1. Nation of immigrants移民之国
A look at the history of the United States indicates that this country has often been called "a melting pot",
where various immigrants and ethnic groups have learned to work
together to build a unique nation. Even those "original" Americans,
the Indians, probably walked a land bridge from Asia to North
America some thousands of years ago. So, who are the real
Americans? The answer is that any and all of them are! And you, no
matter where you come from, could also become an American should
you want to. Then you would become another addition to America's wonderfully rich "nation of immigrants".
The United States is currently shifting from being a nation of immigrants of mainly European descent to
one of immigrants from other parts of the world, such as Asia and Latin America. The number of recent immigrants
has skyrocketed. They desire to escape economic hardship and political oppression in their native countries as
well as the desire to seek a better education and a more prosperous life in America, "the land of opportunity".
Although there are frequent conflicts between the cultures they have brought with them from the "old country" and
those found in America, most immigrants learn to adjust to and love their adopted land.
Americans have also learned much from the customs and ideas of the immigrants and are often influenced by
them in subtle and interesting ways. Immigrants bring their native cultural, political, and social patterns and
attitudes, varied academic and religious backgrounds, as well as their ethnic arts, sports, holidays, festivals, and
foods. They have greatly enriched American life.
For immigrants from all parts of the world, the United States has been a "melting pot" in which the foreigners
have sometimes remained culturally and linguistically what they were in their native lands even as they move
toward becoming citizens of the United States, a country whose people share a common cultural outlook (view) and
set of values. The melting pot does not melt away all recollections of another way of life in another place----nor
should it. On the contrary, immigrants should maintain the languages, skills, religions, customs and arts of their
own heritage, even while they are working towards entering the mainstream of American culture.
Helper:
indicate指出，表明 unique独特的 original本土的
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shift更换，改变 descent[di'sent]下降 skyrocket使...上升oppression压迫 prosperous繁荣的 adjust to适应，调节
adopt接受 收养 subtle ['sʌtl] 细致的，灵巧的 linguistically语言上
recollection记忆 maintain维持 heritage ['heritidʒ] 继承物 遗产
mainstream主流
Exercises:
◆
从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。
1. Original Americans refer to ______.
A. the Indians B. all of the Americans
C. immigrants from Europe D. immigrants from Asia
2. The reasons why people come to America are the following Except that ______.
A. they desire to escape economic hardship in their native countries
B. they desire to escape political oppression in their native countries
C. they desire to seek a better education and a more prosperous life in America
D. they desire to experience frequent conflicts between different cultures
3. The 3rd paragraph mainly tells us ______.
A. immigrants are influenced by Americans
B. Americans are influenced by immigrants
C. Americans and immigrants influence each other
D. America is "a melting pot"
4. "A melting pot" means ______.
A. Americans change immigrants according to American life style and belief
B. different peoples have the same life style and belief
C. different peoples have their own life styles and beliefs
D. different peoples are combined to develop a multi-ethnic society
5. According to the passage, if we say America is ______, you will think it wrong.
A. a melting pot B. an evil empire
C. a nation of immigrants D. the land of opportunity
Brief Introduction:
纵观美国历史，就会发现这个国家经常被称为"一个熔炉"，在此，各种移民和种族团体学会了共同建
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设一个独特的民族。甚至那些"本土的"美国人--印第安人，也可能是几千年以前，从亚洲走过大陆桥来到
北美洲的。所以，谁是真正的美国人？答案是他们中的任何一个人都是！无论你来自何处，如果你想成为美国人，就会成为美国人；你就会变成这个极其富有的"移民之国"的一个新分子。
美国现在正由主要是欧洲血统移民的国家变为世界上其他各洲，如亚洲、拉丁美洲移民的国家。最近
移民的数字急剧增长。他们希望摆脱在本国的经济困难、政治压迫，并在美国这片"充满机遇的土地上"寻
找更好的教育和更富裕的生活。尽管他们从"故国"带来的文化与美国文化之间往往会产生冲突,但是多数移
民还是学会了适应并热爱他们所归依的土地。
美国人从移民的风俗和观念中也学到了很多东西，并且这些东西以一种极其细微和有趣的方式影响他
们。移民们带来了他们本族的文化、政治以及社会模式和态度，不同的学术和宗教背景，以及他们种族的
艺术、体育、节日和饮食。这些极大地丰富了美国人的生活。
对于世界各地的移民而言，美国已经是一个"熔炉"，在这个熔炉中，甚至当外国人快要成为美国（一
个其人民有着共同的一套文化观和价值观的国家）公民时，他们从文化和语言上仍然是在他们本国的样子。
这个熔炉没有、也不应该熔掉对另一个地方的另一种生活方式的记忆。相反，即使移民们努力地要进人美
国文化主流之中，他们也应保存自己遗产中的语言、技能、宗教和艺术。
Keys and Explanations:
1-5 ADBDB
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1. 选A。细节理解题。从第一段Even those "original" Americans, the Indians…可知。
2. 选D。A、B、C三项都能从第二段得到证实，而D没有提及。
3. 选B。段落大意题。主要描写美国移民对美国的影响。
4. 选D。推理判断题。从最后一段的描述可知，所谓“熔炉”是指不同民族间的相互包容，既能保持原有
的特点又能与主流相协调，形成一个和谐发展的局面。
5. 选B。综合判断题A、C在第一段，D在第二段有直接的描述；而B没有这一讲法，根据全文的介绍没
有说美国的不好的一面，因此“邪恶帝国”的讲法显然不对。
2. Early North American Societies
As many as one thousand years ago in the southwest, the Hopi and Zuni tribes of North America were
built with adobe, sun-baked brick plastered with mud. Their home looked remarkably
like modem apartment houses. Some were four stories high and contained quarters for
perhaps a thousand people, along with storerooms for grain and other goods. These
buildings were usually put up against enemies. They were really villages in themselves, aslater Spanish explorers must have realized they called them "pueblos", which is Spanish for town.
