英美文化大题答案.docVIP

1. What is the greatest argument about public schools in Britain? Why are the public schools today no longer as superior and exclusive as they used to be? The greatest argument for public schools, some people feel, is the strikingly high proportion of ex-public-schoolboys occupying senior posts in the government, the armed forces, the church, the universities, the professions, and even in business. This, they say, proves the superiority of a public school education. Others say that this is the greatest argument against public schools, since it simply proves the social exclusiveness and fovouritism. There is no doubt that the public schools are undemocratic, often snobbish, and they constitute the biggest barrier to social equality in modern England. But the public schools are no longer as superior and as exclusive as they once were. Their prefect system, their house system and their tradition of sport have been widely adopted in state secondary schools, and many grammar schools have academic records which many a public school might envy. Moreover, many so-called public schools are dependent on an annual grant from the central government, in return for which they award between a quarter and a half of their places to pupils paying reduced fees or none at all. These schools admit pupils at eleven, just like grammar schools. All public schools too, except a few of recognised standard, are liable to be inspected by the state. There is thus a gradual progress away from exclusiveness in British education. (p180-181) 3. Explain the characteristics of the uniformity in American culture and give your own evaluation. Although the country is so big and its people have so many different ethnic backgrounds, it is in some way less varied than Europe. The national origins of the people are by now fairly well mixed all over the country, though there are exceptions on small and large scales. The English language is virtually universal in its American form. The American way of speaki