首页
外语
计算机
考研
公务员
职业资格
财经
工程
司法
医学
专升本
自考
实用职业技能
登录
外语
The American Dream: Myth or Reality I. Orign of the term: A. began to be widely used in(1)______(1)______ B. first appeared in a
The American Dream: Myth or Reality I. Orign of the term: A. began to be widely used in(1)______(1)______ B. first appeared in a
admin
2013-08-05
57
问题
The American Dream: Myth or Reality
I. Orign of the term:
A. began to be widely used in(1)______(1)______
B. first appeared in a(2)______ written by Horatio Alger(2)______
C. message sent by the story:
Regardless of the background, people with honesty, hard work and
(3)______would always succeed.(3)______
II. Basic definition of the American Dream;
— a better quality of life and a higher standard of living
-— better jobs, more(4)______, or ownership of land or a home(4)______
III. Associations;
A. -- in the past: desire to improve the quality of one’s life
-— today: an out-of-control(5)______and materialism(5)______
B. desire to create opportunities through hard work
— a hallmark: the classic(6)______(6)______
— an example: Abraham Lincoln
C.(7)______ and their stories and quests: often a narrative of(7)______
upward mobility
D. Historically,it can be associated with(8)______(8)______
— the frontier; symbols of(9)______ and a fresh start(9)______
— the negtive side: meeting resistance from native American Indians
E. equality
— an example: Martin Luther King Jr. ’s(10)______(10)______
— a harsh reality: not everyone had the same opportunities
(7)
The American Dream: Myth or Reality
Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. In the previous lectures on American history, we have discussed about the founding of the nature, the civil war, the development of its political system and the change in its people’s beliefs. I enjoyed greatly reading your papers and some of your ideas even trigger my thoughts. And I noticed that in your papers, more and more of you mentioned the American dream. That is the topic of today: The American Dream: Myth or Reality?
The term "American dream" is widely used today. But what exactly does this concept mean? Where does the term come from? When we talk about the American dream, whose American dream are we describing? Is the American dream the same for all Americans? Has the meaning of the term changed over time? Is the American dream a uniquely American concept? Questions like these can complicate a seemingly simple term and lead us to an even more important question; is the American dream a myth or a reality today?
The term "American dream" began to be widely used in 1867.(2)The term was used in a famous novel written by Horatio Alger. The novel, Ragged Dick , was a "rags to riches" story about a little boy who was orphaned and lived in New York. The boy saved all his pennies, worked very hard, and eventually became rich.(3)The novel sent the message to the American public that anyone could succeed in America if they were honest, worked hard, and showed determination to succeed. No matter what your background, no matter where you were from, no matter if you had no money or no family, hard work and perseverance would always lead to success.
Today, the message from Alger’s novel is still a prevalent one in this country. It is still used to define the American dream. A very basic definition of the American dream is that it is the hope of the American people to have a better quality of life and a higher standard of living than their parents.(4)This can mean that each generation hopes for better jobs, or more financial security, or ownership of land or a home.
However, new versions and variations of the American dream have surfaced since Alger’s novel was published. For one thing, the basic definition I stated a moment ago—the idea that Americans are always seeking to improve their lifestyle—also suggests that each generation wants more than the previous generation had.(5)Some people would argue that this ever-increasing desire to improve the quality of one’s life may have started out on a smaller scale in the past, but today has led to an out-of-control consumerism and materialism. According to this view, we not only want more than our parents and our grandparents had, but we also want more than our friends, our co-workers, and our neighbors have.
Another, more benign view of the American dream is that it is about the desire to create opportunities for ourselves, usually through hard work.(6)A hallmark of the American dream, some would argue, is the classic "self-starter", the person who starts out with very little in life—little money, few friends, few opportunities—and works hard to make his or her way in the world. A classic example of this type of American dreamer would be former president Abraham Lincoln, who was born in a log cabin, was largely self-educated, and yet worked his way up in the world to eventually become a United States president.
This view of the American dream has also been associated with immigrants and their stories, their quests for a better life in a new country. Americans have long been fascinated by immigrant stories, and many feel great pride about their families who may have come from other countries, worked very hard, and created a better life for future generations. The immigrant story is most often a narrative of upward mobility. Immigrants, seeing this country as a place of new opportunities and possibilities, play a large role in narratives—both fiction and nonfiction—about pursuing the American dream, and indeed, we could point to many success stories.
The American dream has also, historically, been associated with westward expansion in this country.(9)Throughout most of the 1800s, the notion of the frontier—a vast expanse of largely unclaimed land in the West— symbolized new opportunities and a fresh start to people. Many a dreamer set off for the West in search of land, jobs, gold, or other opportunities, often with next to nothing in his pocket. Unfortunately, this idea of new opportunities in the West had a negative side. The American West was not unpopulated; Native American Indians already lived there, along with other immigrant groups, and these people were often displaced—or met with violence -if they interfered with the visions or ideas of westward-migrating Americans.
