1. I don’t want to get married because I don’t want any commitments.

　A. responsibilities

　B. housework

　C. worries

2. He felt very alien during his first hours in Paris.

　A. disappointed

　B. foreign

　C. puzzled

3. Against all the odds he recovered from his illness.

　A. probability

　B. strangeness

　C. expectations

4. Anti-Semitism refers to hatred of＿＿＿.

　A. Christians

　B. Muslims

　C. Jews

5. Of the ten board members. Only one dissented.

　A. disagreed

　B. agreed

　C. refused

6. Jack underwent three successive operations on the left leg in two weeks.

　A. happening now and then

　B. happening one after another

　C. successful

7. The passage across to Belfast was very rough.

　A. corridor

　B. journey

　C. excerpt

8. I admire their enterprise in trying to start up a new business.

　A. entertainment

　B. company

　C. boldness

9. We are fighting to retain some independence

　A. get

　B. keep

　C. win

10. The government has succumbed to the pressure from the press.

　A. yielded

　B. overcome

　C. convinced

2 Text
2.1Cultural Background

Pilgrims: name given to the English Puritans who went to American in 1620 and founded the colony of Plymouth, Massachusettes.

Puritans: members of the party of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who wanted simple forms of church ceremony.

Hitler：希特勒(1889—1945)，德国独裁者，德国当时称为“元首”。生于奥地利的布劳瑙，一位小税务官之子。1904--1913年在维也纳靠小聪明混日子，从事一些微贱的工作。1913年移居慕尼黑，受雇为绘图员。20年代后期他的党得到很大发展。1933年被任命为总理。随即停止实施宪法，窒息一切反对意见，成功地利用了国会纵火案，
使纳粹党掌权。1935年他公开重新武装德国，1936年与墨索里尼建立罗马一柏林“轴心”，1938年通过与奥地利合并建立“大德意志”。1939年引发了第一次世界大战。第二次世界大战中，1942年在北非阿莱曼和斯大林格勒遭到挫败后，形式发生转折。德国被突破时他与妻子服毒身亡。

Mussolini：墨索里尼(1983—1945)，意大利首相(1922--1943)．独裁者。生于罗马涅的普雷达皮耶。1919年组织“法西斯战斗团”，作为所谓的世界革命力量。1922年纠集党徒向罗马进军，被
国王任为首相。1925年成为独载者。在他统治期间用“社团国家”制来取代议会，实行公开的极权主义制度。1929年成立梵蒂冈国。1935—1936年意大利吞并阿比西尼亚，1939年入侵阿尔巴尼亚，与德国组成轴心国。在意大利尚无军事准备的条件下向英、法宣战，以至在北非、东非和巴尔干连打败仗。1943年6月盟军在西西里登陆，他众叛亲离，于1943年7月被赶下台，并遭拘禁。德国将其救出，让他接管傀儡的意大利社会共和国。1945年被意大利抵抗运动游击队捕获并枪决。

