考研真题
1. 全国名校英语语言学考研真题详解
2. 全国名校英美文学考研真题详解
考研指导书
1. 陶洁《美国文学选读》（第3版）笔记和课后习题（含考研真题）详解
2. 陶洁《美国文学选读》（第3版）配套题库【考研真题精选＋章节题库】
3. 罗经国《新编英国文学选读》（第4版）笔记和考研真题详解
4. 罗经国《新编英国文学选读》（第4版）配套题库【考研真题精选＋章节题库】
5. 张奎武《英美概况》（第4版）配套题库（含考研真题）
6. 胡壮麟《语言学教程》（第5版）笔记和考研真题详解
7. 胡壮麟《语言学教程》（第5版）配套题库【考研真题精选＋章节题库】
张奎武《英美概况》（第4版）配套题库（含考研真题）
书籍目录
上册（英国）
英 国
下册（美国、加拿大、澳大利亚、新西兰）
美 国
加拿大、澳大利亚、新西兰
部分内容
上册（英国）
英 国
第一部分 英国地理
Ⅰ. Multiple Choices.
1. Three of the
following are characteristics of London. Which of the four is the EXCEPTION?
A. London is a political, economic and cultural centre of
the country.
B. London has a larger population than all other cities in
England.
C. London is not only the largest city in Britain, but also
the largest in the world.
D. London has played a significant role in the economic
construction of the country.
【答案】C
【解析】伦敦是英国最大的城市，也是世界上最大的城市之一，并非是最大的城市。
2. Which of the following is not a
political division on the island of Great Britain?
A. England
B. Scotland
C. Northern Ireland
D. Wales
【答案】C
【解析】大不列颠岛上共有三个政治分区，分别为England（位于南部，面积最大、人口最稠密），Scotland（位于北部，拥有三大自然区：北部高地、中部低地和南部丘陵）和Wales（位于西部）。Ireland是大不列颠岛之外的另一个岛屿，包含英国的Northern
Ireland和the
Republic of Ireland。故选C。
3. Which of the
following is NOT considered a characteristic of London?
A. The cultural centre.
B. The business centre.
C. The financial centre.
D. The sports centre.
【答案】D
【解析】伦敦是英国的文化和商业中心，也是世界金融中心。
4. Which of the
following is NOT true about Britain?
A. It used to be a powerful imperial country in the world.
B. It plays an active role as a member of the European
Union.
C. It is a relatively wealthy and developed country.
D. It used to be one of the superpowers in the world.
【答案】D
【解析】直到现在，英国仍然是世界上最强大的国家之一。因此D项错误。
5. Which of the
following statements is NOT true about the UK economy?
A. Britain remains one of the Group of Seven large industrial
economies.
B. Britain has experienced a relative economic decline
since 1945.
C. There has been a period of steady decreasing of living
standards.
D. Some smaller economies have overtaken the UK in terms of
output per capita.
【答案】C
【解析】自1945年二战结束以来，英国经历了经济衰退，但是这是一种相对衰退，而不是绝对衰退。英国比1945年更富有了，生产力更强了。但是由于其他国家发展得更快，所以英国经济从第2位下滑至第6位。因此，说英国国民的生活水平持续下降是不正确的。总体上，人们的生活水平仍然在上升。
6. Which of the
following was NOT the reason for the relative economic decline since 1945?
A. Britain did not invest in modern equipment and new
products.
B. Britain spent a high proportion of its national wealth
on the military.
C. Britain had been heavily in debt to finance the war.
D. Britain had carried out the nationalization of the
businesses.
【答案】D
【解析】为了给战争筹集资金，英国已经背上了沉重的债务，这意味着英国在进入战后阶段时已经面临严重的经济问题了。随着帝国时代的完结,英国失去了原材料基地和广阔的市场。俗称大英帝国的“皇冠上的珠宝”的印度于1947年赢得了独立。1979年撒切尔夫人上台以后，实施了一系列国有企业私有化的措施。因此，英国在这一时期并没有实行国有化的措施。
7. Which of the
following livestock has the biggest number in the UK?
