二.找准重点，理清线索
如：英国：early settlers——Roman invations——Anglo-Saxons——the Viking and Danish Invations——the Norman Conquest——William’s Rule——the Great Charter——the Hundred Year’s War——the English Reformation——the English Renaissance——the Civil War——the Glorius Revolution——the Industrial Revolution——in the two World Wars
美国：the war of Independence——the War of 1812——territorial expansion and Westward Movement——the Civil War——in the two World Wars——the Cold War——the Berlin Blockade——the Civil Rights Movement in the 1950s——the Vietname War
三.对比分析，找出差别
在自学过程中，我对这种方法应用最多。可以说对比无处不在。例如，每个国家的政体有共同点，也有差别，差别就需要记住。因为这往往是选择题里要出的内容。下面就把这个政体的比较列表呈现给大家:
一.自然资源
英国:Compare with many other countries,Britain has comsiderable reserves of coal.Today British coal mining is called a "sick" industry.
Natural gas and oil was discovered in 1965 and oil in 1970 under the North Sea.
Britain was the first nation to build a large iron and steel industry.Rich deposits of iron ore were found in central England.
As with the coal industry,Britain's steel industry is declining.
美国:Fertile soil is one of the most important natural resouces in the United States. America's forest resources are among the world's largest.
Another natural resource that contributes to the welfare of the country is water. America is the leaders in production of Coal,iron ore,cpper,oil,sulfur,lead and zine. But short for tin,manganese,and nikel.
爱尔兰:Ireland is now the largest producer of lead and zinc concentrates in Europe.
While Ireland lacks sizeable oil deposits,it has a valuable energy source in the peat,or turt,bogs that cover extensive areas of the country.
加拿大:Water is one of the most important natural resources in Canada.
Almost half of the land area of Canada is covered by forests. Canada ranks third,in the production of lumber and other forest products in the world.The largest producer of newsprint in the world. Canada is a primary world producer of nickle,zine and asbestoes,and comes second in potash,third in gold and fourth in copper.
Canada is a major world supplier of uranium.
Experts believe that the cold fields of Canada may be among the largest in the world.
A great deposit of petroleum was discovered south of Edmonton in Alberta. About two thurds of Canada's petroleum and about four fifths of its natural gas come from Alberta.
澳大利亚:Australia is one of the world's biggest producers of minerals and metals.
It has major deposits of bauxite,mineral sands,diamonds,and black and brown coal,and large reserves of ores containing gold,lead,zinc,iron,copper,nikel,manganese and uranium. It is the world largest exporter of coal,and a major exporter of uranium.
新西兰:There is an increasingly large share of energy comes from local resources:natural gas,crude oil,hydroelectricity and geothermal steam. Coal is of growing importance.Solar energy,vegetable oils and ethylalcohol from fermentation make small contributions.
二.农业
英国:The Britain were pioneers in modern agriculture and were among the first to bring science and machinery to farming.The new farming has been called "agribusiness".There are mainly six farming types in Britain.They are arable farning,dairy fariming,stock farming,mixed farming,hill farming and market gardening.
Because of the cool climate,apples,pears and plums grwo very well in Britain.
The North Sea has very good fishing grounds.
美国:Yet the United States grows nearly one fourth of the world's grain and supplies a half of all the exports of grain in the world.
It ranks first,second,or third in the production and export of corn, wheat, rice, soybeans, oranges, meat,milk, apples,oats,cotton,tobaoo, peanuts,and edible vegetable oil.(具体的在什么地方种什么东西可以参照书上P289-291)
爱尔兰:Agriculture generates anestimated 11% of the Ireland GNP,employs 17% of the labour force and produces 25% of total exports.
The most signigicant recent development in Irish agriculture has been membership in the European Community.
加拿大:The land used for agriculture makes up only 7% in Canada. Canada farms specialize in producing wheat,food crops for animals dairy products,and fruit.Fishing and mining are quite important.
The Canada Prairie is the centre of a rich wheat belt.
Eastern Canada is noted for a variety of farm products.
Dairying is in the lowlands of Quebec and Ontario.
Fruits are grown in Western Nova Scotia.
