第一篇：英语国家社会与文化入门
英语国家社会与文化入门
节日
蒙特利尔爵士音乐节
世界上最有名的国际爵士音乐节之一。1978年加拿大一名狂热的音乐爱好者Alain Simard基于“把全美国最好的爵士音乐家齐聚蒙特利尔”的梦想，向政府提交了申请书，但直到1980年，第一届蒙特利尔爵士音乐节才在各方的资助下正式拉开了帷幕。开办20 多年来，蒙特利尔爵士音乐节已经逐步超脱了音乐演出的单纯意义，成为一个音乐交流的巨大舞台和加拿大最具影响力的国家盛事之一。进入21世纪以后，每年的蒙特利尔爵士音乐节都会邀请两千位著名乐手为乐迷们献上异彩纷呈的音乐大餐，更会吸引超过150万的参观者慕名而来。2011年，蒙特利尔爵士音乐节被评为加拿大魁北克最重要的十五件大事之一，更被《Jazztime Magazine》的读者选为“最好的爵士音乐节”。
每年的蒙特利尔爵士音乐节是一场音乐盛会，音乐爱好者们可以尽情享受艺术家们带来的听觉震撼。
堪培拉气球节
每年4月历时2周的热气球节（Canberra Balloon Fiesta）吸引了世界各地的热气球爱好者。全世界的热气球掌舵手和队员们都来到堪培拉参加这一年度盛事。
热气球从旧国会大厦的前院出发后集中在以堪培拉标志性景点作为背景的指定区域。这些姿态优雅的大家伙慢慢膨胀为形状各异，大小不同冰代表各个国家的巨型气球漂浮在黎明的天空中，你的眼前将是一个五彩缤纷，热闹非凡，充满激情的美丽世界。
感恩节
每年11月的第四个星期四是感恩节（Thanksgiving Day）.感恩节是美国人民独创的一个古老节日，也是美国合家欢聚的节日，因此美国人提起感恩节总是倍感亲切。感恩节的由来要一直追溯到美国历史的发端。美洲大陆上的移民在当地心
地善良的印第安人的热心帮助下，度过了极寒交迫的冬天，印第安人传授农作技术与经验，送去生活必需品，移民们欢庆丰收的日子，按照宗教传统习俗，移民规定了感谢上帝的日子，并决定为感谢印第安人的真诚帮助，邀请他们一同庆祝节日。1983年，美国总统林肯宣布每年十一月的第四个星期日为感恩节。
如今感恩节文化传播全球，中国人民也喜欢在感恩节前后对亲朋好友送去真诚衷心的感谢，因为中国文化中也有滴水之恩涌泉相报的传统。
文字
中国汉字历史悠久，博大精深，作为世界上最著名的象形文字，汉字随着华夏文明的繁衍发展而源远流长。汉字不同于世界上任何一种文字，汉字的发展历经了几千年的演变，表现形式多种多样，表达意义精彩纷呈。中国作为世界四大文明古国之一，是世界上唯一没有中断过的古老文明，因而汉字也是延续不断的发展演变，汉字文化也是中华文化中不可或缺的一部分。
汉字较世界上其他字母文字有着独特神秘的魅力，汉字是世界上唯一一种可以以艺术形式
表现的文字，书法在汉字表达中有着无与伦比的艺术感，并且汉字书法种类繁多，样式精彩，派别众多。从秦始皇的小篆到汉赋的隶书，再到唐诗宋词的楷书，元曲中的行书，草书，狂草等等，更涌现出王羲之，柳公权，颜真卿等名流千古的书法家。历史上的每一个封建王朝都有着主流的汉字书法，也有着主流的汉字文学表达形式，春秋战国的散文，楚辞汉赋，唐诗宋词元曲，明清小说等，再到现代民主社会的百花齐放，百鸟争鸣，汉字文学艺术一直在传承与发展，从未间断。
中华民族历经无数艰难险阻，无数天灾磨难，依旧顽强不屈地伫立世界的东方，其中汉字功不可没。方方正正的汉字，中华儿女正直勇敢，正因为汉字给予了无穷的归属感和凝聚力，中华儿女在面对困难时可以团结一致万众一心克服磨难战胜困难，展现出中华民族强大的凝聚力。
汉字有着独特的魅力，汉语又是世界上最难学习的语言。汉字表达细腻，情感丰富，是世界上其他文字无法比拟的。用其他任何语言翻译汉语，都无法表现出汉语的无穷魅力，这也是中国人还没有获得过诺贝尔文学奖的重要原因。汉字，像中国那么美，无与伦比！
感恩节是哪个国家的第二篇：英语国家社会与文化入门(II)
英语国家社会与文化入门（II）
名词解释题
1.American Indians
American Indians , who were mistakenly called by Columbus, moved to the Americas from Asia about 25 000 years ago.They developed their own aboriginal cultures and some of them such as the Aztecs, the Incas and the mayas were very advanced when Europeans arrived in the New World.But, as a result of European conquest, the Indian population was quickly reduced and their cultures were ruthlessly destroyed.2.the Declaration of Independence
The Declaration of Independence was mainly drafted by Thomas Jefferson and was adopted by the Congress on July 4,1776, when the people of 13 English colonies in North America were fighting for
their freedom and independence from the British colonial rule.The document declared tha
t all men were equal and that they were entitled to have some unalienable rights such as life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.It also explained the philosophy of governments:the powers of governments came from the consent of the governed and the purpose of governmemts was to secure the rights mentioned above.The theory of politics and the guiding principles of the American Revolution mainly came from John Locke.3.Ggeorge Washington
George Washington was one of the founding fathers of the American Republic.He was the Commander-in-Chief of the Continental Army in the War of Independence against the British colonial rule and the first President of the United States.4.Thomas Jefferson
Thomas Jefferson was one of the founding fathers of the American Republic He was the chief author of the Declaration of Independence and the third President of the United States.5.Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin was one of the founding fathers of the American Republic.He participated in writing the Declaration of Independence and making the U.S.Constitution.6.
the Articles of Confederation
After the War of Independence was won, the new nation of the United States was organized under the agreement of the Articles of Confederation with a weak national government called the Congress.Each state had its own government, made its own laws and handle its internal affairs.The states did not cooperate with the Congress and with each other.The Congress had no power to force anystate to contribute money to the national government and the Congress could not tax any citizen either.As a ressult,the Articles of Confederation failed.7.the Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights consssists of the first 10 amendments which were added to the Constitution in 1791.The Bill of Rights was passed to guarantee freedom and individual rights such as freedom of speech, the right to assemble in public places, the right to own weapons and so on.8.Eli Whitney
Eli Whitney is an American inventor who invented the cotton gin, which made removing the seeds from the bolls of cotton much easier.He also began manufacuring rifles with ma
chinery, using interchanageable part.This contributed to the American system of mass
production.9.service industries
Service industries are industries that sell a service rather than make a product.Service industries range from
banking to telecommunications to the provision of meals in restaurants.Aas more and more people are employed iin service industries in the US, it is sometimed said that the US has moved into a “post-industrial era “.10.stock
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