1、Unit 31.Puritanism: in the 16th and 17th cent., a movement for reform in the Church of England that had a profound influence on the social, political, ethical, and theological ideas of England and America.2.The declaration of independence: written by Thomas Jefferson of Virginia, proclaimed the inde
2、pendence of 13 North American colonies. 3.George Washington: is the first president of the United states, from 1759 to the outbreak of the American Revolution, he managed his lands around Mount Vernon.4Benjamin Franklin: was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America.he is credited
3、as being foundational to the roots of American values and characterUnit 51.Eli Whitney: made cotton production more efficient by inventing the cotton gin, which rapidly removed the seeds from the bolls of cotton.2.Samuel Slater: built a cotton cloth factory, which started a process of chang that tur
4、ned the northeastern region of the United States into an important manufacturing center.3.Industrial revolution In England, especially machinery run by water power and later by steam power was used to manufacture cloth, this changed the ways that people worked.4.Corporation:In the early years of the
5、 United States , banks were one of the few businesses organized in the form of corporations, the creation survived the death of its founder of founders.5.Service industries: industries that sell a service rather than make a product , and now dominate the economy.6.Agribusiness: has been coined to re
6、flect the large-scale nature of agricultural enterprise in the modern US economy.7.Stick: very early, people in the United States saw that they could make money by lending it to those who wanted to start or to extend a business. That led to a creation of an important part of the current economic sce
7、ne.8.Migrant workers: on large farms ,many of the workers are hired only for a specific chore, many of these seasonal workers travel form farm to farm, staying only until the crops are picked.Unit 61. Religious liberty in the US: the great awakening of the 1740s, a “revival“ movement which sought to
8、 breathe new feeling and strength into religion, cut across the lines of protestant religious group.2. The baptists in the US: are the largest protestant group . They believe in adult baptism by immersion, symbolizing a mature and responsible conversion experience. 3. Catholic in the US : the larges
9、t single religious group , about one-quarter of all Americans are of the Roman Catholic faith, and the majority of them are descendants of immigrants from Ireland.4. Three faiths: by the 1950s, it had developed, Americans were considered to come in three basic varieties: Protestant, Catholic and Jew
10、ish,the order reflecting the strength in numbers of each group.5. Religious diversity: since the US has always been a fertile ground for the growth of new religious movements, many religious communities and secular utopias in new forms of social living were founded in 18th and 18th century American.
11、Unit 81. Elementary school: it usually means grades kindergarten(K) through 8, but in some places, the elementary school includes only grades K to 62.Higher education: the system of higher education in the US is complex, it comprises four categories of institutions:1 the university 2 the four-year u
12、ndergraduate institution 3 the technical training institution 4 the two-year or community college.3.ACT: in 1944, congress passed the servicemen s readjustment ACT, it promised financial aid, including aid for higher education , to member of the armed forces after the end of World War 2.4.affirmativ
13、e action programs: by the end of 1960s, some colleges introduced special plans and programs to equalize educational opportunities, some of these plans were called“ “. Their goal was to make up for past inequality by giving special reference to members of minorities seeking jobs or admission to colle
14、ge.Unit 101.the black “underclass“:some blacks have been left behind, and urban ghettos now contain a permanently impoverished “underclass“ of habitually unemployed or underemployed black people.2.Poverty: ti means greater susceptibility to disease , to alcoholism, to victimization by criminals, and
15、 to mental disorders. Poverty can mean low self-esteem, despair, and stunting of human potential.3.Socially stratified American society: it is divided into social classes that have varying degrees of access to the rewards the society offers. 4.Drug abuse: it is in the US has come to be regarder as o
16、ne of the most challenging social problems facing the nation.the “drug problem“ is perceived by most Americans as a major threat to our society, particularly to its younger members.5.White-collar crimes: they are affected by police reporting practices and have to be viewed against the fact that many
17、 crimes are unreported.since higher-income classes are far more involved in white-collar crime, the higher classes may actually have a higher rate of crime than the lower classes.6.The power by government: it has been apparent that the major organizations in American society sometimes work in concer
18、t to advance their own interests rather than those of the people. The lack of public answerability of these organizations has become a major social problem.,7.The power by corporations:they argue for legislation to serve their own ends, influence the appointment of officials, block reforms they consider undesirable.8.Richard Nixon: he was marked by a well-founded public belief that his administrations were deliberately and systematically lying to the people. He was pardoned by his successor and escaped accountability for his acts in office.
