2004年4月高教自考全国统一命题考试“英语国家概

PART ONE (40 POINTS)
I. Read the following unfinished statements or questions carefully. For each unfinished statement or question, four suggested answers marked A,B,C and D are given. Choose the one that you think best completes the statement or answers the question. Write the letter of the answer you have chosen in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.(40 points,1 point for each)
1. British recorded history begins with the ___A__ invasion.
A. Roman B. Viking
C. Anglo-Saxon D. Norman
2. The Authorized Version of the Bible (published in 1611) was made by __B___ command.
A. Edward IV’s B. James I’s
C. Elizabeth I’s D. Henry V III’s
3. In the United Kingdom, succession is founded on the __C___ principle. Sons of the Sovereign have precedence over daughters in succeeding to the throne.
A. ethical B. obligation
C. hereditary D. public relations
4. In the United Kingdom, ministers are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of __D___.
A. the Speaker B. the Lord Chancellor
C. the Duke of Edinburgh D. the Prime Minister
5. The most important prehistoric monument of the Iberians was _B____.
A. Maiden Castle in Wiltshire B. Stonehenge in Wiltshire
C. Avebury in Wiltshire D. Leeds Castle in Kent
6. The Royal National Eisteddfod is a(n) _C____ festival of poetry, music and other arts.
A. English B. Scottish
C. Welsh D. Irish
7. In England no females were allowed to vote in national elections before __A___.
A. 1918 B. 1920
C. 1928 D. 1945
8. The English Civil War is generally regarded as the beginning of modern __D___ history.
A. European B. Scottish
C. Welsh D. world
9. London’s Metropolitan Police Force is directly under the control of __A___.-1
A. the Home Secretary B. the Lord Chancellor
C. the Prime Minister D. the Attorney General
10. During the 1970s Britain began producing petroleum from wells in _B____.
A. the Irish Sea B. the North Sea
C. the Dover Straits D. the Cambrians
11. The two very important crops in Britain are __D___.-1
A. barley and corn B. wheat and rice
C. barley and oats D. wheat and barley
12. In Britain, a ___B__ is held when a Member of Parliament dies, retires or resigns.-1
A. civic election B. by-election
C. popular election D. general election
13. What forms a natural boundary between Mexico and the United States?A-1
A. The Rio Grande River.
B. The southern Rocky Mountains.
C. The Colorado River.
D. The Gulf of California.
14. The financial, manufacturing and transportation center of the United States is __A___.
A. New York B. Washington D.C.
C. Philadelphia D. Chicago
15. One of the measures taken by the Roosevelt Administration in the New Deal was _C____.
A. to close down more banks
B. to further loosen the control of financial institutions
C. to adopt a number of labor laws to raise the role of labor in the relations of production
D. to encourage farm production
16. Most of the colleges and universities in the U.S. are located _D____.
A. in only 5 or 6 states along the Atlantic coast
B. in the South
C. in states with a large population
D. along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts
17. Rock’n’ roll in the early 1960s in the United States was music for _A____.
A. teenagers B. black audience
C. white adult audience D. people of all ages
18. The major Hispanic groups in the United States are __D__.-1
A. the Mexicans and Haitians
B. the Puerto Ricans and Cubans
C. the Mexicans and the Puerto Ricans
D. the Mexicans, Puerto Ricans and Cubans
19. Today, American people observe Veterans’ Day by _A____.-1
A. keeping two minutes of silence at 11∶00 A.M. on that day
B. holding veterans’ parades in their communities
C. going to public cemeteries to pay tribute to war heroes
D. going to churches for memorial services
20. In the U.S., constitutional amendment can go into effect after it is approved by __B___.
A. a two-thirds vote of both houses
B. three-fourths of the states
