专八人文知识从命题来看并不是很难。大多都是英语专业本科阶段应该了解的常识性问题，但涉及的范围很宽泛，备考时面对英美文学﹑文化﹑及语言学众多资料无从下手，这就要求考生对每一章的基本概念都要清楚，善于高度提炼，把书看薄。
1 Which of the following is the British oldest daily newspaper? A The Telegraph B The Guardian C The News of the World D The Times 2 The river Thames is in _____. A Wales B Scotland C England D Northern Ireland 3 The Industrial Revolution started in _____. A the Great Britain B the United States C Canada D Austrilia 4 Which of the following is true under Thatcher’s administration? A The proportion of owner-occupation decreased. B Public housing became more important. C Many public houses were sold to people. D The UK became more European-like in its housing arrangement. 5 Britain has its nuclear naval force since _____. A it’s one of the developed countries in the world B it’s a traditional sea power C it has an advanced industry D it’s able to produce submarines 6 Which of the following is the oldest national Sunday newspaper in Britain? A The Times B The Guardian C The Observer D The Financial Times 7 Big Ben was named after _____. A Christopher Wren B Benjamin Hall C Ben John D G. Stephenson 8 The Capital of Wales is _____. A Swansea B Cardiff C Rhonda D Belfast 9 _____ is England’s biggest naval base. A Portsmouth B Southampton C Plymouth D Dover 10 There are two major national parties in Britain: the Conservative party and _____. A the Liberal Party B the Democratic Party C the Labour Party D the Republican Party 答案及题解: 1 D, 英国历史上最悠久的日报是《泰晤士报》。 2 C, 泰晤士河位于英格兰。 3 A, 工业革命最早从英国开始。 4 C, 1979年撒切尔夫人成为英国第一任女首相。她提出的政策称被为“撒切尔主义”。其内容包括国有企业私有化，采用货币主义政策以控制通货膨胀，削弱工会的影响，加强市场因素在经济中的作用，将公有住房卖给公众，强调法律和秩序。在一定程度上讲，她的计划是成功的。她领导英国经济度过了一段最繁华的时期。 5 B, 英国拥有其海军核力量与其一贯的霸主地位是密切相关的。 6 C, 《观察家报》创刊于1791年，是英国创刊最早的星期日报纸。 7 B, 据说Big Ben 得名于它在1859年修建时候的建造者 Benjamin Hall。 8 B, 威尔士位于大不列颠的西部。首府：加的夫。 9 A, 英国最大的海军基地是普茨茅斯。 10 C, 英国奉行的是两党制。其两大主要政党是保守党和工党。