A. Beef cattle.
B. Dairy cattle.
C. Chicken.
D. Sheep.
【答案】D
【解析】绵羊是英国数量最多的家畜。
8. Where is the best
agricultural land in Britain?
A. In the southeast of England.
B. In the northeast of England.
C. In the southeast of Scotland.
D. In the northeast of Scotland.
【答案】A
【解析】英国最好的农业用地是英格兰东南部。
9. Which of the
following is NOT a company in the energy sector?
A.
Shell.
B.
ICI.
C.
RTZ.
D.
British Gas.
【答案】B
【解析】帝国化学工业公司（ICI）是世界上第二大油漆制造商。它并不是能源部门的企业。
10. Which of the
following used to be the last independent car company in the UK?
A. Ford.
B. Peugeot.
C. Rover.
D. BMW.
【答案】C
【解析】罗孚公司（Rover）是英国最后一个被外国收购的汽车公司。
11. In the aerospace
industry, which of the following countries is ahead of Britain?
A. Germany.
B. The U.S.
C. Russia.
D. France.
【答案】B
【解析】英国航空业仅次于美国，位居世界第二位。
12. Which civil airline
was started in 1924 after the First World War?
A. Imperial Airways.
B. British Airways.
C. Hawker-Siddeley Aviation.
D. The British Aircraft Corporation.
【答案】A
【解析】帝国航空（Imperial
Airways）是英国航空（British Airways）的前身，1924年成立，1974年和英国欧洲航空及其关联的公司合并，组成了英国航空。
13. What did Frank
Whittle do in 1937?
A. He invented the first jet plane.
B. He developed the first jet engine.
C. He made the first powered flight.
D. He made the trans-Atlantic flight.
【答案】B
【解析】弗朗克·惠特尔于1937年改进了飞机喷气发动机，但这并不是他的发明。
14. Which company
became an important aero-engine manufacturer after WWI?
A. Boeing.
B. Rolls Royce.
C. McDonnel-Douglas.
D. Hawker-Siddeley Aviation.
【答案】B
【解析】劳斯莱斯公司在一战后成为重要的航空引擎制造商。
15. Which of the
following two companies merged into British Aerospace?
A. The British Aircraft Corporation and Hawker-Siddeley
Aviation.
B. The British Aircraft Corporation and Rolls Royce.
C. Hawker-Siddeley Aviation and GEC Avionics.
D. Hawker-Siddeley Aviation and Rolls Royce.
【答案】A
【解析】1977年，工党政府将英国飞机公司和毫克-西德利公司合并，取名英国宇航公司。
16. Which of the
following countries is the last to come out of recession?
A. Germany.
B. Japan.
C. Britain.
D. France.
【答案】C
【解析】二战后爆发经济危机，英国受到最严重的冲击，是英、法、德、日四国中最后走出来经济危机的国家。
17. Who were the
ancestors of the English and the founders of England?
A. The Anglo-Saxons.
B. The Normans.
C. The Vikings.
D. The Romans.
【答案】A
【解析】盎格鲁-撒克逊人是日耳曼民族的分支，于五世纪中期由北欧入侵大不列颠，成为现今英格兰人的祖先。
18. Which of the
following is NOT an effect of immigration on British society?
A. There is now a varied cuisine for people to choose from.
B. Class tension has increased.
C. New forms of popular music have emerged.
D. Different religious beliefs have been practiced
actively.
【答案】B
【解析】外来移民丰富了英国的饮食、音乐、文学和宗教文化。但移民也导致不同种族之间关系紧张，当地人觉得外来者会威胁他们的生活方式。移民问题并没有导致阶级紧张，而是种族间的关系紧张。
19. Which of the
following is NOT a true description of the situation of ethnic minorities in
the UK?