Why They Came

        Not many decisions could have been more difficult for a family to make than to say farewell to a community where it had lived for centuries, to abandon old ties and familiar landmarks, and to sail across dark seas to a strange land. Today, when mass communications tell one part of the world all about another, it is quite easy to understand hoe poverty or tyranny might force people to exchange an old nation for a new one. But centuries ago migration was a leap into the unknown. It was an enormous intellectual and emotional commitment. The forces that moved early immigrants to their great decision---the decision to leave their homes and begin an adventure filled with uncertainty, risk and hardship---must have been of overpowering proportions. As Oscar Handlin states, the early immigrants of America ＂would collode with unaccustomed problems, learn to understand alien ways and alien languages, manage to survive in a very foreign environment＂.
　　Despite the obstacles and uncertainties that lay ahead of the, millions did migrate to ＂the promised land＂---America. But what was it that moved so many to migrate against such overwhelming odds? There were probably as many reasons for coming to America as there were people who came. It was a highly individual decision. Yet it can be said that three large forces---religious persecution, political oppression and economic hardship---provided the chief motives for the mass migrations to America. They were responding in their own way to the pledge of the Declaration of Independence: the promise of ＂life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness＂.
　　The search for freedom of  worship has brought people to America from the days of the pilgrims to modern times. In 1620, for example, the Mayflower carried a cargo of 102 passengers who＂welcomed the opportunity to advance the gospel of Christ in these remote parts＂. A number of other groups such as the Jews and Quakers came to America after the Pilgrims, all seeking religious freedom. In more recent times, anti-Semitic persecution in Hitler’s Germany has driven people from their homes to seek refuge in America. However, not all religious sects have received the tolerance and understanding for which they came. The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony showed as little tolerance for dissention beliefs as the Anglia ns of England had shown them. They quickly expelled other religious groups from their society. Minority religious sects, from the Quakers and Shakers through the Catholics and Jews to the Mormons, have at various times suffered both discrimination and hostility in the United States.
　　But the diversity of religious belief has made for religious toleration. In demanding freedom for itself, each sect had to permit freedom for others. The insistence of each successive wave of immigrants upon its right to practice its religion helped make freedom of worship a central part of the American Creed. People who gambled their lives on the right to believe in their own God would not easily surrender that right in a new society.
　　The second great force behind immigration has been political oppression. America has always been a refuge from tyranny. As a nation conceived in liberty, it has help out to the world the promise of respect for the rights of man .Every time a revolution has failed in Europe, every time a nation has succumbed to tyranny, men and sail across the seas. This process has not come to an end in our own day. The terrors of Hitler’s Germany and Mussolini’s Italy, the terrible wars of Southeast Asia ---all have brought new thousands seeking safety in the United States.
　　The economic factor has been more complex than the religious and political factors. From the very beginning, some have come to America in search of riches, some in flight from poverty, and because they were bought and sold and had no choice.
　　And the various reasons are intertwined. Thus some early arrivals were lured to these shores by dreams of amassing great wealth, like the Spanish in Mexico and Peru.
These adventurers, expecting quick profits in gold, soon found that real wealth lay in such crops a tobacco and cotton. As they built up the plantation economy in states like Virginia and the Carolinas, they needed cheap labor. So they began to import indentured servants from England (men and women who agreed to labor a term of years in exchange for eventual freedom),and slaves from Africa.
　　The process of industrialization in America increased the demand for cheap labor, and chaotic economic conditions in Europe increased the supply. If some immigrants continued to believe that the streets of New York were paved with gold, more were driven by the hunger and hardship of their native lands. The Irish potato famine of 1845 brought almost a million people to America in five years. American manufacturers advertised in European newspapers, offering to pay the passage of any man willing to come to America to work for them.
The immigrants who came for economic reasons contributed to the strength of the new society in several ways. Those who came from countries with advanced political and economic institutions brought with them faith in those institutions and experience in making them work. They also brought technical and managerial skills which contributed greatly to economic growth in the new land Above all, they helped give America the extraordinary social mobility which is the essence of an open society.
　　In the community he had left, the immigrant usually had a fixed place. He would carry on his father’s craft of trade; he would farm his father’s land or that small portion of it that was left him after it was divided with his brothers. Only with the most exceptional talent and enterprise could he break out of the circumstances in life into which he had been born. There were no such circumstances for him in the New World. Once having broken with the past, except for sentimental ties and cultural inheritance, he had to rely on his own abilities. It was the future and not the past which he had to face. Except for the Negro slave, the immigrant could go anywhere and do anything his talents permitted. A large, virgin continent lay before him, and he had only to join it together by canals, railroads and roads. If he failed to achieve the dream of a better life for himself, he could still retain it for his children.
　　There were the major forces that started this massive migration to America. Every immigrant served to reinforce and strengthen those elements in American society that had attracted him in the first place. The motives of some immigrants were commonplace. The motives of others were noble .Taken together they add up to the strengths and weaknesses of America.                                  

