《英语国家社会与文化简明教程(王祖兴)(二版)》亚马逊编辑推荐：

《英语国家社会与文化简明教程》为高职高专“十一五”规划教材之一。

《英语国家社会与文化简明教程(王祖兴)(二版)》内容简介 ：

全书简明介绍了英国、美国、加拿大、澳大利亚和新西兰五个英语国家的地理、历史、政治、经济、教育、家庭生活、社会风俗和传统等文化知识，旨在引导学生将语言学习与文化知识紧密结合起来，提高学习英语的效果并为培养学生的跨文化交际能力打下一定基础。书中内容新颖、文字通俗易懂。对新词、难词、专门术语等作了汉语标注。全书分三个部分，英国、美国各为一部分，另外三个国家为一部分，共计42章，可供高职高专英语专业的学生使用，也可作为自学者的参考用书。

亚马逊目录 ：

Part One The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Chapter One Geography
Section 1 Position．Ntime and Areas
Section 2 Major Cities
Section 3 Climate and Environment
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Two People
Section 1 The People of Britain Today
Section 2 A Mixed Race Society
Section 3 Class Structure
Section 4 Religions
Section 5 Character and Manner
Section 6 Social Norms and Etiquettes
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Three Family
Section 1 Changing Values and Norms of the British Family
Section 2 Family Patterns
Section 3 Family Size
Section 4 Adoptions
Section 5 Marriage
Section 6 Divorce
Section 7 Older People
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Four Political System
Section 1 The Constitutional Monarch
Section 2 Parliament
Section 3 Government
Section 4 Political Parties
Section 5 Election
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Five National Economy
Section 1 General Survey
Section 2 Industry
Section 3 Agriculture
Section 4 Foreign Trade
Section 5 Government Expenditure and Taxation
Section 6 The Consumer
Section 7 Welfare
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Six Education
Section 1 Educational System
Section 2 Different Types of Schools in England
Section 3 Higher Education
Section 4 Famous Universities
Section 5 Other Types of Education
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Seven Science and Culture
Section 1 Achievements in Science and Technology
Section 2 Research and Development in Industry
Section 3 Outstanding Culture
Section 4 Principal Arts Organizations
Section 5 Arts for Everybody
Section 6 Museums
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Eight British Literature
Section 1 The Early Writings
Section 2 Elizabethan Drama
Section 3 The Nineteenth Century Novel
Section 4 The Twentieth Century Literature
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Nine History
Section 1 The Founding of the Nation
Section 2 Transition to the Modern Age
Section 3 The Rise and Fall of the British of Empire
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Ten Britain and the WorJd
Section 1 The Three—Circles
Section 2 Britain and America
Section 3 Britain and Europe
Section 4 Britain and China
Questions for Discussion
Chapter Eleven Media and Sports
Section 1 Newspapers
Section 2 Television，Broadcast and Radio
Section 3 Sports and Games
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Twelve Festivals and Leisure
Section 1 Traditional Festivals
Section 2 Leisure Activities
Section 3 Public Houses(Pubs)in Britain
Questions for Discussion

Part Two United States of America
Chapter One Geography
Section 1 Location and Size
Section 2 Physiographic Regions
Section 3 Rivers and Lakes
Section 4 Climate and Weather
Section 5 Major Cities in the USA
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Two History
Section 1 Discovering a New World
Section 2 The Founding of the 13 Colonies
Section 3 The War Of Independence
Section 4 The Civil War
Section 5 Establishing a New Government
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Three Political System
Section 1 General Principles
Section 2 The Three Branches
Section 3 TWO Parties System
Section 4 Relations with China
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Four People
Section 1 A Nation of Immigrants
Section 2 American Way of Life
Section 3 Character and Manners
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Five Religions
Section 1 Religion and the USA Government
Section 2 Protestants
Section 3 Catholics
Section 4 Jewish
Section 5 Other Religions in the USA
Section 6 American Character of Religion
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Six American Literature
Section 1 The Age of Romanticism
Section 2 The Age of Realism
Section 3 Modern American Literature
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Seven Education
Section 1 Features of American Education
Section 2 Secondary Education
Section 3 Higher Education
Section 4 Financial Problems
Section 5 Standardized Tests and Their Uses
Section 6 Vocational and Technical Education
Section 7 Education and Employment in the USA
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Eight National Economy
Section 1 General Survey
Section 2 HOW American Economy Works
Section 3 Manufacturing Industries
Section 4 Agriculture
Section 5 Money System
Section 6 Foreign Trade
Section 7 New Economy
Section 8 Subprime Crisis
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Nine Work and Welfare
Section 1 Overview of American Labor Market
Section 2 Major Social Welfare Programs
Section 3 Welfare Reform
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Ten Mess Media and Entertainment
Section 1 The Press
Section 2 Television
Section 3 Radios
Section 4 Movies
Section 5 Music
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Eleven Leisure Activities
Section 1 Traveling in America
Section 2 Sports
Questions for Discussion

Chapter Twelve Holidays
……
Part Three Canada,Australia and New Zealand
……

亚马逊书摘插图 ：

The American wedding is often an expensive affair（average cost about$1 0，000）．It isusually paid for by the bride’S parents，although the groom and his parents help prepare theguest list．The day’S festivities begin with the marriage ceremony，which may be held in achurch，synagogue（会堂，犹太教会堂），home，or hotel．Guests are seated on either sideof an aisle，and the wedding starts with a procession down the aisle．The procession includesthe bridal couple and their closest relatives and friends．There are usually bridesmaids（女傧相）and a maid of honor（all wearing matching dresses）and the groom’S best man（男傧相），who carries the bride’S wedding ring．Walking immediately in front of the bride is ayoung girl（the flower girl），who decorates the bride’S path with flower petals dropped fromher straw basket．The bride walks down the aisle with her father，who leads her to the altarand“gives her away”to the groom．The bride and groom then face a cleric or j udge conducting the service，as the traditional service is recited．
The double ring ceremony is quite common today，with bride and groom placing identical rings on each other’S fingers．The ring。a circle with no beginning and no end，is a familiar symbol of unending love and loyalty．It is worn on the fourth finger of the left hand because of a very old idea that a vein or nerve ran from this finger directly tO the heart．Towardthe end of the wedding ceremony，the bride and groom promise to love each other“untildeath do US part．”They are pronounced husband and wife，and are invited to kiss each other．Then，the entire wedding procession walks back up the aisle，and the ceremony is over．Often，after a church wedding，guests throw rice，rose petals，or confetti（五彩碎纸）atthe newlyweds as they leave the church．

序言 ：

本书自2003年出版发行以来，至今已有五个年头。这期间书中述及的五个英语国家在政治、经济、教育、社会和文化等各方面都发生了很大的变化。美国的“次贷危机”所引发的全球经济衰退就是突出的例证。变化了的形势会直接影响到人们的生活方式和行为规范，影响一个国家的文化价值观。作为教材，理应为学生提供最新的知识素材，摒弃那些过时的或不太适用的内容。基于这种想法，我们进行了全面修改。
修改后的教程突出了以下几个特点。
1．以“适度、够用”为原则。教育部对高职高专课程建设的要求中以知识的“适度、够用”为原则。按此原则，结合近年来学生的英语水平，教学课时数等实际情况，从丰富纷繁的资料中加以筛选，在覆盖面的取舍上做到优化，在每一章节的内容上做到简化，不求详尽。
修订后的教程仍由三部分构成。英国部分十二章，美国部分十三章，第三部分包括加拿大、澳大利亚和新西兰三个国家共十七章。