A. They are well represented in the British Parliament.
B. They are economically poorer than the white population.
C. They are treated unfairly by the justice system.
D. They are threatened by some racist groups.
【答案】A
【解析】移民群体的状况很糟糕：他们面临失业问题，在政治上没有多少发言权，而且遭到警察和司法系统的不公平对待。并且，尽管官方做了极大努力减少种族歧视，公开和隐藏的种族压迫仍然存在。因此，在议会中，移民或者说占少数的民族并没有太多话语权。
20. The Lake District is well known for _____.
A. its wild and
beautiful scenery
B. its varied
lakes
C. the lake
poets
D. all above
【答案】D
【解析】英格兰湖区（Lake District）位于英格兰西北海岸，风景秀丽，被英国人称为“自己的后花园”。湖区内遍布大小不一的16个湖。the
lake poets（湖畔派诗人）是指十九世纪英国浪漫主义运动中较早产生的一个流派。主要代表有华兹华斯（William Wordsworth）、柯勒律治（Samuel Taylor Coleridge）和骚赛（Robert Southey）。他们三人曾一同隐居于湖区，以诗赞美湖光山色，所以有“湖畔派诗人”之称。故A B C三项均正确。
21. The largest
river in the United Kingdom is the _____.
A. Thames River
B. Severn River
C. Clyde River
D. Tyne River
【答案】B
【解析】英国最长的河流为塞文河，全长338千米。B项泰晤士河穿越伦敦市，是英国第二大河，也是最重要的一条。C项克莱德河是苏格兰境内主要河流之一。D项泰茵河位于英国东北部。
22. The highest mountain is in _____.
A. South Scotland
B. North Scotland
C. Southern
uplands
D. Pennies
【答案】B
【解析】英国最高峰是本尼维斯山，位于苏格兰北部，海拔1343米，是格兰扁山脉的主峰。
23. _____ the cotton is imported in Britain.
A. More than half of
B. Half of
C. All
D. Ninety percent of
【答案】C
【解析】英国的主要农作物有大麦，小麦，土豆，油菜和甜菜，棉花全部需要进口。
24. The second largest seaport city in Britain is _____.
A. London
B. Bristol
C. Liverpool
D. Birmingham
【答案】C
【解析】利物浦是英国第二大海港城市。A项伦敦为第一大港。B项布里斯托尔是英国西南部的最大城市。D项伯明翰是英国第二大城市。
25. The two large islands that make up the British Isles are _____.
A. Scotland and Ireland
B. Britain and Scotland
C. Great Britain and Northern Ireland
D. Great Britain and Ireland
【答案】D
【解析】不列颠群岛由两座大的岛屿和无数小岛组成。两座大岛分别是大不列颠岛和爱尔兰岛（Great Britain and Ireland）。英国由不列颠岛（包括英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士）以及爱尔兰岛东北部的北爱尔兰和周围5500个小岛（海外领地）组成。故选D。
Ⅱ. Fill in the blanks.
1. The Pennies, or the _____, are a kind of “upland”. They run’
about 120 kilometers from south to north. The highest place is usually the west
margin with a general dip towards the east, turning the eastern side the
Pennies into the lower ground bordering the _____. The bulk of the Pennies is
composed of moorland.
【答案】backbone of England; North Sea
【解析】奔宁山脉是英国英格兰北部的主要山脉和分水岭。西坡陡直，东坡平缓，东坡濒临北海。山上多为沼泽地。
2. _____ and the Severn are the longest rivers in Britain and are almost equal in length. Other important rivers in England are the _____, which
enters the Irish Sea at Liverpool.
【答案】The Thames; Mersey
【解析】英国最长的河流为塞文河，全长338千米，其次是泰晤士河，全长336千米。默西河也是很重要的一条河流，源自奔宁山脉，注入爱尔兰海。
3. The island of Great Britain is made up of England, _____
and _____.
【答案】Scotland; Wales
【解析】大不列颠岛由英格兰、苏格兰、威尔士三部分组成。
4. The two
important crops in Britain
are _____.
【答案】wheat and barley
【解析】英国的主要农作物有大麦，小麦，同时也生产土豆，油菜和甜菜。
5. London plays a significant role in Britain’s
economic and cultural life. It’s not only the financial _____ of the nation,
but also one of the major international financial centres in the world.
