Question

You may have heard the term "the American Dream". In 1848, James W. Marshall found gold in California and people began having golden dreams. That 19th century "American Dream" motivated (激發起) the Gold Rush and gave California its nickname of the "Golden State".

The American Dream drove not only 1800s gold-rush prospectors but also waves of immigrants throughout that century and the next. People from Europe, and a large number of Chinese, arrived in the US in the 19th century hoping that in America they would find gold in the streets. But most, instead, worked as railroad labourers. They created the oldest Chinatown, in San Francisco, and gave the city a Chinese name "the old gold hill".

In the 20th century, some critics said that it was no longer possible to become prosperous through determination and hard work. Unfair education for students from poor families and racial discrimination almost made the American Dream a nightmare.

Then, in the 1990s, California saw a new wave of dreamers in Silicon Valley. People poured their energy into the Internet. This new chapter of the American Dream attracted many business people and young talents from China and India to form start-ups and seek fortunes in America.

Better pay, a nice house, and a rising standard of living will always be attractive. However, the new American Dream is no longer just about money. It encourages Americans to consume wisely to protect the environment, improve the quality of life, and promote social justice.

The Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, has become the model of the new American Dream. After years of hard work, he grew from a poor young man from Austria into a movie superstar and then governor. Many people hope his story can save the American Dream and give California a brighter future.  

It can be inferred that _____.

A. America’s golden dream could never be realized

B. America’s golden dream had bought great fortunes to Chinese immigrants

C. each period of time has its own taste of the American dream

D. determination and hard work are the best way to realize the American dream

Why did most of the early immigrants work as railroad laborers?

A. Because they could earn more money as railroad laborers.

B. Because they had to make a living by working as railroad laborers.

C. Because they thought railroad was the first step to find gold.

D. Because railroad laborers were greatly honored at that time.

The underlined sentence “his story can save the American Dream” (in the last paragraph) indicates that _____.

A. the dream of seeking fortunate in America is easy to realize

B. most of the immigrants to America don’t reach their previous goal

C. the success of Arnold Schwarzenegger is among the common examples of the immigrants

D. the immigrants have made great contributions to California

What’s the best title of the passage?

A. Wave of Immigrants to America            B. Make Fortunes Abroad

C. Hard Work Leads to Success                   D. Changes of America’s Golden Dream

Answer 1

【小題1】C

【小題2】B

【小題3】B

【小題4】D

解析:

【小題1】短文中提到：19世紀的“美國夢”激發起的是淘金熱；在20世紀90年代，加利福尼亞的硅谷涌現出了新的夢想家。新的美國夢卻不僅僅只關乎金錢。它還促使美國人進行理性的消費，注重環保，提高生活質量及促進社會公正。由此推斷可知：不同時期美國夢的主題不同。

【小題2】第二段提到：19世紀，歐洲人以及大批中國人涌入美國。在他們的心目中，美國是一個遍地黃金的國度。但現實并非如此，很多人并沒有找到黃金，為了生計，大部分移民最終只能做鐵路勞工。

【小題3】短文第三段提到：貧困生得不到公平的受教育機會，種族歧視盛行，美國夢幾乎淪為一場噩夢。加利福尼亞州的州長阿諾·施瓦辛格的成功只是移民中實現了美國夢的典范，使移民們看到了一線希望。此句的表面意思是“很多人希望他的故事能夠挽救美國夢”。由此推測可知：絕大多數移民并沒有達到他們預期的目標。

【小題4】通讀全文可知，1848年，馬歇爾在加利福尼亞州發現了金子，于是人們開始做起了尋金夢。19世紀的“美國夢”激發起的是淘金熱。到了20世紀，很多評論家指出，光憑堅強意志和勤奮工作已經不可能發大財。在20世紀90年代，人們對因特網激情高漲，美國夢新的篇章由此揭開。中國和印度的很多商界人士以及年輕精英來此創業，尋求發財致富之路。這場新的美國夢更關注生活質量。由此可知全文的標題是：美國夢的演變。