学习英语的中国大学生在阅读英文书刊和同英语国家人士的交往中，往往感到由于缺乏欧洲文化知识而增加了许多困难。英语中有数不清的典故、名言、成语、人名、地名等等来自古希腊、罗马的哲学、文学、历史著作，希伯莱的圣经，文艺复兴时期的艺术创作，或者牵涉到各时期思想、科技、政治、社会方面的重要事件和人物。如果对这些所知无多，读书未必全懂，对谈也难顺利。而一旦对这些有了较多知识，则不仅了解程，会提高。而且由于通过文化来学习语言，语言也会学得更好。
这是一本中国大学英语系的教科书，为了教学需要而编写的。
学习英语的中国大学生在阅读英文书刊和同英语国家人士的交往中，往往感到由于缺乏欧洲文化知识而增加了许多困难。英语中有数不清的典故、名言、成语、人名、地名等等来自古希腊、罗马的哲学、文学、历史著作，希伯莱的圣经，文艺复兴时期的艺术创作，或者牵涉到各时期思想、科技、政治、社会方面的重要事件和人物。如果对这些所知无多，读书未必全懂，对谈也难顺利。而一旦对这些有了较多知识，则不仅了解程，会提高。而且由于通过文化来学习语言，语言也会学得更好。
因此，有些外语院系不时举行一些背景报告会，请教师或外国访客用外语来介绍整个欧洲或其中一国的社会或其他情况，作为语言课的补充。这办法行之有效，但有缺点，即内容往往不系统，各讲之间不连贯，对学生无要求，他们的收获也不具体。
于是有的教师觉得：不如干脆开出一门课程，有计划、有系统地讲授有关欧洲文化的基本知识。
我们几个编写此书的人都是北京外国语大学的英语教师，各有本身教学和科研任务，但由于有上述想法，结合起来，经过短期准备，在1980年秋季开始讲授这门课程。至今已经讲了7轮，教材也由原来极为简单的若干张提纲演化成现在这本教科书的样子。
Introduction
1. Uses of the Subject
2. Two Major Elements in European Culture
DIVISION ONE GREEK CULTURE AND ROMAN CULTURE
I. Greek Culture
1. The Historical Context
2. Social and Political Structure
3. Homer
4. Lyric Poetry
5. Drama
a. Aeschylus （525-456 B. C. ）
b. Sophocles （496-406 B. C. ）
c. Euripides （484-406 B. C. ）
d. Comedy
6. History
a. Herodotus （484-430 B. C. ）
b. Thucydides （about 460-404 B. C. ）
7. Philosophy and Science
a. Socrates
b. Plato
c. Aristotle
d. Contending Schools 0f Thought
e. Science
8. Art， Architecture， Sculpture and Pottery
a. Art
b. Architecture
c. Sculpture
i. Discus Thrower
ii. Venus de Milo
iii. Laocoon group about 125 B. C.
d. Pottery
9. Impact
a. Spirit of Innovation
b. Supreme Achievement
c. Lasting Effect
Question for Revision
I. Roman Culture
1. Romans and Greeks
2. Roman History
3. Latin Literature
a. Prose
i. Marcus Tullius Cicero （106-43 B. C. ）
ii. Julius Caesar （102/1007-44 B. C. ）
b. Poetry
i. Lucretius （about 93-50 B. C. ）
ii. Virgil （70-19 B， C. ）
4. Architecture， Painting and Sculpture
a. Architecture
i. The Pantheon
ii. Pont du Gard
iii. The Colosseum
b. Painting
c. Sculpture
i. Constantine the Great
ii. Spoils from the Temple in Jerusalem （81 A.D. ）
iii. She-wolf
Questions for Revision
DIVISION TWO THE BIBLE AND CHRISTIANITY
I. General Introduction
I. The Old Testament
1. The Pentateuch
a. The Fall of Man
b. Noahs Ark
c. Ten Commandments
2. The Historical Books
3. The Poetical Books
a. Book of Job
b. Book of Psalms
c. Proverb
d. Ecclesiastes
e. Song of Solomon
4. The Prophets
a. Amos
b. Jeremiah （about 650-570 B. C. ）
c. The Book of Daniel
I. Rise of Christianity
1. The Life of Jesus
2. The Spread of Christianity
IV. The New Testament
1， The Birth of Jesus
2. Jesus Is Tempted by the Devil
3. The Sermon on the Mount
4. The Last Supper
5. The Crucifixion
V. Translations of the Bible
Questions for Revision
DIVISION THREE
THE MIDDLE AGES
I. General Introduction
11. Manor and Church
1 ： Feudalism
a. Growth of Feudalism
b. The Manor
c. Knighthood and Code of Chivalry
……
2. Social and Political Structure
Athens was a democracy. Democracy means "exercise of power by the whole people"， but by "the whole people" the Greeks meant only the adult male citizens， and citizenship was aset of rights which man inherited from his father. Women， children， foreigners and
slaves were excluded. They had no rights.
The economy of Athens rested on an immense amount of slavelabour. Slaves worked on farms and in workshops and mines owned by their masters. There was harsh exploitation in Greek society.
The Greeks loved sports. Once every four years， they had a big festival on Olympus Mount which included contests of sports. Thus began the Olympic Games. Revived in 1896， the Games have become the worlds foremost amateur sports competition.
3. Homer
Ancient Greeks considered Homer to be the author of their epics. He probably lived around 700 B.C. Two such epics， the Iliad and the Odyssey， have survived. They are not about events of
Homers own time， but about great men and wars of a remoter age， probably in the period 1200-1100 B.C.
The Iliad deals with the alliance of the states of the southern mainland of Greece， led by Agamemnon in their war against the city of Troy. The heroes are Hector on the Trojan side and Achilles and Odysseus on the Greek. In the final battle， Hector was killed by Achilles and Troy was sacked and burned by the Greeks.
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