The people of the pueblos raised what are called the three sisters--corn, beans, and squashes, They made
excellent pottery and wove wonderful baskets, some so fine that they could hold water. The Southwest has always
been a dry country, with water scarce. The Hopi and Zuni brought water from streams to their fields and gardens
through irrigation ditches.
Water was so important that it played a major role in their religion. They developed elaborate ceremonies and
religious rituals to bring rain.
The way of life of less-settled groups was simpler and more strongly influenced by nature. Small tribes such as
the Shoshone and Ute wandered the dry and mountainous lands between the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific
Ocean. They gathered seeds and hunted small animals such as rabbits and snakes. In the Far North the ancestors of
today's Inuit hunted seals, walruses, and the great whales. They lived fight on the frozen seas in shelter called
igloos built of blocks of packed snow. When summer came, they fished for salmon and hunted the lordly
caribous.
The Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Sioux tribes, known as the Plains Indians, lived on the grasslands between
the Rocky Mountains and the Mississippi River. They hunted the bison, commonly called the buffalo. Its meat
was the chief food of these tribes, and its hide was used to make their clothing and the coveting of their tents.
（364 words）
Helper:
adobe[ə'dəubi]砖坯 plaster['plɑ:stə]涂以灰泥 quarter住处；寓所
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squash[skwɔʃ]南瓜 pottery ['pɔtəri]陶器 scarce [skɛəs]稀少的，缺乏的
irrigation ditch水渠 elaborate[i'læbərət]精心的 ritual['ritjuəl]仪式
seal海豹 walrus ['wɔ:lrəs]海象 igloo圆顶冰屋
salmon ['sæmən]大马哈鱼 lordly ['lɔ:dli] 高傲的，高贵的 caribou ['kæribu:]北美驯鹿
buffalo['bʌfələu]美洲野牛
Hopi霍皮人，美国亚利桑那州东南部印第安村庄居民。
Zuni祖尼族[人]，居住于美国New Mexico西部印第安村落的居民。
pueblo (美国西南部或墨西哥等)印第安人的村庄[城镇]。
Shoshone 肖松尼族人,美国西部的一种印第安人。
Ute犹特人,美洲印第安人的一种。
Rocky Mountains落矶山脉 seals海豹 walruses海象 hide兽皮，皮革Inuit因纽特人, 北美特别是加拿大北冰洋地区和格陵兰岛的爱斯基摩人之成员
Pawnee(北美)波尼族印第安人
Cheyenne夏安族(人)，美国印第安人的一个部落的成员。
Sioux苏人美洲土著印第安人的一支，也被称作达科他人。
Mississippi密西西比河， 发源于美国中北部湖沼区,南注墨西哥湾,是世界上最大的河流之一。
Brief Introduction:
早在1000年以前，北美的霍皮人和祖尼族人就用砖坯盖房子了，他们的家看起来就像现代的公寓房。
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有的有四层高，能住1000人，还有盛粮食和其他东西的储藏室。这样的建筑本身就是一个村子。村民们种
植玉米、大豆和南瓜，制作精美的陶器，编织的篮子甚至都能盛水。水在宗教中有着很重要的作用，他们
有复杂的仪式求雨。作为游民，受自然的影响很大，他们的生活方式简单，狩猎是主要生活方式。
Exercises:
◆
从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。
1. It can be inferred from the passage that the dwellings (住所) of the Hopi and Zuni-are_______.
A. very small B. highly advanced C. conveniently located D. extremely fragile
2. Which of the following animals was the most important to the Plains Indians?
A. The salmon. B. The seal. C. The caribou. D. The buffalo.
3. According to the passage, which of the following tribes lived in the grasslands?
A. The Cheyenne and Sioux. B. The Shoshone and Ute.
C. The Hopi and Zuni. D, The Pawnee and Inuit.
Keys and Explanations:
1-3 BDA
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1. 选B。推理判断题。根据第一段的对 the Hopi and Zuni 所建房子的描述，尤其是 Their home looked
remarkably like modern apartment houses.可以看出B正确，当时所见的房子是非常先进。
2. 选D。细节理解题。从最后一段对北美野牛的用途的描述知道不仅仅可以实用，皮还可以做衣服和帐篷。
故选D。
3. 选A。细节理解题。根据最后一段的第一句The Cheyenne, Pawnee, and Sioux tribes, known as the Plains
Indians,知道A正确。3. American Indians美国印第安人
American Indians have lived on the continent for thousands of years. European explorer Christopher
Columbus named them Indians in the late fourteen hundreds. He thought his ship had
reached a place called the Indies.