Total Words: 1 151
Total Reading Time:＿＿＿

The text is based on “A Nation of Immigrants” by John F. Kennedy, 1964.

1. Reading Comprehension

Circle the letter of the best answer.

1. Early immigrants＿＿＿＿.

A. didn’t find it difficult for them to make decisions to leave their homes.
B. Were able to know the new nation before they left their homes
C. Had to face uncertainties and obstacles when they migrated to a strange land
D. Migrated to America for the same reason

1. People migrated to America for the following reasons except＿＿＿＿.

A. searching for religious freedom
B. breaking with past cultural inheritance
C. escaping political oppression
D. searching for riches

1. The Puritans of the Massachusetts Bay Colony serve as an example of＿＿＿＿.

　A. freedom of worship
　B. religious intolerance
　C. economic success
　D. respect for the rights of man

2. The diversity of religious belief has resulted in ＿＿＿＿.

　A. religious persecution
　B. discrimination
　C. religious toleration
　D. hostility

3. Slaves were imported from Africa for the ＿＿＿reason.

　A. political
　B. economic
　C. cultural
　D. religious

4. The Irish potato famine of 1845 brought＿＿＿people to America.

　A. more than a million
　B. a million
　C. almost a million
　D. half a million

5. In what way did immigrants seeking economic freedom contribute to the strength of the U.S. economy?

　A. They introduced advanced political and economic institutions.
　B. They brought with them technical and managerial skills.
　C. They helped give America social mobility.
　D. All of these.

6. The text ends with the sentence＂Taken together they add up to the strengths and weaknesses of 　America,＂here＂they＂refers to＿＿＿＿.

　A. elements
　B. motives
　C. immigrants
　D. enterprises

◆Key to Reading Comprehension

Vocabulary Building

1. Definition
   Define the following terms in your own words.
   Immigrant
   Migration
   The promised land
   Pilgrims
   Puritans
   Cultural inheritance
   Religious persecution

   Idiom
   Complete the following sentences with the appropriate idiomatic expressions which are related to the idea of COMPROMISE. Make sure it fits the blanks.
   　　　　　　　　　　All of nothing               　　　　meet someone halfway
   　　　　　　　　　Give-and-take               　　　 　middle-of-the-road
   　　　　　　　　　Stick to one’s guns        　　　 find middle ground

   1.   Lynn is willing to ＿＿＿＿.She feels that if people do not give a little on their position, nothing will ever get done. She does not think people should be so stubborn that they refuse to change their minds.
   2. With Mike it is＿＿＿＿.If he cannot have everything he wants in the way that he wants it ,he would rather not have it at all.
   3. Florence likes to ＿＿＿＿.She feels it is important to make decisions that everybody can accept. She will give up part of what she wants for the sake of reaching an agreement.
   4. Ellen＿＿＿＿.She will not listen to people who say she is wrong No matter how much others try to get her to see their point of view, once she has formed an opinion, she holds on to it.
   5. Allan is a ＿＿＿＿man. He can always see the worth of both sides of the argument. He feels that the best decisions are always between the two opposite points of view.
   6. Henry is for＿＿＿＿.He feels that in order to reach an agreement, people have to give up part of what they want. He thinks that if people do that, everybody will benefit.

   General Vocabulary Exercise
   Use the appropriate form of the word given in the brackets to fill in the corresponding blank.

   1. Taking the subway in Boston can be a ＿＿＿＿experience.(frustrate)
   2. It is no＿＿＿＿to say that New Hampshire＇s lakes and streams are filled with big fish.(exaggerate)
   3. Benjamin Franklin was an＿＿＿＿scientist, inventor, writer, and statesman.(inspiration)
   4. An＿＿＿＿student may receive a scholarship to one of  New England＇s prestigious universities.(industry)
   5. They＿＿＿＿for a short time about the advantages of living in Los Angels.(conversational)
   6. Lisa dressed＿＿＿＿for the long drive from Boston to Bangor.(comforting)
   7. Sandals, for example, are definitely＿＿＿＿for the rough trails.(appropriately)
   8. ＿＿＿＿scientists come from all over the world to do research at the various instates.(distinguish)
   9. Thanksgiving is a＿＿＿＿holiday in New England and in the rest of the United         States.(traditionally)
   10. The brochure also＿＿＿＿illustrated the different models in a diagram.(description)

   Analogies
   Select the lettered pair that best expresses a relationship similar to that expressed in the original pair.

