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
61
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
(2)
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
(famous)novel
解析
转载请注明原文地址:https://kaotiyun.com/show/ea4O777K
0
专业英语八级
相关试题推荐
Childrentodayspendmoretimestareatcomputerand【M1】______TVscreensbothatschoolandathome.Scientific【M2】
WhatIsAnAmerican?"Ican’tmakeyouout,"HerryJameshasMrs.TristramsaytotheAmerican,"whetheryouareverysimpl
WhatIsAnAmerican?"Ican’tmakeyouout,"HerryJameshasMrs.TristramsaytotheAmerican,"whetheryouareverysimpl
IntroductionLinguisticshasbothpracticalandphilosophicalmotivations.Soboththefirstandsecondeditionsofthistex
FeelslikeSpringIstopatthecomerdrugstoreforabreakfastofdoughnutsandcoffee,andthenIracetothesubwaystati
Ateamofinternationalresearchershasfoundnewevidencethatanendangeredsubspeciesofchimpanzeeisthesourceoftheviru
TheCulturalRevivalintheByzantineEmpireBetweentheeighthandeleventhcenturiesA.D.,theByzantineEmpirestageda
Wehearitalotthenewsthesedays:"Recyclenewspapersandsaveatree.Collectbottlesandcanssotheycanbereusedin
LangstonHughesandHisWork:InsideandOutI.GeneralIntroductionofLangstonHughes—Time;TheHarlemRenaissanceofthe192
Recently,Ihaveheardtwostoriesregardingtheautomobilesector.ThesalesofaSino-USjointventurehaveincreasedsignific
随机试题
某企业三种产品的产量增长速度和产值资料如下:要求计算:(1)产值总指数。(2)产量总指数。(3)价格总指数。
下述哪项符合限制性心肌病:
图示对称刚架在承受反对称的两个力偶作用下弯矩图正确的是()。
背景资料:某二级公路一标段共12座涵洞工程,包括箱涵及盖板涵等结构形式,其中某座盖板涵设计示意图如下图所示。施工单位确定了盖板涵的主要施工工序如下:测量放线→基坑开挖→现浇混凝土基础→浆砌墙身→(B)→提前预制盖板并吊装→出入口浆砌→(C)→涵洞回填及加
北京市海淀区的李某申请领取低保金,一般要经过()。
地区发展模式致力于建立各种社区支持网络,增加居民的互动和交往,改善邻里关系,重建居民与团体之间的紧密联系,帮助居民认识参与的重要,并愿意承担责任,使居民对社区更加认同及投入。这说明了在地区发展模式中()
假如一个教师非常关心如“学生喜欢我吗?”这样的问题,并把大量的时间用于与学生搞好个人关系,那么他处于教师成长的()。
由中国作协牵线搭桥,当今文坛具有重要影响的18位传统作家和网络世界有着极旺人气的18位网络作家开展了“结对交友”活动,在传统文学与网络文学两分天下的语境中,这活动颇具探索、开创意味。传统文学和网络文学都是文学。两者在书写方式、传播方式和文本风格上有所不同,
心理能量
A、Peopletendtogotoextremesindailylife.B、Peopletryallouttobuildaperfectrelationship.C、Peoplechangethemselves
最新回复
(
0
)