英语国家社会与文化简明教程
2009-5
化学工业出版社
王祖兴 编
285
本书自2003年出版发行以来，至今已有五个年头。这期间书中述及的五个英语国家在政治、经济、教育、社会和文化等各方面都发生了很大的变化。美国的“次贷危机”所引发的全球经济衰退就是突出的例证。变化了的形势会直接影响到人们的生活方式和行为规范，影响一个国家的文化价值观。作为教材，理应为学生提供最新的知识素材，摒弃那些过时的或不太适用的内容。基于这种想法，我们进行了全面修改。 修改后的教程突出了以下几个特点。 1．以“适度、够用”为原则。教育部对高职高专课程建设的要求中以知识的“适度、够用”为原则。按此原则，结合近年来学生的英语水平，教学课时数等实际情况，从丰富纷繁的资料中加以筛选，在覆盖面的取舍上做到优化，在每一章节的内容上做到简化，不求详尽。 修订后的教程仍由三部分构成。英国部分十二章，美国部分十三章，第三部分包括加拿大、澳大利亚和新西兰三个国家共十七章。
全书简明介绍了英国、美国、加拿大、澳大利亚和新西兰五个英语国家的地理、历史、政治、经济、教育、家庭生活、社会风俗和传统等文化知识，旨在引导学生将语言学习与文化知识紧密结合起来，提高学习英语的效果并为培养学生的跨文化交际能力打下一定基础。书中内容新颖、文字通俗易懂。对新词、难词、专门术语等作了汉语标注。全书分三个部分，英国、美国各为一部分，另外三个国家为一部分，共计42章，可供高职高专英语专业的学生使用，也可作为自学者的参考用书。
Part OneThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Chapter One Geography Section 1 Position，Name and Areas Section 2 Major Cities Section 3 Climate and Environment Questions for Discussion Chapter Two People Section 1 The People of Britain Today Section 2 A Mixed Race Society Section 3 Class Structure Section 4 Religions Section 5 Character and Manner Section 6 Social Norms and Etiquettes Questions for Discussion Chapter Three Family Section 1 Changing Values and Norms of the British Family Section 2 Family Patterns Section 3 Family Size Section 4 Adoptions Section 5 Marriage Section 6 Divorce Section 7 Older People Questions for Discussion Chapter Four Political System Section 1 The Constitutional Monarch Section 2 Parliament Section 3 Government Section 4 Political Parties Section 5 Election Questions for Discussion Chapter Five National Economy Section 1 General Survey Section 2 Industry Section 3 Agriculture Section 4 Foreign Trade Section 5 Government Expenditure and Taxation Section 6 The Consumer Section 7 Welfare Questions for Discussion Chapter Six Education Section 1 Educational System Section 2 Different Types of Schools in England Section 3 Higher Education Section 4 Famous Universities Section Other Types of Education Questions for Discussion4 ……
The American wedding is often an expensive affair（average cost about$1 0，000）．It isusually paid for by the bride’S parents，although the groom and his parents help prepare theguest list．The day’S festivities begin with the marriage ceremony，which may be held in achurch，synagogue（会堂，犹太教会堂），home，or hotel．Guests are seated on either sideof an aisle，and the wedding starts with a procession down the aisle．The procession includesthe bridal couple and their closest relatives and friends．There are usually bridesmaids（女傧相）and a maid of honor（all wearing matching dresses）and the groom’S best man（男傧相），who carries the bride’S wedding ring．Walking immediately in front of the bride is ayoung girl（the flower girl），who decorates the bride’S path with flower petals dropped fromher straw basket．The bride walks down the aisle with her father，who leads her to the altarand“gives her away”to the groom．The bride and groom then face a cleric or j udge conducting the service，as the traditional service is recited． The double ring ceremony is quite common today，with bride and groom placing identical rings on each other’S fingers．The ring。a circle with no beginning and no end，is a familiar symbol of unending love and loyalty．It is worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because of a very old idea that a vein or nerve ran from this finger directly tO the heart．Towardthe end of the wedding ceremony，the bride and groom promise to love each other“untildeath do US part．”They are pronounced husband and wife，and are invited to kiss each other．Then，the entire wedding procession walks back up the aisle，and the ceremony is over．Often，after a church wedding，guests throw rice，rose petals，or confetti（五彩碎纸）atthe newlyweds as they leave the church．