【答案】centre
【解析】伦敦对于英国的经济和文化生活有着举足轻重的作用。它不仅是英国的金融中心，也是世界的金融中心之一。
6. “The Jewel in the Crown” of the British
Empire _____, which provided and _____ a big market for British goods, gained
independence in 1947.
【答案】India; raw materials
【解析】俗称大英帝国的“皇冠上的珠宝”的印度于1947年赢得了独立，使得英国失去了一个巨大的“原料库”和国外市场。
7. A low rate of _____ industrial investment
coupled with a very high rate of _____ investment is a characteristic of the UK
economy.
【答案】domestic; overseas
【解析】实际上，英国工业一直以来的特点就是国内工业投资率较低，海外投资率较高。
8. Since 1945, the UK
economy has experienced _____ decline rather than _____ decline.
【答案】relative; absolute
【解析】自1945年二战结束以来，英国经历了经济衰退，但是这是一种相对衰退，而不是绝对衰退。
9. In the 1970s, the
devaluation of the UK currency forced the Labour government to borrow money
from _____.
【答案】the International Monetary Fund
【解析】英国经济在20世纪70年代以来经历了一段非常艰难的时期，使得工党不得不向国际货币基金组织贷款。
10. The United Kingdom has been a member of
the _____ since 1973.
【答案】European Union
【解析】英国在1973年加入了欧盟。
11. In recent years,
Britain is second only to the US as a destination for _____ investment.
【答案】international direct
【解析】近年来，英国是除美国以外第二大国际直接投资的引入国。
12. The UK economy can be divided into three
main sectors: _____ industries, secondary industries and _____ industries.
【答案】primary; tertiary
【解析】英国的经济可以分成三个部分：第一产业、第二产业和第三产业。
13. The beef industry
was hit badly by _____ which caused a ban on beef exports in 1996.
【答案】BSE
【解析】牛肉产业曾因疯牛病而受到严重冲击，并导致1996年政府对牛肉出口颁布了禁令。
14. Since the discovery of oil and gas under the
_____, Britain has gained a strong position in the offshore oil industry.
【答案】North Sea
15. Glaxo-Wellcome is the biggest drug company
in the world while _____ is the second largest paint manufacturer in the world.
【答案】ICI
【解析】英国的格兰素-威尔康制药公司是世界上最大的药品生产公司。帝国化学工业公司是世界上第二大油漆制造商。
16. _____ is one of the
busiest share-dealing centres in the world.
【答案】the London Stock
Exchange
【解析】“伦敦证券交易所”是世界上最繁忙的股票交易中心之一。
17. Englishman Frank
Whittle developed the world’s first _____ in 1937.
【答案】jet engine
【解析】1937年，英国人弗兰克·惠特尔开发了世界上第一台实用的喷气式发动机。
18. The government has
promised that 10% of the energy of the UK will come from _____ by 2010.
【答案】renewable resources
【解析】1997年，英国有550个风力涡轮机和30多个风力发电场。英国政府承诺，到2010年，英国10%的能源将来自可再生能源。
19. The full name of
the United Kingdom is the _____ and _____.
【答案】United Kingdom of Great Britain; Northern
Ireland
【解析】英国的全称是大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国。
20. Britain is now a
_____ society which produces a population of which 1 in 20 are of _____ ethnicity.
【答案】multiracial; non-European
【解析】英国是一个多种族的社会，大概二十分之一的人口是非欧洲血统。
Ⅲ.
