Part One A General Introduction to the United States of America 1
Chapter 1 Geographical Situation and Topographical Features 1
1.1 Situation,size,region and time zones 1
1.2 Plains and mountains 4
1.3 Rivers and lakes 6
Chapter 2 The Immigrant Nation 9
2.1 Population 9
2.2 Ethnics 9
2.3 Main cities 13
Chapter 3 History(1) 33
3.1 Discovery of America 33
3.2 British colonies in North America 34
3.3 The revolution of American Independence 37
Chapter 4 History(2) 42
4.1 Expansion of American territories 42
4.2 The American Civil War 44
4.3 America and the two World Wars 47
Chapter 5 Political System 53
5.1 The U.S.Constitution 53
5.2 Separation of powers 57
Chapter 6 The Two-Party System and the Election of American President 69
6.1 The Two-Party System 69
6.2 The election of American President 72
Chapter 7 American Economy 78
7.1 Features of American economy 78
7.2 Sectors in US economy 82
7.3 American agriculture 86
Part Two American Culture 91
Chapter 8 American Cultural Values 91
8.1 Multicultural heritage 91
8.2 Traditional American values and beliefs 92
8.3 Cultural regions 99
Chapter 9 Education in the United States 107
9.1 A brief introduction 107
9.2 Orientation and characteristics 109
9.3 Education system 111
9.4 Problems in education 119
Chapter 10 Science and Technology 123
10.1 Development of science and technology in America 123
10.2 Research institutions and scientists 126
Chapter 11 American Literature 136
11.1 A panorama of American literature 136
11.2 Poetry 140
11.3 Fiction 145
11.4 Drama 153
Chapter 12 American Art 158
12.1 The fine arts 158
12.2 Film 164
Chapter 13 Sports and Games in America 171
13.1 Sports and American values 171
13.2 Popular sports in the United States 171
13.3 Recreations and individual sports 176
Chapter 14 Mass Media in America 178
14.1 Newspapers and magazines 178
14.2 Radio,television and internet 183
Chapter 15 Religions and Beliefs 189
15.1 Religion and society 189
15.2 Religion and politics 192
15.3 Major religious sects in America 193
Chapter 16 Social Life 203
16.1 American family and family problems 203
16.2 Food and drinks 209
16.3 Etiquettes at dinner table 211
16.4 Some social etiquettes 213
Chapter 17 Holidays and Festival Customs 219
17.1 Federal holidays 219
17.2 Other holidays or festivals 227
References 231