澳大利亚:Today,agriculture is the nation's largest and most diverse industry.Australia is one of the world's leading producers of food and natural fibres.Australia is the world's largest exporter of wool,the second largest exporter of meat,the third largest exporter of wheat and a major international supplier of sugar,dairy products,fruits,cotton and rice.
Australia's agriculture importance has declined in recent years.
新西兰:Vineyards produce international award-winning red and white wines.
三.制造业,工业
英国:The textile is one of Britain's oldest.Textiles were on of the country's most vauluable exports. Britain became a world leader in shipbuilding during the middle of the 19th century.The two main centres for shipbuilding were on the River Tyne near Newcastle,England and on the Clyde near Glasgow in Scotland.
The Britain motor industry now dominated by four firms(Ford,the Rover Group,GM-Vauxhall,and Peugeot)
There are three areas in Britain which have seen some high-tech industrial growth. Scotland has Europe's largest collection of foreign-owned chip factories.Over 90% of the companies are from the U.S.A.,Japan,the Netherlands and germany.
美国:The untied States ranks first,second,third or fourth in the world in the production of crude steel,passenger cars,commercial vehicles,chemicals,radio sets,television sets,and other
manufacturing goods.Manufacturing accounts for about one quarter of the GDP,about one quarter of the national income,and over one fifth of the work force.
The industrial regions are the Midwest(the nations's leading centre of heavy industry) round the Great Lakes,the Middle Atlantic states,the South,and the Pacific Coast.
爱尔兰:Since the 1961s,manufactuing has become the mainstay of the Irish economy.
Of industrial employment,66% are employed in manufacting.
加拿大:Manufacturing is the mst important economic activity in Canada.Food processing is the leading industry. The manufacture of transportation equipment ranks second. The production of paper and paper related products ranks third. metal products are also important.
澳大利亚:The mining industry in Australia has faced new problems in recent years.
Australia's service sector is the fastest-growing sector of industry.It has been growing in importance in recent years.
新西兰:There are two steel comanies:New Zealand Steel which uses iron sands from the west coast of North Island,and Pacific Steel which reuses scrap iron.New Zealand is a world leader in
the CNA(compressed natural gas) industry.Garments,fabrics and carpets are exported.
The fishing industry has expanded greatly and is now the 4th largest export earner.
四.对外贸易
英国:Britain is the fifth largest trading country in the world.Napoleon called it a "nation of shopkeepers".
Britain's foreign trade is mainly with other developed countries.which accounts for 79% of exports and 85% of imports.About half with EC.
Traditionally,Britain has had a deficit on visible trade and a surplus on invisible trade.
美国:Currenty U.S. exports are about 15% of the world's total.The Unites States imports about 13% of all world imports.
Canada is the largest single source og goods imported by the U.S.,accounting for nearly 30% of the total. Outside of North America,Europe is the largest source of imports with about 30%,Asia provides about 18%,with smaller percentages from Latin America,Africa,and Australia.
爱尔兰:Successive Irish governments have adopted a consistent and postive approoach toward attracting overseas investment.
The new foreign firms now account for over 70% of manufactured exports.
Ireland is new an industrial exporter.
Manufactured goods account for about two-thirds of total wxports.
加拿大:A total about four fifths of all foreign investments in Canada are American.
澳大利亚:Australia is a middle-level trading nation.
The main feature of Australia's trade is that it has always involved the exchange of raw materials for finished products.
Australia's trade relations with China have been developing rapidly in recent years. China accouts for about 3% of Australian total exports.
新西兰:Trade is New Zealand's linelihood.Foreign investment is increasing and financial markets are active.
Western Europe and particularly Britain have traditionally been New Zealand's major export market.
The main imports are industrial raw materials,capital equipment and consumer goods.
New Zealand is the world's largest exporter of lamb and mutton as well as dairy products.
五.当今面临的问题
英国:Britain is the oldest industrial country in the world.The term "Britain disease" is noew often used to characterise Britain's economic decline.
The Evolution of the Britain Economy since the War:1.Steady development in the 50s and 60s.2.Economic recession in the 70s.3.Economic recovery in the 80s.
这里有一部分是撒切尔的宏,微观措施比较重要(P91-92)
美国:The Untied States has a free-market economy with a dominant private sector. So the
economy system of the United States is principally privately owned.But today,many of American people still live under the poverty line.
