大学生英语竟赛英美文化常识

Britain

1.

“Union

Jack”

is

the popular name

for

the

British

flag.

2.

The

Anglo- Saxons

were

the

ancestors

of

the

English and the founders of England.

3.

The

first

Roman

attempt

to

conquer

the

British

Isles was made by

Julius Caesar

.

4.

In

1066

William

the

Conqueror,

Duke

of

Normandy,

led

of

Norman

French

invasion

of

England and become the ruler of the land.

5.

The

time

between

5th

and

11th

centuries

in

European history is known as the

Dark Ages

6.

The

British

Civil

War

of

1648

ended

in

the

execution of

Charles I

.

7.

Westminster

Abbey

is

an

important

church

in

London. It is a traditional place where English kings

and

queens

are

crowned.

It

is

well

known

for

its

Poets’ Corner

, which has been the traditional burial

ground of the most famous English poets.

8.

Downing

Street

is

often

used

to

stand

for

the

English

Government.

No.10

Downing

Street

is

the

place

where the English Prime Minister lives

.

9.

In

Britain,

all

the

government

ministers

are

appointed

by

the

Queen

,

but

she

makes

the

appointment

entirely

on

the

advice

of

the

Cabinet

.

The

Cabinet

is

the

nucleus

of

the

English

Government.

10. In Britain, until about 1920 the two main parties

were the

Conservatives

and the

Liberal

. It was only

after

the

First

World

War

that

the

Labor

Party

became the second main Party.

11.

Strictly

speaking,

there

are

three

elements

in

British

Parliament:

the

Crown,

the

House

of

Lord,

and

the House of Commons

.

12.

The

English

Central

Government

includes

the

Monarch,

Parliament,

the

Cabinet

and

other

government departments.

13.

Israel

and

Britain

are

the

only

two

countries

without written constitution

14. British prime minister normally serves a

five-year

term.

15. The capital of Wales is

Cardiff

.

16. The Bible, which is the holy book of

Christianity

,

consists of

two

“testaments”.

17.

Shakespeare’s four great

tragedies

are

Hamlet,

Othello, King Lear

and

Macbeth

.

18. The famous line

“T

o be or not to be”

comes from

Hamlet

.

19.

Shakespeare’s

four

great

comedies

are

A

Midsummer Night’s Dream

,

The Merchant of Venice,

As You Like It

《皆大欢喜》

and

Twelfth Night

.

20.

One

of

the

greatest

masterpieces

of

critical

realism is

Thackeray’s

Vanity Fair

.

21.

Charlie

Dickens’

most

famous

works

include

Oliver Twist, David Copperfield, Hard Times, A Tale

of Two Cities, The Old Curiosity Shop, Dombey

and

Son, Great expectations

.

America

1.

The

first

English

colony

in

North

America

was

Virginia

.

2. The turning point of the American Civil War, as is

considered

by

many

historians,

was

the

battle

of

Gettysburg

(

盖

茨

堡

葛

底

斯

堡

).In

Gettysburg,