True (T) or false (F):
1. By the 1880’s the British economy was dominant in the world. _____
【答案】T
【解析】十九世纪八十年代，英国的经济在世界上占据主导地位。世界上1/3的制成品来自英国。世界上1/2的煤炭和1/2的棉花来自英国。航运量比世界其他国家的总量还要大。
2. Both the US and
Canada overtook Britain in economy by 1900._____
【答案】F
【解析】1900年，英国的经济被美国和德国超越，失去在世界经济体系中的主导地位。当时加拿大的经济并没有超越英国。
3. By the end of World War Ⅱ, Britain had gone
heavily into debt in order to develop its manufacturing industry and borrowed
large amounts from the US and France._____
【答案】F
【解析】为了给战争筹集资金，英国已经背上了沉重的债务，这意味着英国在进入战后阶段时已经面临严重的经济问题。因此，英国在二战后所背负的债务并不是因为发展工业，而是为了支持战争。
4. Another reason for British decline is the
loss of its colonies, especially India, which gained its independence in 1947._____
【答案】T
【解析】另外，使得英国衰退的原因还有俗称大英帝国的“皇冠上的珠宝”的印度于1947年赢得了独立，使英国失去了一个巨大的“原料库”。
5. In the 1970s, with the soaring price of oil
and high rates of inflation, Britain went through a bad period. In 1979, the
Labour party had to step down from the government._____
【答案】T
【解析】英国经济在20世纪70年代以来经历了一段非常艰难的时期，通货膨胀率较高，英镑被贬值。当时执政的工党不得不下台，由保守党上台执政。
6. The leader of the Conservatives, Margaret
Thatcher started a series of reforms. An extensive programme of privatization
was carried out, and she was successful in an all-round way._____
【答案】F
【解析】八十年代，撒切尔夫人领导的保守党执政后，展开了一系列私有化项目，许多国有企业，如钢铁、天然气和航空领域的企业，都被私有化了。私有化项目成功的控制了通货膨胀，但同时失业率激增。因此，撒切尔夫人的措施并不是在各方面都获得了成功。
7. Tertiary industries
include banking, insurance, tourism, agriculture and the selling of goods._____
【答案】F
【解析】第三产业，或者说服务业，包括了银行业，保险业，旅游业，以及商品零售，其中不包括农业。
8. Britain has a large
sector of agriculture producing 11.6% of its national wealth. _____
【答案】F
【解析】英国的农业生产占据国民经济的较小一部分，只有11.6%。
9. According to the
text, the tertiary industry produces approximately two-thirds of the national
wealth. _____
【答案】T
【解析】英国的第二产业的重要性相对缩小了，而第三产业或称服务业的重要性有了显著提高。第三产业贡献了英国三分之二的国民生产总值。
10. The service
industry in the UK employs 70% of the total work force. _____
【答案】T
【解析】英国的服务业提供了全国70%的就业岗位。
11. As a member of the
World Trade Organization, the UK is playing a very important role in the world
trade. _____
【答案】T
【解析】作为世界贸易组织的一员，英国在世界贸易中发挥着非常重要的作用。
12. The UK is the third
biggest international investor in the world. _____
【答案】F
【解析】根据第三版教材可知，1995年，当时英国是世界上第二大的国际投资国。
13. 1 in 10 of the British population are of non-European ethnicity.
【答案】F
【解析】由于20世纪五、六十年代鼓励英联邦国家向英国移民，现在英国人口的二十分之一是非欧洲血统。
14. The majority of
Britain’s recent immigrants have mainly come from North Asia and Caribbean
countries. _____
【答案】F
【解析】近年来，英国的大部分移民来自南亚地区和加勒比海沿岸的国家。而不是北亚地区。
15. Most immigrants
earn a living by opening restaurants or becoming musicians. _____
【答案】F
【解析】外来移民一般通过开餐馆或成为作家、音乐家谋生，他们丰富了英国的饮食、音乐、文学和宗教文化。
16. The immigrants have problems of
unemployment, under-representation in politics and unfair treatment by police
and by the justice system. _____
【答案】T
【解析】但是，移民群体的状况很糟糕：他们面临失业问题，在政治上没有多少发言权，而且遭到警察和司法系统的不公平对待。
Ⅳ. Tell what you know
about the following in your own words:
1. London
【答案】London is the largest city located in the south
of the country. It is dominant in Britain in all sorts of ways. It is the
cultural and business centre and the headquarters of the vast majority of
Britain’s big companies. It is not only the financial centre of the nation, but
also one of the three major international financial centres in the world.
2. The Anglo-Saxons
【答案】They were two groups of Germanic peoples who
settled down in England from the 5th century. They were regarded as the
ancestors of the English and the founders of England.
