发布时间 : 星期三 文章英语国家概况-美国部分清晰完整版 - 图文更新完毕开始阅读535cfb1ea26925c52dc5bf43
b. 1 in the District of Columbia;
c. 1 in the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (which is not a state of the union but the part of the United States).
Ⅴ.Political Parties
1. Political parties are the basis of the American political system. In general, America has a two-party system, the Democrats and the Republicans, dominate politics at the federal, state and local levels. 2. History
① 18th: two major parties aroused when the debate over the ratification of the Constitution
began.
② 1828 – 1860:
③ 1860s – 1920s: Republican Party ④ 1920s – 1980s: Democratic Party 3. Differences
①On economic issues:
a. Democrats traditionally favour government intervention; b. Republicans stress the role of the market more. ② On social issues:
a. Democrats support a strong social security system;
b. the Republicans oppose large governmental social security programs.
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4. Features
The two parties are actually loose political coalitions. The two parties both believe in individualism defend capitalism and uphold private ownership of means of production.
在组织方面，两党实际上是松散的政治联合体。两家的政党之所以被说成是一个联合体是因为它只是一种各州的政党的联合，而这些州政党又是各地方政党的松散同盟。两党派还是都信奉个人主义，保护资本主义，坚持生产资料私有制。
5. State parties
The state parties are independent and the National Committee does not have any power over them nor can it remove any of the officials elected by them. In fact, it is a coalition of interests and interest groups. 6. Main function
American politics is party politics and no one can hope to win any election if he does not have a party to back him. So a party’s main function is to help its candidates win elections. It is almost impossible for an independent candidate to win an election, especially a nation-wide or state-wide election.
7. Reasons of decline of American political parties’ influence
① the decline of patronage using the Party’s influence to bring material benefits to its followers; 包括利用党的影响给其追随者带来物质利益的那种特权减弱了；
② the wide use of direct primaries initial voting by members to select candidates for elections. 广泛采用直接初选，由党员选出大选候选人
Chapter 20 Education
Ⅰ.Education
1. It is a general view that every American has the right and obligation to become educated. Americans believe that, through education, an individual acquires the knowledge, skills, attitudes and abilities which will enable him to fit into society and improve his social status. 2. Characteristics of American Education
① Formal education in the United States consists of elementary, secondary and higher education. Elementary and secondary education, which forms public education, is free and compulsory. ② Some schools, colleges and universities are public and others are private. ③ Diversity is considered to be an outstanding characteristic of American education.
a. Education is a function of the state, not the federal government. There is not a national system of education in the United States.
b. On the other hand, there is a remarkable sameness in these systems. Ⅱ.Elementary and Secondary Education
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1. Elementary and secondary education in the United States covers 12 years for ages 6 through 18. 2. The revenues to operate schools primarily come from states and localities.
3. It is common that each state delegates its power to an elected or appointed state board of education.
4. The typical organizational pattern for elementary and secondary schools is that of graded schools.
① Usually, the elementary school covers grades 1-8 and the high school 9-12.
② The pattern under which the elementary school covers grades 1-5 or 6, the junior high school 6
or 7-9, and the high school 10-12 is also common.
5. There is a certain degree of similarity in the elementary school curriculum. It mainly consists of mastery of the―basics‖, such as reading, writing, and arithmetic or mathematics. Social studies, science, foreign languages, music, health and physical education are also included in almost all grades above the third.
6. High schools are made up of comprehensive, academic, vocational and technical schools with somewhat different tasks. A typical high school curriculum includes almost all the subjects for elementary schools, but is more specialized. ①English courses stress grammar and literature.
②History is split into separate courses in American history, American government and European
history.
③Algebra, geometry and trigonometry are offered, and a one-year course in general science, and then more detailed courses in biology, chemistry and physics are usually required.
④Many high schools offer dozens and sometimes hundreds of electives, ranging from philosophy and creative writing to community services.
7. A typical school day is 6-7 hours, and a typical school year is 180 school days, usually beginning classes in early September and finishing the school year soon after the end of May. Ⅲ.Higher Education
1. Higher education in the United States began with the founding of Harvard College in 1636. 2. According to the 1994 Carnegie Classification of Institutions of Higher Education, there are 125 research universities, 111 doctoral universities, 529 master’s comprehensive colleges and universities, 637 liberal arts colleges offering BA degree, 1471 junior colleges and 722 specialized institutions.
3. The system of higher education in the United States has three principal functions: teaching,
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research and public service.
4. Famous universities are Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia and MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) in the east, as well as Stanford and Berkeley on the west coast. 5. The total funding for higher education was approximately $100 billion. There is a fierce competition for dollars from public and private sources. Administrators both at public and private institutions usually spend a major part of their time trying hard to find resources to support their institutions.
6. New York, Rhode Island, and Michigan set policy for education at all levels, but other states have separate university boards for higher education. Except for some colleges sponsored by the Catholic church, all colleges and universities in the United States, public and private, are governed by a board of trustees composed primarily of laymen.
除了一些由天主教会办的学院直接向教会的官员汇报外，美国的所有学院和大学、无论公立还是私立，都由一个主要由外行人员(不是学校职业人员)组成的托管委员会管理(在公立学校通常被称为董事会)。基本认识是外行比内行更有可能代表公众的利益，行内人士组成的委员会的决定可能会过分照顾行内的利益。
① The board has total authority as the legal body responsible for the institution, although it delegates much of it to administrators and faculty.
委员会作为对学校负责的法人全权管理学校，尽管它把很多权力授予了学校管理人员和教师。
② In most states, trustees (or regents) for boards of state colleges and universities are nominated by the governor of the state, subject to approval by the state senate.
在大多数州，州立学院和大学的委员会托管人(或董事)须由州长提名，并提交州参议院批准。60%的公立社区学院的董事是由当地选民选举产生。
7. Admission to an institution is determined by each college or university. It is selective and competitive, especially in private institutions.
①The general standards for admission include successful completion of high school, high school grade point average (GPA) and class rank, courses studied in areas of English, mathematics, and science, and results from standardized tests such as the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Testing Program’s examination (ACTP).
②However open admissions are also being practiced in some public institutions. Admission to some of these institutions requires a high school diploma or its equivalent, but in most cases, involves almost no restriction.
8. Students pay tuition and other educational fees for the higher education they receive. Tuition varies from year to year, state to state and institution to institution, and there is a significant
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