C. two-thirds of the states
D. half of the states
21. When the president of the U.S. signs an act passed by Congress into law, it still can be cancelled if __D___.
A. the lower federal court decides that it goes against previous laws
B. the Supreme Court decides that it goes against previous laws
C. the lower federal court decides it is unconstitutional
D. the Supreme Court decides it is unconstitutional
22. President Nixon decided to resign because he ___C__.-1
A. refused to hand over the White House tapes to court
B. was tired of political struggle in Washington D.C.
C. came to see that most probably he would be impeached
D. was deserted by the Republican Party
23. In the United States, the first largest immigration movement took place _B____.-1
A. right after the War of Independence
B. in the mid-1810s
C. at the turn of the 20th century
D. right after the Civil War
24. The following are the factors that have contributed to the development of the U.S. economy EXCEPT __C___.
A. the vast space and resources of the land
B. the ideals of freedom and economic opportunity
C. English as its national language
D. hard work by the people
25. Although Australia has a large area, _B____ of the continent is desert or semi-desert.
A. one –third B. two-thirds
C. half D. more than half
26. The Great Barrier Reef is included on the World Heritage list because it has __C___.
A. the most beautiful seascape in the world
B. the greatest number of islands in the world
C. the most spanerse and complex marine life in the world
D. the longest coast in the world
27. The first major discoveries, made in _D____ in the early 1850s, resulted in gold rushes in Australia.
A. Queensland B. South Australia
C. Victoria and Tasmania D. Victoria and New South Wales
28. In Australia, the role of the Senate is __A___.
A. to review bills passed by the House of Representatives
B. to introduce "money bills"
C. to interpret the Constitution
D. to remove the prime minister from office
29. In Australia, the leader of the majority party or the coalition heads the government as _B____.
A. premier B. prime minister
C. chief executive D. governor-general
30. Traditionally, Australia has relied heavily on migrants __A___.
A. to build up its labor force B. to defend its country
C. to change its way of life D. to improve its living standards
31. In each of the ten Canadian provinces, the Queen is represented by __C___.-1
A. the speaker B. the Lord High Commissioner
C. the Lieutenant-governor D. the Attorney-General
32. By the British North America Act, Canada was made a _A____ in 1867.-1
A. dominion B. sovereign nation
C. colony D. member of the Commonwealth of Nations
33. Who opened the interior of Canada to French fur traders and later colonizers in 1535?B
A. Samuel de Champlain. B. Jacques Cartier.
C. John Cabot. D. Henry Hudson.
34. Canada is bounded on the west by _A____.-1
A. the Pacific Ocean B. the Atlantic Ocean
C. the Indian Ocean D. the Arctic Ocean
35. The majority of French-speaking Canadians live in __C___.
A. New Brunswick B. Ontario
C. Quebec D. Nova Scotia
36. The Parliament of Canada is made up of all the following EXCEPT __D___.-1
A. the Crown B. the Senate
C. the House of Commons D. the National Assembly
37. The largest river in Ireland is __C___.
A. the Liffey River B. the Dodder River
C. the Shannon River D. Lough Derg
38. In Ireland Fianna Fail and Fine Gael are both descended from _B____.-1
A. the Irish Labor Party B. Sinn Fein
C. IRA D. the Progressive Democrats
39. New Zealand’s highest peak is _C____ in the mountain range called the central Southern Alps.
A. Mount Ngauruhoe B. Mount Tongariro
C. Mount Cook D. Mount Taranaki
40.Which of the following about New Zealand is true?B
A. New Zealand is a republic.
B. Queen Elizabeth II is represented in New Zealand by the Governor-General.
C.New Zealand has a bicameral parliament.
D.New Zealand has three major political parties.