A more recent interpretation of the American dream has to do with equality.(10)Civil rights activists such as Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. , used some of the rhetoric associated with the American dream to urge people to work for equal opportunities for all Americans, not just some Americans. A harsh reality was becoming clear to some people, especially in the 1960s and 1970s: not everyone had the same opportunities. If people were denied jobs, education, or other opportunities because of their race, ethnic background, or gender, was the American dream only a myth?
Well, I feel time often goes fast in the lectures and hope you have the same feeling. We’ll have to stop here and continue our discussion next time. Remember to finish your reading assignment before our next meeting and get ready to share with me your thoughts on American dream. See you next time.
选项
答案
immigrants
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/ca4O777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Fromtheconversationwegettheimpressionthat______.
Thejob-seekingperspectiveisparticularlygoodforthefollowingmajorsEXCEPT______.
RussiangovernmentismainlyconcernedaboutthefollowingEXCEPT
Duringtheearlyyearsofthiscentury,wheatwasseenastheverylifebloodofWesternCanada.Peopleoncitystreetswatched
不过,一个人到了四十岁后,在生活中大概都锻炼出宠辱不惊的本事,也不会在乎锦上添花、雪中送炭或落井下石了。那是因为我们已经历过生命的痛苦与挫折,也体验了许多情感的相逢与离散,慢慢地寻索出生命中积极的、快乐的、正向的理念,这种理念,正是“常想一二”。“常想一二
"Howthezebragothisstripes"soundslikethetitleofoneofRudyardKipling’s"JustSo"stories.Sadly,itisn’t,sotheque
我最大的爱好是沉思默想。我可以一个人长时间地独处而感到愉快。独享欢乐是一种愉快,独自忧伤也是一种愉快。孤独的时候,精神不会是一片纯粹的空白,它仍然是一个丰富多彩的世界。情绪上的大欢乐和大悲痛往往都是在孤独中产生的。孤独中,思维可以不依照逻辑进行。孤独更多地
它不像汉白玉那样的细腻,可以刻字雕花,也不像大青石那样的光滑,可以浣纱捶布。它静静地卧在那里,院里的树荫没有庇覆它,花儿也不再在它身边生长。荒草便繁衍出来,枝蔓上下,慢慢地,竟锈上了绿苔、黑斑。我们这些做孩子的,也讨厌起它来,曾合伙要搬走它,但力气又不足;
芙蓉镇街面不大。十几家铺子、几十户住家紧紧夹着一条青石板街。铺子和铺子是那样的紧密,以至一家煮狗肉,满街闻香气;以至谁家娃儿跌跤碰脱牙,扛了碗,街坊邻里心中都有数;以至姐妹家的私房活,年轻夫妻的打情骂俏,都常常被隔壁邻居听了去,传为一镇的的秘闻趣事,笑料谈
随机试题
设n阶矩阵A,B,C满足ABC﹦E,则
男性,45岁。因右髋部疼痛走路跛行来院就诊,X线检查显示右髂骨不规则溶骨性破坏,MRI检查发现左肋骨、右前臂及颅骨多处溶骨性病灶,故行右髂骨穿刺活检,诊断为转移性癌。查胸部CT、后发现右上肺内胸膜下占位性病变,最可能的肺癌类型是
患者男性,67岁,吸烟,有COPD病史30余年。家属发现患者呼之不应半小时急送医院。查体:BP150/75mmHg,浅昏迷状,球结膜水肿,双肺可闻及干、湿啰音,A2<P2,下肢水肿。为明确诊断首选的检查是
善意取得的要件。[南京大学2015年;武大2014年研]
______是指通过采用技术和管理手段使事故不发生。______是通过采取技术和管理手段使事故发生后不造成严重后果或使后果尽可能减少。
债权人会议同意债务人的和解协议的,需要出席的债权人的过半数同意,这些债权人所代表的债权应占无担保债权总数的()以上。
巢湖会计师事务所的注册会计师谢扬是F公司2005年度会计报表审计的外勤负责人,在审计过程中,正在考虑主营业务收入、存货、短期借款相关的审计策略或审计程序。请代为做出正确的专业判断。
云南的歌会沈从文云南本是个诗歌的家乡,路南和迤西歌舞早著名全国。这一回却更加丰富了我的见闻。这是种生面别开的场所,对调子的来自四方,各自蹲踞在松树林子和
Inthetwodecadesbetween1929and1949,sculptureintheUnitedStatessustainedwhatwasprobablythegreatestexpansionins
TheancientAztecsveneratedthecacaotreeanduseditsbeansasaformofcurrency.They【C1】______thetreeasasourceofstre
最新回复
(
0
)