《主要英语**概况(第4版)/云南省普通高等学校“十二五”规划教材》以英美两国的历史、文化和国情现状为主,并简要介绍了加拿大、澳大利亚和新西兰的历史及现状。全书共18章,每章开头列出了关键词,提纲挈领;每章后设有练习题,让读者在练习中进一步理解文化要点,掌握全书脉络,温故而知新。为了方便读者查询信息,该书末尾附有索引。

《主要英语**概况(第4版)/云南省普通高等学校“十二五”规划教材》:
There are two parallel school systems in Britain for primary and secondaryeducation. One is the state system, where education is provided for free. Schools inthis system are also known as " maintained schools". The other is the independentsystem where fees are required. Independent schools, which are also called "publicschools" (although they are actually privately run), operate mostly outside ofgovernment control. As of 2015, there are about 2,600 independent schools in thecountry,including most of Britain's famous and ancient schools such as Eton andWinchester. Around 625,000 students, or roughly 7% of all British children, receiveprimary and secondary education through the independent system. In principle, theNational CUITiculum is compulsory in the state system but optional in theindependent system. However, in practice most independent schools teach what theCurriculum specifies.Most British independent schools are privately funded, but all of them aresubsidized by the government to some degree. Many of these schools are members ofthe Independent Schools Council, an organization which inspects member schoolsevery six years to ensure that standards required by nationallaw are met and therebyto enable schools to remain registered with the Department for Education.About 550 public schools are boarding schools. Most children who go to publicschools receive their primary education. Independent schools are generally muchbetter funded than most state schools and are thus in a position to recruit betterteachers and guidance counselors and to afford better facilities. These and some otherfactors help graduates from independent schools to stand a much better chance thanthose from state schools to enter selective universities. But the independent schools'high fees force many parents to turn to the state system for their children'seducation. For the school year starting in September 2014, the top public boardingschools charged around ~ 35,000 per year, which is a financial burden too heavy for allbut a few wealthy fanulies to support.Generally speaking, state schools do not take in international students below theage of 16 unless their parents live in Britain. Independent schools, in contrast,welcome international students. Most independent schools also have specialarrangements catering to the needs of international students.Higher EducationGreat Britain is home to some of the oldest and most renowned universities inthe world, such as Cambridge and Oxford whose foundations date back to the 13thcentury and 12th centuries respectively. These universities set the standard for theBritish higher education system.Britain's universities are legally independent of the government and enjoy almostcomplete academic freedom. The administration of a university alone is responsible forthe maintenance and development, including staffing, student enrollment, coursedesign, and the conferring of degrees. Universities are governed by councils which aretypically made up of prominent academics, businessmen, and other public figures. Thehead of the council is known as the chancellor, and is usually a well-known publicfigure. Chancellors are generally not paid because the position is largely honorary.The real work of running the university is done by the vice chancellors who are mostlyacadenuc professionals.There is no national university entrance examination of any sort in Britain.Universities select and admit students mainly on the basis of their grades on their Alevels, AS levels or GNVQs, traditionally in conjunction with school references plus aninterview.All British universities are partially funded by central government grants, exceptfor the University of Buckingham, Regent's University London, and the profit-makingUniversity of Law and BPP University, which are the only four private universities inthe country. As of the 2012-2013 academic year, 20% of all university income comesfrom the government. The rest generally comes through various other channels, themost important of which include tuition fees, donations, and company contributions.Among these, tuition fees are the most significant source of income, accounting for45% of all university income.Before 1998, university students did not pay tuition for their education. Inaddition, students from poor families could receive maintenance grants, a kind ofneed-based financial aid, from the central government. In 1998, the new Laborgovernment replaced the maintenance grant with student loans for all the pooreststudents and implemented a tuition fee of ~ 1,000. In 2004, the government passedlegislation to increase the size of the maintenance grants that poor students couldreceive.Colleges constitute another important component of Britain's higher education.Unlike universities, many of the colleges are privately funded or sponsored by religiousbodies. Before 1988, a lot of them were under the control of local education authorities.The Education Reform Act of 1988 freed them from government control, and gave themthe same degree of academic freedom and adnunistrative independence as universities.The colleges vary greatly in size and range of disciplines.
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The United Kingdom of Great Britain
Chapter 1 Land, People and Economy
1. Land
2. People and Language
3. Economy
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading
Chapter 2 Government and Social Welfare
1. Government
2. Political Parties
3. Social Welfare
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading
Chapter 3 Education, Culture and Religion
1. Education
2. Culture
3. Religion
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading
Chapter 4 England up to the Middle Ages
1. Roman Britain and the Anglo-Saxons
2. England in the Middle Ages (1066-1485)
3. England under the Tudors (1485-1603)
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading
Chapter 5 Revolutionary Britain
1. The Smarts and the Bourgeois Revolution
2. The "Glorious Revolution"
3. The Industrial Revolution
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading
Chapter 6 The United Kingdom after the Mid-19th Century
1. Economic Expansion and Reform
2. Imperial Aggression and the Establishment of the Second Empire
3. The Two World Wars and the Great Depression
4. Postwar Development
5. Foreign Policy after World War 11
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading

The United States of America
Chapter 7 People and Economy
1. Land
2. People
3. Economy
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading
Chapter 8 Government and Society
1. Government
2. Society
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading
Chapter 9 Culture and Education
1. Culture
2. Religion
3. Education
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading
Chapter 10 Colonial America and the American Revolution
1. The Discovery of the New World and the Spanish Conquest
2. English Colonies
3. Colonial Development in the 18th Century
4. The American Revolution
5. The Creation of a New Nation
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading
Chapter 11 The Civil War and the Gilded Age
1. Territorial Expansion
2. Slavery and the Civil War
3. Industrialization
4. Imperialist Expansion
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading
Chapter 12 The United States in the 20th Century
1. The Two World Wars and the Great Depression
2. The United States after World War II
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading

Canada
Chapter 13 Canada Toda
1. Geography
2. Climate
3. People and Major Cities
4. Government
5. Education
6. Economy
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading
Chapter 14 Canadian
1. New France
2. British North America
3. The Creation of a Confederation
4. The Two World Wars and the Great Depression
5. Canada after World War II
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading
Australia
Chapter 15 Australia Toda
1. Land and People
2. Government
3. Economy
4. Education
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading
Chapter 16 Australia
1. Colorfial Period
2. The Rising of a Nation
3. The World Wars and the Great Depression
4. Post-War Development
Glossary
Questions to Think About
Exercises
Supplementary Reading