3. Robin Hood
【答案】Robin Hood was a Saxon nobleman. As he could no
longer put up with oppressions from the Normans, he became an outlaw and hid
himself with his band of “merry men” in the forest. From this secret place, he
went out to rob from the rich to give the poor.
4. King Arthur
【答案】It is said that he was the King of England in
the 5th century and united the British and drove the Saxons back with his
magical sword, Excalibur. His real existence is in doubt. He is the central
figure of many legends.
5. King Harold
【答案】He was the Saxon King whose army was defeated in
the Battle of Hastings in 1066, when William the Conqueror invaded England from
France.
6. Home Rule
【答案】Ireland had long been dominated by Britain, but
Irish desire for an independent Irish state was never lost. “Home Rule” refers
to a campaign for Irish control of Irish affairs. The Home Rule Bill was
finally passed in 1914, but the process was overtaken by the First World War
and was suspended for the duration of the war.
7. Privatisation in the
1980s
【答案】The British economy went through a particularly
bad period in the 1970s, with high rates of inflation and devaluation of the
Pound. Therefore, in the 1980s, when the Conservative party under Margaret
Thatcher was in power, an extensive programme of privatisation was carried out.
Many state-owned businesses (such as steel, telecom, gas, aerospace) were
turned into private companies. Privatisation was successful in controlling
inflation but at the same time unemployment rate increased rapidly.
8. Main sectors of the
UK economy
【答案】The UK national economy can be divided into
three main areas: primary industries, such as agriculture, fishing and mining;
secondary industries which manufacture complex goods from those primary
products; and tertiary (or service) industries such as banking, insurance,
tourism and the retailing.
9. “The City”
【答案】“The City” refers to the historic area at the
centre of London. It is one of the biggest financial centres in the world with
the greatest concentration of banks, insurance companies and businesses dealing
in commodities. At the heart of the city is the London Stock Exchange.
10. The aerospace
industry in the UK
【答案】The UK’s aerospace industry is the third-largest
in the world, producing the full range of aerospace products from civil and
military aircrafts to missiles, satellites and jet engines. It produces 2% of
the UK national output, accounting for 8% of manufactured export goods.
11. Coal Act
【答案】(1)Coal Act of 1938 was passed by Neville
Chamberlain on July 1st, officially nationalizing the coal
royalties of the landowners. (2)The Coal Industry Nationalization Bill went
into effect in 1946 made coal resources property of state. But the
administration of the plan was still far from complete. (3)Today, the national
Coal Board has the exclusive fights to extract coal in Britain and officially
license private operators to work small mines.
12. Woolsack
【答案】(1)Woolsack was used to refer a large cushion made of wool which the
Lord Chancellor sits on in the House of Lords. (2)It is said to commemorate the
importance of wool as one of the chief sources of the nation’s wealth.
13. British disease:
【答案】(1)”British disease” is a mocking term used to describe Britain’s
slow growth of productivity, soaring inflation, and large unemployment after
the World War Ⅱ. (2)The “disease” was given a solution by Prime Minister
Margaret of the Conservative Party. Attempts were made to diminish taxation and
government regulation on private enterprise and thus, by enlarging the
potential profits of corporations, encourage additional investment, higher
productivity, and renewed economic growth. (3)Thatcher’s policy, though very
effective, resulted in a widened gap between the poor and the rich, high
unemployment high crime rates, and unsatisfactory social services.
14. Monopoly
【答案】(1)Monopoly refers to the economic situation in which only a single
seller or producer supplies a commodity or a service. (2)One or more of the
following elements may lead to a monopoly: ①control of a major resource necessary to produce a product;② technological capabilities that allow a single firm to produce at
reasonable prices all the output of a particular commodity or service; ③exclusive control over a patent on a product or on the processes
used to produce the product; ④ government franchise that
awards a company the sole fight to produce a commodity or service in a given
area. (3)Among the various kinds of economic monopolies are public utilities,
trusts, cartels, and industrial mergers.
Ⅴ. Answer the questions.
