调整《英语国家概况自学考试大纲》考核目标的通知

　　考委办函［2008］53号

　　各省、自治区、直辖市高等教育自学考试办公室、解放军自学考试办公室：

　　高等教育自学考试《英语国家概况》（2005版）自学考试大纲修订试行以来，考生及有关方面反映意见较多，认为现行大纲中的个别考核目标不够明确，容易对大纲考核目标的理解产生疑义。经组织全国考委外语类专业委员会研究论证，全国考办决定对现行考核目标进行调整。调整后的大纲考核目标以章节形式出现。现将调整后大纲考核目标印发给你们，请及时向社会公布。

　　调整后的《英语国家概况自学考试大纲》将于2009年4月考试试行。

　　附件：《英语国家概况自学考试大纲》的考核目标

　　全国高等教育自学考试指导委员会办公室

二○○八年七月八日

　　附件：

　　《英语国家概况自学考试大纲》的考核目标

　　Part One  The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

　　Chapter 1  Land and People

　　I. Different Names for Britain and its Parts

　　Chapter 2  The Origins of a Nation

　　I．Early Settlers

　　3．The Celts

　　II．Roman Britain

　　III．The Anglo-Saxons

　　Ⅳ．The Viking and Danish Invasions

　　V．The Norman Conquest

　　Chapter 3  The Shaping of the Nation

　　Ⅰ．Norman Rule

　　1. William’s Rule

　　Ⅱ．The Great Charter and the Beginning of Parliament

　　1. The Great Charter

　　Ⅲ．The Hundred Years’ War with France

　　Ⅳ．The Black Death and the Peasant Uprising

　　Chapter 4  Transition to the Modern Age

　　Ⅰ．Transition to the Modern Age

　　Ⅱ．The English Reformation

　　Ⅲ．Elizabeth I

　　1. Elizabeth and Parliament

　　2. Elizabeth’s Religious Reform

　　3. Elizabeth’s Foreign Policy

　　Ⅳ．The English Renaissance

　　VII. The Civil Wars

　　VIII. The Commonwealth

　　IX. The Restoration and the Glorious Revolution of 1688

　　Chapter 5  The Rise and Fall of the British Empire

　　Ⅰ．Whigs and Tories

　　Ⅱ．Agricultural Changes in the Late 18th Century

　　Ⅲ．The Industrial Revolution

　　Ⅳ．The Chartist Movement

　　VII．Twentieth Century

　　1. Britain and the First World War

　　3. Britain and the Second World War

　　4. Postwar Britain

　　Chapter 7  Government and Administration

　　Ⅰ．The Monarchy

　　Ⅱ．Parliament

　　1. The House of Lords

　　2. The House of Commons

　　Ⅲ．The Cabinet and Ministry

　　Ⅳ．The Privy Council

　　Chapter 8 Justice and the Law

　　IV．The Judiciary

　　V．Police

　　Chapter 9  Social Affairs

　　Ⅰ．Health and Social Services

　　1．The National Health Service

　　Ⅲ．Religion

　　1．Established churches

　　Ⅳ．Festivals and Public Holidays

　　1．Christian festivals

　　2．Other festivals

　　3．Public holidays

　　Chapter 10  Cultural Affairs

　　Ⅰ．Education

　　3．Higher education

　　Ⅱ．The Media

　　1．Newspapers

　　Ⅲ．Sports

　　Ⅳ．The Arts

　　3．Drama

　　Part Two  The Republic of Ireland

　　Chapter 11  Geography and History

　　I. Geographical Features

　　II. Climate and Weather

　　III. Population and Religion

　　IV. Historical background

　　Part Three  The United States of America

　　Chapter 14  Population, Race and Ethnic Groups

　　I. Introduction

　　IV. Racial and Ethnic Minorities

　　1．Blacks

　　Chapter 15  American History  (I)

　　Ⅰ．Discovery of the New World

　　Ⅱ．The Colonial Period

　　Ⅲ．The War of Independence

　　Ⅳ．A New Form of Government

　　Ⅵ．Territorial Expansion and Westward Movement

　　Ⅶ．The Civil War

　　Ⅷ．Rapid Growth of Capitalism after the Civil War

　　Chapter 16  American History  (II)

　　Ⅰ．Economic Development

　　Ⅱ．Progressivism

　　Ⅲ．World War I and the United States

　　Ⅳ．The United States in the 1920s

　　Ⅴ．The Great Depression and the New Deal

　　Ⅵ．World War II and the United States

　　Chapter 17 American History (III)

　　Ⅰ．The Origins of the Cold War

　　Ⅱ．The Truman Doctrine and the Marshall Plan

　　V．McCarthyism

　　VII．American Society During the Postwar Boom: 1945-1960s

　　VIII．The Cuban Missile Crisis

　　IX．The Vietnam War

　　X．United States’ Relations with China

　　XII．Watergate Scandal

　　Chapter 18  The Economy

　　(Two paragraphs)

　　Ⅰ．The Economic System of the United States

　　V．Foreign Trade

　　VI．Problems in the U.S. Economy

　　Chapter 19  Political Institutions

　　Ⅰ．The U.S. Constitution

　　1．The Federal system

　　2．Separation of powers: checks and balances

　　3．Provisions for amendment

　　Ⅱ．The Executive Branch

　　1．The Presidency

　　2．Presidential Powers

　　Ⅲ．The Legislative Branch

　　2. Powers of the House and Senate

　　3. Officers of the Congress

　　4. Functions of the Congress

　　Ⅴ．Political Parties (two-party system)

　　Chapter 20  Education

　　Ⅰ．Characteristics of American Education

　　Ⅱ．Elementary and Secondary Education

　　Ⅲ．Higher Education

　　Ⅴ．Education Reforms

　　Chapter 21  Literature, Architecture and Music

　　Ⅰ．American Literature

　　1．Washington Irving

　　2．Emerson and Hawthorne

　　3．Mark Twain

　　4．Whitman and Dickinson

　　5．Theodore Dreiser

　　6．T. S. Eliot

　　7．Ernest Hemingway

　　8．Hughes and Wright

　　Chapter 22  Holidays and Festivals

　　Ⅰ．New Year’s Day

　　IV．Valentine’s Day

　　VI．Easter Day

　　VIII．Independence Day

　　IX．Halloween

　　XI．Thanksgiving Day

　　ⅩII．Christmas Day

　　Part Four  Canada

　　Chapter 23 Geography and History

　　Ⅰ．Geographic Features

　　4. Geographic regions

　　Ⅱ．The making of Canada

　　1．The European discovery

　　3．Self-government and Confederation

　　4．The Canadian nation

　　Chapter 26 Society and Culture

　　I．Canadian Society

　　1．Population

　　2．Immigration

　　3．Bilingualism

　　4．Multiculturalism

　　Part Five  Australia

　　Chapter 27 Land and people

　　Ⅰ．The Geographical Structure

　　1．The Great Western Plateau

　　2．The Eastern Highlands

　　3．The Central Eastern Lowlands

　　Ⅱ．Climate

　　3. Causes and effects of the hot and dry climate

　　Ⅳ．People

　　1．Population

　　2．Population density and distribution

　　Ⅴ．Australia’s Built Environment

　　1．Sprawling cities

　　2．Rural areas

　　Ⅵ．Political Divisions

　　1．New South Wales

　　2．Victoria

　　3．Queensland

　　4．South Australia