I. American Social Life
1. The striking diversity of its people
The USA is a country that has more immigrants than any other country in the world. There are about 29 million black people in the USA who mainly came from Africa. The American Indians were the only indigenous people who had lived there long before America was discovered.
2.The “nuclear family”
A family is usually made up of a father, a mother and two children. It is seldom that a family has more than four or five members, or that parents live together with their children who are married. Relatives, such as grandparents, uncles, aunts, cousins and in-laws usually live separately. This family structure is the so-called “nuclear family”. Though they still have close relationships among the relatives or the whole family group, the “nuclear family” is economically independent of rest of the family.
3.The gap between the poor and the rich is striking
The national wealth of the USA is unevenly distributed. It is true that five-sixths of all Americans live in conditions of relative comfort and wealth beyond what is necessary in life, but the remaining one-sixth are still poor, feeling that they are outcasts from their society.
4.The morality of sex
The American society is developing very quickly, while the spirit of the society is becoming more and more hollow. The premarital sexual relationship, homosexuality or “domestic partnerships”* are just a few instances of this spirit.
5.Violence
It is reported that in the United States of America a violent case takes place every twenty-seven seconds; and a person is killed every twenty-four minutes.
In addition, political assassinations are surprising and extraordinary. In history, four American presidents have been assassinated.
II. British Social Life
1.The two distinctions in the British society
One is the job distinction, which means the different amount of money each class earns. The other one is the class distinction, which includes the distinctive categories of the upper class, the middle class and the working class.
2.The different life styles in England
The UK is one sovereign state, but as the full name of the state suggests, it is made up of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. In each of the four lands, the differences are obvious. The different clothing, accents and dialects can be seen or heard.
3.A welfare state
★There are three main areas of welfare provision: health, housing and social security. The National Health Service provides free medical treatment for all the people in the country.
★Housing in the UK is either privately owned or provided by funds from the British government which acts as a controller of the proportion of private and public housing provision.
★The Department of Social Security processes the unemployment benefit and income support. Those who become unemployed can claim both housing benefit and unemployment benefit.
4.The living standards
The standard of living in the UK is rather high.
5.The concentration of population
The economic difference between north and south is another distinction which marks British society, a distinction which can be seen in many societies but is perhaps particularly obvious in the UK
| I．美国的社会生活
1．惊人的人口多样性
美国是一个拥有比世界上任何其他国家更多的移民的国家，大约有2千9百万的非洲黑人。美洲印第安人是唯一的本土人，他们早在美国大陆被发现之前就已经在此居住了。
2．“核心家庭”
美国家庭通常由父亲，母亲和两个孩子组成。一个家里拥有四五个成员，或父母与结了婚的子女一起生活的情况基本上是没有的。亲属，如祖父母，叔叔，阿姨，表兄弟通常都不住在一起。这种家庭结构就是所谓的“核心家庭”。虽然亲戚之间或整个家庭的关系很密切，但“核心家庭”在经济上是独立于其他家庭的。
3．穷人和富人之间的惊人差距
美国的国家财富分配不均。六分之五的美国人住在相对舒适的环境中，拥有的财富能够满足购买生活中的必需品。但剩下的六分之一仍然贫困，他们感到自己是社会的弃儿。
4．性道德
美国社会发展很快，而社会精神却越来越空。婚前性关系，同性恋或“同居关系”只是其中的几个例子而已。
5．暴力
据报道，在美国每二十七秒会有一场暴力事件；每二十四分钟里会有一个人被杀害。
此外，政治暗杀也是惊人的。在历史上，四位美国总统曾被暗杀。
I．英国的社会生活
1．英国社会的两个区别
一个是工作的区别，这意味着不同的阶级所挣的钱的数量不一样。另一个是阶级的区别，包括上层阶级，中产阶级和工人阶级。
2．不同的生活方式
英国是一个主权国家，但它是由英格兰，苏格兰，威尔士和北爱尔兰这四个区域组成的。每一块土地上的差异都是非常明显的，如服装，口音和方言。
3．福利国家
★英国的福利主要在三个方面：医疗，住房和社会保障。国家卫生服务为这个国家的所有人提供免费医疗。
★住房在英国要么是私有的，要么是政府出资供给的，在此英国政府担当了私人和公共住房供应的比例控制器。
★社会保障部门处理失业福利和收入支持问题。失业的人可以申请住房福利和失业福利。
4．生活水平
英国的生活标准是相当高的。
5．人口的集中
南北之间的经济差异是英国社会的另一个区别，这种区别在许多社会中都有，但在英国特别明显。
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