Why America?1. 美国在当今世界有极大的影响力，美国文化影响全球、影响中国。2. 美国社会制度与文化价值很有特点，有的地方是值得我们学习的，有的地方必须批判。第一讲 美国地理与历史概况美国的地理特征:得天独厚，但又充满挑战（一）优势1、位置 分离主义者（Separatists）的隐居之地，犹如世外桃源。世界主义者（Cosmopolitans）的世界通衢。2、气候适宜；3、幅员广阔；4、资源丰富(二) 劣势1、新格兰（New England）：（1）Storm；（2）Stony soil2、南方（Virginia and the Carolinas）：“dismal swamps”3、内地（The Interior）4、大平原与太平洋沿岸（The Great Plains and the Pacific Basins）（1）干旱（drought）(2)Earthquake.The Northridge earthquake occurred on January 17, 1994 at 4:31 AM Pacific Standard Time in Reseda, a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California. The earthquake had a strong moment magnitude of 6.7, but the ground acceleration was the highest ever instrumentally recorded in an urban area in North America. Seventy-two people died as a result of the earthquake with more than 12,000 injured. In addition, the earthquake caused an estimated $12.5 billion in damage, making it one of the costliest natural disasters in U.S. history.(3) 洪水（Flooding）(4) 森林大火（Wildfires）The Yellowstone fires of 1988 together formed the largest wildfire in the recorded history of Yellowstone National Park, United States. Starting as many smaller individual fires, the flames spread quickly out of control with increasing winds and drought and combined into one large conflagration, which burned for several months. The fires almost destroyed two major visitor destinations and, on September 8, 1988, the entire park was closed to all non emergency personnel for the first time in its history. Only the arrival of cool and moist weather in the late fall brought the fires to an end. A total of 793,880 acres (3,213 km2), or roughly 36 percent of the park was affected by the wildfires.（二）五大地区1. The Industrialized Northeast and North-Central Region(1) ScopeAs defined by the U.S. Census Bureau, it covers nine states: Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.The Northeast is the richest region of the United States, including four states with the highest median household income: Maryland (1st), New Jersey (2nd), Connecticut (3rd), and Massachusetts (5th)The nations permanent manufacturing belt; a large consumer market.Dense urban population; admixture of races; good skills2. The South(1) A geographic and cultural concept: the Atlantic and Gulf PlainAs defined by the United States Census Bureau, the Southern region of the United States includes 16 states and the District of Columbia (with a total 2006 estimated population of 109,083,752.) Thirty-six percent of all U.S. residents lived in the South, the nations most populous region.The South Atlantic States: Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and DelawareThe East South Central States: Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and TennesseeThe West South Central States: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and TexasDeep SouthThe Southern Coastland(3) Some other central featuresI. Deep South: large numbers of African AmericansII. Concentration of Hispanics in Florida, New Mexico and TexasIII. Homogeneity of Anglo-Americans3. The Agricultural Midwest(1) ScopeIllinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. A 2006 Census Bureau estimate put the population at 66,217,736.II. RiversBrought together by three great rivers: the Ohio, Missouri, and MIssissipiIII. Agriculture and trade the chief occupationsCorn belt: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Minnesota, Wisconsin4. The Moutain West(1) The Scope:Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, and NevadaThe Great Plains and the Intermountain plateaus and basinsThe Rocky Mountain, the Cascade Mountains, and the Sierra Nevada Mountains.(2) Common traitsI. AridityII. Dry farming, irrigation, and ranchingLake MeadThe lake was named after Elwood Mead, who was commissioner of the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation from 1924 to 1936 during the planning and construction of the Boulder Canyon Project that created the dam and lake.Lake Mead is the largest man-made lake and reservoir in the United States. It is located on the Colorado River about 30 miles (48 km) southeast of Las Vegas, Nevada, in the states of Nevada and Arizona. Formed by water impounded by Hoover Dam, it extends 110 mi (180 km) behind the dam, holding approximately 28.5 million acre feet (35 km) of water. The water held in Lake Mead is released to communities in Southern California and Nevada, via aqueducts.III. Low population, largely rural, homogeneous, mainly from the South and Midwest5. The Far West(1) ScopeWashington, Oregon, CaliforniaII. Upland and plain in close juxtaposition, bringing mining, forestry, ranching and farming togetherIII. Mild climate of Oregon and sunny climate of California affording more comfort than anywhere in the United States (excluding Florida)Crater Lake, OregonIV. Economic diversity: mining, farming, forestry, ranching, computer industry, airplaneV. Renowned educati