1. What are the main
characteristics of Britain’s foreign trade? [北外2006研]
【答案】
The main characteristics of Britain’s
foreign trade are as follows:
(1) In Britain, the domestic market is
quite limited, and there is also a lack of raw materials at home. As a result,
it has to rely much on its foreign trade, finding more markets and purchasing a
large proportion of raw materials in the world.
(2) Such developed states as France,
Germany, the US, and the Netherlands are the main trading partners of Britain,
and the Commonwealth countries also play a significant role.
(3) Britain’s exports account for about
five percent of the world’s total trade volume, and its chief exports are
fuels, chemicals, transport equipment, manufactured goods, and semi-finished
goods.
(4) Britain is also one of the largest
importers of the world, and its chief imports are machinery, manufactured
goods, semi-finished and consumer goods, and foodstuffs to the EU, which now
account for more than half of its trade.
2. What caused the
relative decline of the UK economy after 1945? [北外2003研]
【答案】
Since 1945, the picture of the UK economy
has usually been regarded as one of relative decline rather than absolute
decline. Although the UK is much wealthier and more productive nowadays than it
was in 1945, many other nations have developed more rapidly. As a result,
Britain has slid from being the second largest economy in the world to being
the sixth. And the reasons for the relative decline of the UK economy are as
follows.
First, as British industries survived
almost unaffected during the Second World War, Britain was able to continue its
economic development with its prewar factories as well as products.
Besides, the relations between industry and
banks in Britain were not as close as that in Japan and Germany. Therefore, the
rates of investment were very low.
Moreover, as a member of NATO and a member
of the UN Security Council, the UK spent a larger proportion of its national
wealth on military than most of its competitors.
Furthermore, after the Second World War,
Britain had gone heavily into debt so as to finance the war, selling many of
its accumulated overseas assets, and borrowing large amounts of capital from
the United States and Canada.
Last but not least, the age of British
Empire finished. With the independence of its colonies, Britain lost a lot of
large markets for its products. And the independent colonies also ceased to
provide Britain with raw materials, leaving Britain as only a medium sized
European nation.
3. What are the main factors responsible for
Britain’s decline in economic status after WWⅡ? [西安外国语学院2006研]
【答案】
The UK has experienced an economic decline
since 1945. But this is a relative decline rather than an absolute one. Britain
is wealthier and more productive than it was in 1945, but since other countries
developed more rapidly, it has slid from being the second largest economy to
being the sixth. There are mainly four reasons for the relative economic
decline:①Britain
had gone heavily into debt in order to finance the war; ②British colonies which used to
provide raw materials and big markets gained independence; ③Britain was heavily burdened
with the huge military expenditure during the process of decolonization; ④Britain also lacked the
investment in modern equipment and new products.
4. What are the features
of service industries in modern Britain? [中山大学2010研]
【答案】
(1)Service industries is a very important
sector in modern Britain’s economy, now producing 65% of the national health,
such as banking, insurance, tourism, advertising and the selling of goods and
employing 70% of UK’s workforce. (2) Internationalization is an important
feature of British service industries since it is a major international
provider of services, accounting for about 10% of the world’s exports of such
service. (3) In the service industries, financial sector is important with
London as one of the top 3 financial centers in the world. It has the greatest
concentration of foreign banks in the world, accounting for 20% of all
international bank loans, and is the world’s largest foreign exchange market;
one of the busiest share-dealing centers in the world—the London Stock Exchange.
(4) Advertising is another major business service in which UK companies are
highly successful.
5. What is the
government’s role in British economy?
【答案】
(1) Since World WarⅡ, British government
has worked to balance the mix of private and public enterprises in order to
maximize the country’ s economy. For example, it took over a number of large
and troubled industries immediately after the World War Two, but then, the
following years since the1950s saw Britain privatize a number of these
industries. The public component now consists of the welfare system, which
includes socialized medicine, known as the National Health Service, plus
government controls over business, banking, and the money supply. (2) The
government is a major employer. (3) The government is also a major purchaser of
goods, particularly military equipment. (4) As in many modem states, the
British government seeks to fine-tune the economy in order to keep economic
booms from becoming too inflationary and recessions from becoming too deep. In
such cases the government tries to reduce demand by raising interest rates and
taxes.
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