英美文化概论

The Monroe Doctrine is a policy of the United States introduced on December 2, 1823. It stated that further efforts by European nations to colonize land or interfere with states in North or South America would be viewed as acts of aggression requiring U.S. intervention.[1] The Doctrine noted that the United States would neither interfere with existing European colonies nor meddle in the internal concerns of European countries


Pax Britannica
[英国英语]英国式的和平，英国强权下的和平(尤指19世纪英国用武力维持下的和平)
以上来源于：《21世纪大英汉词典》

Art Deco演变自十九世纪末的Art Nouveau（新艺术）运动，当时的Art Nouveau是资产阶级追求感性（如花草动物的形体）与异文化图案（如东方的书法与工艺品）的有机线条。Art Deco则结合了因工业文化所兴起的机械美学，以较机械式的、几何的、纯綷装饰的线条来表现，如扇形辐射状的太阳光、齿轮或流线型线条、对称简洁的几何构图等等，并以明亮且对比的颜色来彩绘，例如亮丽的红色、吓人的粉红色、电器类的蓝色、警报器的黄色，到探戈的橘色、及带有金属味的金色、银白色以及古铜色等等。同时，随着欧美帝国资本主义向外扩张，远东、中东、希腊、罗马、埃及与玛雅等古老文化的物品或图腾，也都成了Art Deco装饰的素材来源，如埃及古墓的陪葬品、非洲木雕、希腊建筑的古典柱式等等。 这种最早出现在法国博览会临时展示馆，看似既传统又创新的建筑风格，结合了钢骨与钢筋混凝土营建技术的发展，让象征着资本主义教堂的摩天大楼成为可能，并且于资本主义中心国家的大城市里得到了实践场域。典型的例子是美国纽约曼哈顿的克赖斯勒大楼(Chrysler Building)与帝国大厦(Empire State Building)，其共同的特色是有着丰富的线条装饰与逐层退缩结构的轮廓。除了这些举世闻名的建筑物外，在其它类型的建筑物，无论是私人或公共建筑、纪念性或地域性，都可以看见Art Deco的影响，如方盒状的公寓、巨型的发电厂与工厂、流线型且充满异国色彩的电影院、金字塔状的教堂等等，都因其寓意式的装饰或花纹状的浮雕而被称作Art Deco建筑。 总之，Art Deco的装饰有下列几个主要的特征： 1.放射状的太阳光与喷泉形式：象征了新时代的黎明曙光。 2.摩天大楼退缩轮廓的线条：二十世纪的象征物。 3.速度、力量与飞行的象征物：交通运输上的新发展。 4.几何图形：象征了机械与科技解决了我们的问题。 5.新女人的形体：透露了女人赢得了社会上的自由权利。 6.打破常规的形式：取材自爵士、短裙与短发、震撼的舞蹈等等。 7.古老文化的形式：对埃及与中美

洲等古老文明的想象。 8.明亮对比的色彩。 Art Deco 的特色就是大量运用了鲨鱼纹、斑马纹、曲折锯齿图形、阶梯图形、粗体与弯曲的曲线、放射状图样等等来装饰，是现代艺术、设计上的一种运动与风格。 Art Deco 虽然是现代装饰艺术上的一种运动，但同时也影响

bleed france white

The war in brief 1914 Germany invades Belgium. Britain declares war on Germany. Japan joins the Allied forces: Ottoman Empire soon joins the Central Powers. War spreads to the seas. 1915 Women take up men's jobs. Stalemate continues on the Western Front. The Lusitania passenger liner is sunk, with 1,200 lives lost. London attacked from the air by German Zeppelins. 1916 Conscription for men aged between 18 and 41. A million casualties in ten months: Germany aims to 'bleed France white'. At sea the Battle of Jutland takes place. Armed uprisings in Dublin: the Irish Republic is proclaimed. 1917 German Army retreats to the Hindenburg Line. United States joins the war and assists the Allies. Tank, submarine and gas warfare intensifies. Royal family change their surname to Windsor to appear more British. 1918 Germany launches major offensive on the Western Front. Allies launch successful counter-offensives at the Marne and Amiens. Armistice signed on November 11, ending the war at 11am. In Britain, a coalition government is elected and women over 30 succeed in gaining the vote. On 28 June, in Sarajevo, Gavrilo Princip (a Slav nationalist) assassinated Archduke Franz Ferdinand, heir to the throne of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Austria-Hungary blamed Serbia for the killing and because Europe was linked by a series of diplomatic alliances - Austria-Hungary/Germany/Italy (Central Powers) and Britain/France/Russia (Triple Entente/Allied forces) - the affair escalated into full-scale war. On 4 August, Britain declared war after Germany invaded neutral Belgium (Britain declared war on Austria-Hungary on 12 August). The British government had previously promised to defend Belgium and felt that German troops directly across the Channel were too close for comfort. On 7 August, four divisions making up a British Expeditionary Force crossed to France to attempt to halt the German advance. With French forces, they were successful in
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George Orwell, was an English novelist and journalist. His work is marked by keen intelligence and wit, a profound awareness of social injustice, an intense opposition to totalitarianism, a passion for clarity in language and a belief in democratic socialism.[2][3]

