英美文化与概况British and American Studies( American Part )Unit One大学英语第一教研室余非2011年2月Unit 1 The United States and American PeopleContents1.Geographical Position and Area of Land2.Rivers and Lakes3.American People1. Geographical Position and Area of LandThe full name of the United States of America (USA) is sometimes abbreviated to the United States (US) or simply to America.With the fourth largest territory in the world , the United States is the world’s largest economy and its development involved many contributing factors.Rich land resources with varied geographical conditions is an important factor that contributes to America’s development .The territory of the United States includes Mainland America, anumber of islands and some overseas territories.The United States consists of 50 states with a total land area of about 9.4 million square kilometers . Two of the 50 states are separated from the continental United States. They are Alaska and Hawaii.Mainland America extends about 5,000 kilometers from east to west, and about 2,500 kilometers f rom south to north. Its coastline is about 20,000 kilometers.Neighbors of the United States: North:Canada; South:Mexico; West:Pacific Oceans;East: Atlantic Ocean.Mainland America can be generally divided into three basic geographical areas or surface region :A)The Atlantic Seacoast and the Appalachian MountainsB)The Mississippi River ValleyC)The Rockies and the Pacific Ocean●Atlantic Seacoast and Appalachian MountainsThe Atlantic Seacoast is a strip of fairly level country between the Atlantic and the Appalachians. It is the country of the first European immigrants and the 13 original states.●The Mississippi River ValleyThe Mississippi River Valley, also known as the Central Plain , consists of the large area between the Appalachian on the east and the Rocky Mountains on the West.The sediment of the rivers makes the soil of the region very rich, thus, the central Plain enjoys the name of “Barn of America”.●The Rockies and the Pacific OceanThe RockiesOn the west side of the Great Plain are Rocky Mountains, also known as “the backbone of the continent”. It stretches from Mexico into Wyoming and interrupted by Wyoming Basin.Rocky Mountains are well-known for their striking and varied scenery : Yellow Stone National Park, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas, Death V alley。

Pacific CoastThe Mountains along the Pacific coast are called the coast Ranges. They are of low elevation and gentle slope.Main Valleys:✧Central Valley -- Lush farm , numerous orchards✧Willamette Valley -- (ditto)✧Silicon Valley --- center of America’s electronic industry2.Rivers and LakesThe Mississippi River , also known as “Old Man River”, is the most important and largest river in the United States. It flows about 6,400 kilometers from its northwestern source in the Rockies to the Gulf of Mexicao.Other rivers in the United States: the Missouri Rive, the Ohio River, the Tennessee River, the Colorado River. The Rio Grande River (a bondary river between Mexico and the United States),the Potomac River, the Hudson River.The most importants lakes in America are the Great Lakes, which are composed of 5 lakes. Of these five lakes only one, Lake Michigan, belongs to America completely while the other four are shared with canada.The five lakes slope downward towards the east. Lake Erie is ove 100 meters higher then Lake Ontario and the river that connects them is called Niagara. The steep drop in elevation gives birth to the Niagara Falls, which attracts large numbers of visitors from around the world.3.American People●The Indians and Indian CivilizationThe story about the American people involves the native Indians as well as immigrants from all over the world: White People: 78% of the total ; Other ethnic group: 22% of the total, including: African-Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans (Indians), Asians .The Indian people, also known as the first Americans, had developed three great civilizations in North America before the arrival of European clonoists. They are Maya civilization , Toltec civilization and Aztec civilization●Immigration into AmericaThe United States is a nation created by immigrants, and immogrants continue to affect Ameirican society significantly today. Most of the early immigrants were from Europ, but now most of the new immigrants are from Asia and Latin America.●Ethnic GroupsLarge numbers of immigrants from all over the world turned the United States into a nation over 100 ethnic groups. An ehtnic group is made up of people with some common characeristics that make them different from other ethnic groups.1) European AmericansThe mojority of Americans are Caucasians, or informally called “white” people , who account for about 78% of the total US population . They are immigrants or descendants of immigrants from European nations. They share similar values and most of them believe in Christianity.Most of the early immigrants in 13 colonies were English protestants and came to theland for freedom of religious belief.About 1/3 of Americans have ancestors from Britain. They are the most influential and wealthiest in America because American culture is based on the Anglo-Saxon culture..2) African AmericansAfrican Americans , or people informally called black Americans , account for 12% of the total US population. They were called “unwilling immigrant” because they were victims of the traffic in slaves.Before the Civil War, over 90% of black slaves were in the south of United States. They were treated like animals and denied human rights.Even after the abolition of slavery, blacks were still thought to be inferior human beings and suffered from open or covert discrimination.After World War II, “ civil right movement ” waged by black people drew great attention and changes began to take place.The US Congress passed the Civil Right Act in 1964. It protected blac k people’s right to vote and enjoy the same education and employment opportunities as white people.3) Hispanics/LatinosHispanics, or Latinos, are Spanish-speaking people from Latin America, which was dominated by the Spanish Empire.It is estimated Hispanics make up 10% of the total US population, and many of them are mixed blood.The majority of Hispanics are Mexican-Americans, and most of them are manual workers because of lacking in education and skills.4) Chinese AmericansThe early Chinese-Americans worked as gold miners and laborers in railway construction during mid-19th centuryAs the cheap labor provided by the Chinese laborers took job away from American workers, Chinese Exclusion Act was passed in 1882 to stop Chinese immigration.Although Chinese-Americans nowadays still suffer from racial discrimination in some cases, they have proved to be industrious and intelligent. Most of them are well-educated and have high-income positions.5) Jewish-AmericansDuring the Second World War, many Jews went to America to escape the holocaust started by Hitler’s government. Today, the number accounts for 2% of the US population.The Jews have been reputed for being skillful financiers or money-lenders. Many Jews in America are successful businessmen maintaining close relationship with politicians.The Jews’ influence on US politics prompts the US government to help Israel when there is a need do so.●Melting Pot or MosaicMelting Pot ?As immigrants from different regions and cultures came to live in the United States, their old ways of life melt away, and they became part of the American culture. The United States was thus compared to a big pot of soup that had bits of flavor from different cultures. Mosaic ?Today, some people compare America to a mosaic because many new immigrants refuse togive up their cultural distinctiveness. Often groups of people from the same culture live together in their own communities. Therefore, America is a picture of many distinctive colors, and the color do not fully mix with each other.。