PART TWO (60 POINTS)
II.Give a one-sentence answer to each of the following questions.Write your answer in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.(30 points,3 points for each)
41.What is a "copyright" library in Britain?

‘Copyright’ library with the legal right to claim a free copy of everything published in Britain. This library, therefore, provides an extremely valuable service to researchers in addition to the extensive library facilities which UWA possesses。

42.Why is December 26th called "Boxing Day" in Britain?-3

The day after Christmas, the Feast of St. Stephen, the first Christian martyr, is better known as Boxing Day. The term may come from the opening of church poor boxes that day; maybe from the earthenware boxes with which boy apprentices collected money at the doors of their masters' clients.

43.What happened in London in 1952 when 4,000 people were left dead or dying?

In 1952, over 4000 people died in a five day period
in London from the “black fog.”

44.Name one of the two major mountain ranges in the United States.

Appalachian Mountains
Rocky Mountains
45.What are the causes of success for Asian-Americans?-1

higher education ,hard work,family.

46.What is The Waste Land by T.S. Eliot considered?

The Waste Land is considered to be Eliot's masterpiece, rich in symbolic, literary, and historical references as the poem explores the struggles of a soul in despair.

 

47.Who were the first British settlers in Canada?

They were the refugees who refused to fight against the British army in the war of American indepenence.

48.How do children in remote areas of Australia receive their education?

through air of school.

49.What is largely responsible for the lack of extreme summer heat and winter cold in Ireland?-1

Permanent warm and mild North Atlantic wind.
50.What is New Zealand’s system of government?-1

parliamentary democracy and consititutional manarchy.

III. Explain each of the following terms in English. Write your answer in the corresponding space on the answer sheet in around 40 words.(20 points,5 points for each)
51.The City of London-4

The City of London, often referred to as just the City or as the Square Mile (from its area) forms the historic and financial centre of Greater London. Although the City was for centuries synonymous with London, the latter term is now reserved for the large conurbation surrounding it. The City has a population of about 7,000. The City of London holds a unique political status, a legacy of the historic privileges granted by the Crown over hundreds of years. It is administered by the Corporation of London, headed by the Lord Mayor of London (confusingly, this post is distinct from but subordinate to the Mayor of London). It has a unique electoral system, which does not follow the usual rules of democracy, allowing businessmen a vote and arranging voters in wards with very unequal number of voters. The City is a ceremonial county and has its own Lord-Lieutenant.

52.Tomb of the Unknown Soldier-2

The Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, is also known as the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and has never been officially named. The Tomb of the Unknowns stands atop a hill overlooking Washington, D.C.On March 4, 1921, the United States Congress approved the burial of an unidentified American soldier from World War I in the plaza of the new Memorial Amphitheater.

53.Earl Warren-5

Earl Warren (March 19, 1891 - July 9, 1974) was a District Attorney and 30th Governor of California, but is best known as the 14th Chief Justice of the United States from 1953-1969. His term of office was marked by numerous rulings affecting among other things, the legal status of racial segregation, civil rights, separation of church and state, and police arrest procedure in the United States.

54.Maoritanga

Maoritanga is Maori culture A way of life and view of the world. It is a growing and changing part of life in NZ. The ancestors and all living things are descended from the gods, who are often embodied in specific mountains, rivers and lakes, which is why kinship and links with the land are so important.

IV.Write between 100-120 words on EITHER of the following topics in the corresponding space on the answer sheet.(10 points)
55.Why is the United States called a nation of immigrants?-5