Considered perhaps the 20th century's best chronicler of English culture,[4] Orwell wrote literary criticism, poetry, fiction and polemical journalism. He is best known for the dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) and the allegorical novella Animal Farm (1945), which together have sold more copies than any two books by any other 20th-century author.[5] His bo

ok Homage to Catalonia (1938), an account of his experiences in the Spanish Civil War, is widely acclaimed, as are his numerous essays on politics, literature, language and culture. In 2008, The Times ranked him second on a list of "The 50 greatest British writers since 1945".[6]

Orwell's influence on popular and political culture endures, and several of his neologisms, along with the term Orwellian—a byword for totalitarian or manipulative social practices—have entered the vernacular.


埃尔维斯·普莱斯利（Elvis Presley，1935～1977）是20世纪50年代美国最有影响的歌手，素有"摇滚乐之王"的称号，他为摇滚乐的推广和普及做出了巨大的贡献。
Elvis Aron Presley, also known as "The King of Rock 'n Roll" was an American singer and actor.
Rolling Stone magazine said "Elvis Presley is rock 'n' roll" and called his body of work "acres of perfect material." During an active recording career that spanned more than two decades, Presley set and broke many records for both concert attendance and sales. He had more than 100 singles in the US top 40 and 18 went to number one.

Presley is regarded as one of the most important figures of 20th-century popular culture. He had a versatile voice and unusually wide success encompassing many genres, including country, pop ballads, gospel, and blues. He is the best-selling solo artist in the history of popular music. Nominated for 14 competitive Grammys, he won three, and received the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award at age 36. He has been inducted into four music halls of fame.
反英雄"(anti-hero)是与"英雄"相对立的一个概念，是电影、戏剧或小说中的一种角色类型。作者通过这类人物的命运变化对传统价值观念进行"证伪"，标志着个人主义思想的张扬、传统道德价值体系的衰微和人们对理想信念的质疑.。




The Battle of Britain (German: Luftschlacht um England or Luftschlacht um Gro?britannien, literally "Air battle for England" or "Air battle for Great Britain") is the name given to the World War II air campaign waged by the German Air Force (Luftwaffe) against the United Kingdom during the summer and autumn of 1940. The objective of the campaign was to gain air superiority over the Royal Air Force (RAF), especially Fighter Command. The name derives from a famous speech delivered by Prime Minister Winston Churchill in the House of Commons: "…the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin."[14][15]

The Battle of Britain was the first major campaign to be fought entirely by air forces,[16] and was also the largest and most sustained aerial bombing campaign to that date. From July 1940 coastal shipping convoys and shipping centres, such as Portsmouth, were the main targets; one month later the Luftwaffe shifted its attacks to RAF airfields and infrastructure. As the battle progressed the Luftwaffe also targeted aircraft factories and

ground infrastructure. Eventually the Luftwaffe resorted to attacking areas of political significance and using terror bombing tactics.[nb 10]

The failure of Germany to achieve its objectives of destroying Britain's air defences, or forcing Britain to negotiate an armistice or an outright surrender, is considered its first major defeat and a crucial turning point in World War II.[18] By preventing Germany from gaining air superiority, the battle ended the threat that Adolf Hitler would launch Operation Sea Lion, a proposed amphibious and airborne invasion of Britain.


What was the Munich conference of 1938?
The Munich Conference was held in Munich, Germany on September 28-29, 1938, with the leaders of Great Britain, France, Germany and Italy. Adolf Hitler had demanded the possession of the Sudetenland in Czechoslovakia. (The area contained the... Read More


James Brown also became known as "the hardest working man in show business." During the nineteen sixties, he performed his exciting show almost non-stop in city after city in the United States and in other countries.