內容提要
本書可作為高職高專或本科相關英語專業的教材，也可以作為口筆譯訓練、外事、旅遊、外貿等專業的學習用書和相關專業的從業人員的參考資料。
本書為“21世紀全國高職高專英語類規劃教材”之一，是為高等教育英語專業編寫的新教材，是一門實用性強的百科性的文化知識課教材，內容包括：英國、愛爾蘭、澳大利亞、紐西蘭、美國、加拿大這6個英語國家的地理、民族、歷史、政治、司法、社會、經濟、教育、軍事、國際關係、對華關係、國情、文化、風俗等方面，對了解外部世界、知己知彼和擴大知識面，提供了重要信息，對擴大辭彙量、提高口筆頭表達能力和交際能力、學好有關專業課程都大有裨益。
目錄
Part I The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Chapter I British Geography
1.1 Terms about British Geography
1.2 British Physical Geography
1.3 The 9 Regions of Britain
1.4 British Rivers and Lakes
1.5 British Climate
Chapter 2 British People
2.1 British Population
2.2 The British People and the Europeans
2.3 The Character of the British People
2.4 The Origin of the British Isles
2.5 A History of Invasions and Conquests
2.6 The 4 Conquests of England
2.7 Roman Britain (55 BC--AD 410)
2.8 The Invasion by the Anglo-Saxons (446---871)
2.9 The Danish Invasions
2.10 The Norman Conquest (1066)
2.11 A Diagram of the History of Invasions and Conquests of Britain
Chapter 3 British Monarchs
3.1 Saxon Line
3.2 Danish Line
3.3 Saxon Line
3.4 House of Normandy
3.5 House of Plantagenet
3.6 House of Lancaster
3.7 House of York
3.8 House of Tudor
3.9 House of Stuart
3.10 Commonwealth
3.11 House of Stuart (restored)
3.12 House of Hanover
3.13 House of Windsor
Chapter 4 The Industrial Revolution
4.1 The Two Political Parties
4.2 The Industrial Revolution in Britain (1780---1830)
4.3 Some Social Consequences of Industrialization in Britain
4.4 The Chartist Movement (1836--1848)
4.5 Trade Unions and the Labour Party
Chapter 5 The British Empire
5.1 British Colonial Expansion
5.2 British Aggression against China
5.3 The British Empire
5.4 Britain in the 20th Century
5.5 Britain and the First World War
5.6 The Great Depression in Britain
5.7 Britain and the Second World War
5.8 Britain as a Member of European Union
5.9 The British Labour Party's New Achievements
Chapter 6 British Polities
6.1 British Political Features
6.2 The Constitutional Monarchy
6.3 British Parliament
6.4 The British Political Parties
6.5 The British Cabinet
6.6 Government Departments and the Civil Service
6.7 British Relations with China
6.8 British Military Affairs
Chapter 7 British Justice and Law
7.1 Features of British Laws
7.2 Criminal Proceedings
7.3 Criminal Courts
7.4 Civil Courts
7.5 The Judiciary
7.6 The UK Police
7.7 Treatment of Offenders
7.8 What Is Law？
Chapter 8 British Society
8.1 British Population and Ethnic Groups
8.2 British Languages
8.3 British Religions
8.4 The Welfare State
8.5 The National Health Service (NHS)
8.6 Festivals and Public Holidays
Chapter 9 British Economy
9.1 British Major Economic Statistics
9.2 British Economy in a Changed World
9.3 British Natural Resources
9.4 British Agriculture and Fishing
9.5 The Service Industry
9.6 Financial Services
9.7 Tourism and Leisure
9.8 Britain's Foreign Trade
9.9 Britain and the Euro
Chapter 10 British Education
10.1 An Introduction to British Education
10.2 Primary Education
10.3 Secondary Education
10.4 Higher Education
10.5 The Open University
10.6 Overseas Students
Part 2 The Republic of Ireland
Chapter 11 Ireland
11.1 The Republic of Ireland
11.2 Geography of Ireland
11.3 The Irish People
11.4 The Irish Government
11.5 Irish Economy
11.6 History, Politics and Culture of Ireland
11.7 The Northern Irish Problem
Part 3 Australia
Chapter 12 Australia