The Golden Door
The first European immigrants in American history came from England and the Netherlands. Attracted by reports of great economic opportunities and religious and political freedom, immigrants from many other countries flocked to the United States in increasing numbers, the flow reaching a peak in the years 1892-1924. During the late 19th century, the government operated a special port of entry on Ellis Island; it was in operation from 1892 until 1954 and is now preserved as part of the Statue of Liberty National Monument. The Statue of Liberty, which was a gift from the people of France to the people of America in 1886, stands on an island in New York Harbor, near Ellis Island. Between 1820 and 1979, the United States admitted more than 49 million immigrants.
Limits on Newcomers
In 1924, the first laws were passed that set limits on how many people from specific countries would be admitted to the United States. The limits were based on the number of people from that country already living in the country. In 1965, immigration quotas were established according to who applied first; and national quotas were replaced with hemispheric ones. Preference was given to relatives of U.S. citizens and immigrants with specific job skills. In 1978, Congress abandoned hemispheric quotas and established a worldwide ceiling. The United States accepts more immigrants than any other country; in 1998, its population included 25.2 million foreign-born persons (that is 9.3 % of the total population.) The revised immigration law of 1990 created a flexible cap of 675,000 immigrants each year, with certain categories of people exempted from the limit. That law attempts to attract more skilled workers and professionals to the United States and to draw immigrants from countries that have supplied relatively few Americans in recent years.
Illegal Immigrants
The U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service estimates that some 5 million people are living in the United States without permission, and the number is growing by about 275,000 a year. Native-born Americans and legal immigrants worry about the problem of illegal immigration. Many believe that illegal immigrants (also called "illegal aliens") take jobs from citizens, especially from young people and members of minority groups. Moreover, illegal aliens can place a heavy burden on tax-supported social services.In 1986 Congress revised immigration law to deal with illegal aliens. Many of those who had been in the country since 1982 became eligible to apply for legal residency that would eventually permit them to stay in the country permanently. In 1990, nearly 900,000 people took advantage of this law to obtain legal status. The law also provided strong measures to combat further illegal immigration and imposed penalties on businesses that knowingly employ illegal aliens.
The Legacy
The steady stream of people coming to America's shores has had a profound effect on the American character. It takes courage and flexibility to leave your homeland and come to a new country. The American people have been noted for their willingness to take risks and try new things, for their independence and optimism. If Americans whose families have been here longer tend to take their material comfort and political freedoms for granted, immigrants are at hand to remind them how important those privileges are.

56.What is the role of the Monarchy in the British government?

1.The role of the monarchy as an intelligible part of the constitution might on a superficial level at least have some merit. The Monarch’s function of signing into law Acts passed by Parliament is an integral part of the legislative process. The Monarch technically holds the right to veto any measure adopted by Parliament but this is a very rare occurrence and the last time it was used was in the eighteenth century by Queen Anne. The Monarch also receives newly appointed ambassadors to the United Kingdom who are accredited to her court rather than to the state. S/he is also the commander in chief of the Armed forces and new recruits have to swear allegiance to the Monarch rather than to Parliament or to the State. In this and many similar functions the Queen acts as a living personification of the British State, a type of shorthand by which people can swear allegiance to the state, which is a social construct, via a living person. Whilst the majority of the Monarch’s powers have been transferred to the Head of the Government for the Prime minister to use at her/his discretion; to suggest that the Monarch has no direct input into the decision making process in Britain would be inaccurate.
2.The symbolic role of the Monarch is perhaps its most effective role in the late twentieth Century. The majority of the Queen’s workload consists of representing the state at home and the Nation abroad. On state visits the Queen attracts interest from the foreign public and media who helps raise the profile of the Nation overseas. However one might argue that the image of an elderly aristocratic Monarch is not perhaps an accurate representation of the sophisticated multicultural and spanerse state Britain is in the late 1990s. It is often also argued that the Queen is an ideal figure to represent Britain as she is a neutral figure above the political arena and one who can represent the nation as a whole without carrying any political baggage. This is again a difficult argument to present with any degree of plausibility given that the Queen comes from such a narrow aristocratic background and has little practical knowledge of the lives and experiences of a great many of her subjects.
3.The role of the Monarch as strengthening Government with religion refers to the Monarch’s combined role as head of State and Governor of the established Church of England. This role signifies the importance of the Church to the British establishment and their core values and traditions. The Monarch has largely remained Head of the Church since the reformation of Henry VIII when Papal authority was abolished in England. This situation might appear anachronistic in a secular society and given the history of repression against the Catholic Church might seem to class the Head of state as a rather exclusive figure. In the Post war years Britain has increasingly become a multi faith society where the religions practised in the former British Empire became increasingly popular within the United Kingdom herself. Having a Head of State as head of a certain branch of Christianity might therefore seems inappropriate and at worst spanisive. In addition the marital troubles of the Governor’s four children, three of whom are spanorced single parents whilst the other one is cohabiting has caused concern within the Church of England establishment. The impending prospect of a future Monarch, Prince Charles heading a Church which preaches the importance of marriage while he is a spanorced man who’s partner is a spanorced Roman Catholic complicates matters somewhat, leading to calls for the Anglican Communion to be disestablished.