《英美文化體驗(第二版)/任務驅動型研究生公共英語系列教材》按照主題分為英語語言、地理人口、國家歷史、政治法律、公共教育、公共媒體、社會福利和娛樂生活八個單元。其中每個單元的設計包含四個模塊:任務目標、任務準備、任務實現、任務拓展。任務目標是每單元學習重點;任務準備部分提供背景知識并建立知識點之間的聯系,此部分既有閱讀材料,又有豐富的圖片、視頻鏈接和自測練習;任務實現部分幫助學生梳理和分享已有知識,明確任務并提供語言和邏輯幫助,以便學生協作完成任務;任務拓展部分延伸課堂活動,加深難度,為有余力的學生課后自學提供指導和幫助。
張菅,大連理工大學外國語學院講師,多年從事英美文化教學與研究,參與大連理工大學“歐洲文化課程建設”教學研究課題。
Chapter One
The English Language 英語語言
Chapter Two
Land and People 風土人情
Chapter Three
Political System 政治
Chapter Four
Economy 經濟
Chapter Five
Social Customs and Etiquettes 社會風俗與禮儀
Chapter Six
Education 教育
Chapter Seven
Public Media 媒體
Chapter Eight
Leisure Activities 休閑活動
Chapter Nine
Holidays and Festivals 節(jié)日
Chapter Ten
Food and Drink 美食
Key to the Exercises 練習答案
TASK PREPARATION 任務準備
I. Which country speaks English? Please look at the following map and read the passage below to get a general idea of the English language.
English is a language originating in England, and the first language for most people in Australia, Canada, the Commonwealth Caribbean (加勒比海英聯邦國家), Ireland, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and the United States of America. It is used extensively as a second language and as an official language throughout the world, especially in Commonwealth countries and in many international organizations.
Over 430 million people speak English as their first language. English today is probably the third largest language by number of native speakers, after Mandarin (普通話) Chinese and Spanish. However, when combining native and non-native speakers it is probably the most commonly spoken language in the world, though possibly second to a combination of the Chinese Languages, depending on whether or not distinctions in the latter are classified as “l(fā)anguages” or “dialects”. Estimates that include second language speakers vary greatly from 470 million to over a billion depending on how literacy or mastery is defined. There are some who claim that non-native speakers now outnumber native speakers by a ratio of 3 to 1.
Because English is so widely spoken, it has often been referred to as a “world language”, the lingua franca of the modern era, and while it is not an official language in most countries, it is currently the language most often taught as a foreign language. It is, by international treaty, the official language for aeronautical and maritime communications. English is one of the official languages of the United Nations and many other international organizations, including the International Olympic Committee.
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