There are more than four million American Indians and Alaskan natives in the
United States. They belong to more than five hundred Indian tribes. Many tribe
members live on reservations. These are areas that the United States government set
up for native tribes that had lost their lands to European settlers.
There are about three hundred Indian reservations in the United States. Some reservations are larger than
American states. The United States Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs has the charge of these
territories. Tribes on reservations have limited self-rule.
Generally, American Indians do not enjoy the same economic and educational success as other Americans. A
continuing study by Harvard University says American Indians generally earn less money and have more
unemployment than other Americans. The study says they also have higher rates of disease and die younger than
other American groups.
The Bureau of Indian Affairs provides education services to almost fifty thousand Indian children in one
hundred eighty-four schools. Experts from Harvard say college attendance rates among the Indian population is
half that of the general population. But, they also say the situation is improving. The experts say the number of
Native American Indians seeking higher education has more than doubled in the last twenty years.
Harvard researchers also say that the American Indian economy has grown at three times the national rate
since the nineteen eighties. Some of the improvement has come from expansion of the American Indian gambling
industry. More than two hundred Indian tribes have legalized gambling on their reservations. Native American
casinos and other gaming businesses earn more than twenty billion dollars each year （317 words）
http://www.unsv.com/voanews/specialenglish/scripts/2007/10/05/0045/
Helper:
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explorer 探险家 tribe[traib]部落 reservation [.rezə'veiʃən]（美印第安人）保留地，居留地
economic经济的 unemployment ['ʌnim'plɔimənt]失业 seek寻求
gamble['gæmbl]赌博 legalize ['li:gəlaiz]得到法律认可 casino [kə'si:nəu]娱乐场
college attendance rates大学入学率The United States Interior Department's Bureau of Indian Affairs美国内政部印第安事务局
Brief Introduction:
美洲印第安人在这块大陆上居住了好几千年。14世纪末，欧洲探险家哥伦布把他们叫作印第安人，他
◆
认为他的船到了印度。
在美国有400多万美洲印第安人和阿拉斯加当地人，他们属于500多个印第安部落。许多部落居住在
保留地。在美国有大约有300个这样的保留地，有的比美国的州还大。一般地说，印第安人在经济和教育
上赶不上其他美国人，大学入学率低，但是与以前相比已经有了改善。
哈佛大学的研究人员还说，从19世纪80年代以来，美洲印第安人的经济增长的速度是全国的三倍，
部分是来自于赌博业。
Exercises:
◆
从所给的A、B、C、D四个选项中选出最佳答案。
1. The underlined word “reservation” in the second paragraph refers to ______.
A. A public room or building for gambling and other entertainment.
B. A specified area of land set apart by the federal government for a special purpose, especially one for the use of
a Native American people.
C. A unit of social organization consisting of a number of families, or other groups who share a common
ancestry, culture, and leadership.
D. An arrangement by which accommodations are secured in advance, as in a hotel or on an airplane.
2. From the text we know it is probably _____ that has made the American Indian economy grow at a high rate
since 1980s.
A. hardworking B. science and technology C. good education D. gambling business
3. What’s the subject discussed in this passage?
A. Experts from Harvard B. European explorer Christopher Columbus
C. Gambling industry D. American Indians
4. The main purpose of paragraphs 4-5 is to show that______.
A. American Indians are less developed B. American Indians have higher rates of disease
C. American Indians have no right to enjoy education as other Americans
D. American Indians are younger than other American groups
5. It can be inferred from the passage that if Columbus hadn’t found the continent, _________.
A. American Indians could enjoy the same economic and educational success as other Americans.
B. American Indians would live a little longerC. American Indians would have owned their lands much longer
D. American Indians would have died many years ago
Keys and Explanations:
1-5 BDDAC
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1. 选B。后面的代词these就是代指reservations，接着就对该词的具体含义进行解释，与B项吻合。
2. 选D。细节理解题。根据最后一段知道是赌博业使得印第安的经济增长率很高。
3. 选D。主旨大意题。第一段的首句就交代了本文的话题，然后从印第安人的历史，目前的生活现状等方
面对印第安人介绍，事实上也就是本文的最佳标题。
4. 选A。写作意图题。也是概括理解题。根据三、四段的意思看出是说明印第安人的落后之处，欠发达的
方面。B项是具体事实，但是不能概括两段的意思，体现不了作者用这两段的目的。C错误，有受教育的
权利，但是赶不上其他美国人那样成功。D项文章中根本没有提到。
5. 选C。推理判断题。根据第二段的最后一句知道选C。当时欧洲移民到了每周之后，强行占领当地土著
居民的土地，把他们从自己的土地上赶走，然后把土地居为己有。如果哥伦布当初没有发现这块新大陆，
那么当地的土著居民当然不会这么快失去土地。
