《英美文化体验（第二版）/任务驱动型研究生公共英语系列教材》按照主题分为英语语言、地理人口、国家历史、政治法律、公共教育、公共媒体、社会福利和娱乐生活八个单元。其中每个单元的设计包含四个模块：任务目标、任务准备、任务实现、任务拓展。任务目标是每单元学习重点；任务准备部分提供背景知识并建立知识点之间的联系，此部分既有阅读材料，又有丰富的图片、视频链接和自测练习；任务实现部分帮助学生梳理和分享已有知识，明确任务并提供语言和逻辑帮助，以便学生协作完成任务；任务拓展部分延伸课堂活动，加深难度，为有余力的学生课后自学提供指导和帮助。
张菅，大连理工大学外国语学院讲师，多年从事英美文化教学与研究，参与大连理工大学“欧洲文化课程建设”教学研究课题。
Chapter One
The English Language 英语语言
Chapter Two
Land and People 风土人情
Chapter Three
Political System 政治
Chapter Four
Economy 经济
Chapter Five
Social Customs and Etiquettes 社会风俗与礼仪
Chapter Six
Education 教育
Chapter Seven
Public Media 媒体
Chapter Eight
Leisure Activities 休闲活动
Chapter Nine
Holidays and Festivals 节日
Chapter Ten
Food and Drink 美食
Key to the Exercises 练习答案
TASK PREPARATION 任务准备
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 (加勒比海英联邦国家), 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 (普通话) 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 “languages” 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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