Unemployment,inflation,finacial deficit,and trade deficit are the troubles that always face the United States.
爱尔兰:The value of imports generally exceeds that of exports. That's why Ireland has a chronic negative balance of trade.
Continuing dependence on imported oil is one of the reasons for the high import bill.
加拿大:In the past few years however,Canada's unemployment rate has been high.But what is worth nothing is that the cost for manufacturing has increased while the productivity per worker has decreased as compared with the United States or with its ten trading partners.
While Canada has one of the world's highest standards of living,not all regions of the country have enjoyed the same degree of prosperity.
Some measures have been taken by the Federal government to help those slow grownth regions.
澳大利亚:Problems of Australia economy:1.Over-reliance on commodity exports.2.Failure to share in the expansion of international trade.3.The decline of manufaturing industries and the effects of tariffs.
英国概况：
1.英国全称：the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
2.英国由四个部分组成，它们是:England ,Scotland ,Wales and Northern Ireland
3.英国历史上的三次外族入侵：
43AD the Roman Empire ，
the late 8th century Scandinavia created a certain cultural divide between northerners and southerners in England ，
1066 Normans William took the English throne ,and became William the First
4.英国内战
时间：1640
双方： the Roundheads led by Oliver Cromwell ,the royalists led by Charles 1
结果：the royalists armies were defeated and King Charles 1 was executed in 1649
5.“君权神授”的含义 ：“divine right of kings” means the sovereign derived his authority from God ,not from his subjects
6.英国政府的三个组成部分及其职责:
the Monarch :to symbolize the tradition and unity of the British states
the Parliament :to vote for taxation ;scrutinize government policy ,administration and expenditure ;debate the major issues of the day
the Cabinet :to carry out the functions of policy-making ,the coordination of government departments and the supreme control of government
7.英国的“大宪章”（ Magna Carta）由哪位君主在什么时候签署，其内容是什么 King John ,1215 ,placed some limits on the king’s ability to abuse his royal power
8.英国的“权利法案”（the Bill of Rights ）被通过的时间 :1689
9.议会的组成及其成员：
the queens
the House of Lords :the Lords Spiritual who are the Archbishops and the most important bishops of the church of England ,and the Lords Temporal which refers to those lords who either have inherited from their forefathers or they have been appointed
the House of Commons :about 650 MPs (members of Parliament ) elected by the people to represent them
10.内阁元首：prime minister
11.英国大选多长时间举行一次，选出了什么，其目的是什么
every 5 years ,to elect about 650 members of Parliament ,to provide opportunities for people to influence future government policies and to replace those incompetent political leaders
12.英国的两个主要政党：the Conservative party ,the Labour party
13.英国社会的两个主要阶层，如何划分这两个阶层
middle class ,working class
based on economy and education
14.自1979之后英国历任首相及其任职时间：
Marganet Thatcher 1979~1990 Conservative
John Major 1990~1997 Conservative
Tony Blair 1997~2007 Labour
Gordon Brown 2007 ~至今 Labour
15.工业革命之父是谁，及其发明是什么
James Walt ,steam engine
16 .工业革命开始的标志:
Jennifer’s hand-spinning machine
17.英国教育的三个阶段及两个分枝
primary education (5—11 years old ),secondary education (11-plus examination ,namely ,grammer school and comprehensive school ) ,higher education
state school and private school
18.英国最古老的报纸：the Observer (the world’s oldest national newspaper),the Times(British oldest daily newspaper)
19.报纸的两大分类：the quality papers ,tabloid
20.英国最大的广播公司：the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)
21.Christmas 和Easter的意义：
Christmas commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ .It is the biggest and most loved British holiday. Easter commemorates the Crucifixion and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. It is the most important Christian festival .
