自考英语国家概况2012年4月真题及答案解析

Marshall Plan

Muckrakers (U.S.)

Quality Papers (U.K.)

In which way is Ireland unique among the European countries in terms of its national population?

How do the New Zealanders usually refer themselves to?

Cabinet (U.K.)

How does the hot and dry weather in Australia affect the vegetation?

What are the three branches of government in the United States?

Besides being the capital city of Canada, what is special about the city of Ottawa in terms of language?

What is the House of Lords made up of?

What are the three kinds of the American high schools?

What is the major reason for many early settlers to come to the English coloniesin North America?

Was the religious reform of ElizabethⅠradical?

Who is the head of state of the U.K.?

Taupo is ______ in New Zealand.

• A.the biggest lake
• B.the longest river
• C.the largest plain
• D.the highest mountain

According to the Treaty of Waitangi, ______ is entitled to make laws in New Zealand.

• A.the Maori people
• B.the British settlers
• C.the Queen of England
• D.the New Zealand government

Most animals in New Zealand are ______.

• A.native to the land
• B.brought from England
• C.introduced from North America only
• D.ill adapted to New Zealand conditions

Established in 1788, ______ is the oldest state of Australia.

• A.Victoria
• B.Queensland
• C.South Australia
• D.New South Wales

Adelaide, the capital of South Australia, is world famous for its ______.

• A.agriculture
• B.arts festival
• C.shipbuilding
• D.valuable minerals

As a result of World War II, Canada ______.

• A.established the Canadian Navy
• B.experienced a rapid growth in its territory
• C.increased the control over its foreign relations
• D.found its place among the nations of the world

The Inuit and Indians in northern Canada ______.

• A.have stopped hunting
• B.have moved from tents to houses in towns
• C.have experienced much change in their life styles
• D.have totally got used to the non-native Canadian way of life

In Canada, it is difficult to do farming in Atlantic provinces because _______.

• A.the region is too hilly
• B.dairying is more popular than farming
• C.the weather is too extreme in those provinces
• D.the growing season is short and the soil is poor

The most popul

• ar religious
• belief in Ireland is ______.A. MethodismB.
• ChristianityC. Catholicism
• D. Protestantism

Ireland kept out of World War II _______.

• A.to declare itself a republic
• B.to make a new constitution
• C.to vote itself out of the Commonwealth
• D.to demonstrate its continued displeasure with the British

In his masterpiece Leaves of Grass, ______ praised the ideas of equality and democracy and celebrated the dignity and the self-reliant spirit of the common man.

• A.T. S. Eliot
• B.Mark Twain
• C.Walt Whitman
• D.Emily Dickson

The fourth party period began with ______ and lasted till the ______ with the Democratic Party dominant.

• A.Jimmy Carter, 1990s
• B.Herbert Hoover, 1920s
• C.Franklin Roosevelt, 1980s
• D.Theodore Roosevelt, 1900s

When a bill emerges from the Senate and the House, it is usually referred to a ______ composed of equal number of members from each house to resolve the differences.

• A.revenue committee
• B.standing committee
• C.permanent committee
• D.conference committee

Which statement about American education is NOT true?

• A.Elementary and secondary education is free and noncompulsory.
• B.There are more public elementary and secondary schools than private ones.
• C.Public schools are financially supported and governed by states or communities.
• D.Public and private schools refer to the way in which these institutions are funded and controlled.

______ turned out to be the longest war the United States ever fought (1950-1975) as a result of its policy of containment of Communism.

• A.The Civil War
• B.The Korean War
• C.The Vietnam War
• D.World War II

The U.S. President can veto any bill passed by Congress unless overridden by______ vote in each house.

• A.one-third
• B.two-thirds
• C.two-fifths
• D.three-fourths

Which statement about the Watergate Scandal is NOT true?

• A.After the scandal American disillusions grew.
• B.Nixon was the second president to resign in U.S. history.
• C.Nixon finally handed over the complete tapes, which would condemn him.
• D.By the early 1980s far fewer Americans still clung to the belief that their system was the most powerful.

The open declaration of the containment policy was made by U.S. President ______ on March 12, 1949.

• A.Hoover
• B.Truman
• C.Roosevelt
• D.Eisenhower

The first summit between the United States, the Soviet Union and Britain during World War Ⅱ was held in ______ in November 1943.

• A.Yalta
• B.Cairo
• C.Tehran
• D.Potsdam

Since 1945 the United States entered a 25-year economic boom, and the cornerstones were the ______.

• A.automobile, housing and shipping
• B.farming, housing and defense industries
• C.automobile, housing and defense industries
• D.automobile, shipping and defense industries

The aim of measures in the New Deal, as President Roosevelt put it, was to _______.

• A.“save American democracy”
• B.“regulate and reform the banking system”
• C.“strengthen government intervention in business”
• D.“raise the role of labor in the relations of production”

The 19th Amendment of voting right for women was adopted during the ______Administration.

• A.J.F.Kennedy’s
• B.Woodrow Wilson’s
• C.Franklin Roosevelt’s
• D.Theodore Roosevelt’s

As a result of the Great Depression, many people lost their land and other properties because of ______.

