英语国家概况期末考查试题
专业年级：12翻译2班 学号：20124312  姓名：曹忠慧    成绩：
I.     Please comment on the rise and fall of British Empire.
Colonization of Newfoundland, the first British colony overseas, in 1583 marked the beginning of the British Empire. By 1873, Britain had long been an empire which included the colonies in Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and many small states in the West Indies. By the end of the 19th century, the British Empire included a quarter of the global population and nearly a quarter of the world’s landmass. During the mid-19th century, the British government consolidated the existing colonies by bringing them under the direct control of the government. Before World War I, Britain had the largest colonial empire in the world. However, Britain suffered great loss to its manpower in the two World Wars and exhausted its reserves of gold, dollars and overseas investment. Most of Britain’s colonies gained independence since the 1940s, which inevitably led to the fall of the Empire.
II. List the major wars in American History from colonial period to the first half of the 20th century and comment on their influence on America’s development.
1. The Revolutionary War lasted from 1775-1783. This fight between Great Britain and its thirteen colonies was the result of years of growing conflict. After the French and Indian War that occurred between1754-1763, the British government began requiring the colonies to pay higher taxes. Over time, protests and conflict led to a tightening of control by the Mother Country. Beginning with the fighting at Lexington and Concord in April 1775, open warfare broke out. On October 19, 1781, the British soldiers were forced to surrender and the war came to an end. The British and the Americans made formal peace and in 1783 they signed the Treaty of Paris. With the signing of this treaty, the United States of America won its independence.
2. The Civil War which lasted from 1861 to 1865 divided the United States to such an extent that its impact can still be felt over 140 years later. Many of the major causes of the war were set from the inception of the Constitution. The battles, both large and small, were
horribly bloody and resulted in over 600,000 deaths and over 450,000 injuries. Accordingly, on January 1,1863, Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation, which granted freedom to all slaves including those in areas still controlled by the Confederacy. The war resolved two fundamental issues. Slavery was completely abolished and America became not a collection of semi-independent states, but a single, indivisible nation.
3. World War I was fought between 1914 and 1918, though the United States did not enter the war until 1917. The causes of World War I are complicated and based on years of entangling alliances and competition between nations. After World War I, America saw a short-term development in the 1920s, but unexpectedly, the Great Depression broke out.
4. When events began happening in Europe that would eventually lead to World War II, many Americans took an increasingly hard line towards getting involved. World War I had caused an increased desire for isolationism amongst the American people. However, the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 led to America's involvement in the war. During the war, the development of the American economy reached a higher stage. As a result, America became the strongest power in the Western world.monarchy
5. The Cold War was a stand-off between the two major superpowers left at the end of World War II: the United States and the Soviet Union. They both tried to further their own ends by influencing nations around the world. The period was marked by conflict and increasing tension that only resolved with the fall of the Berlin Wall and the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991.
6. Both Korea and Vietnam were "hot" wars that occured during the Cold War era. In both of the conflicts, America was fighting overseas to try and stop the spread of communism. Unfortunately, neither war resulted in victory for the United States and both led to increased dissension amongst the American people. The war greatly weakened America and sharpened the country’s internal contradictions.
III. What are the political systems in UK and in the United States?
Britain is both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy. Its government system or so-called the Westminster system has directly influenced the political system of many other countries. The main characteristic is the doctrine of Parliamentary supremacy
、the core of the power is the cabinet、clearance monarch and Organized political party. Doctrine of Parliamentary supremacy is legislative powers is in the core status. The first set of western capitalist political systems created by Britain is praised as a source and model of the western political system monarchy. Although the king or Queen is the head of state, their powers are largely symbolic. The government is elected by people and the whole country is governed according to British constitutional principles.

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