22,英国文学：
early writing :Geoffrey Chaucer ,《The Canterbury Tales》
Elizabethan Drama：William Shakespeare, 《Romeo and Juliet》，《Hamlet》，《Othello》，《King Lear》，《Macbeth》
the 17th century :John Milton,《Paradise Lost》，《Paradise Regained》，《Samson Agonistes》 the 18th century :Jonathan Swift ,《Gulliver’s Travels》
Daniel Defoe ,《Robinson Crusoe》
the 19th century :Jane Austen ,《Sense and Sensibility》，《Pride and Prejudice》，《Emma》 Bronte sisters,——Charlotte Bronte ,《Jane Eyre》
Emily Bronte ,《Wuthering Heights》
Ann Bronte
Charles Dickens,《Oliver Twist》,《David Copperfield》,《Great Expectation》
美国概况：
1.新大陆的发现：Christopher Columbus 1492
2.英国人在美洲最早的居留地：Virginia
3.在美洲13个英属殖民地名称：
Connecticut , Delaware , Georgia , Massachusetts , Maryland New York , New Jersey , New Hampshire, North Carolina ,Pennsylvania , Rhode Island , South Carolina ,Virginia
4.两次新大陆会议：
the First Continental Congress : in 1774.9 Philadelphia
the Second Continental Congress : in 1775.5 Philadelphia
5.美国独立战争（the War of Independence）开始的时间：1775
6.独立宣言(Declaration of Independence)的起草者，它在何时被什么机构通过，标志着什么：Thomas Jefferson, 1776.7.4 ,the Congress,
the establishment of the United States
7.邦联条款（the Articles of Confederation）：
The Articles of Confederation is the agreement that set a plan of cooperation which would raise money to pay off debts of the war ,establish a money system and deal with foreign nations in making treaties.
8.制宪会议（the Constitutional Convention）：
时间：1787.5
地点：Philadelphia
参与者：delegates from 12 states (Rhode Island refused to participate)
结果:The Constitutional Convention set up a federal system with a strong central government.
9.三权分立 （哪三权，由什么部门实行这一权利，核心）：
executive branch (行政机构),President ,serve as the presiding officer of the Senate
legislative branch（立法机构），the Congress, make federal laws, levy federal taxes, put foreign treaties into effect, declare war
judicial branch （司法机构）,Supreme Court ,determine whether congressional legislation or executive action violates the Constitution
核心:checks and balances
10.人权法案（the Bill of Rights）被加入宪法的时间：1791
11.美国的两大政党：Democratic Party ,Republican Party
12.美国的三大宗教：Judaism , Catholism , Protestantism
13.美国教育的三个阶段：
elementary school :kindergarten to grades 6
secondary school :junior high school ——grades 7 to 9
senior high school ——grades 10 to 12
high school
14.美国最早的一所大学：Harvard University, 1636
15.美国一些著名的大学名称：
Harvard ,Yale ,Princeton ,MIT, Stanford ,Columbia, Cornwell, Dartmouth ,Rice ,University of Chicago ,University of Pennsylvania,
16.美国在20世纪60年代时期的三大社会运动：
Civil Rights Movement 黑人人权运动;the older （usually male）, Negro leaders ,black and white young people, some white professionals ,some white housewives; Southern Afro-Americans could vote, legal segregation ended in the South.
Youth/Anti-war Movement 青年/反战运动；young people who were rebelling against their parents ,teachers and government authorities; In 1973,the US signed a peace treaty.
Women’s Liberating Movement 妇女解放运动;professionals, educated women ,young or middle-aged white housewives and mothers ,young activists
17.美国在二战之后的对外政策：
政策：
1945~1989
in the late 1940s ,containment policy
in 1948 ,Truman policy
in 1970s ,Nixon policy
in 1982 ,Reagan’s stars war project
1989~现今
Clinton global strategy
in 2001 ,George W. Bush’s unilateralism, faith in military strength ,and preemption
18.美国文学：
early fiction :
Washington Irving ,《History of New York 》《,The Legend of Sleepy Hollow》《,Tour on Prairies》,《Rip Van Winkle》
James Fenimore Cooper ,《Leatherstocking Tales》,《The Spy》,《The Pioneers》
transcendentalists :
Ralph Emerson ,《Nature》
Henry David Thoreau ,《Walden》
symbolism :
Nathaniel Hawthrone ，《The Scarlet Letter》
Herman Melville , 《Moby Dick》
new visions of America:
Walt Whitman ,《Leaves of Grass》
reform and liberation:
Ms. Stowe , 《Uncle Tom’s Cabin》
regionalism:
Mark Twain ,《The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn》，
《The Adventures of Tom Sawyer》