The United Kingdom of Great Britain

GREAT BRITAIN

And the

UNITED STATES

Vitebsk 2009

В.М. Кузьминова

СТРАНОВЕДЕНИЕ

ВЕЛИКОБРИТАНИЯ И США

ББК 81. 432.1-923

УДК 811. 111 (075.8)

В 27

Автор: старший преподаватель кафедры английского языка ВГУ им. П.М. Машерова Кузьминова В.М.

Рецензент: кандидат педагогических наук доцент кафедры английского языка ВГУ им. П.М. Машерова Бобылева Л.И.

В пособие включены лекции по страноведению, а именно по географии, истории, экономике и политической системе Великобритании и США. Отдельная глава посвящена населению этническим и национальным особенностям народов этих стран.

В.М. Кузьминова

Издательство ВГУ им. П.М. Машерова, 2009

CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION
PART ONE
THE UNITED KINGDOM of GREAT BRITAIN and NORTHERN IRELAND
Geography of the British Isles
British History
Economy of the United Kingdom
Political life of the Uk
The People
PART TWO
THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Geography of the USA
History of the United States
Political system of the United States
American economy
American people

INTRODUCTION

All societies develop ideals and values of their members, as well as language and ways of communicating both internally and with the wider world. Societies have their own expectations of behaviour and their own attitudes towards a whole range of things, such as the family, work, and education or even how to spend their leisure time. The main stumbling block for language students is that when trying to understand and appreciate a target culture they tend to assume that their own expectations and attitudes apply. Therefore, students need to develop ability to see things from a different cultural perspective and not just to learn a wholesale list of facts.

This book aims to develop students’ ability to look for and interpret patterns of life and behaviour. These patterns and attitudes also need to be seen in their historical, geographical and economic context if a less superficial picture of the target culture is to be achieved.

Besides, societies are not static; they have evolved and are constantly changing. Stereotyped images of the target culture may no longer be true tomorrow; for example, very few Britons now have bacon and eggs for breakfast since dietary habits in Britain have changed a great deal in the past twenty years. What are the reasons for these changes? What social and economic forces are shaping the society? Are there any events or ideas, which have led to these developments? Facts can therefore be useful in defining culture if they are used to explain the more complex trends, which give us a deeper understanding of, what life is like in Britain today.

Thus, the main aim is to widen students’ cultural horizons and to promote an active curiosity in finding out about other people and other ways. One of the fundamental concepts to be developed within this framework is that there is no one fixed or correct way of doing things but that there are many equally different and valid ways of living, worshipping and working. This approach to cultural studies encourages learners to look for similarities and differences between their culture and the stimulus culture and to look for reasons and explanations for varying customs in the social and economic history of their own and the foreign country. The overall aim is to foster an interest in, and tolerance of diversity while leading to a greater understanding of one’s own culture.

PART ONE

THE UNITED KINGDOM of GREAT BRITAIN

And

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