• A.bankruptcy
• B.foreclosure
• C.speculation
• D.profiteering

In the political area, the Progressive Movement demanded ______.

• A.the banning of child labor
• B.improve living conditions
• C.industrial accident insurance
• D.reforming the city and state governments

Which of the following statements is NOT considered the valid reason for the disappearance of black slavery in the American North in the early 1800s?

• A.The price of slaves was too high.
• B.Slavery was simply illegal in the North.
• C.The Africans could not stand cold winters in the North.
• D.As the North turned toward industry, mechanics and not farmhands were needed.

The war at ______ in Northern New York proved to be a great turning point of the War of Independence.

• A.Lexington
• B.Concord
• C.Yorktown
• D.Saratoga

The American expansionist movement produced a theory called ______.

• A.New Frontier
• B.New Darwinism
• C.Manifest Destiny
• D.Roosevelt Corollary

The Federalist Papers written under the name of Publius were co-authored by ______.

• A.Alexander Hamilton, John Locke and John Jay .
• B.Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and John Jay
• C.Andrew Jackson, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson
• D.Alexander Hamilton, James Madison and Thomas Jefferson

Statistically ______ have been the fastest growing states in population for the last 20 years.

• A.Arizona, Nevada and Florida
• B.California, Nevada and Florida
• C.Arizona, New Jersey and Nevada
• D.Arizona, New Mexico and Florida

______ is a contemporary British musical composer.

• A.David Hare
• B.Tom Stoppard
• C.Harold Pinter
• D.Lloyd Webber

The United States of America, with a population of 255.5 million in 1992, was the ______ most populous country in the world.

• A.second
• B.third
• C.fourth
• D.fifth

______ is the most typical English sport in England.

• A.Golf
• B.Cricket
• C.Tennis
• D.Football

_____ was founded in 1969, and began its first course in 1970.

• A.Glasgow University
• B.Aberdeen University
• C.The Open University
• D.St Andrews University

In England and Wales, lay magistrates (“justice of the peace” or JPs) are appointed by ______.

• A.the Monarch
• B.the Parliament
• C.the Prime Minister
• D.the Lord Chancellor

The ______ is the largest single employer of labor in the U.K.

• A.British Airways
• B.British Petroleum
• C.National Health Service
• D.British Telecommunications

The House of Commons in the U.K. had its first woman speaker in ______.

• A.1990
• B.1991
• C.1992
• D.1993

The Lords Temporal in Britain’s House of Lords consists of all the following EXCEPT _____.

• A.life peers
• B.hereditary peers
• C.Lords of appeal of “law lords”
• D.the Archbishops of Canterbury and York

The husband of Queen Elizabeth II is ______.

• A.Prince Andrew
• B.Prince Philip
• C.Prince Charles
• D.Prince William

The maximum duration of a Parliament in the U.K. is ______.

• A.two years
• B.four years
• C.five years
• D.six years

The Industrial Revolution refers to the ______ and the consequent changes in social and economic organizations in Britain in the 18th and 19th centuries.

• A.urbanization of Britain
• B.reformation of the Church
• C.mechanization of industry
• D.mechanization of agriculture

The oldest institution of government in the U.K. is ______, which goes back to at least the 9th century.

• A.the Monarchy
• B.the Parliament
• C.the Privy Council
• D.the Metropolitan Police

Which of the following statements about World War Ⅱ is true?

• A.Britain lost about 250,000 lives during the war.
• B.Britain became a powerful empire after the war.
• C.Britain only devoted part of its entire strength to the war.
• D.Britain suffered far more military casualties in World War II than in WorldWar I.

The English Renaissance was largely ______.

• A.literary
• B.political
• C.religious
• D.philosophical

Loosely speaking, ______ opposed absolute monarchy and supported the right to religious freedom for Nonconformists.

• A.the Whigs
• B.the Tories
• C.the House of Lords
• D.the House of Commons

_______ was, above all, responsible for the religious reform of the Church in the 16th century.

• A.Henry VII
• B.Henry Ⅷ
• C.Edward IV
• D.Edward VI

Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was Elizabeth I’s ______.

• A.sister
• B.daughter
• C.cousin
• D.half-sister

Under ______, the feudal system in England was completely established.

• A.Edward I
• B.Henry II
• C.King Alfred
• D.William the Conqueror

The ______ tribes are ancestors of the highland Scots, the Irish and the Welsh.

• A.Danish
• B.Celtic
• C.Anglo-Saxon
• D.Viking

About a hundred years ago, Britain ruled an empire that had colonies in ______.

• A.Europe, Africa and Asia
• B.Australia, Africa and Europe
• C.Asia, Africa and North America
• D.Europe, Africa and North America

Which of the following statements about Roman Britain is true?

• A.The Romans remained in control of Britain for over 500 years.
• B.The Romans never treated the Britons as a subject people of slave class.
• C.During the four centuries, Romans and Britons had a lot of intermarriages.
• D.The Romans had no impact on the language or culture of ordinary Britons.