citizens shall enjoy, including the right to free speech

III.

1.What are the main feature of the American education?

 a) compulsory education: every child in America is guaranteed up to 13 years of education

b) decentralized control: there is no national education system in the United States

c) coeducational: mixed schools

d) concern for major public issues

e) cultivation of creativity and self-reliance

2.How has the development of electronic media influenced the American society?

 a) alter the political process: televised political advertising

b) on foreign policy: the Vietnam War

c) on children: underdeveloped reading skills in children

d) in social customs: strong effect on the leisure time of many Americans

4.Do you know the basic family values in the United States?

 American culture glorifies the family as a place of love. Happiness and tranquility

a) respecting one’s parents

b) being responsible for one’s action

c) having faith in God

d) respecting authority

e) married to the same person for life

f) leaving the world in better shape

复旦大学英美文化概论期末复习资料