   1、PLAINTIFF: DEFENDANT:
   　A. court: law      B. injured: accused
   　C. judge: jury      D. district attorney: lawyer
   2、PRESIDENT: POPE:
   　A. elected: chosen   B: ballot: smoke
   　C. proclamation: bull   D: temporal: secular
   3、SONNET: LINE:
   　A. ballad: poetry    B. symphony: harmony
   　C. novel: chapter    D. game: score
   4、FINE: IMPRISONMENT:
   　A. sentence: judgment   B. bail: bond
   　C. jury: judge          D. misdemeanor: felony
   5、BELT: TROUSERS:
   　A. braces: garters       B. trunk: tree
   　C. cables: bridge        D. cables: trolley
   6、RHYTHM: RHYME
   　A. poet: versifier      B. accent: sound
   　C. prose: poetry        D. blank verse: free verse
   7、 HABITS: INSTINCTS:
   　A. work: play          B. training: heredity
   　C. acquired: cultivated    D. natural: unusual
   8、DAFFODILS: TREES
   　A. spring: summer    B. fish: frogs
   　C. garden: orchard     D. snakes: grass

   Key

2. ◆ Cloze
   Read through the following passage and then decide which of the choices given below would correctly complete the passage if inserted in the corresponding blanks.

   Round the end of the sixteenth century, Puritans, whose goal was the purification of religion in England, frequently  1   persecution at the hands of the English government. In order to seek religious  2     , they decided to   3  England.
   In early September 1620, 102 settlers(among whom 35 were Puritans) left for America  4   the Mayflower. After a two-month  5  ,they came within sight of Cape Cod and decided to stay. They met aboard the ship and drafted the Mayflower Compact—a document that established the principles and rules by which their community would be governed. They also  6  John Carver to serve as their first governor.
   After landing at Plymouth on December 21,1620, however, the Pilgrims
     7  terrible hardships. Few of them had any  8  in colonization. Worse still, they had come to America  9  adequate food supplies, and they couldn’t start to plant crops  10  spring. By then more than half the pilgrims,  11  Governor Carver, had died. It was with the   12  of the Indians that the survivors learned how to  13  corn and where to fish. In October 1621, they were able to  14  their first harvest with the Indians. The same year, the Pilgrims secured a charter for Plymouth Colony from the Council for New England.
   1 . A. suffered     　　B. accepted    　　C. caused      　　D. aroused
   2 . A. reason      　　B. freedom    　　C. happiness    　　D. consequence
   3 . A. return      　　B. arrive       　　　C. leave       　　　D. stay
   4 . A. aboard     　　B. mounted     　　C. gathered     　　D. on
   5 . A. shipping    　　B. journey      　　C. labor       　　　D. excursion
   6 . A. forced      　　B. promoted    　　C. elected      　　D. made
   7 . A. fought     　　 B. received     　　C. found       　　　D. faced
   8 . A. experience  　B. thought      　　C. right        　　　D. consideration
   9 . A. without     　　B. with         　　　C. in         　　　　D. under
   10. A. in         　　　B. until         　　　C. since       　　　D. during
   11. A. include     　　B. includes      　　C. including   　　D. included
   12. A. help       　　B. hatred        　　C. kind       　　　　D. friends
   13. A. save       　　B. find          　　　C. cook       　　　D. plant
   14. A. fail        　　B. celebrate      　　C. pray       　　　D. confirm

key