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.Canada is the world’s ____country in terms of land area. A. largest B. second largest C. third largest D. fourth largest 2 Which of the following people didn’t use to be the British Prime Minister? A Margaret Thatcher B Winston Churchill C Horatio Nelson D John Major 3 By tradition, the leader of the majority party is appointed _____ by the Sovereign in the United Kingdom. A Prime Minister B Member of Parliament C Lord of appeal D Speaker of the House 4 The Tories were the forerunners of _____, which still bears this nickname today. A the Labour Party B the Conservative Party C the Liberal Party D the Social Democratic Party 5 In the United Kingdom, the party which wins the ____ number of seats in the House of Commons becomes the official Opposition. A largest B second largest C third largest D fourth largest 6 The term “British disease” is now often used to characterize Britain’s _____ decline. A political B educational C military D economic 7 The 1980s was remembered as the decade of _____. A globalization B nationalization C privatization D competition 8 Today, in Britain, ______ is called a “sick” industry. A coal mining B iron and steel C textiles D shipbuilding 9The capital city of Canada is ____ A Montreal B Toronto C Albert D Ottawa 10 _____ created the industrial working class, the proletariat, and it later led to trade unionism. A The Chartist Movement B The Industrial Revolution C The French Revolution D The Glorious Revolution 答案及题解: 1.B 加拿大位于美国以北，是世界上仅次于俄国的第二大国家。 2 C, 撒切尔夫人，丘吉尔和梅杰都曾经做过英国首相；而纳尔逊（1758-1805），英国海军统帅，因作战负伤，右眼失明，失去右臂。后任地中海舰队司令，在特法尔加角海战中大败西班牙联合舰队，本人受重伤阵亡，号称 Viscount Nelson。 3 A, 在英国，按照传统，多数党的领导人由君主任命为首相，首相从本党内部挑选一些领导人担任各部部长职位。 4 B, 托利党是英国保守党的前身。 5 B, 在英国，在下议院中赢得第二席位的政党为反对党，它也有它自己的领导和影子内阁（shadow cabinet）。 6 D, 现在“英国病”这一术语经常用来指英国经济上的衰退。 7 C, 正如20世纪40年代被看作是国有化的时代一样，20世纪80年代被看作是私有化的时代。包括英国石油、航空、钢铁、电讯在内的几乎40% 的国有公司实现了私有化。 8 A, 英国煤矿业被称为生病工业。英国的煤产量在一战前达到顶点，如今的英国的煤矿业衰退，从而导致矿工的数量、煤矿的总产量大大下降。 9 D.加拿大首都是渥太华，位于安大略省东南部与魁北克省交界处，是加拿大的经济政治中心，同时也是加拿大的文化中心。 10 B, 工业革命产生了工人阶级，即无产阶级。后来形成了工会制度。