12.1 Australian Geography
12.2 The Australian People
12.3 The Australian Government
12.4 The Australian Economy
12.5 History, Politics and Culture of Australia
12.6 Australian Population Policies
12.7 The Australian Republican Movement
12.8 Australia: AYouthful State
Part 4 New Zealand
Chapter 13 New Zealand
13.1 New Zealand Geography
13.2 New Zealand People
13.3 New Zealand Government
13.4 New Zealand Economy
13.5 History and Culture of New Zealand
13.6 Comparison and Contrast between Australia and New Zealand
Part 5 The United States of America
Chapter 14 The US Geography
14.1 Location and Size
14.2 The Face of the Land of the US
14.3 The US Climate
14.4 The 8 Geographical Regions and Their Major Features
14.5 The Contrasts between Alaska and Hawaii
14.6 10 Typical Risky Areas in the USA
Chapter 15 The American Revolution ,
15.1 The Background to the American Revolution (1765-1788)
15.2 American Revolution: Chronology
15.3 The War of American Independence
15.4 The Significance oftheAmerican Revolution
15.5 America: A Land of Open Opportunity and of New Beginnings
15.6 The Last War Fought between the US and Britain
Chapter 16 The American Civil War and the Two World Wars
16.1 The American Civil War (1861-1865)
16.2 The US and World War I
16.3 The Great Depression in the USA
16.4 Washington Suppression of WWI Veterans
16.5 The USA and WWlI
Chapter 17 The US and the Cold War
17.1 The Cold War
17.2 The Berlin Blockade
17.3 The Korean War
17.4 The Cuban Missile Crisis
17.5 United States' Relations with China
Chapter 18 American Society
18.1 Social Security
18.2 Medicare
18.3 Headaches in American Society
18.4 Crimes in the USA
18.5 Changes in the Viewpoints of the Americans
18.6 American Holidays
18.7 Bad Manners in American Polite Society
Chapter 19 The American People
19.1 The American Population
19.2 The Population Growth in the USA
19.3 American Population by Age ( % )
19.4 American Population by Race
19.5 Immigration of the USA
19.6 The US Population Movement
19.7 The US Racial and Ethnic Minorities
19.8 Unemployment Rate of the US
19.9 The Character of the Americans
Chapter 20 The US Polities
20.1 The Constitution of the United States of America
20.2 The Executive Branch
20.3 lhe Legislative Branch
20.4 The Judicial Branch
20.5 The US Political Parties
20.6 The US Armed Forces
Chapter 21 The US Economy
21.1 The Basic Facts about the US Economy
21.2 The US Economic Status in the World
21.3 The US Domestic Economy
21.4 The 3 Economic Ages in the USA
21.5 The 10 Golden Rules for Attracting High-Tech Companies in the Information Society and Electronic Era
21.6 The US Economic Features
21.7 The US Economic System
21.8 The US Natural Resources
21.9 American Industry
21.10 American Agriculture
21.11 Wall Street
Chapter 22 The US and the Hot Wars
22.1 The Vietnam War
22.2 The Gulf War
22.3 The Kosovo War
22.4 The Afghanistan War
22.5 The lraq War
Chapter 23 The US Education
23.1 Education on the Land of Opportunity
23.2 Characteristics of the US Education
23.3 Elementary and Secondary Education
23.4 Higher Education
23.5 Adult Education
Part 6 Canada
Chapter 24 Canada
24.1 The Canadian Geography
24.2 The Canadian People
24.3 The Canadian Government
24.4 The Canadian Economy
24.5 Canada's History, Politics and Culture
24.6 The Quebec Question
24.7 Comparison and Contrast between Canada and the USA
